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So it's not enough that am*zon wants to put independent booksellers out of business - now they are attempting to shut down Public Libraries too? Independent publishers and authors please don't publish with am*zon. It can only harm your business model not help it. Read more from the Washington Post Consumer Tech Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Am*zon won’t let you. Its monopoly is stopping public libraries from lending e-books and audiobooks from Mindy Kaling, Dean Koontz, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Trevor Noah, Andy Weir, Michael Pollan and a whole lot more... https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/10/am*zon-library-ebook-monopoly/ NOTE: If you reach a paywall try Mozilla Firefox. I read it through that browser. And you might also have access to the audio version. H/T https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=1491&type=status

@Mel Hopkins I agree: Yes we marginalize ourselves. I recall quite clearly the fact that Black writers are balk at my paying them $100 for a book review -- while they would boast and promote that they were Blogging (writing for free) on the Huffington Post site! The Huffington post benefited from a great deal of free and exclusive content that I could not even pay for! Social media has just taken it to a while 'nother level. Today many reviewers STILL give Goodreads (an Amazon site) free book reviews! Why? I'm not aware of a single reviewer who has given Amazon free books review who has "blown up." Indeed, the number of platforms paying for reviews have been greatly diminished during the past 20 years when writers have been writing for free for the massively wealthy properties, from Facebook to Amazon. I wrote about this 8 years ago warning writers about Digital Sharecropping. As far as being targeting by the FBI; the FBI's job is done. When was the last time a Black person did anything impactful enough that our enemies felt the need to assassinate them?

First, you'd have to answer what is the value to post on a Black-owned forum. Black people don't hold power in this country. Therefore, posting on Black-owned media would be like preaching to the choir. At least, in the last two decades, when Black people post on white-owned sites, they've elevated their professional status. Many Black activists, entertainers, journalists, even educators have launched their profiles through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and now Instagram. Does this serve Black people? Nope, but it does help some Black people to realize their individual dreams. And speaking of individuality, just like any other ethnic group, we all have varying views of the world. Some of us are liberal, some of us are religious-fundamentalists, some have patriarchal views, others have matrilineal perspectives, etc. So a Black forum doesn't serve Black people either. At least not all. Humans tend to flock to communities that connect them mentally. For example, This community serves us through literature. We visit here because of the books written about Black people and books written by Black people. Also, when we did congregate on Black-owned media, especially book shops or through book publishing -we were targeted by the FBI. So maybe black people have been programmed into believing it is better to infiltrate white-owned media and hide in plain sight, so to speak. This way, if we are targeted, it is in full view of the world.

Marvin Gaye was the man HIMSELF. I listen to music from that brother almost every day. Infact, I appreciate him more NOW as a grown man than I did when I was growing up as a kid and much of his music was out because I can understand more of what he was talking and singing about when it comes to sex and politics. I was listen to this jam a couple days ago:

The article has a paywall, but I recall Trevor Noah's ebook was (apparently still is) exclusive to Amazon. Amazon is the only one who can sell the ebook. So naturally they can restrict the ability of people to access it from a library. The WP article has a paywall, so I could not read it. But thanks for sharing it anyway.