AALBC Search
Granddaddy’s Dirt
Granddaddy’s Dirt Thumper Book Review I started Granddaddy’s Dirt, the latest novel by Brian Egeston, with an awareness of the promise he displayed in Whippins, Switches and Peach Cobbler in ...
Black Silk
Black Silk Thumper Book Review Black Silk: A Collection of African American Erotica is an anthology that cheers the sexual, sensual side of African-Americans in literature told through short stories ...
Oreo
Oreo Thumper Book Review I’m thinking, pondering, you might say, that possibly the sign of a good book isn’t the fact that it is in print. Maybe, the sign of a good book should be wheth...
The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi by Chinedu Achebe
The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi by Chinedu Achebe Robert Fleming Book Review Some of the world’s finest fiction has been written by Nigerians. Let’s look at the writers from that area in...
Sankofa University: Studying African-Centered History and Culture
Sankofa University: Studying African-Centered History and Culture Robert Fleming Book Review Dr. Burnett Kwadwo Gallman’s Sankofa University: Studying African-Centered History And Culture, is a...
After Hours
After Hours Thumper Book Review Honestly (as if there’s any other way I can come), I wasn’t going to read After Hours: A Collection of Erotic Writing by Black Men, the latest anthology ...
Dark Dreams
Dark Dreams Thumper Book Review Author Brandon Massey (Thunderland, Dark Corner) has compiled a magnificent anthology designed to scare and terrify. Although African-American literature ha...
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; ...
In Spite of the Consequences: Prison Letters on Exoneration, Abolition, and Freedom
In Spite of the Consequences: Prison Letters on Exoneration, Abolition, and Freedom Robert Fleming Book Review If you were politically conscious decades ago, you would have read the prison chronicles...
I Am Not Your Negro
I Am Not Your Negro Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/authors/images/im-not-your-negro.jpg Film Review Oscar-Nominated Documentary Inspired by James Baldwin’s Unfinished Manuscript Excellent (...
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...
Sincerely Speaking Spiritually
Sincerely Speaking Spiritually Robert Fleming Book Review Like many successful self-help books, Sincerely Speaking Spiritually, celebrates verses of faith and inspiration in the Holy Word. Its author...
Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story
Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story Robert Fleming Book Review Jazz is dead! If you believe that mess, you must not listen to radio or read any of the mainstream media. Howeve...
The Henry Louis Gates
The Henry Louis Gates Robert Fleming Book Review Henry Louis Gates, Jr., one of the nation’s most acclaimed scholars, is a masterful jack of all trades, including educator, editor, critic and ...
The Ancestors
The Ancestors Thumper Book Review The Ancestors is an anthology featuring stories by authors L.A. Banks, Tananarive Due and Brandon Massey. I am always happy to come across science fiction ...
Uncle Tom: A Oral History of the American Black Conservative
Uncle Tom: A Oral History of the American Black Conservative Troy Johnson https://aalbc.com/reviews/images/Uncle-tom-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Rating: NR Genre: Documentary Directed By: Just...
John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism
John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism Thumper Book Review I was looking forward to reading Keith Gilyard’s biography, John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism. J...
Sassy
Sassy Thumper Book Review Gloria Mallette is one of my favorite authors. I became a major fan after I read one her earlier novel, Shades of Jade. Over the years she remained o...
Black Pulp
Black Pulp Robert Fleming Book Review In his succinct introduction, award-winning novelist Walter Mosley, creator of the noted private eye Easy Rawlins, explains the appeal of fiction printed i...
Say It Loud! Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African-American Identity
Say It Loud! Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African-American Identity Kam Williams Book Review "This is the second anthology of great speeches by African-Americans meant for the eye and ea...
African Rhytms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston
African Rhytms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston Robert Fleming Book Review True jazz buffs will welcome this well-detailed, informative memoir, African Rhythms, by one of the most innovative mus...
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention Robert Fleming Book Review Dr. Manning Marable, a professor of history at Columbia University and author of fifteen books, knew how important and controversial ...
Mojo: Conjure Stories
Mojo: Conjure Stories Thumper Book Review Mojo: Conjure Stories, edited by author Nalo Hopkinson is an excellent anthology of short stories that include the occult, folktales and voodoo. The ...
Why I Sued the Bible Publishers
Why I Sued the Bible Publishers Robert Fleming Book Review If there was ever a book title that yelled its intentions, this is it. The book’s author, Bradley Fowler, one of the faithful of Presb...
Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris
Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris Thumper Book Review Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris is an anthology aptly described by its title. The authors, Te...
Red Tails
Red Tails Kam Williams redtails.jpg Film Review WWII Saga Recounts Heroic Exploits of Tuskegee Airmen Red Tails [2012] In Theaters: Jan 20, 2012 Wide Written By: Aaron McGrude...
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...
The Talented Ripkins by Ladee Hubbard
The Talented Ripkins by Ladee Hubbard Brenda M. Greene Book Review Drawing from W.E.B. DuBois’s concept of the Talented Tenth, Hubbard’s debut award-winning The Talented Ribkins follows t...
Malcolm X: The Lost Tapes
Malcolm X: The Lost Tapes Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/images/Malcolm_X_The_Lost_Tapes.jpg Film Review Intriguing Documentary Features Found Footage of Late Civil Rights Icon Excellent ()...
Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat
Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat Julianne Malveaux Book Review I don’t often write about comedians, but the recent passing of my friend Dick Gregory reminded me of the very important role t...
I Called Him Morgan
I Called Him Morgan Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/authors/images/i-called-him-morgan.jpg Film Review Reverential Retrospective Revisits Abbreviated Life of Legendary Jazz Great Excellent (4 star...
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise Kam Williams /reviews/images/maya-angelou-older.jpg Film Review An Intimate Look at the Life of Iconic Poet, Writer, and Activist Excellent (4 stars) In Theaters...
For the Sake of Soul
For the Sake of Soul Robert Fleming Book Review Sometimes short fiction can be a daunting task for the writer, especially when he decides to confront the challenges of plot, characterization, dialogu...
Alex Haley and the Books that Changed a Nation
Alex Haley and the Books that Changed a Nation Adam Henig Book Review In Alex Haley and the Books that Changed a Nation, Robert J. Norrell, professor of history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxvi...
Cosby: His Life and Times
Cosby: His Life and Times Kam Williams Book Review “[Bill] Cosby grew up in a Philadelphia housing project, the son of an alcoholic, largely absent father and a loving but overworked mother&...
12 Years a Slave
12 Years a Slave Kam Williams 12-years-a-slave-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Chiwetel Ejiofor Stars in Adaptation of Solomon Northup’s Memoir In Theaters: Oct 18, 2013 Limited November 1,...
The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding
The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding Kam Williams Book Review “In 1990, Anton McCray, Kevin Richardson, Korey Wise, Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana, Jr. [were] convicted and...
Traffic
Traffic Marvin X movietraffic.jpg Film Review There are many classic films on drugs and addiction, Traffic is now one of them. — Marvin X Traffic Click to order via Amazon Dir...
White Gold
White Gold Carol Taylor Book Review This sweeping historical novel follows aspiring railroad engineer, William Roberson, from his Jamaican homeland in 1897 at 16, to Panama, to help build the Pan...
A Woman’s Revenge
A Woman’s Revenge Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Three Women Scorned Just looking at the cover of this book, I wasn't sure if it was really Christian fiction. This anthology of three stories wr...
The Disilgold Way
The Disilgold Way Kam Williams Book Review "After starting a business proposal that took over 10 years, as long as it took to finally self publish my first book, I knew that I needed to ...
The Darkling
The Darkling Robert Fleming Book Review This debut novel, by Keoni Anderson, has all of the earmarks of one of the pulps from the golden age of science fiction, with Henry, the fresh-scrubbed ...
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...
Zane’s Z-Rated: Chocolate Flava 3
Zane’s Z-Rated: Chocolate Flava 3 Robert Fleming Book Review Some years ago, Zane shocked the square world in the black literary community with her series of raunchy, raw erotic tales delivered onl...
The World Has Changed: Conversations with Alice Walker
The World Has Changed: Conversations with Alice Walker Thumper Book Review The World Has Changed: Conversation with Alice Walker edited by Rudolph Byrd is a type of book that I had not seen befor...
Iconic: Decoding Images of the Revolutionary Black Woman
Iconic: Decoding Images of the Revolutionary Black Woman Kam Williams Book Review “This book asks what it means to represent black womanhood and explores how these representations are connect...
Learning to Stay: The 12 Keys
Learning to Stay: The 12 Keys Kam Williams Book Review "Learning to Stay is a book of self-discovery, change, growth and transitions. It’s intended to restore your mind and relationships to...
The Lawyer as Leader: How to Plant People and Grow Justice
The Lawyer as Leader: How to Plant People and Grow Justice Kam Williams Book Review “The social challenges of our time are enormous. About one in seven U.S. residents live in poverty, and t...
Unzipped
Unzipped Thumper Book Review One of my favorite urban authors, Noire, is back with a new novel, Unzipped. In case you don’t know, I love LOVE Noire’s books! Noire has reached the ulti...
Well Considered By Richard Morris
Well Considered By Richard Morris Robert Fleming Book Review Some critics have often said white authors cannot capture the soul and passion of African American characters, but that is not the case ...
Cougar Tales
Cougar Tales Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Is Age Just A Number? Three best-selling romance authors have joined together to bring readers an anthology based on the theme of older women/younger m...
America I AM: A Journal
America I AM: A Journal Kam Williams Book Review "’Would America have been America without her Negro people?’ The question posed by W.E.B. Du Bois serves as the underlying theme for ...
Southland
Southland Thumper Book Review In the beginning of my throes into books that I missed the first time around and cleaning out my library, one of my discoveries was the second novel by Nina ...
The End of Anger: A New Generation’s Take on Race and Rage
The End of Anger: A New Generation’s Take on Race and Rage Kam Williams Book Review "The End of Anger is an exploration of why it is that many blacks are feeling optimistic these days&hellip...
It’s All Love
It’s All Love Robert Fleming Book Review If there is a commodity that is seriously misunderstood in our community, it is the emotion of love which binds us to each other. Marita Golden, a p...
Conversation with the Mann
Conversation with the Mann Thumper Book Review Not since Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man has a first person narrative novel struck me with such a poignant sense of completeness and satisfaction a...
Going Down South
Going Down South Thumper Book Review When I started reading books many, many years ago, I came to the conclusion that there is no drama like family drama. A few years ago when African-Ameri...
Memoir: Delaware County Prison
Memoir: Delaware County Prison Thumper Book Review Memoir: Delaware County Prison by Reginald L. Hall is a non-fiction account of the eight months Hall, an openly gay man, spent in prison for credit...
Reconsidering The Souls of Black Folk
Reconsidering The Souls of Black Folk Thumper Book Review To commemorate the 100th anniversary of The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois — of one of the most significant books ever publis...
Got to be Real: Four Original Love Stories
Got to be Real: Four Original Love Stories Thumper Book Review Got to Be Real is a thrilling collection of four original love stories, told by fellas who get pulses racing from Los Angeles to New ...
The Wake Up Call
The Wake Up Call Robert Fleming Book Review With a focus on the young at heart, personal finance expert Ash Exantus aka Ash Cash employs the themes of master rapper-businessman Jay Z’s classic ...
Vice President Kamala Harris: Her Path To The White House
Vice President Kamala Harris: Her Path To The White House Robert Fleming Book Review America has a love-hate relationship with pioneers, the people who break impossible barriers to forge a successful...
You Made Me Love You
You Made Me Love You Robert Fleming Book Review Like Ishmael Reed, Clarence Major, and other legendary African-American male writers of their generation, John Edgar Wideman, at eighty, is nearing the...
I Love My People
I Love My People Robert Fleming Book Review Lovingly crafted with an eye for substance and content, scholar Kim Singleton was determined with her new book, I Love My People. As a “race woman,&r...
My Divine Natural Hair
My Divine Natural Hair Eryka Parker Book Review “The One who created us crowned us first. Shining atop our heads is a divine diadem with all the lightness of air, radiance of honor, and the wei...
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 ...
Butter: Novellas, Stories, and Fragments
Butter: Novellas, Stories, and Fragments Robert Fleming Book Review Recently, I received a letter from lit legend Gayl Jones, saying that she wasn’t writing anymore. Discovered by iconic editor...
Mama Dearest
Mama Dearest Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Motherhood Gone Wild? New York Times Bestselling author, E. Lynn Harris had released twelve acclaimed novels before he suddenly pas...
Renegade
Renegade Kam Williams Book Review ’This is the making of a president, witnessed from a front-row seat, as it unfolded from its first day to its last. With the help of more tha...
Chike and the River
Chike and the River Kam Williams Book Review Book Review by Kam Williams "Chike was now 11 years-old, and he had never left his village. Then one day his mother told him that he would be going to ...
Michelle Obama: A Life
Michelle Obama: A Life Kam Williams Book Review “Here is the first comprehensive account of the life and times of Michelle Obama, a woman of achievement and purpose—and the most unlik...
Red Light Special
Red Light Special Thumper Book Review Yeah, yeah, surprised that I am reviewing, no less read, Red Light Special by Risqu’. Well, I am too. don't let the surprise be about the sub...
The Ecstatic
The Ecstatic Thumper Book Review In a landmark volume on cultural stereotypes, Yuval Taylor (Faking It) and Jake Austen, the editor of Roctober Magazine, detail the history of the significance of...
Darkest America: Black Minstrelsy from Slavery to Hip-Hop
Darkest America: Black Minstrelsy from Slavery to Hip-Hop Robert Fleming Book Review In a landmark volume on cultural stereotypes, Yuval Taylor (Faking It) and Jake Austen, the editor of Roctober M...
The Love Ethic
The Love Ethic Robert Fleming Book Review Inspired by their work with African American couples at their Chicago organization, the acclaimed Twinlineal Institute, Kamau and Akilah Butler, bo...
The Color of Justice
The Color of Justice Thumper Book Review Gary Hardwick, author of Cold Medina, Double Dead and Supreme Justice, is back on the literary scene with his latest inner-city crime drama, The Color of Just...
Kiss and Tail
Kiss and Tail Kam Williams http://aalbc.com/authors/Kiss-and-tail.jpg Film Review Video Vixen’s Victims Get Even on Damning DVD Kiss and Tail: Hollywood Jump Off Click to order via Amazo...
Long Live the Spirit of the Million Man March
Long Live the Spirit of the Million Man March Kam Williams images/longlivemmm.jpg Film Review Long Live the Spirit of the Million Man March Click to Order via Amazon Unrated Running ti...
We Need to Talk
We Need to Talk Kam Williams images/51Icf9mwW+L._SL500_AA300_.jpg Film Review Sisters Make Most of Opportunity to Reflect on Relationships in Latest Documentary from Janks Morton We ...
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...
Why We Laugh
Why We Laugh Kam Williams images/whywelaugh.jpg Film Review Reverential Documentary Pays Homage to Black Pioneers of Comedy Why We Laugh Click to order via Amazon Unrated Running time:...
The Black Candle
The Black Candle Kam Williams the_bl1.jpg Film Review DVD Explains Roots of Kwanzaa Celebration The Black Candle: A Kwanzaa Celebration Click to order via Amazon Unrated ...
The Brothers
The Brothers Michael Dequina The_Brothers_movie-poster.jpg Film Review The Brothers (2001) Click to order via Amazon Written and Directed by Gary Hardwick Rating: R (for strong sexual content an...
Butterfly Rising
Butterfly Rising Troy Johnson images/tanya_wright.jpg Film Review A Letter from Tanya Wright Tanya Wright author/writer/director, BUTTERFLY RISING My name is Tanya Wright. I am an actress...
Carmen & Geoffrey
Carmen & Geoffrey Kam Williams carmen47.jpg Film Review Endearing Documentary Examines Enduring Marriage and Careers of Celebrated Couple Carmen & Geoffrey Unrated Running ...
Review of A Raisin in the Sun DVD (2008)
Review of A Raisin in the Sun DVD (2008) Kam Williams a_rais29.jpg Film Review Diddy Stars in Adaptation of Classic Play Available on DVD A Raisin in the Sun Click to order vi...
Don’t Trip, He Ain’t Through with Me Yet
Don’t Trip, He Ain’t Through with Me Yet Kam Williams dont_t1.jpg Film Review Comedian Steve Harvey Keeps It Clean in Family-Oriented Concert Flick Don’t Trip … He Ain’t Th...
For Colored Girls
For Colored Girls Kam Williams images/img47.jpg Film Review Black Feminist Classic Refreshed Courtesy of Tyler Perry For Colored Girls [2010] Click to order via Amazon Rated for ...
Freakonomics
Freakonomics Kam Williams images/kidfromfreakonomics.jpg Film Review Controversial Economics Best Seller Adapted to Screen Freakonomics [2010] Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality, nudity, drug ...
Half of a Yellow Sun
Half of a Yellow Sun Kam Williams Half-of-a-Yellow-Sun.jpg Film Review Colonial Nigeria Provides Backdrop for Sweeping Romance Saga Half of a Yellow Sun In Theaters: May 16, 2014 Limited Rated...
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...
How to Make Money Selling Drugs
How to Make Money Selling Drugs Kam Williams how-to-make-money-selling-drugs.jpg Film Review Documentary Offers Tips on Dope Dealing How to Make Money Selling Drugs In Theaters: Jun 26, ...
T.D. Jakes: Reposition Yourself - Living Life Without Limits
T.D. Jakes: Reposition Yourself - Living Life Without Limits Kam Williams reposi73.jpg Film Review DVD Version of Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Best-Seller Released T.D. Jakes: Reposition Yo...
Raisins in Milk
Raisins in Milk Brenda M. Greene Book Review Raisins in Milk by David Covin is a coming of age story focused on a young girl, Ruth-Ann Weathering, who is subjected to the staunch racism and stark rea...
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...
Shoe Fetish 2: Grown Into High Heels
Shoe Fetish 2: Grown Into High Heels Carol Taylor Book Review Shoe Fetish 2: Grown Into High Heels is part social commentary, murder mystery, female empowerment novel; and is as much a search for sel...
Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master
Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master Robert Fleming Book Review This is an astounding tribute to one of the most innovative American artists, Russell Atkins, by a small, indepe...
Glorious
Glorious Thumper Book Review Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden Buy This Book AmazonBarnesandNobleIndieBoundPowells 1 Time AALBC.com Bestselling Book!Publication Date: Ma
Baby Boy
Baby Boy Marvin X moviebabyboy.jpg Film Review Baby Boy Written, Directed, Produced by John Singleton Click to Order via Amazon Rating: R Studio: Columbia Tri-Star Theatrical Release Date: June ...
Paradise Interrupted (Carole Ann Gibson Mysteries)
Paradise Interrupted (Carole Ann Gibson Mysteries) Thumper Book Review I want to state my bias up front. I look forward to this time of the year when a new “Carole Ann Gibson” installment...