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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 ...
Half of a Yellow Sun
Half of a Yellow Sun Kam Williams Half-of-a-Yellow-Sun.jpg Film Review Colonial Nigeria Provides Backdrop for Sweeping Romance Saga Half of a Yellow Sun In Theaters: May 16, 2014 Limited Rated...
Wimbey’s Corner
Wimbey’s Corner Emanuel Carpenter Book Review At first glance, one might think that Wimbey’s Corner is a story about a big and black country bumpkin’ named Wayne Hunter who moves from a...
Moon
Moon Thumper Book Review Allow me to state up front that I am a huge fan of Jewell Parker Rhodes; have been since I read one of her earlier novels, Magic City. I got extremely excited when I ...
Stagolee Shot Billy
Stagolee Shot Billy Thumper Book Review It was because of my mother’s and aunt Janice’s love of 60’s soul music that I first encountered and fell in love with Wilson Pickett singin...
The Good House
The Good House Thumper Book Review Tananarive Due has returned with The Good House, her best book to date. The Good House is a magnificent, irresistible family drama of one family fighting an evil ...
A Haunted House 2
A Haunted House 2 Kam Williams haunted-house2-movie-review.jpg Film Review A Haunted House 2 In Theaters: Apr 18, 2014 Wide Running time: 87 minutes Rated R for violence, graphic sexuality, front...
Grasshopper Speaks
Grasshopper Speaks Emanuel Carpenter Book Review In Katrina Register’s memoir, “Grasshopper Speaks,” the author takes readers on the whirlwind journey of her life. In this debut, s...
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...
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...
The Black Rose
The Black Rose Paige Turner Book Review Journalist and novelist Tananarive Due is fast establishing herself as a professional writer who can master any genre she deigns to approach. With her previ...
Speaking of Summer
Speaking of Summer Brenda M. Greene Book Review Mental illness in fiction provides a lens and a relatively safe space by which readers can examine its complexity and impact on the lives of the indivi...
The New Brownies’ Book
The New Brownies’ Book Clarence V. Reynolds Book Review In the November 1910 premier issue of The Crisis, the official journal of the NAACP, historian, scholar, civil rights activist, sociologist, an...
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 ...
If There Be Pain
If There Be Pain Jayne Cubbage Book Review On the surface it appears that Gloria Mallette has designed her latest novel, If There Be Pain to read like a chronicle of the life of Kyle Lawson, a selfi...
Don’t Make a Black Woman…
Don’t Make a Black Woman… Kam Williams Book Review Madea’s Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life: #1 spot on the New York Times best sellers list (May 2006). "Whoever came...
Ghetto Nation
Ghetto Nation Kam Williams Book Review ’Ghetto no longer refers to where you live, it is how you live. It is a mind-set’ a mind-set that thinks the M words — monogamy and marr...
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...
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...
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...
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party Kam Williams block_2.jpg Film Review Conscious-Raising Concert Flick Combines Comedy and Hip-Hop Dave Chappelle’s Block Party Excellent (4 stars) Unrated ...
I Think I Love My Wife
I Think I Love My Wife Kam Williams i_thin2.jpg Film Review Man’s Marriage Vows Tested by Temptress in Remake of French Morality Play I Think I Love My Wife Theatrical Release Mar 16, 2...
The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete
The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete Kam Williams mister-and-pete-the-kids.jpg Film Review Abandoned Kids Fend for Themselves in Gritty, NYC Saga The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete Av...
In My Father’s House
In My Father’s House Thumper Book Review In My Father’s House is the first installment to a new series the late E. Lynn Harris was working on at the time of his death. I don’t know if t...
House of Payne, Volume 4
House of Payne, Volume 4 Kam Williams house_26.jpg Film Review House of Payne, Volume 4 Click to order via AmazonUnrated Running time: 440 minutes Studio: Lionsgat...
Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars Kam Williams Book Review ’I was born in December 1984 in a house on Hickory St. that was mostly maintained by my mother’s mother. But when I was three, my...
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...
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...
Safe House
Safe House Kam Williams safehouse_movieposter.jpg Film Review Rookie and Rogue Agents Make Strange Bedfellows in High Body-Count Spy Thriller Safe House In Theaters: Feb 10, 2012 Wide Rated R fo...
The Presidency in Black and White: My Up-Close View of Three Presidents and Race in America
The Presidency in Black and White: My Up-Close View of Three Presidents and Race in America Kam Williams Book Review “[This book] gives readers a compelling behind-the-scenes look at race re...
Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern
Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern Kam Williams Book Review “From his humble beginnings in Sumter, South Carolina to his prominence on the Washington, D.C. political scene as the third...
Wench
Wench Thumper Book Review I had a feeling that even though we are educated enough in the institution of slavery, there are still aspects that take me by surprise. Dolen Perkins-Valdez debut...
The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House
The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House Kam Williams Book Review "On February 10, 2007, Barack Hussein Obama stood before thousands waiting in the cold in front of the Old Stat...
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 ...
Vice President Kamala Harris: Her Path To The White House
Vice President Kamala Harris: Her Path To The White House Robert Fleming Book Review America has a love-hate relationship with pioneers, the people who break impossible barriers to forge a successful...
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, ...
In The House Of The Interpreter: A Memoir
In The House Of The Interpreter: A Memoir Robert Fleming Book Review This stunning second memoir by noted Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, In The House Of The Interpreter, cover...
White House Diary
White House Diary Kam Williams Book Review "During my four years in the White House, I kept a personal diary by dictating my thoughts and observations several times each day… When dictatin...
Ain’t Nothing Like Freedom
Ain’t Nothing Like Freedom Kam Williams Book Review “Elected six times to the House from the state of Georgia, Cynthia McKinney cut a trail through Congressional deceit like a hot ember throug...
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...
Not Easily Broken
Not Easily Broken Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Can This Marriage Be Saved? Dave and Clarice have been married forever; yet the things that they do not know about one another could fill up a small house...
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...
Why I Sued the Bible Publishers
Why I Sued the Bible Publishers Robert Fleming Book Review If there was ever a book title that yelled its intentions, this is it. The book’s author, Bradley Fowler, one of the faithful of Presb...
Penitentiary Tales: A Love Story
Penitentiary Tales: A Love Story Robert Fleming Book Review When I was growing up, I heard about boys and girls, men and women from my Hood going to The Big House. One of the girls I dated had an inm...
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...
Lighting the Fires of Freedom by Janet Dewart Bell
Lighting the Fires of Freedom by Janet Dewart Bell Brenda M. Greene Book Review In Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement (The New Press, 2018), Dr. Janet ...
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...
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...
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...
The Future Has a Past
The Future Has a Past Thumper Book Review The Future Has A Past is the latest short story collection by author J. California Cooper. In case you don’t know, I adore J. California Cooper! I&rs...
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...
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...
Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me
Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me Jesse Washington Book Review Let’s get this out of the way up front: R. Kelly’s autobiography does not discuss what really happened with the sex tape th...
Go
Go Kam Williams Book Review ’This extraordinary collection of letters to Michelle Obama says a great deal about the lives, the hopes, prayers, fears, and aspirations of Africa...
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...
Baby Momma Drama
Baby Momma Drama Thumper Book Review Carl Weber’s new book is loaded with the type of drama I love, — unfiltered, full strength, wig snatching, "yo-momma’s-a-ho!" drama. ...
That Mean Old Yesterday: A Memoir
That Mean Old Yesterday: A Memoir Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Paint a picture of a little brown girl who walks in fear and sadness. Her dark story is told in Stacey Patton’s memoir, Tha...
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...
Phenomenally Me
Phenomenally Me Chris Hayden Book Review In a dark room with a blue light In the basement, music just right Nothing going down but the Mellow sounds of Mr. DJ’s turntables Going round" Boyz...
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...
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 ...
Chasing The 400
Chasing The 400 Idrissa Uqdah Book Review The African American Caste System When you think about the caste system you think of the poor in countries like India where there is a division of society ...
Jump at the Sun
Jump at the Sun Idrissa Uqdah Book Review It’s Always The Mama Baggage Kim McLarin is known for writing novels about touchy issues within the Black community. Her stories step on toes an...
Sinking Saints
Sinking Saints Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Author Etta Harbin outlines the ten most important reasons that the 21st century church is on the brink of self-destruction while offering real solution...
Do Me Twice: My Life after Islam
Do Me Twice: My Life after Islam Kam Williams Book Review "The story I must tell in order to be transformed is the story of my coming out — out of Islam, out of my parents’ hous...
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...
Free Lunch
Free Lunch Kam Williams Book Review ’The evidence of a growing divide between the superrich and everyone else in America is so overwhelming that all but the few lightweight ideologues amo...
How Could My Husband Be Gay?
How Could My Husband Be Gay? Kam Williams Book Review Have you ever ignored any red flags regarding your mate? "How Could My Husband Be Gay?" may cause you to never make that mistake agai...
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...
Sundown Towns
Sundown Towns Kam Williams Book Review ’Beginning in about 1890 and continuing until 1968, white Americans established thousands of towns across the United States for whites only. A &rsqu...
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...
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...
Cry Me a River
Cry Me a River Thumper Book Review I have said it before, and most likely, I will say it again, but there is no drama like family drama. With Ernest Hill’s Cry Me a River, I got exactly that&...
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...
Devil’s Dream: A Novel about Nathan Bedford Forrest by Madison
Devil’s Dream: A Novel about Nathan Bedford Forrest by Madison Thumper Book Review It is safe to say, I began this book in complete and total ignorance. I had not read any of Madison Smartt Bell&rs...
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...
Genesis Begins Again
Genesis Begins Again Shafika Burke Book Review Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams is a powerful, poignant, and ultimately empowering middle-grade novel that highlights issues sure to interest...
The Third Verse
The Third Verse Robert Fleming Book Review America is a glorious idea founded on democracy and equality for all. When Jerry Canada, a former trial lawyer and New Yorker, chooses one of the most famou...
Palmares
Palmares Robert Fleming Book Review No less than the esteemed late novelist Toni Morrison, the chief editorial gatekeeper of Random House, was stunned by the narrative power of Gayl Jones’ firs...
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...
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...
Book Review: Them That Are Called: An Epic
Book Review: Them That Are Called: An Epic Robert Fleming Book Review This truly epic science-fiction novel, Them That Are Called, took its author more than sixteen years to complete this hefty narra...
The Collected Poems of Nikki Giovanni
The Collected Poems of Nikki Giovanni Rondall Brasher Book Review The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni has been grafted to my hands for the last 3 weeks. This anthology is the chronological atlas...
Kevin and His Dad
Kevin and His Dad Kam Williams Book Review ’What could be better for a young boy than to spend a whole day with his father! With mom away on a Saturday, that’s exa...
Transforming Pain to Power: Unlock Your Unlimited Potential
Transforming Pain to Power: Unlock Your Unlimited Potential Kam Williams Book Review “I grew up in Dayton, Ohio in a home scarred by addiction and incarceration. For most of my childhood&hell...
Sweet Georgia Brown
Sweet Georgia Brown Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Can A Woman Reinvent Herself? Cheryl Robinson is known for writing novels with a twist, portraying women who face the odds and succeed. Her books...
The Monkeybars of Life
The Monkeybars of Life Robert Fleming Book Review Ted Pittman’s debut novel, The Monkeybars Of Life, salutes the dual notions of endurance and survival. Pittman’s ...
Rooftop Diva
Rooftop Diva Idrissa Uqdah Book Review D. T. Pollard’s novel, Rooftop Diva became an Essence bestseller novel in 2007. This fictionalized account put a different spin on a survivor of H...
The Upper Room
The Upper Room Thumper Book Review Mary Monroe initially caught my attention and admiration with her second novel God Don’t Like Ugly. I loved God Don’t Like Ugly, as I previously stated...
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013) Kam Williams the-butler.jpg Film Review Forest Whitaker Delivers Oscar-Quality Performance in Emotionally-Searing Civil Rights Saga Lee Daniels’ The Butler...
The Loving Story
The Loving Story Kam Williams the-loving-story.jpg Film Review Civil Rights Documentary Recounts Landmark Supreme Court Decision on Interracial Marriage The Loving Story (2012) In Theaters: Dec 10...
Obsessed
Obsessed Kam Williams obsess16.jpg Film Review Temp Stalks Happily-Married Boss in Harrowing Psychological Thriller Obsessed Rated PG-13 for sexuality, violence, suggest...
Olympus Has Fallen
Olympus Has Fallen Kam Williams olympus-has-fallen-angela-bassett-Morgan-Freeman.jpg Film Review Olympus Has Fallen (2013) Click to order DVD from Amazon In Theaters: Mar 22, 2013 Wide ...
The Pirogue
The Pirogue Kam Williams la-pirogue.jpg Film Review Senegalese Peasants Set Out for Spain in Seafaring Tale of Survival La Pirogue (2012) In Theaters: Jan 23, 2013 Limited Directed By: Moussa TourÃ...
Temptation
Temptation Kam Williams temptation-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Adulteress Wife Shamelessly Violates Vows in Latest Tyler Perry Morality Play Temptation (2013) In Theaters: Mar 29, 2013 Wide Rated ...
Tower Heist
Tower Heist Kam Williams towerheist.jpg Film Review Victims Turn Tables on Con Man in Murphy-Stiller Buddy Comedy Tower Heist Rated PG-13 for profanity and sexuality. Running time: 104 Minute...
I Am Not Your Negro
I Am Not Your Negro Kam Williams https://aalbc.com/authors/images/im-not-your-negro.jpg Film Review Oscar-Nominated Documentary Inspired by James Baldwin’s Unfinished Manuscript Excellent (...
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...
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:...
The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods Kam Williams cabininthewoods.jpg Film Review College Kids Hunted at Haunted House in Harrowing Horror Flick The Cabin in the Woods [2012] In Theaters: Apr 13, 2012 Wide Rated...