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Leaving Atlanta
Leaving Atlanta Thumper Book Review Tayari Jones enters the literary scene with Leaving Atlanta, a novel that takes place in 1979 Atlanta, Georgia during what came to be known as the Atlanta Child ...
Terminus: Tales of the Black Fantastic from the ATL
Terminus: Tales of the Black Fantastic from the ATL Amanda Robinson Book Review Atlanta is one of the most popular cities in this country. This metropolis is one of the few epicenters dripping Black ...
White Men Cant Hump
White Men Cant Hump Kam Williams Book Review ’Why should black men continue to sit back and allow whites to negatively define black male sexuality, especially when you consider the fact t...
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...
The Lazarus Parable: A Revelation for the 21st Century
The Lazarus Parable: A Revelation for the 21st Century Connie Bradley Book Review The Lazarus Parable by John C. Bonner is an apocalyptic tale which chronicles what the future holds for the planet ...
Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor
Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor Kam Williams Book Review ‘Hokum is my chance to recognize and thank the black upper-, middle-, low-, and no-class clown for being more than comic...
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted Rondall Brasher Book Review Before I begin this review I would like to "kick", not "thank" Thumper for handing me a stack of books, and putting a...
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...
The Anonymous People
The Anonymous People Kam Williams The-anonymous-people.jpg Film Review 12-Step Documentary Rethinks Addiction The Anonymous People In Theaters: Mar 14, 2014 Limited Unrated Running time: 88 min...
Judge Not!
Judge Not! Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Waiting For Justice To Prevail Audrey Forrest Carter has penned a great sequel to her well-received debut novel, The Wages of Sin. In Judge Not! readers f...
Just Wanna Testify
Just Wanna Testify Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Vamping The Vamps… Just Wanna Testify by the mega-talented author, Pearl Cleage was met with mixed reviews when it was first released. Many of...
ATL
ATL Kam Williams atl.ht46.jpg Film Review T.I. Makes Impressive Screen Debut in Coming-of-Age Flick Set in His Hometown of Atlanta ATL Film Review by Kam Williams Excellent (3.5 stars) Rated PG-13 f...
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 ...
What’s Really Holding You Back?
What’s Really Holding You Back? Kam Williams Book Review "I strive to help individuals explore their unique path in life- the path that makes the most of their natural gifts and talents, fulf...
Take Back Your Family
Take Back Your Family Kam Williams Book Review ’If this book can serve any purpose in your life, hopefully it will be as a reminder that there’s truly nothing out there ...
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Pray the Devil Back to Hell Kam Williams images/pray_t16.jpg Film Review PBS Series Documentary from Liberia Features 2011 Nobel Peace Prize-Winner Pray the Devil Back to Hell premieres ...
Stomp the Yard
Stomp the Yard Kam Williams stomp_6.jpg Film Review Black Greek Goes Gaga Over Curvy Coed in Coincidence-Driven Melodrama Stomp the Yard Rated PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, ethnic slurs and...
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 ...
Surviving Chaos, How I Found Peace at A Beach Bar
Surviving Chaos, How I Found Peace at A Beach Bar Carol Taylor Book Review Surviving Chaos: How I Found Peace At A Beach Bar is Harold Phifer’s memoir of childhood abuse, family dysfunction, an...
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...
Barbershop 2
Barbershop 2 Michael Dequina barber7.jpg Film Review Barbershop 2: Back in Business (PG-13) Buy Soundtrack The subtitle of Barbershop 2: Back in Business pretty much sums up the film....
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...
IDOLeyes
IDOLeyes Idrissa Uqdah Book Review A Singer’s Life Changing American Idol Experience Mandisa Hundley may well go down in history as the most talked about American Idol participant who di...
Walking Among The Kudzu
Walking Among The Kudzu Emanuel Carpenter Book Review In H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson's latest book, "Walking Among the Kudzu," readers are taken on the journey of the life of Shelby ...
Married But Still Looking
Married But Still Looking Kim Rose Book Review This pensive musing from a rap legend neatly summarize the challenge faced by Genesis Styles, an almost 30-year-old, ex-NBA 12th man aspirant and semi-d...
Where Did Our Love Go: Love and Relationships in the African-American Community
Where Did Our Love Go: Love and Relationships in the African-American Community Kam Williams Book Review “SBF. Single Black Female. Walk through any major city in the U.S. on a Friday or Sa...
Dakota Grand: A Novel
Dakota Grand: A Novel Brian Egeston Book Review There are codes within creeds and creeds within cliques. Perhaps this is the most subliminal, if not unintentional, message in Kenji Jasper’s lat...
ASCLEPIUS
ASCLEPIUS Robert Fleming Book Review Someone is killing all of the doctors opposed to the monopoly of the big drug companies. Those committed to the world of alternative medicine become aware of the ...
Seven Full Days
Seven Full Days Robert Fleming Book Review Ferris Shelton’s debut novel, Seven Full Days, is a cautionary tale of white racism, corporate burnout, and powerful identity issues. He crafts a blac...
Red at the Bone
Red at the Bone Brenda M. Greene Book Review Jacqueline Woodson is the best-selling author of more than two dozen award-winning books, including the 2016 New Times best-selling National Book Award fi...
The Pursuit of Porsha
The Pursuit of Porsha Robert Fleming Book Review Those people who follow television and podcasts will recognize Porsha Williams, one of the stars of the popular reality show, The Real Housewives of...
Love in the Age of Dragons
Love in the Age of Dragons Robert Fleming Book Review Fatima R. Henson’s Love In The Age Of Dragons has all of the best ingredients of fantasy, speculative fiction, and science fiction. There i...
Princes of the Road
Princes of the Road Emanuel Carpenter Book Review In David Covin’s Princes of the Road, the author transports readers to the 1930s of America, where Jim Crow and racism ruled. The central cha...
What A Woman’s Gotta Do
What A Woman’s Gotta Do Thumper Book Review Now this was a fascinating book. What A Woman’s Gotta Do is a fascinating book that successfully weaved together the spiritual, science, and my...
Stages
Stages Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall STAGES, the debut novel by Malikah Reese Maccabee is a wonderfully written and very engaging story about women of color in crisi...
Red Hook Summer
Red Hook Summer Kam Williams red-hook-summer.jpg Film Review Latest Spike Lee Joint Deserves to Get the Hook Red Hook Summer (2012) In Theaters: Aug 10, 2012 Limited R, 2 hr. 1 min. Drama Directed ...
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas Kam Williams Tyler-Perrys-A-Madea-Christmas.jpg Film Review Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas In Theaters: Dec 13, 2013 Wide Rated PG-13 for profanity, crude...
Who’s Your Caddy?
Who’s Your Caddy? Kam Williams whos_y27.jpg Film Review Ghetto Goes Golfing in Crass Color-Conscious Comedy Who’s Your Caddy? Rated PG-13 for sexuality, nudity, profanity, ethnic ...
Daddy’s Little Girls
Daddy’s Little Girls Kam Williams daddy’15.jpg Film Review Frigid Attorney Melts for Amorous Auto Mechanic in Charming, if Predictable, Romantic Comedy Daddy’s Little Girls Film Re...
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...
Flight
Flight Kam Williams flight-moive-poster.jpg Film Review Hero Pilot Participates in Cover-Up in Special F/X-Driven Legal Thriller Flight (2012) In Theaters: Nov 2, 2012 Wide Drama Directed By: Robert...
Seaside Stories
Seaside Stories Robert Fleming Book Review There should be more African-American fiction like this, recapturing a time when our communities were more-or-less intact and families were solid. S. R...
Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons A Dialogue with America’s Young Leaders
Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons A Dialogue with America’s Young Leaders Kam Williams Book Review “This collection of letters [offer] a rare glimpse into the dialogue between our nation&rsquo...
Finding Heaven in the Dark
Finding Heaven in the Dark Carol Taylor Book Review Part memoir, part self-help, part-spiritual realization, Finding Heaven In The Dark is William Ingram’s moving account of his journey to spir...
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...
The Last Love Letter
The Last Love Letter Robert Fleming Book Review Amanda Easton, the author of The Last Love Letter, has a history of letter writing going back to her college days when she sometimes said the...
White Coat Fever
White Coat Fever Thumper Book Review Roland S. Jefferson, author of the classic The School on 103rd Street, is back on the scene with his latest novel, White Coat Fever. The title of the novel is...
Forever An Ex
Forever An Ex Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Where Does The Love Go? Only the women in Forever An Ex know for sure. The sequel to Murray’s wildly popular The Ex Files centers on the specifics of b...
Corruption Officer: From Jail Guard to Perpetrator inside Rikers Island
Corruption Officer: From Jail Guard to Perpetrator inside Rikers Island Kam Williams Book Review “This shocking memoir from a former corrections officer… shares an eye-opening, gritty,...
Silent Conspiracy
Silent Conspiracy Thumper Book Review Damn, that was good! I have to stand up and applaud! I’ve just finished what I consider one of the best mysteries that I’ve read all year. With 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....
Getting Up and Getting On
Getting Up and Getting On Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Time Can Help Heal Wounds Second time novelist MBridges is back with another Betty Jean title; Getting Up and Getting On. Th...
America The Black Point of View
America The Black Point of View Kam Williams Book Review “I come from a place that is so invisible that you can hardly see me. Yet, I am despised, hated and feared more than anyone or anythin...
Faith under Fire
Faith under Fire Kam Williams Book Review ’God has given me the opportunity to reach scores of women, connecting with their spirits to bring understanding to the ’dow...
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...
Daddy Interrupted
Daddy Interrupted Thumper Book Review Van Whitfield has made me a happy man with his new novel, Dad Interrupted because Shawn Wayne is back in the house! I am crazy about Shawn Wayne. I am not a bi...
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...
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...
Known to Evil
Known to Evil Thumper Book Review Walter Mosley is back with the second installment of his new, magnificent Lenoid McGill Mystery series, Known to Evil. Believe it or not, I got my hands on Known...
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...
Jelly Roll: A Blues
Jelly Roll: A Blues Rondall Brasher Book Review I preface this review by saying that I am an avid fan of the Blues. So, when someone comes along and captures the unmistakable feeling that comes w...
Watch Us Rise
Watch Us Rise Vanessa Vanzie Book Review Oh, to go back in time when life was simpler and filled with of fun, friends and family. Reminiscing on all the highs of your first crush and lows of your fir...
A Flag for Juneteenth
A Flag for Juneteenth Mel Hopkins Book Review Choose Freedom In A Flag for Juneteenth, Kim Taylor weaves a tale of freedom and how to achieve it even when your world is in tatters. And while this...
Where Wild Peaches Grow
Where Wild Peaches Grow Eryka Parker Book Review When heartbreak and familial betrayal send Nona “Peaches” Davenport running from her home of Natchez, Mississippi as a teenager, neither s...
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 Bridge
The Bridge Thumper Book Review The Bridge, the second novel by Solomon Jones, should blow open the doors that his debut novel, Pipe Dreams did not. I am getting excited simply remembering the book ...
Touched
Touched Walter Benefield Book Review Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "We are not makers of history. We are made by history, Dr. Matthew (Matty) Allen Green knows this all to well. On his first nig...
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...
Madea’s Big Happy Family
Madea’s Big Happy Family Kam Williams images/73551_gal.jpg Film Review Tyler Perry Back in Drag for More Tomfoolery as Madea Madea’s Big Happy Family [2011] Rated PG-13 for profanity, m...
Blacktrospective 2006
Blacktrospective 2006 Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/akeela46sm.jpg Film Review Blacktrospective 2006 ’ Annual Look Back at the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema by Kam Williams How d...
Joe Louis: American Hero - Betrayed
Joe Louis: American Hero - Betrayed Kam Williams joe_lo2.jpg Film Review HBO Documentary Revisits America’s Mistreatment of Patriotic Pugilist Joe Louis: American Hero’ B...
Tangled Dreams
Tangled Dreams Kirkus Book Review A fantastic example of ancestry-driven fiction. In Friedman’s novel, a cultural anthropology professor at a crossroads receives a grant that draws her back into h...
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...
Loving
Loving Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/reviews/images/loving.jpg Film Review Excellent (4 of 4 stars) Rated PG-13 for mature themes and ethnic slurs Running time: 123 minutes Studio: Big...
Southside With You
Southside With You Kam Williams southside_with_you.jpg Film Review Inspirational Biopic Revisits Barack and Michelle’s Very First Date Southside With You In Theaters: August 26, 2016 Wide ...
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...
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...
Mixed Me!
Mixed Me! Kam Williams Book Review Mom and Dad say I’m a blend of dark and light:“We mixed you perfectly, and got you just right.” Mike has awesome hair. He has LOTS of energy!...
Why Men Fear Marriage
Why Men Fear Marriage Mel Hopkins Book Review WANTED: “Single Women” In 2050, women internment camps populate the Pacific coastline. This housing once reserved for Japanese Americans...
21 Nights by Prince
21 Nights by Prince Thumper Book Review My number one is Aretha Franklin. Aretha Franklin is my favorite artist of all times. When I was 13 years old, her album, I Never Loved a Man, save...
Prodigal
Prodigal Chauncey Ridley Book Review David Covin’s Prodigal is a well-tuned engine of richly resonant, polysemous form firing on all cylinders: a hip, ripping thriller set in the mean streets o...
19 Years Old & 19 Men Later: A Memoir
19 Years Old & 19 Men Later: A Memoir Kam Williams Book Review “I wrote this book as a guide for young women so that they won’t make the same mistakes I’ve made… I really...
Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March
Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March Kam Williams Book Review “Jailed nine times before her 15th birthday, Lynda Blackmon Lowery refused to give u...
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...
Raceball: How The Major Leagues Colonized The Black and Latin Game
Raceball: How The Major Leagues Colonized The Black and Latin Game Robert Fleming Book Review As a life-long baseball fan, I�m always on the look-out for meaningful books on the sport with its pa...
Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights
Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights Kam Williams Book Review “Whiteness… derives power from its status as an unmarked category… [It] nev...
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...
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...
Whippins
Whippins Thumper Book Review It’s times like these that I wish I were an editor. Whippins, Switches & Peach Cobbler, the first by Brian Egeston, is a novel that doesn’t quite make up ...
The Hiptionary
The Hiptionary Kam Williams Book Review ’Throughout the cultural evolution of the United States, Black people have consistently contributed a huge stock of colorful words, phr...
I am Barack Obama
I am Barack Obama Kam Williams Book Review "This book tells a story of how a child can change the world. It creates a space where children can experience the extraordinary life of P...
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson Kam Williams Book Review ’I have admired and adored Michael Jackson from the first time I heard his name and listened to his music. I have never been more fasc...
Eight Minutes of Heaven
Eight Minutes of Heaven Robert Fleming Book Review Travis English, author of Knights of Paris, returns with his second work of fiction, Eight Minutes of Heaven, a story about Derek Treadwell, w...
Transitioning to Real Life
Transitioning to Real Life Jamie Walker Book Review It isn't easy transitioning from college to the real world, but in Transitioning to Real Life: A Common Sense Guide for the African American ...
Slaves with Swag: The Negroes Your History Teacher Forgot to Mention
Slaves with Swag: The Negroes Your History Teacher Forgot to Mention Kam Williams Book Review “Every February, your history teachers taught you about nine African-Americans: Martin Luther Kin...
Obama Guilty of Being President While Black
Obama Guilty of Being President While Black Kam Williams Book Review "This book is an inspiration that came to me after witnessing the disrespect and venom expressed towards President Obama&h...
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...
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 ...
Still I Rise
Still I Rise Kam Williams Book Review ’One of the invaluable features of Still I Rise, the first cartoon history of black America, is the wealth of information it provides abo...
Sovereign Evolution
Sovereign Evolution Kam Williams Book Review ’African-Americans could benefit from a 21st Century approach to freedom and equality, using sovereign principles as its interp...