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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...
The Honey Well
The Honey Well Thumper Book Review I had never made a wish like this before. Believe me; I don't harbor any gender bending, transsexual fantasies. But, after reading Gloria Mallette’s lat...
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Kam Williams the_cu20.jpg Film Review Brad Pitt Stars in Adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic The Curious Ca...
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...
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...
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...
Orange Mint and Honey
Orange Mint and Honey Idrissa Uqdah Book Review A Daughter’s Song. Much has been written about mother/daughter relationships in African American literature. It seems to be a very ...
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 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...
Lizzie & McKenzie’s Fabulous Adventures: Mayhem in Madrid
Lizzie & McKenzie’s Fabulous Adventures: Mayhem in Madrid Troy Johnson Book Review Lizzie & McKenzie’s Fabulous Adventures: Mayhem in Madrid is the first book in a series of chapter books t...
New Kid
New Kid Tony Lindsay Book Review Jerry Craft’s graphic novel New Kid is a humorous teaching experience for any reader. Be warned, laughing out loud will occur while reading the text. The young ...
Preacher’s Kid
Preacher’s Kid Kam Williams images/img2F.jpg Film Review Prodigal Daughter Learns Valuable Life Lessons in Moralizing Melodrama Preacher's Kid Rated PG-13 for mature themes, sexuality, vio...
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...
Adventures of the Rich and Famous
Adventures of the Rich and Famous Vanessa Vanzie Book Review 𝒯he right friends can motivate you best when it matters the most, just like the young trio in Tae Edmonds’ book, Adventures of ...
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...
Negro with a Hat
Negro with a Hat Thumper Book Review I’m not an average reader of biographies. I am now realizing the older I get, the more biographies and history books my reading palette finds attr...
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 ...
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 Dagger
The Dagger Hedi Harrington Book Review Timothy George’s 2016 novel, The Dagger, should come with a warning to all readers: “Fasten your seatbelts.” The fast-paced thriller is a sequ...
Who Would Have Thunk It! The First Adventures of the Fraser Foster Kids
Who Would Have Thunk It! The First Adventures of the Fraser Foster Kids Kam Williams Book Review “Our story began a very long time ago when we were little kids with no place to live. Our moth...
The Adventures of Sasha & Malia at the White House
The Adventures of Sasha & Malia at the White House Kam Williams Book Review "[This] story came to me in a dream one night not long after the inauguration of President Barack Obama… I d...
The Mermaid Princesses
The Mermaid Princesses Judy Allen Dodson Book Review Meet these three charming princess sisters, Anaya, Shante, and Kianna. They invite us into their underwater world with their bright and bold perso...
Moonlight
Moonlight Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/images/moonlight.jpg Film Review Excellent (4 of 4 stars) Rated R for sexuality, drug use, pervasive profanity, ethnic slurs and graphic violence ...
What If It Feels Good?
What If It Feels Good? Idrissa Uqdah Book Review It’s A Thin Line Between Seduction and Child Abuse This debut novel, What If It Feels Good? by D.J. McLaurin was a rip-roaring read full of ...
Billionaire Baby
Billionaire Baby Kam Williams Book Review A lot of parents say they want their child to become a star, but not many of them are realistically prepared for what will be required of them- their tim...
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...
4 Guys and Trouble
4 Guys and Trouble Thumper Book Review I invite you to sip this premise and swish it around your mind for a minute to see how it tastes. Take five young men that meet and pledge to the same fratern...
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...
Never Back Down
Never Back Down Kam Williams never_24.jpg Film Review New Karate Kid in Town Learns to ’Never Back Down’ Never Back Down Rated PG-13 for mature themes, intense violence, pro...
Crips and Bloods
Crips and Bloods Kam Williams crips_12.jpg Film Review Gangsta’ Documentary Graphically Recounts History of L.A. Turf War Crips and Bloods: Made in America Click to o...
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...
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...
Company I 366th Infantry
Company I 366th Infantry Kam Williams Book Review ’I reported to Captain Overall who told me I was leading the company across the Chinqualie Canal. He showed me on the map wh...
Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues
Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues Clarence V. Reynolds Book Review This year, we will celebrate the centennial of the birth of prominent writer, civil rights activist, and intellectual James Baldwin. Born in Ha...
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 Portable Promise Land
The Portable Promise Land Thumper Book Review I heard about The Portable Promised Land, the short story collection written by Toure’, before its publication. Usually, I don’t pay any mi...
The Other Woman
The Other Woman Thumper Book Review If you have been following my reviews and/or discussion board over the years, you probably know I’m a huge fan of Eric Jerome Dickey. I’ve read and lo...
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...
Sugar of the Crop
Sugar of the Crop Kam Williams Book Review Everyone I interviewed for this book is now dead” Before I started the search, the one person I knew who was a granddaughter of a ...
Casanegra
Casanegra Linda Watkins Book Review From the moment Casanegra crossed my palms, I was curious. Not only for the content of the story within, but for the story of the trio of authors that penn...
Am I Not a Man?
Am I Not a Man? Robert Fleming Book Review What a curious book to be written by Mark L. Shurtleff, Utah’s Attorney General! This well-researched historical novel, Am I Not A Man?,...
I’m Telling
I’m Telling Thumper Book Review For those who are curious as to whether Karen E. Quinones Miller successfully evades the mythical writers’ "sophomore slump" with her latest novel, I&...
The African Lookbook: A Visual History of 100 Years of African Women
The African Lookbook: A Visual History of 100 Years of African Women Robert Fleming Book Review Identity and gender have always fascinated Catherine McKinley, one of the fewer 15,000 mixed-race child...
If My Hair Had a Voice
If My Hair Had a Voice Lisa Y? Wilson Book Review When another comb loses the battle with Kimya’s natural coils, feeling shame she apologizes and asks, “Can’t we just straighten it?...
Home
Home Connie Bradley Book Review I just recently completed Toni Morrison’s latest book Home, a novel I have been looking forward to reading because its advance notices promoted it as being set i...
Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire
Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire Kam Williams Book Review “In the late 1630s, lured by the promise of the New World, Andrea Stuart’s earliest known maternal an...
Crazy Rich: Power
Crazy Rich: Power Kam Williams Book Review “Heirs to a Band-Aid and Baby Powder fortune, the Johnsons have enjoyed unimaginable wealth since Johnson & Johnson was founded in 1886—bu...
Mosquita y Mari
Mosquita y Mari Kam Williams mosquita-y-mari.jpg Film Review Coming-of-Age Drama Revolves around Lesbian-Curious Latinas Mosquita y Mari In Theaters: Aug 3, 2012 Limited Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min. Dr...
Prometheus
Prometheus Kam Williams Prometheus-idris-elba.jpg Film Review Archaeologists Search for Birthplace of Humanity in Sci-Fi Horror Flick Prometheus In Theaters: Jun 8, 2012 Wide Ra...
African American Lives 2
African American Lives 2 Kam Williams africa11.jpg Film Review Black Luminaries Find Roots in 4-Part PBS Series African American Lives 2 Click to order via Amazon Format: Color, D...
Hancock
Hancock Kam Williams hancoc6.jpg Film Review Hancock (2008) Rated PG-13 for profanity and sci-fi violence. Running time: 92 minutes Studio: Columbia Pictures Film Review...
Blacktrospective 2008 - Annual Assessment of the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema
Blacktrospective 2008 - Annual Assessment of the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/the_se11.jpg Film Review Kam's Annual Assessment of the Best (and...
It’s Pimpin’ Pimpin’
It’s Pimpin’ Pimpin’ Kam Williams its_pi6.jpg Film Review It’s Pimpin’ Pimpin’ Click to order via AmazonUnrated Running time: 77 minutes Studio: S...
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...
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....
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...
The Olympian: An American Triumph
The Olympian: An American Triumph Emanuel Carpenter Book Review What must it have been like to be the first African-American Olympic gold medalist? Would the feat have instilled pride in a nation w...
Insignificant Others: Erotic Novellas
Insignificant Others: Erotic Novellas Anita Doreen Diggs Book Review Award winning authors, Pynk and Carol Taylor have written two original tales for Insignificant Others. Fans will love both sto...
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration Connie Bradley Book Review I finally finished the 620-page The Warmth of Other Suns by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Isabel W...
D.C. Unmasked & Undressed: A Memoir
D.C. Unmasked & Undressed: A Memoir Kam Williams Book Review "D.C. Unmasked & Undressed is a memoir. The story of my life includes events, characters and insights related to my miserable child...
Angel On My Shoulder
Angel On My Shoulder Paige Turner Book Review Angel on Her Shoulder, Devil in Her Mind Natalie Cole’s autobiography, Angel On My Shoulder is one of the years’ most eagerly anticipated bo...
A House Is Not a Home
A House Is Not a Home Thumper Book Review The song says it’s hard to say goodbye’humph, not when the guests have overstayed their welcome it Ain't. At that time, saying goodbye is th...
Dark Corner
Dark Corner Thumper Book Review I love vampire tales with a passion. I’m always on the look out for new, well written, vampire adventures. I was anxious to read Brandon Massey’s latest ...
Holly
Holly Thumper Book Review French is brilliant. French’s follow up to the equally magnificent Billy. One of the few books that I have to disagree with it’s publishers’ summary of t...
Getting To The Good Part
Getting To The Good Part Thumper Book Review Hello. It only took me a few hours to read this bad boy. I guess I can qualify it as one of those books that can make you lose sleep. So, if some words ...
The Last Last-Day-of-Summer
The Last Last-Day-of-Summer Vanessa Vanzie Book Review A combination of fun, friends and awesome adventures make for a summer vacation that you never want to end. The Legendary Alston boys are no exc...
An Affirmation Nite Baby Nite
An Affirmation Nite Baby Nite Sandra W. Headen Book Review An Affirmation: Nite Baby Nite is a gift to parents, grandparents, and everyone who loves children and picture books. Even more, it is a tre...
Echoes of a Distant Summer
Echoes of a Distant Summer Thumper Book Review In Standing At The Scratch Line, Guy Johnson created one of the most memorable protagonists in literature with King Tremain. Johnson’s second no...
Watchmen
Watchmen Kam Williams watchm18.jpg Film Review Long-Awaited Adaptation of Graphic Novel an Underwhelming Disappointment Watchmen Rated R for full frontal nu...
Cop Out
Cop Out Kam Williams images/img28.jpg Film Review Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis Co-Star in Mismatched Cops Comedy Cop Out Rated R for pervasive profanity, sexual references, violence and br...
Diary of a Tired Black Man
Diary of a Tired Black Man Kam Williams diary_11.jpg Film Review Brow-Beaten Brother Gets Even in Thought-Provoking Melodrama Diary of a Tired Black Man Unrated Running time: 108 m...
Reversal of Trends: A Black Man’s Journey across the Mason-Dixon Line
Reversal of Trends: A Black Man’s Journey across the Mason-Dixon Line Robert Fleming Book Review Often, memoirs can be self-indulgent, unimaginative, and a cheesy promotion of self. That’s not ...
PHD (Po Ho on Dope) to Ph.D.: How Education Saved My Life
PHD (Po Ho on Dope) to Ph.D.: How Education Saved My Life Anita Doreen Diggs Book Review PHD (Po Ho on Dope) to Ph.D.: How Education Saved My Life by Elaine Richardson begins in a poor and working c...
Pimp: The Story of My Life
Pimp: The Story of My Life Thumper Book Review Hello All. Now, my friend Gwen hipped me to Iceberg Slim. First, with his book, Mama Black Widow and now Pimp. I didn’t know what to expect, bu...
When Frogs Grow Feet: The Un-Aborted Are Alive and Well
When Frogs Grow Feet: The Un-Aborted Are Alive and Well Robert Fleming Book Review While When Frogs Grow Feet’s blurb links its juicy contents to Henry Miller’s classic wanton tale, Tro...
Wellington Webb
Wellington Webb Kam Williams Book Review ’I arrived in the Mile High City in 1953 as a sickly, 100-pound, 12 year-old with asthma. Denver had a small, tight-knit black communi...
Round & Round Together
Round & Round Together Kam Williams Book Review “About four months before the March on Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King was arrested during demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. While in j...
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 ...
Go Cook Something: A Cooking Survival Guide for Active Independent Children
Go Cook Something: A Cooking Survival Guide for Active Independent Children Kam Williams Book Review "My Mom and Dad separated when I was still in Underoos, so I’ve had to help Mom a lot&hell...
Khalil’s Way
Khalil’s Way Kam Williams Book Review “Do you have nightmares about going to school? Do you hate going to school because you know you’ll be teased, or shoved or even beaten up? If yes, y...
Killing Willis: From Different Strokes to the Mean Streets To the Life I Always Wanted
Killing Willis: From Different Strokes to the Mean Streets To the Life I Always Wanted Kam Williams Book Review "AlI I ever wanted as a kid was to be a famous TV star… My dream came true whe...
Righteous Riches
Righteous Riches Kam Williams Book Review "The congregation is loud and excited. They are expecting to profit from the insights shared by their speaker, and he does not disappoint. Upon conclud...
The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings
The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings Thumper Book Review It has not been said for a long time. I’m glad to be able to say, James Baldwin has a new book out! The new collection of es...
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...
Between Brothers
Between Brothers Walter Benefield Book Review C. Kelly Robinson has combined the elements of a successful television drama, violence, suspense, and relationships in his novel, "Between Brothers&...
Pieces from Life’s Crazy Quilt
Pieces from Life’s Crazy Quilt Walter Benefield Book Review Marvin Sprague says that her mother’s favorite quilts to make were what she called ’Crazy Quilts.’ She defines these qui...
Parable of the Sower
Parable of the Sower Tony Lindsay Book Review Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler’s sci-fi novel gives the reader an intimate look into the mind of a young philosopher. Lauren Oya Olamina is a...
Unchon-ni: South Korea, I Remember 1962-63
Unchon-ni: South Korea, I Remember 1962-63 Robert Fleming Book Review Codis Hampton III’s stirring account of his time in the military in South Korea was the first book produced by this veteran...
Reflections of an Anxious African American Dad
Reflections of an Anxious African American Dad Robert Fleming Book Review Following a troubled childhood, Eric L. Heard, an army brat who resided in Germany and Japan, decided to write a book warning...
Path of the Half Moon
Path of the Half Moon Robert Fleming Book Review There has to be a great deal of skill to pull off a literary mashup like this. Imagine a superb paranormal Western novel complete with settlers, cowbo...
Place of Cool Waters
Place of Cool Waters Michael A. Gonzales Book Review As a book critic, I rarely know what to expect when handed a project to review. There are veteran writers who drop projects that make me question ...
My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift
My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift Shaundale Rénā Book Review In My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift, writer Harold Phifer openly shares childhood experiences with both boldness and wit. The s...
Black Boys, I See You
Black Boys, I See You Kirkus Book Review STARRED REVIEW Written from a place of love and deeply attuned to the emotional needs of Black boys. A kid lit giant extends a mighty message of love. ...
Bitch Is the New Black: A Memoir
Bitch Is the New Black: A Memoir Kam Williams Book Review "I’m such a badass. I am literally the baddest bitch on the planet. If there was a bitch contest between me and every other he...
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story Shannon Simpson Book Review Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story by Ben Carson During Black History Month, one of my Facebook friends was posting pictures of influe...
Grace
Grace Kam Williams Book Review “Gymnastics is not my passion anymore. I want to get famous off of running track, or I want to try dancing, or become a singer. I can get a job at Chi...