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Legends
Legends Kam Williams Book Review ’’Would America have been America without her Negro people?’ W.E.B. Du Bois wrote those words shortly after the turn of...
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...
Black Folk Could Fly
Black Folk Could Fly Robert Fleming Book Review Some of our literary greats fly under the radar. The unexpected death of the late great author Randall Kenan in 2020 at age 57 brought him well-deserve...
I Do Love You Still
I Do Love You Still Tony Lindsay Book Review Mary B. Morrison’s novel, I do Love You Still, is filled with drama and unexpected twists that will gap a reader’s mouth. The story uses roman...
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...
Delightfulee
Delightfulee Robert Fleming Book Review One of Jazz’s trumpet kings, Dizzy Gillespie, a founder of bop, considered Lee Morgan one of the major post-bop trumpet stylists, along with Fr...
Saxophone Colossus
Saxophone Colossus Robert Fleming Book Review In the history and world of jazz, there is a singular group of adventurers, innovators, pioneers, and mavericks. Aidan Levy's mammoth biography of ja...
Marvel’s Black Panther
Marvel’s Black Panther Brenda M. Greene Book Review The 2016 San Diego Comic-Con was a memorable moment for independent researcher and writer Todd Steven Burroughs. Burroughs begins Marvel’s Bl...
The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World
The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World Robert Fleming Book Review It’s always beneficial to understand how learned minds, from abroad, view our current world wit...
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...
The Summer of my Fifteenth Year
The Summer of my Fifteenth Year Robert Fleming Book Review There are so many gems to be discovered in independent publishing. Every now and then, you come across the book that makes your mind sit up ...
Black Woman Redefined: Dispelling Myths and Discovering Fulfillment in the Age of Michelle Obama
Black Woman Redefined: Dispelling Myths and Discovering Fulfillment in the Age of Michelle Obama Kam Williams Book Review "Dear Mrs. Obama, Do you have any idea what you mean to us? By us, I mean ...
Soul Food Junkies
Soul Food Junkies Kam Williams Soul-Food-Junkies-poster.jpg Film Review Soul Food Junkies - Premiering January 2013 on Independent Lens Soul Food Junkies 64 minutes In this PBS ...
The Complete Muhammad Ali
The Complete Muhammad Ali Tony Lindsay Book Review Ishmael Reed’s The Complete Muhammad Ali is much more than a standard biography. The work provides specific details on numerous facets that su...
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...
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 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...
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...
From Dusk To Dawn
From Dusk To Dawn Idrissa Uqdah Book Review The opening chapter of From Dusk To Dawn by first-time novelist Niambi Brown Davis reads like your average romance novel, but this reviewer found ...
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...
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...
Bibsy
Bibsy Carol Taylor Book Review “Langston County is tucked into the southern tip of New York State, wedged between the Hudson River and the New Jersey state line. And it was home to Jake Tuck...
Threesome
Threesome Tiffany M. Davis Book Review I must say, this book was not what I expected. The title brings to mind images of a steamy m’nage a trois, either male/female/male or the more commonly po...
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...
Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work
Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work Kam Williams Book Review "There are many possible interpretations of what it means to create dangerously, and Albert Camus… suggests that it...
Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown’s First Superstar
Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown’s First Superstar Robert Fleming Book Review One of the most captivating personalities on the Motown roster during its glory days, singer Mary Wells was a f...
Love Don’t Come Easy
Love Don’t Come Easy Tiffany M. Davis Book Review Boy looks for girl. Boy finds girl. Boy loses girl. Boy looks for another girl. J.T. Smith puts a fresh spin on an old formula in his highly enterta...
Merritt Magic
Merritt Magic Robert Fleming Book Review Melinda Merritt’s nonfiction book, Merritt Magic, is a publication that defies category. In these pages, the reader will discover a reflective, mythical...
Sunshine on the Crooked Road
Sunshine on the Crooked Road Eryka Parker Book Review Sunshine on the Crooked Road is a sensational novel that resonated with me. There’s even a mention of Martha’s Vineyard, where I happ...
America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful Kam Williams images/atamerica_the-beautiful_2_dvdcover.jpg Film Review Scathing Documentary Explores America’s Unhealthy Obsession with Beauty ...
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Beasts of the Southern Wild Kam Williams beasts-of-the-southern-wild.jpg Film Review Carefree Cherub Laments Climate Change in Enchanting Cautionary Parable Beasts of the Southern Wild In Theaters: ...
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...
Charcoal Joe
Charcoal Joe Tony Lindsay Book Review What was refreshingly abundant in Walter Mosley’s Charcoal Joe was Black male characters. From strong Black men to Black men seeking guidance, the reader w...
Unfinished Business: Black Women
Unfinished Business: Black Women Kam Williams Book Review “This book explores the Black Church as a black religious site that can offer not only hope and cultural flourishing for poor black w...
Beulah Hill
Beulah Hill Thumper Book Review I am sounding the alert that I just read a novel that has a strong black male character in it. Let’s imagine that I’m waving a big neon sign with...
Don’t Blame It on Rio
Don’t Blame It on Rio Kam Williams Book Review ’Black women were once at the center of black men’s lives, as wives, mothers, lovers and partners’ However, in this generation, b...
The Little Black Book
The Little Black Book Kam Williams Book Review "The object of this Survival Manual is to save lives - the lives of Black African Males who are on the Endangered list in this American society...
Everything But The Burden
Everything But The Burden Rondall Brasher Book Review "Of all of our studies, history is best qualified to reward ourresearch." —El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) This quo...
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...
Pregnant While Black: Advancing Justice for Maternal Health in America
Pregnant While Black: Advancing Justice for Maternal Health in America Eryka Parker Book Review As a Black woman born and raised in the United States, I have always been aware of how blessed I am to ...
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...
The Black Church: Where Women Pray and Men Prey
The Black Church: Where Women Pray and Men Prey Kam Williams Book Review “If you are a single black woman regularly attending church and tithing, or you are a woman with children that accomp...
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...
Post Black: How a New Generation Is Redefining African-American Identity
Post Black: How a New Generation Is Redefining African-American Identity Kam Williams Book Review "In this book, I will not detail every pathological condition that ever existed in African-American...
Joan Myers Brown & the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina
Joan Myers Brown & the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina Kam Williams Book Review “Blacks in the segregationist United States of America of the 30s and 40s fought back with inherent toug...
(1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race
(1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race Kam Williams Book Review “What exactly is Blackness and what does it mean to be Black? Is Blackness a matter of biology or consciousness? Who determines...
The Vanishing Black Male
The Vanishing Black Male Kam Williams the_va2.jpg Film Review Documentary Explores Issue of Disappearing African-American Men The Vanishing Black Male Studio: Seven Generations Product...
Black Snake Moan
Black Snake Moan Kam Williams black_3.jpg Film Review Bible-Thumping Bluesman Tames Wanton Woman in Tawdry Tale of Sin and Redemption Black Snake Moan Rated R for profanity, nudity, gr...
Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite Kam Williams images/img19.jpg Film Review Campy Spoof of Blaxploitation Era Comes to Blu-Ray Black Dynamite Click to order from Amazon Rated R for profanity, ma...
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution Kam Williams black-pathers-movie-poster.jpg Film Review The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution In Theaters: Sep 2, 2015 Limited Runtime: 1 hr....
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...
Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?
Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? Kam Williams Book Review “A book you can’t put down, but for all the wrong reasons.” “On May 17, 2004, ...
Black Male Frames: African-Americans in a Century of Hollywood Cinema
Black Male Frames: African-Americans in a Century of Hollywood Cinema Kam Williams Book Review “Black Male Frames charts the development and shifting popularity of two stereotypes of black mal...
The Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership
The Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership Robert Fleming Book Review With this defiant publication, The Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership, Dr. Christopher C. Bell, Jr....
New England White
New England White Kam Williams Book Review ’I like writing [about] this world for the same reason that others like reading [about] it: the black upper class is a continuing fascination, an...
Post-Traumatic
Post-Traumatic Robert Fleming Book Review Chantal Johnson’s debut novel, Post-Traumatic, confronts the emotional toll of sexual assault, a real-life survivor narrative, with the prickly residue...
Womanish Theology
Womanish Theology Eryka Parker Book Review “How differently would Black girls see the world or themselves had they [been] represented and treated as imago Dei [created in the image and likeness...
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...
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 Kam Williams black_power_fist.jpg Film Review Black Revolution of the Sixties Revisited via Swedish Cinematic Collage The Black Power Mixtape 1967-19...
Boss of Black Brooklyn, The Life and Times of Bertram Baker
Boss of Black Brooklyn, The Life and Times of Bertram Baker Brenda M. Greene Book Review Bertram Baker was a man of his times… Like Du Bois, Bertram believed in agitating to achieve political...
Words to Our Now: Imagination & Dissent
Words to Our Now: Imagination & Dissent Kam Williams Book Review ’The word ’faggot’ itself is to me as nasty a form of violence as the perennial spit-nastiness in that classic Ame...
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 ...
What the Word Be: Why Black English… Is the King’s (James) English
What the Word Be: Why Black English… Is the King’s (James) English Kam Williams Book Review “Blacks came to the U.S. chained to each other but from different tribes. Neither could spea...
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...
Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God
Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God Kam Williams Book Review “Why is it becoming increasingly acceptable to kill unarmed black children? Why are they so easily perceived as...
Black Man under the Deep Blue Sea
Black Man under the Deep Blue Sea Emanuel Carpenter Book Review What if Jacques Cousteau was a black American? Would he have had the opportunities to explore the waters, write books about his experi...
Be a Father to Your Child
Be a Father to Your Child Kam Williams Book Review ’I will be completely candid here and say that I have carried around a great deal of resentment toward older Black men since...
Historical Dict. of African-American TV
Historical Dict. of African-American TV Kam Williams Book Review ’Most African-Americans who recall early television will say the first nationwide black-cast TV series they saw was Amos &...
Black Like Us
Black Like Us Thumper Book Review Black Like Us: A Century of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual African American Fiction, the latest anthology of gay/lesbian AA literature, is, in a word, splendid. Showcas...
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 ...
A Matter of Life or Death: Why Black Men Must Save Black Boys in America’s Public Schools
A Matter of Life or Death: Why Black Men Must Save Black Boys in America’s Public Schools Kam Williams Book Review “Life for many black boys is akin to a war. Wars on their minds, souls, spi...
Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man?
Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man? Kam Williams Book Review "We were the only minority family in all of Cypress, California. When my parents moved in, before I was born, they used to have th...
Black Brother, Black Brother
Black Brother, Black Brother Shafika Burke Book Review Invisibility is all Donte wishes for after moving from New York to Massachusetts. The move places him in a war against people blinded by racism ...
I Take My Coffee Black
I Take My Coffee Black Alvin Romer Book Review In his memoir, I Take My Coffee Black author, actor, musician, comedian, and activist, Tyler Merritt recounts, in his uniquely poignant way, the trials ...
Black Food
Black Food Robert Fleming Book Review Black food, aka Soul food, is celebrated all over the world for its delicious ingredients, tangy flavors, homegrown recipes, and traditional richness. This book,...
Black Women, Ivory Tower
Black Women, Ivory Tower Ahmad Wright Book Review The best colleges and universities in the nation promise a sense of belonging, public validation, and personal relationships that can last a lifetime...
Never Wear Red Lipstick: 8 Lies That Stop Black Women from Succeeding in Life and Business
Never Wear Red Lipstick: 8 Lies That Stop Black Women from Succeeding in Life and Business Shaundale Rénā Book Review I was surprised by Never Wear Red Lipstick: 8 Lies That Stop Black Women from Suc...
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. ...
The Price of the Ticket: Barack Obama and the Rise and Decline of Black Politics
The Price of the Ticket: Barack Obama and the Rise and Decline of Black Politics Kam Williams Book Review “Barack Obama’s triumph in the presidential election of 2008… contains ...
The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires
The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires Kam Williams Book Review “In spite of Black America’s advances… with more successful, educated and accomplished entrepren...
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,...
Crash
Crash Kam Williams crash.70.jpg Film Review Crash Director & Writer: Paul Haggis Studio: Lions Gate Films Cast: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fic...
Evan Almighty
Evan Almighty Kam Williams evan_a1.jpg Film Review God Asks Modern-Day Noah to Build Ark in Faith-Based Family Comedy Evan Almighty Rated PG for crude humor and scenes of ...
Blacktrospective 2010 - Annual Assessment of the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema
Blacktrospective 2010 - Annual Assessment of the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/images/Just-Wright.jpg Film Review Blacktrospective 2010 - Annual Assessmen...
The Man from Essence: Creating a Magazine for Black Women
The Man from Essence: Creating a Magazine for Black Women Kam Williams Book Review “I know what they say about me—that I am too quiet and low-key, unassuming, even clueless. Not the one...
Justice While Black: Helping African-American Families Navigate and Survive the Criminal Justice System
Justice While Black: Helping African-American Families Navigate and Survive the Criminal Justice System Kam Williams Book Review “The August 9th fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by poli...
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...
black misery
black misery Troy Johnson Book Review Misery is when you heardon the radio that the neighborhoodyou live in is a slum butyou always thought it was home” black misery is a pictur...
The Black-Print
The Black-Print Emanuel Carpenter Book Review Malik Green is passionate and somewhat angry about the status of the descendants of African slaves living in America. In his debut, ’The ...
Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living
Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living Kam Williams Book Review “I’m aware that, for black men today, racism is still an obstacle that causes tremendous anger and suffering… Whether...
We Gotta Have It
We Gotta Have It Kam Williams Book Review ’We Gotta Have It represents twenty years of seeing a new generation of Black movies. Before this journey began in 1986, with Spike Lee’s She...
Passing Strange
Passing Strange Thumper Book Review "We were the only minority family in all of Cypress, California. When my parents moved in, before I was born, they used to have these oranges come through t...
Why Do Black People Love Fried Chicken?
Why Do Black People Love Fried Chicken? Kam Williams Book Review "The primary purpose of this book is to provide information about black folks… Please read with the understanding that neit...
Mrs. Black
Mrs. Black Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Angelia Vernon Menchan who also has written under the name, acVernon Menchan has just released an new novel that takes us further into the world of the...
Black Pain
Black Pain Kam Williams Book Review "How much does suffering from and living with addiction, incarceration, dirty neighborhoods, HIV, hypertension, violence, racism, and class discriminatio...
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...
Hollywood Fantasies of Miscegenation
Hollywood Fantasies of Miscegenation Kam Williams Book Review "Hollywood Fantasies of Miscegenation analyzes white fantasies of interracial desire in the history of popular American film. Fro...
Is Marriage for White People? How the African-American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone
Is Marriage for White People? How the African-American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone Kam Williams Book Review "Over the past half-century, African-.Americans have become the most unmarrie...
Justice While Black: Helping African-American Families Navigate and Survive the Criminal Justice Sys
Justice While Black: Helping African-American Families Navigate and Survive the Criminal Justice Sys Kam Williams Book Review “The August 9th fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by police ...