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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...
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&...
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...
Passin'
Passin' Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Is The Grass Any Greener On The Other Side? That is what Shanika Ann Jenkins seeks to find out as she applies for a position at a prestigious PR firm in New...
The Billion Dollar BET
The Billion Dollar BET Rondall Brasher Book Review Brett Pulley goes all in with The Million Dollar BET, Robert Johnson and the Inside Story of Black Entertainment Television. He has woven a tale of...
Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop, and the Dunham Legacy
Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop, and the Dunham Legacy Karen Brown Book Review I had just recently attended the 2024 International Conference and Festival of Blacks in Dance in Memphis, Tenness...
Once Is Never Enough
Once Is Never Enough Idrissa Uqdah Book Review If Loving You Is Wrong, I don't Want To Be Right The old rythmn and blues tune, If Loving You Is Wrong, I don't Want To Be Right aptly desc...
The Seduction of Mr. Bradley
The Seduction of Mr. Bradley Idrissa Uqdah Book Review The Seduction of Mr. Bradley by Chicago author Minnie E. Miller tells a very different kind of love story, a love story complicated by prefere...
The Lost German Slave Girl
The Lost German Slave Girl Paige Turner Book Review Only the great American melting pot could provide a setting where an Australian author recounts the tale of an orphaned German immigrant who was ...
Kingston Noir
Kingston Noir Robert Fleming Book Review With his first anthology for Akashic, Iron Balloons, Colin Channer, author of the celebrated novel, Waiting In Vain, showcased the full range of contempo...
Behind those Books (press release)
Behind those Books (press release) Troy Johnson images/behindthosebooks.jpg Film Review Behind Those Books: A Thought Provoking Documentary Tackling Societal Ills Through Literature Behind Th...
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...
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...
Remembering Roots: How an American Classic Transformed the World
Remembering Roots: How an American Classic Transformed the World Robert Fleming Book Review Unfortunately, there were efforts to demean the late Alex Haley’s Roots: The Saga of an American Family whe...
You're a Worthwhile Person
You're a Worthwhile Person Jayne Cubbage Book Review you're a Worthwhile Person in More Ways Than a Million by Simeon Johnson is an enjoyable, frank and honest read that lauds the everyday p...
Getting Our Breath Back
Getting Our Breath Back Linda Watkins Book Review Getting Our Breath Back, the debut novel, by author Shawne Johnson, is not your ordinary read. Passionate words float with a hypnotic, poetic rhythm ...
Digital Coup: The Conspiracy to Thwart Global Democracy
Digital Coup: The Conspiracy to Thwart Global Democracy Shanida Carter Book Review “Democracy around the globe is facing its greatest threat since World War II,” writes author Darin Johnson, who beli...
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...
The Face That Changed It All
The Face That Changed It All Kam Williams Book Review “Beverly Johnson made history in 1974… [as] the first African-American woman… whose face appeared on the cover of the world...
A Streetcar Named Desire (Review of the Broadway Play)
A Streetcar Named Desire (Review of the Broadway Play) Troy Johnson atreetcardposter.jpg Film Review Parker & Underwood Bring New Brilliance to Williams’ Streetcar Tennessee Williams&...
Oil and Water and Other Things That don’t Mix
Oil and Water and Other Things That don’t Mix Robert Fleming Book Review If you take a trip to the once-scenic Gulf Coast, you will see there is more to be done in the restoration and rejuvenation...
Blood on the Dance Floor
Blood on the Dance Floor Andrew Byrd Book Review Analyzing the creative process of a legendary performer like Michael Jackson is daunting. Still, Glenda R. Taylor takes the challenge head-on as she d...
The Souls of Black Girls
The Souls of Black Girls Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/the_so37.gif Film Review Provocative Documentary Examines Image of Black Females Propagated by the Media The Souls of Blac...
Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an an American Cuisine
Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an an American Cuisine Kam Williams Book Review From frontier cabins to plantation houses to the White House, from steamboat galleys and Pullman kitchens to pub...
Sellout
Sellout Robert Fleming Book Review This debut novel, written by James Lewis, deals with the thorny issue of interracial dating from every side, rendered with narrative precision and emotional det...
Wounded
Wounded Carol Taylor Book Review As the headliner at a strip club, Samantha Miller is using her beautiful face and sexy body to get ahead, and hopefully make enough money to leave stripping behind ...
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...
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 ...
The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation
The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation Robert Fleming Book Review South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn’s The First Eight: A Personal Histo...
The Sun Knows Her Name
The Sun Knows Her Name Shanida Carter Book Review “May we all remember what we were born from, and what still moves through us.” Spoiler alert: Courtney Thornton’s debut novel, The Sun Knows Her N...
The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/images/birth-of-a-nation-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Reverential Biopic Revisits Life of Infamous Slave Revolt Leader Excellent (4 star...
Material Witness: The Drew Smith Series
Material Witness: The Drew Smith Series Robert Fleming Book Review In this third installment of Norwood Holland’s acclaimed Drew Smith Series, Material Witness, there are a few wrinkles in both...
The Artist
The Artist Kam Williams theartist_movieposter.jpg Film Review Fading Star Falls for Emerging Ingenue in B&W Homage to Silent Era The Artist Rated PG-13 for a crude gesture and a disturb...
Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie
Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie Kam Williams evocateur.jpg Film Review Biopic Revisits Rise and Fall of Talk Show Flash in the Pan Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. M...
Endgame
Endgame Kam Williams endgam10.jpg Film Review South African Docudrama Chronicles Demise of Apartheid Endgame Rated PG-13 for violence, profanity and disturbing images. In En...
21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street Kam Williams 21jumpstreet.jpg Film Review Polar Opposite Partners Infiltrate H.S. in Unlikely-Buddies Comedy 21 Jump Street [2012] In Theaters: Mar 16, 2012 Wide R, 1 hr. 49 min. A...
Rebirth of a Nation
Rebirth of a Nation Kam Williams rebirt48.jpg Film Review DJ Does Hip-Hop Remix of Birth of a Nation DJ Spooky’s Rebirth of a Nation Click to o...
On The Edge of a Leaf
On The Edge of a Leaf Clarence V. Reynolds Book Review In his latest children’s picture book, At the Edge of a Leaf, author and poet Vincent L. Johnson draws from his love of gardening, nature,...
A Woman’s Worth
A Woman’s Worth Thumper Book Review I’m forewarning everyone, if…no, when I see Tracy Price-Thompson, whoever is closest to me, grab me, because I’m going to try my best to slap h...
Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography
Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography Troy Johnson Book Review The age of multitasking needs better narrative history. It must be absolutely factual, immediately accessible, smart, and brilliantly fun....
Bright Eyes
Bright Eyes Troy Johnson Book Review Here, Cheryl Willis Hudson co-author of: Bright Eyes, Brown Skin, helps young children see the beauty of their physical characteristics. Bright eyes, brown sk...
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...
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...
Hip-Hop: A Cultural Odyssey
Hip-Hop: A Cultural Odyssey Troy Johnson Book Review Hip-Hop Culture’s first OFFICIAL luxury, large format coffee table book will inspire, entertain and educate all generations of readers wit...
When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life as a Hip-Hop Feminist
When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life as a Hip-Hop Feminist Lynne d. Johnson Book Review Hip-hop has intrinsically woven itself into the fabric of Americana. The culture, music, icons, and p...
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...
Flesh: The Disappearance of Portia Barrington
Flesh: The Disappearance of Portia Barrington Robert Fleming Book Review As the author of over a dozen novels including the bestselling Little Girl Lost series, Keith Lee Johnson has created his ...
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...
African Venus
African Venus Troy Johnson Book Review The sculpture, on the cover of Sheryl K. Carkhum-Lord’s novel was created by artist by Charles Henri Joseph Cordier in 1851. Dubbed, by the artist, &ldquo...
Before I Forget
Before I Forget Thumper Book Review *giggling* I’m going to love writing this review. A little while ago, I read and finished a wonderful debut novel, Before I Forget by Leonard Pitt...
Tavis Smiley Books
Tavis Smiley Books Lynne d. Johnson Book Review Tavis Smiley, syndicated radio and BET talk-show host, is committed to making the world a better place. This is his mission. His first book, Doing What...
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...
25 Things That Really Matter In Life
25 Things That Really Matter In Life Kam Williams Book Review ’25 Things That Really Matter in Life is designed to get you started living a better life within the next fifteen minute...
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...
Half My Size: How I Ate To Lose 150lbs
Half My Size: How I Ate To Lose 150lbs Troy Johnson Book Review Ten years ago, Caroline Jhingory lost 150 pounds. She has maintained it to this day without gastric bypass surgery, fad diets or comm...
Nappy Hair
Nappy Hair Troy Johnson Book Review One nap of her hair is the only perfect circle in nature. —from Nappy Hair I recently purchased Nappy Hair and have read it to my daughters. I must say c...
Thunder Soul
Thunder Soul Kam Williams images/thundersoul.jpg Film Review Reverential Bio-Pic Pays Tribute to Legendary H.S. Bandleader Thunder Soul Rated PG for smoking and mild epithets Running time: ...
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...
Blowback
Blowback Lynne d. Johnson Book Review Blowback is a term that was first used by the CIA in a report on the 1953 operation to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran. The term is actual...
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...
Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story
Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story Troy Johnson books-place.jpg Film Review Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story Click to rent or buy th...
Bound: Africans vs. African-Americans
Bound: Africans vs. African-Americans Troy Johnson bound.jpg Film Review A description of Bound, not a film review follows: Bound: Africans vs. African-Americans (2015)Buy via Amazon or ...
Never Die Alone
Never Die Alone Troy Johnson never_19.jpg Film Review The following is not a review, but informational material for the movie NEVER DIE ALONE Order Movie-Original Pos...
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...
And On The Eighth Day She Rested
And On The Eighth Day She Rested Thumper Book Review Lately, I have been in one of my lazy reading moods. I wanted a book that would go easy on my ol’ noggin. As you all know, my normal readi...
Glorious
Glorious Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Bernice McFadden’s long awaited release, is pure poetry. This novel sings to you through the eyes of Easter Bartlett who runs away as a young girl when ...
Life Is A Canvas
Life Is A Canvas Carol Taylor Book Review Life is a Canvas is a contemporary novel about finding love and self and how the choices we make early in life, particularly in our twenties, sets us on a pa...
Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea
Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea Linda Watkins Book Review Everyone knows that poetry is opinionated, subjective and sometimes downright confusing. I was delighted to find that the problem of comprehensi...
Everything I Know About Zombies
Everything I Know About Zombies Carol Taylor Book Review “When the apocalypse came, nine-year-old Letitia Johnson tried. She grabbed her little sister and her classmates and locked them ...
Love In A Carry-On Bag
Love In A Carry-On Bag Idrissa Uqdah Book Review As Wild As The Wind Modern technology has made a long-distance love affair more of a reality. The characters in this novel took the concept and made...
Buddy Guy: When I Left Home — My Story
Buddy Guy: When I Left Home — My Story Robert Fleming Book Review When I Left Home, the memoir of legendary blue guitarist Buddy Guy, with support from noted writer David Ritz, traces the musician ...
I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir
I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir Robert Fleming Book Review Blessed with a candor, boldness, and business savvy rarely seen in books of this type, former CEO of Black Entertainment Television network Debra L...
Rainbow in the Cloud: The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou
Rainbow in the Cloud: The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou Kam Williams Book Review “‘Words mean more than what is set down on paper,’ Maya Angelou wrote in her groundbreaking m...
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...
Weathering the Storm: Navigating the Anti-Social Justice Wave
Weathering the Storm: Navigating the Anti-Social Justice Wave Shaundale Rénā Book Review In writing Weathering the Storm: Navigating the Anti-Social Justice Wave, author Tiffany G. Townsend, PhD, add...
Bittersweet
Bittersweet Thumper Book Review Bittersweet, the debut novel by Freddie Lee Johnson, lll, proves the old adage that you can’t always judge a book by its cover. As I picked up Bittersweet from t...
Spiritual Shackles
Spiritual Shackles Tiffany M. Davis Book Review Who burned the churches? This is a question that kicks off the historically mystic journey that is Spiritual Shackles. Set primarily in Pasadena...
Triple Take
Triple Take Thumper Book Review Triple Take, the debut novel by Y. Blak Moore, reminds me of an old timey Hollywood western. Despite the fact that Triple Take takes place in the 21st century mean s...
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Total Eclipse of the Heart Thumper Book Review After reading Zane’s new novel, Total Eclipse of the Heart, I have to admit, I have been sleeping on Zane. The novel is the s...
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...
Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne
Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne Kam Williams Book Review “This groundbreaking biography… illuminates the life and accomplishments of pioneering journalist Ethel Lois Payne, while also...
Phat Girlz
Phat Girlz Kam Williams phat_g31.jpg Film Review Plus-Sized Sisters Find Acceptance in Africa in Cross-Cultural Romantic Comedy Phat Girlz Rated PG-13 for sex, expletives, and crude humo...
Sam Langford
Sam Langford Kam Williams Book Review In January of 1944, the New York Herald Tribune published The Forgotten Man a story about Sam Langford, aka “The Boston Tar Baby,” one of b...
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 ...
Every Woman’s Man
Every Woman’s Man Thumper Book Review Yeah, it’s unusual for me to read a book with a title like, Every Woman’s Man, a novel by Rique Johnson. I don't normally go for the sister girl...
32 Ways to Be a Champion in Business
32 Ways to Be a Champion in Business Kam Williams Book Review "While I spent 14 years in the NBA playing basketball, I always had bigger dreams of building a business empire. ...
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 ...
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 ...
Carmen & Geoffrey
Carmen & Geoffrey Kam Williams carmen47.jpg Film Review Endearing Documentary Examines Enduring Marriage and Careers of Celebrated Couple Carmen & Geoffrey Unrated Running ...
Best Selling DVD's for 2011
Best Selling DVD's for 2011 Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/aalbcdvd6.jpg Film Review 10 Best Selling DVDs on AALBC.com for 2011 This is the first DVD bestseller's list that I've compiled and ...
Winnie Mandela
Winnie Mandela Kam Williams nelsonandwinnie.jpg Film Review Jennifer Hudson Portrays Infamous Icon in Warts-and-All Biopic Winnie Mandela In Theaters: Sep 6, 2013 Limited On DVD: Dec 17,...
America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments
America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments Kam Williams images/america_the_beautiful_2_movie_poster.jpg Film Review Darryl Roberts Stars in Sequel Again Exploring Body Image America t...
Men II Boys
Men II Boys Kam Williams men_ii9.jpg Film Review Groundbreaking Documentary Features Words of Wisdom about Black Manhood Men II Boys Click to order via ...
Shayla Sweet and Her Magical Pen
Shayla Sweet and Her Magical Pen Denolyn Carroll Book Review “…And a little child shall lead them…” (Isaiah 11:6 NKJV). While spending summer break at her grandmother Nani&...
Black Hands White House: Slave Labor and the Making of America
Black Hands White House: Slave Labor and the Making of America Robert Fleming Book Review Renee K. Harrison, an associate professor of African American and US religious history at Howard University, ...
My Hair Can
My Hair Can Shaundale Rénā Book Review Profoundly inspiring, My Hair Can is a picture book full of wit and charm. Each page is vibrant and affirms joy and positivity for little Black boys and girls a...
Goony Goo-Goo and Ga-Ga Too!
Goony Goo-Goo and Ga-Ga Too! Kelly Starling Lyons Book Review Drawing inspiration from her own children, author Kia Morgan Smith has written a fun picture book about the trials and triumphs of ...
Thank You, Omu!
Thank You, Omu! Neoma Nwasike Book Review How important is community to you? Is it at the epicenter of your heart, and do the people who make up your unique and wonderful community, allow you to thri...
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...
Different and the Same
Different and the Same AALBC Staff Writer Book Review In an age where there is a proliferation of emotional and physical Black trauma, that is videotaped and viewed widely online, we should strive to...