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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...
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...
A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life
A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life Kam Williams Book Review "My life is often described as ‘improbable’ because I grew up in a broken home and in poverty…...
I.O.U.S.A. (One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt.)
I.O.U.S.A. (One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt.) Kam Williams iousa.8.jpg Film Review DVD Explains Financial Crisis in Layman’s Terms I.O.U.S.A. (One Nation. Under...
Every Man a King
Every Man a King Robert Fleming Book Review For those who love the creators of the hard-boiled private dicks from the 1930s such as Dashiell Hammett, James Cain, and Raymond Chandler, Walter Mosley&r...
W. (2008)
W. (2008) Kam Williams w.htm13.jpg Film Review Oliver Stone Chronicles Bush’s Checkered Career with Damning Bio-Pic W. Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexual references, smoking, alc...
Life, Above All
Life, Above All Kam Williams lifeafterall1.jpg Film Review Stoic 12 Year-Old Overcomes Ostracism in Bittersweet South African Saga Life, Above All Click to Buy Via Amazon Act...
Won't Back Down
Won't Back Down Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/wont-back-down.jpg Film Review Jaded Teacher and Single-Mom Join Forces in Uplifting Tale of Female Empowerment Won’t Back Down (2012) In ...
No More Sheets
No More Sheets Linda Dominique Grosvenor Book Review No More Sheets by Juanita Bynum is the lay it on the line/tell it like it is approach to sex in the 90’s. In this book Juanita exposes hers...
Bounce
Bounce Idrissa Uqdah Book Review It’s All About The Trust!Author K.M. Jackson has a real winner in Bounce, a combination contemporary women’s fiction/romance novel that is both ente...
Down Home with the Neelys
Down Home with the Neelys Kam Williams Book Review ’Hey, everyone, first of all, I want to thank you for reading our book and watching our show. We had no idea what we were g...
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...
Dark Matter: Reading the Bones
Dark Matter: Reading the Bones Chris Hayden Book Review If It Ain’t Speculative and It Ain’t Fiction Need Black Folks Read Speculative Fiction? It distresses me when I can grant only q...
How To Knock A Bravebird From Her Perch
How To Knock A Bravebird From Her Perch Carol Taylor Book Review Inspired by family and friends who have been victims of abuse, D. Bryant Simmons, an advocate of female empowerment and children&rsq...
The Mighty Macs
The Mighty Macs Kam Williams images/mm2_photo.jpg Film Review Coach Inspires Team to Overachieve in Touching Tale of Female Empowerment The Mighty Macs Unrated Running time: 98 Minu...
Soul Poems for My Sistas
Soul Poems for My Sistas Felicia Pride Book Review Poetry is one literary form that far too many attempt with the misguided notion that it is easy to write. Between the length or the ability...
Violet of a Deeper Blue
Violet of a Deeper Blue Thumper Book Review Violet Of A Deeper Blue is the story of Brandon Northcross, a young black MBA graduate from Dartmouth who previously lived in New Hampshire. Brandon had re...
What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman
What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman Robert Fleming Book Review This was a labor of love. Over seven years ago, it was the mission of Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown, a Harvard-tr...
No One Left Alone
No One Left Alone Eryka Parker Book Review The inspirational book No One Left Alone opens with the author sharing how members of the Boston community came together and, united, dealt with their grief...
Bass Clef Bliss
Bass Clef Bliss Kam Williams bass-clef-bliss-movie-poster.jpg Film Review African-American Mother and Son’s Adjustment to Autism Chronicled in Inspirational Film Bass Clef Bliss In Theaters:...
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...
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 ...
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...
Dirty Laundry
Dirty Laundry Kam Williams dirty_13.jpg Film Review Brother on the Down-Low Outed by His Kid in DVD Comedy Dirty Laundry (2006) Click to order DVD via Amazon Actors: Loretta Devin...
Fire in Babylon
Fire in Babylon Kam Williams images/westindianteam.jpg Film Review Cricket Documentary Recounts Rise and Dominance of West Indian Team Fire in Babylon Click to order DVD via Amazon ...
Balls of Fury
Balls of Fury Kam Williams balls_8.jpg Film Review Balls of Fury Film Review by Kam WilliamsRated PG-13 for profanity, crude behavior and sex-related humor. Running time: 90 minutes ...
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth Kam Williams Book Review “This book is an attempt to reclaim, as much as possible, the Jesus of history, the Jesus of Christianity… whos...
Secrets and Lies
Secrets and Lies Idrissa Uqdah Book Review For Better or For Worse Rhonda McKnight's debut novel, Secrets and Lies is about a married couple who despite their comfortable financial situation a...
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...
The Emperor of Ocean Park
The Emperor of Ocean Park Thumper Book Review Conservative Pundit’s Mystery Novel Only Partly Successful Stephen L. Carter makes his debut as a fiction writer with The Emperor of Ocean Par...
Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History
Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History Kam Williams Book Review “In her poem, ‘And Still I Rise,’ Dr. Maya Angelou wrote, ‘You can write me down in h...
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Kam Williams tinker_film.jpg Film Review It’s Spy vs. Spy in Adaptation of John le Carre Cold War Thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy [2011] Rated R for vi...
Annie
Annie Kam Williams annie-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Annie (2014) In Theaters: Dec 19, 2014 Wide Rated PG for mild epithets and rude humor Running time: 118 minutes Distributor: Columbia Pictu...
When the Levees Broke
When the Levees Broke Kam Williams when_t13.jpg Film Review When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Parts A Film Review by Kam Williams Fair (1 star) Unrated Running time: 240 minut...
Turn the Page and You Don’t Stop: Sharing Successful Chapters in Our Lives with Youth
Turn the Page and You Don’t Stop: Sharing Successful Chapters in Our Lives with Youth Kam Williams Book Review “Why read? Reading isn’t just for sissies, or nerds or geeks. Research...
Black and Ugly
Black and Ugly Thumper Book Review Shocked?! You should be. I know I am. Before any of you say anything, I admit that I am somewhat surprised to be reading T. Styles latest novel, Black and U...
Never Been a Time
Never Been a Time Thumper Book Review I am continuing my own personal goal of reading more history and biography books. If my memory serves me correctly, I think it had something to d...
Long Train…
Long Train… Jacqueline Jones LaMon Book Review One of the magical qualities of reading is that we are transported from who we are and all that we know to be true into other realms. We are intr...
Secrets, Lies & Family Ties
Secrets, Lies & Family Ties Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Author Sylvia Hubbard has written a wonderful sensual tale of intrigue and family drama in her latest release, Secrets, Lies & Family Tie...
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...
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...
I Am New Orleans
I Am New Orleans Robert Fleming Book Review American poet, author, filmmaker, and teacher Kalamu ya Salaam, a leading citizen of New Orleans’s 9th Ward, has always been a booster for the Cresce...
Fishing for Love on the Net
Fishing for Love on the Net Kam Williams Book Review ’Many people have tried online dating with no success. The steps necessary to secure love online still remains a mystery. Many more ...
The Hood Health Handbook
The Hood Health Handbook Kam Williams Book Review "In all my world travels, never have I picked up a book with the kind of love, concern and information that I’ve seen put into this book&hell...
This Is Herman Cain: My Journey to the White House
This Is Herman Cain: My Journey to the White House Kam Williams Book Review "I didn’t grow up wanting to be President of the United States. I grew up po', which is even worse than be...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
Miracle at St. Anna
Miracle at St. Anna Thumper Book Review I wish all of my review assignments were like this one. It came upon me unexpectedly. I don’t need advance warnings when good things come my way, thoug...
Black Prisoner of War
Black Prisoner of War Thumper Book Review I can't honestly tell you when I started watching war movies and reading books written about the American wars. In my younger years, I considered the sub...
Fourplay: The Dance of Sensuality
Fourplay: The Dance of Sensuality Thumper Book Review Fourplay…the Dance of Sensuality, the latest novel by Brenda L. Thomas, is the continuing story of Sasha Boranni from Thomas’s firs...
Come Joy!
Come Joy! Idrissa Uqdah Book Review From reading only the first four poems in this collection; I knew I was on to something wonderful. Come Joy, Songs From The Soft of Night by Bridgette Alyce Grea...
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...
Not in My Family
Not in My Family Kam Williams Book Review ’Black America, we have a problem. HIV/AIDS is running rampant through our communities. Many of us are sick and dying and living in fear and shame...
Poetic Perceptions
Poetic Perceptions Robert Fleming Book Review Some African-American critics yearn for a return to the fire and passion of the revolutionary fervor of the 1960s Black Arts Movement, but there are ...
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...
Letters to a Young Brother
Letters to a Young Brother Kam Williams Book Review "Young men today have been bombarded with images of wealth and success that tell them that buying the hottest car or the most bling...
Saving Our Daughters
Saving Our Daughters Kam Williams Book Review ’Where do we begin with this delicate subject of color and racism within a race — I call it intra-racial profil...
The Secret Life of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees Kam Williams the_se11.jpg Film Review Carolina Provides Scenic Rural Backdrop for Female Empowerment Flick Set during Civil Rights Era The Secret Life of Bees R...
Things Never Said
Things Never Said Kam Williams things-never-said.jpg Film Review Battered Wife Finds Strength in Poetry in Female Empowerment Flick Things Never Said In Theaters: Sep 6, 2013 Limited Rated R for s...
Breaking The Blank
Breaking The Blank Eryka Parker Book Review If poetry is an artful expression of the soul, the creators of Breaking the Blank understood the assignment. This compelling literary work proudly speaks o...
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...
The Entrepreneur Guide 2010 Edition
The Entrepreneur Guide 2010 Edition Kam Williams Book Review "Are you someone seeking to start your own business and frustrated with the lack of straightforward answers to your countless question...
Life as a Single Mom
Life as a Single Mom Kam Williams Book Review ’’Being a single mom isn't easy,’ is something I hear constantly over and over throughout my travels, and I mostly hear it fro...
Mimi’s Village and How Basic Health Care Transformed It
Mimi’s Village and How Basic Health Care Transformed It Kam Williams Book Review “Mimi’s fictional village is like thousands of real villages in the developing world, where health care...
Temptation
Temptation Linda Dominique Grosvenor Book Review Temptation is a refreshing literary effort by first time novelist Victoria Christopher Murray. This book has crossed the line into mainstream fiction,...
Me First: A Deliciously Selfish Take on Life
Me First: A Deliciously Selfish Take on Life Carol Taylor Book Review Women have always been taught to put themselves last, that it’s selfish to put themselves first. Have you ever thought ab...
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...
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...
In The Falling Snow
In The Falling Snow Thumper Book Review I have heard of Caryl Phillps. We have reviewed one of his earlier novels for AALBC.com in the past, but I had not read anything by him. Phillips’s...
My Sisters’ Voices
My Sisters’ Voices Linda Watkins Book Review "And special thanks go to all those individuals who follow me in stores, call me derogatory and offensive names, and keep me from doing and achieving...
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...
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...
Evil Never Sleeps
Evil Never Sleeps Andre Seewood Book Review If the short story is a lost art, then you wouldn’t know it from reading Robert Fleming’s latest collection of story stories, Evil Never Slee...
There Are Dinosaurs in the Library!
There Are Dinosaurs in the Library! Judy Allen Dodson Book Review Let’s take trip to the library with Mrs. Baker and her third-grade class. As we all know the library is a space filled with boo...
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; ...
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...
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...
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...
Mama Dearest
Mama Dearest Thumper Book Review As many of you know, Mama Dearest is the last book written by E. Lynn Harris. I was a fan of Harris’s during the Invisible Life days and a few books ...
Big Enough to Be Inconsistent
Big Enough to Be Inconsistent Thumper Book Review There is a great chance that my review of Big Enough to Be Inconsistent: Abraham Lincoln Confronts Slavery and Race by George M. Fredrickso...
The Middle Sister
The Middle Sister Thumper Book Review I’m still finding my footing. Being away from reading books for three years, obtaining another degree, has dulled my reading senses. Now that the...
Race Matters
Race Matters Kirby Roy III Book Review Reading and evaluating the overriding themes in Cornel West’s Race Matters, which was published in 1993, given the context of events that have occurred si...
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...
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...
The Felix Women Series
The Felix Women Series Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Acceptance Not Required: Felix Women IV Click to order via Amazon Print Length: 58 pages (October 10, 2014) This author, Angelia Vernon M...
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...
Low Road
Low Road Thumper Book Review Donald Goines has become, decades after his death, one of the most influential African American authors in the African-American literary canon. The realism, the violenc...
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 ...
Blues From Down Deep
Blues From Down Deep Thumper Book Review Reviewed by Thumper Blues From Down Deep is the second novel I have read by Gwynne Forster, the first being Once In A Lifetime which I enjoyed. I was not pl...
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&...
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...
Victory Is Assured
Victory Is Assured Robert Fleming Book Review Larger than life, controversial scribe Stanley Crouch loved to throw shade, raise hell, and put himself laughingly in the crosshairs. In the golden age o...
Louise Thompson Patterson, A Life of Struggle and Justice by Keith Gilyard
Louise Thompson Patterson, A Life of Struggle and Justice by Keith Gilyard Brenda M. Greene Book Review To study her story is to witness the courage, sacrifice, vision and discipline of someone who s...
A Mighty Love
A Mighty Love Linda Watkins Book Review Relationship novels are for escapism. The content should tantalize the reader’ evoke deep emotion and keep one’s attention. Unfortunately, A Might...
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...
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...
A Family Tree
A Family Tree Thumper Book Review A Family Tree, Taking Root by Doc Robertson is an enjoyable, refreshing novel that should have read like a dream. While many of our authors insist on writing the p...
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 ...
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 ...