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Miss Anne in Harlem: The White Women of the Black Renaissance
Miss Anne in Harlem: The White Women of the Black Renaissance Connie Bradley Book Review Definitions of Miss Anne: A coded term for any white woman. A derisive name for a white woman. An emanc...
We the Party
We the Party Kam Williams wetheparty.jpg Film Review The African-American answer to American Pie! We the Party [2012] In Theaters: Apr 6, 2012 Limited Comedy Directed By: Mario V...
Harlem Redux
Harlem Redux Thumper Book Review Persia Walker busts on the literary scene burnin’ rubber and smokin’ with her debut novel, Harlem Redux, a multi-faceted fictional tapestry. Harlem Redux...
This Side of Glory
This Side of Glory Thumper Book Review This Side Of Glory: The Autobiography of David Hilliard and the Story of the Black Panther Party by David Hilliard and Lewis Cole On my continuing quest in read...
The Queen of Harlem
The Queen of Harlem Brian Egeston Book Review He has managed to fool us all! Because his previous work gave the impression that his was the authentic voice of the next generation of Black male southe...
Blacktrospective 2007
Blacktrospective 2007 Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/why_di4.jpg Film Review Blacktrospective 2007 Annual Look Back at the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema by K...
Hunting In Harlem
Hunting In Harlem Thumper Book Review I am always excited when new authors enter the scene because they expand the dimensions of our existence through literature that is vibrant, challenging and im...
Harlem Crossroads
Harlem Crossroads Kam Williams Book Review ’The story I tell begins with an introductory account of how photography came to Harlem- that is, how Harlem became, after the Renaissance and at...
Gay Rebel of the Harlem Ren…
Gay Rebel of the Harlem Ren… Thumper Book Review Richard Bruce Nugent is the best well-kept secret of the Harlem Renaissance. Nugent isn’t unheard of in the annals of the Renaissance; ...
Harlem Honey
Harlem Honey Lisa Y? Wilson Book Review In Harlem Honey: The Adventures of a Curious Kid, the story begins as Moses and his parents have recently moved to Harlem, away from the comfort and familiarit...
Prodigal
Prodigal Chauncey Ridley Book Review David Covin’s Prodigal is a well-tuned engine of richly resonant, polysemous form firing on all cylinders: a hip, ripping thriller set in the mean streets o...
A Fool Indeed
A Fool Indeed Clarence V. Reynolds Book Review To say that Charles Fuller has a lot going on is putting it mildly. The one-time ladies’ man is newly married to a woman whom he has dedicated him...
Bastards of the Party
Bastards of the Party Kam Williams bastar2.jpg Film Review Documentary Highlights the Grim Side of Ghetto Gangsta Lifestyle Bastards of the Party Film Review by Kam William...
Harlem Godfather
Harlem Godfather Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Bumpy’s Widow Tells Her Story Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth ’Bumpy’ Johnson has been a long time coming on the h...
Harlem Aria
Harlem Aria Kam Williams images/img33.jpg Film Review Opera Serves as Fulcrum for Unfunny, Unlikely-Buddy Comedy Harlem Aria Rated R for crude and profane language. Running time: 100 Minut...
Why Did I Get Married? (2007)
Why Did I Get Married? (2007) Kam Williams images/why_di4.jpg Film Review Tyler Perry Ensemble Drama Explores an Assortment of Marital Issues Why Did I Get Married? (2007) Click...
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party Kam Williams block_2.jpg Film Review Conscious-Raising Concert Flick Combines Comedy and Hip-Hop Dave Chappelle’s Block Party Excellent (4 stars) Unrated ...
9780764344879
9780764344879 Kam Williams Book Review “With a population of nearly half a million people, Harlem is America’s most celebrated African-American neighborhood. Its rich past and historic...
Party Crashing
Party Crashing Kam Williams Book Review ’Unlike their parents and grandparents, young black Americans no longer view their political identity as black and white, so to speak. Today,...
Grace After Midnight: A Memoir
Grace After Midnight: A Memoir Troy Johnson Book Review This Review Appears in the Fall 2007 Issue of Harlem World Magazine Felicia “Snoop” Pearson, of...
Carl Van Vechten & the Harlem Renaissance: A Portrait in Black & White
Carl Van Vechten & the Harlem Renaissance: A Portrait in Black & White Kam Williams Book Review “This book is a portrait of a once-controversial figure… a white man with a passion ...
The Black Agenda
The Black Agenda Robert Fleming Book Review Who was Glen Ford? If you ask that question of some of the best critical thinkers in the Black community, they would say Ford was one of the most capabl...
Blackout
Blackout Kam Williams jeffre35.jpg Film Review Straight-to-DVD Drama Revisits the Great Blackout of 2003 Blackout (2007) DVD Click to order via Amazon Audienc...
My Brother
My Brother Kam Williams my_bro3.jpg Film Review Big Brother Cares for Mentally-Challenged Sibling in Moving Melodrama My Brother Click to order via Amazon THEATRICAL RELEASE Mar 16, 2007 Li...
Talk to Me
Talk to Me Kam Williams talk_t65.jpg Film Review DVD Features Don Cheadle as Con-Turned-Controversial DC DJ Talk to Me (2007) (HD DVD/Standa...
The Black Chicago Renaissance
The Black Chicago Renaissance Kam Williams Book Review “Beginning in the 1930s and lasting into the 1950s, black Chicago experienced a cultural renaissance that rivaled and, some argued, exce...
The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power
The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power Kam Williams Book Review “This study introduces readers to key figures across a spectrum of black Republican...
Fear of a Black Republican
Fear of a Black Republican Kam Williams fearofablackrepublican.jpg Film Review Fear of a Black Republican Unrated Running time: 111 Minutes Studio: Shamrock Stine Productions DV...
It’s A Thin Line
It’s A Thin Line Thumper Book Review It’s A Thin Line may be the title to Kimberla Lawson Roby’s latest novel, but it also describes the condition of my last nerve that this book jumped ...
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson Kam Williams Book Review "As the ’Bad’ tour moved to St. Louis, a 13 year-old boy named Peter joined the entourage. This kid had been with us in New York and was now...
Prisoners
Prisoners Kam Williams prisoners.jpg Film Review Parents and Police Search for Kidnapped Kids in Mesmerizing, Multi-Layered Mystery Prisoners Now Available on DVD Win a Copy of Prisoners on ...
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Kam Williams startrek-2013-blueray.jpg Film Review Read the comments now. Read our review after you see the film (there some spoilers). Kirk Matches Wits with Rogue Co...
Baldwin: A Love Story
Baldwin: A Love Story Robert Fleming Book Review Long before I met James Baldwin’s friend Vertamae Grosvenor, I was a preteen Black boy who had read the writer’s bold novel Go Tell It on ...
American Gangster
American Gangster Kam Williams washin61.jpg Film Review Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe Square-Off in Harlem Heroin-Trade Saga American Gangster (2007) Click to o...
Blue in Green
Blue in Green Robert Fleming Book Review On August 25, 1959, jazz trumpeter Miles Davis escorts a white girl to a cab, lights a cigarette outside Birdland, and a city policeman harasses the black man...
The Dow Twins' Legacy: 50 Years of Disco Reflections
The Dow Twins' Legacy: 50 Years of Disco Reflections Michael A. Gonzales Book Review Coming of age in the disco era 1970s, even as a kid, I knew about the cool clubs where people dressed fly and boog...
In Search of Nella Larsen
In Search of Nella Larsen Thumper Book Review I’m back! It’s good to be back, although I have to tell you that it took me a minute to find groove, before I was able to fall int...
Uptown: A Novel
Uptown: A Novel Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Sometimes Going Home Is Difficult Uptownby the writing duo, Deberry and Grant is a fast-paced novel set in modern-day Harlem about a prominent middle cl...
A Great Day in Harlem
A Great Day in Harlem Kam Williams a_grea34.jpg Film Review DVD Documentary on the Anatomy of Historic Jazz Photo A Great Day in Harlem Click to order via Amazon Plot Synopsis: Art Kane, now...
What Black Men Think
What Black Men Think Kam Williams what_b40.jpg Film Review Thought-Provoking Documentary Examines "What Black Men Think" What Black Men Think Click to order via Amazon...
Wrong on Race
Wrong on Race Kam Williams Book Review ’It must be acknowledged that in the progress of nations Negroes have shown less capacity for government than any other race of people. No independen...
Better Mus' Come: In Theaters: March 15, 2013
Better Mus' Come: In Theaters: March 15, 2013 Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/better-mus-come.jpg Film Review Better Mus’ Come In Theaters: Mar 15, 2013 Limited Written and Directed by Stor...
Bestselling DVD's for 2012
Bestselling DVD's for 2012 Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/aalbcdvd5.jpg Film Review Top Ten Selling DVDs for 2012 See Bestselling DVDs #6 - #10 #1 • What Black Men Think Click to...
I Am Legend
I Am Legend Kam Williams iamleg15.jpg Film Review Will Smith as Last Man on Earth in Adaptation of Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Adventure I Am Legend (2007) Clic...
Unapologetic - D.L. Hughley
Unapologetic - D.L. Hughley Kam Williams unapol57.jpg Film Review D.L. Hughley HBO Special Already on DVD Unapologetic Click to order via Amazon Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, ...
Brown’s Possession
Brown’s Possession Idrissa Uqdah Book Review To say that the books in acVernon Menchan’s trilogy; Black’s Trilogy are about a complicated love story is like saying water is wet. C...
Smokin’ Aces
Smokin’ Aces Kam Williams smokin13.jpg Film Review Hit Men Aplenty in Overplotted Mafia Comedy Smokin’ Aces (2007) Rated R for sexuality, female frontal nudity, pervasive p...
The Covenant with Black America
The Covenant with Black America Kam Williams Book Review Book Review by Kam Williams "Why a Covenant with Black America? In short, because’ without organization, black folk will ...
The Skull Cage Key
The Skull Cage Key Thumper Book Review The Skull Cage Key, the science fiction debut thriller by Michel Marriott; takes place in 2041 Harlem, centering on the murders of rich, white people....
Bill Clinton and Black America
Bill Clinton and Black America Walter Benefield Book Review Bill Clinton came to the presidency of the United States inheriting a less than admirable race relations history from his predecessors. Wha...
Killing the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith
Killing the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith Kam Williams Book Review "When a 19 year-old member of a Black Muslim cult assassinated Chauncey Bailey in 2007—the most shocking killing...
Hoodwinked
Hoodwinked Kam Williams hoodwinked.jpg Film Review Black Stereotypes Debunked in Thought-Provoking Sequel Hoodwinked (2012) Click to order via Amazon Directed and Produced by Janks Morton DV...
City Son: Andrew W. Cooper’s Impact on Modern-Day Brooklyn
City Son: Andrew W. Cooper’s Impact on Modern-Day Brooklyn Robert Fleming Book Review So many African-American newspapers and publications have vanished from view, but their impact remains on the...
Rhythm for Sale
Rhythm for Sale Kam Williams Book Review “I went into the Countee Cullen library… and saw a book titled: The Harlem Renaissance: A Historical Dictionary for the Era… I peeked i...
Blacklash: How Obama and the Left Are Driving Americans to the Government Plantation
Blacklash: How Obama and the Left Are Driving Americans to the Government Plantation Kam Williams Book Review “There is this strange notion that because I am black I should agree with all blac...
Before Brown
Before Brown Kam Williams Book Review "Before Brown details the ferment in civil rights that took place across the South before the momentous Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954. T...
The Original Black Elite: Daniel Murray and the Story of a Forgotten Era
The Original Black Elite: Daniel Murray and the Story of a Forgotten Era Troy Johnson Book Review I grew up in New York City’s East Harlem during the 60s and 70s. Virtually all my peers were Bl...
Dear Mary, Dear Luther: A Courtship in Letters
Dear Mary, Dear Luther: A Courtship in Letters Carol Taylor Book Review Dear Mary, Dear Luther: A Courtship in Letters is an epistolary love story of a 1930s courtship between Mary Brooks and Luther ...
The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House
The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House Kam Williams Book Review "On February 10, 2007, Barack Hussein Obama stood before thousands waiting in the cold in front of the Old Stat...
Money: What Financial "Experts" Will Never Tell You
Money: What Financial "Experts" Will Never Tell You Shannon Simpson Book Review When I moved to Washington, D.C. in 2007, I was in for a rude awakening. I looked at my income compared to...
Rooftop Diva
Rooftop Diva Idrissa Uqdah Book Review D. T. Pollard’s novel, Rooftop Diva became an Essence bestseller novel in 2007. This fictionalized account put a different spin on a survivor of H...
Kickin’ It Old School
Kickin’ It Old School Kam Williams kickin6.jpg Film Review Patient Emerges from 20-Year Coma to Breakdance Again in Bad Taste Comedy Kickin’ It Old School Rated PG-13 for profanity, ethn...
Perfect Stranger
Perfect Stranger Kam Williams perfec8.jpg Film Review Reporter Goes Undercover to Crack Murder Case in Convoluted Crime Yawner Perfect Stranger Release Date:13 April 2007 (USA) Rated R for pr...
Roots
Roots Kam Williams alex.h11.jpg Film Review 30th Anniversary Edition of Emmy-Winning Miniseries Arrives on DVD Roots (Four-Disc -30th Anniversary Edition) (1977) Click to order via AmazonDirec...
Street Journeys
Street Journeys Kam Williams street-jouneys-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Street Journeys (2011) Director: Tracy Christian Kenya, 2011, Duration 58 min., English & Swahili In the he...
Without the King
Without the King Kam Williams withou27.jpg Film Review The Misadventures of Mswati in Swaziland Without the King Director - Michael Skolnik Run Time - 84 Minutes Language - English and siSwati Fo...
Beyond the Gates
Beyond the Gates Kam Williams beyond7.jpg Film Review Genocide in Rwanda Revisited by Paternalistic Bio-Pic Beyond the Gates THEATRICAL RELEASE: Mar 9, 2007 Limited MPAA RATING R, for strong violen...
Brooklyn’s Finest
Brooklyn’s Finest Kam Williams images/img23.jpg Film Review Flawed NYPD Officers Featured as "Brooklyn’s Finest" Brooklyn's Finest Rated R for nudity, graphic sexuality, pe...
Carmen & Geoffrey
Carmen & Geoffrey Kam Williams carmen47.jpg Film Review Endearing Documentary Examines Enduring Marriage and Careers of Celebrated Couple Carmen & Geoffrey Unrated Running ...
Delta Farce
Delta Farce Kam Williams delta_3.jpg Film Review Nothing Works in Ill-Conceived Army Comedy Delta Farce MPAA:Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor. Runtime: 90 min Release Date:11 May 2007 (USA) ...
I Think I Love My Wife
I Think I Love My Wife Kam Williams i_thin2.jpg Film Review Man’s Marriage Vows Tested by Temptress in Remake of French Morality Play I Think I Love My Wife Theatrical Release Mar 16, 2...
Last Man Standing
Last Man Standing Thumper Book Review The year, 2002, I decided to take Black History Month literally by reading books that expanded my scope of being black in America. I decided to read Last Man Sta...
From Ike to Mao and Beyond: My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist
From Ike to Mao and Beyond: My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist Herb Boyd Book Review Like many red-blooded American boys, Bob Avakian’s early years were consumed wi...
Night Catches Us
Night Catches Us Kam Williams images/img2B4.jpg Film Review Period Piece about Prodigal Black Panther’s Released on DVD Night Catches Us Click to Buy via Amazon.com Rated R for vi...
Black Power, Black Lawyer: My Audacious Quest for Justice
Black Power, Black Lawyer: My Audacious Quest for Justice Carol Taylor Book Review Much more than a memoir, Black Power, Black Lawyer traces not only Nkechi Taifa’s personal life, and her decad...
The Meaning of Michelle
The Meaning of Michelle Kam Williams Book Review “Michelle Obama is unlike any other First Lady in American History. From her first moment on the public stage, she has challenged traditional Am...
What Went Wrong in Ohio
What Went Wrong in Ohio Kam Williams Book Review With the November elections just over the horizon, this might be as good a time as ever to take note of what happened in Ohio in 2004 in order to b...
Ordinary Girls: A Memoir
Ordinary Girls: A Memoir Brenda M. Greene Book Review Jaquira Diaz, in her memoir Ordinary Girls, crafts a story that illustrates the intersection of race, ethnicity, sexuality, and poverty on the li...
The Audacity of Hope
The Audacity of Hope Kam Williams Book Review ’There’s a school of thought that sees the Founding Fathers only as hypocrites and the Constitution only as a betrayal of the grand ideal...
Scottsboro
Scottsboro Thumper Book Review The history book train that I hopped on a few months ago is still rolling strong with no station stop in sight. The ride continues with the novel Scottsboro ...
Black Power Inc.
Black Power Inc. Rondall Brasher Book Review I would like to initiate my review of Cora Daniels’ Black Power Inc. by eluding to a quote attributed to Malcolm X, too Black’too strong. T...
Ain’t Nothing Like Freedom
Ain’t Nothing Like Freedom Kam Williams Book Review “Elected six times to the House from the state of Georgia, Cynthia McKinney cut a trail through Congressional deceit like a hot ember throug...
Front Row Seat: A Photographic Portrait of the Presidency of George W. Bush
Front Row Seat: A Photographic Portrait of the Presidency of George W. Bush Kam Williams Book Review “I was privileged to work with Eric Draper during my entire Presidency. I got to know him ...
I Can Do Bad All by Myself
I Can Do Bad All by Myself Kam Williams img1A.jpg Film Review DVD Features Adaptation of Tyler Perry’s Music-Driven Morality Play I Can Do Bad All by Myself Click to order via Amazon Rat...
Crisis of the Black Intellectual
Crisis of the Black Intellectual Kam Williams Book Review ’Today there are many Black intellectuals who do not think of Black people as a people and have no wish to do so. They think of the...
The Black Sleuth
The Black Sleuth Thumper Book Review Suggested Title: Tale of Early Black Detective Prescribes Strong Medicine Or Forgotten Black Writer Doses Up Strong Medicine Northeastern University Press, in its...
Creating Black Americans
Creating Black Americans Kam Williams Book Review ’Over the course of more than two centuries, black American artists have represented their history- scrupulously, meaningfully, and brilliantl...
The Denzel Principle: Why Black Women Can’t Find Good Black Men
The Denzel Principle: Why Black Women Can’t Find Good Black Men Kam Williams Book Review "What do black women want? The truth? They are looking for Denzel Washington. They have been so thoroughly b...
19 Years Old & 19 Men Later: A Memoir
19 Years Old & 19 Men Later: A Memoir Kam Williams Book Review “I wrote this book as a guide for young women so that they won’t make the same mistakes I’ve made… I really...
Naughty or Nice
Naughty or Nice Thumper Book Review It’s Christmas time for the McBroom sisters and all three got man trouble. Frankie, the oldest sister, can’t seem to find Mr. Right in her everyday l...
Player Haters
Player Haters Thumper Book Review No one writes drama like Carl Weber. I don’t know how he does it. He keeps throwing out books that I swallow whole with no salt or pepper while having a croo...
Jungle Nights & Soda Fountain Rags
Jungle Nights & Soda Fountain Rags Kalamu ya Salaam Book Review Brian Gilmore is a cut above. His 30-part poem on Duke Ellington is deep and deft. Each section can stand alone, but taken as a whole ...
Panorama: The Missing Chapter: From the Memoir Views from the Cockpit
Panorama: The Missing Chapter: From the Memoir Views from the Cockpit Robert Fleming Book Review With Panorama – The Missing Chapter From The Memoir Views From The Cockpit: The Journey Of A Son...
Youth Change Agent
Youth Change Agent Shaundale Rénā Book Review In a time when phrases like “inner child” and “mental wellness” have become common in discussions of personal growth, Keith Stric...
The Blackbird Papers
The Blackbird Papers Thumper Book Review It never fails that every year there is one book in which the book’s good publicity reaches me before the book does. This year one of the books is Ian ...
Who Does She Think She Is
Who Does She Think She Is Thumper Book Review Demons and condemned souls must be having snowball fights in Hell because I not only read another Benilde Little book; I actually liked it. I know, I kn...
A Person of Interest
A Person of Interest Thumper Book Review I have begun looking forward to reading novels written by Ernest Hills. I became a fan of his work after reading two of his previous novels; ...
Melancholia
Melancholia Kam Williams melancholia.jpg Film Review Siblings React Differently to Impending Extinction-Level Event in Apocalyptic Adventure Melancholia [2011] Rated R for sexuality, profanity a...
Sucka 4 Luv
Sucka 4 Luv Kam Williams sucka-4-luv.jpg Film Review Sucka 4 Luv (2014) Click to Buy or Rent This Film Unrated Running time: 84 minutes Distributor: Pierre Films Romance Film Review...
Think Like a Man Too
Think Like a Man Too Kam Williams think-like-a-man-too.jpg Film Review Think Like a Man Too In Theaters: Jun 20, 2014 Wide Rated PG-13 for profanity, drug use, crude humor, sexual references and ...