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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Fictional Work Inspired by Black Lives Matter Highlights Factual Realities of Modern Day Race Relations Arnetta Randall, Author of ‘Stereotypically Me,’ Explores Segregation, Police Brutality and Political Corruption in Sophomore Book Release CHICAGO, Ill. – Arnetta Randall, author of “Stereotypically Me” will debut her new novella, “Don’t Shoot,” on November 3. The book launches on the heels of several officer-involved shootings and riots across the U.S., and is largely inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. In “Don’t Shoot,” police shootings claim the lives of one white victim and one black victim in the city of Chicago. The story details the incidents and their aftermath, spotlighting the corrupt political machine and segregation that persist in the city today. “While we would like to think discrimination is a southern problem, there are many issues in the north,” said Arnetta Randall on her blog. “Our nation is nowhere being the post-racial society we would like to be.” “The inequality of our systems, education, housing and the intense concentration of poverty in black and brown neighborhoods is racist,” Randall continued. “Being silent about this is violence and ignoring this racism is complicity.” Randall also uses “Don’t Shoot” to chronicle the evolution of Black Lives Matter, an activist movement that was born following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. The movement has continued to swell in the wake of several highly publicized cases of police brutality in 2014 and 2015. Randall is an avid blogger and published freelance writer. She explores meaningful and sometimes controversial cultural issues and weaves them into works of commercial fiction. Randall has been accepted into Northwestern’s postgraduate creative writing certificate program and will attend the Can Serrat writing residency in Spain in March 2016. For more information about Randall and her latest book, “Don’t Shoot,” visit www.arnettarandall.com or email arnettarandall@gmail.com. “Don’t Shoot” is available via Amazon.com. ###

CDBurns, I like the honesty in what you had to say. However, believe me, you are making a real contribution every time you mentor a child. Yes, I wish we could multiply mentoring contributions. Sometimes, I want to give up. However, this is just not an option for me--ever. I will fight for our children until the day I leave this Earth. I was one of them--lost, neglected, and doomed to fail or so I thought. I know what great teachers and mentors can do for a challenged youth.

Hello Troy and fellow members, I am just seeing your email to me. Of course, I subscribed. I want you to know that I find you most impressive. I have told my husband and my sons about what you are doing. I am praying for the continued success of this forum. As such, I am telling people about aalbc.com and asking them to take a peek. It is like pulling teeth sometimes to get people to participate in anything. I gather that everyone is busy trying to survive all the madness in our lives. Well, the best to you, while you "keep on keeping on" as the old folks say.

Well, maybe Ben Carson is more relevant to the current subject than we think. He is routinely referred to as a "brilliant" surgeon but when placed under the scrutiny of the media microscope, time and time again he comes across as an ill-informed dork who apparently was not the beneficiary of a broad education but is simply someone who is competent in the field he specialized in. Parents are, indeed, our first teachers but they don't have to be college educated to provide an ideal environment for their children. They just need to be motivators, and this includes encouraging their children to be CURIOUS and, above all, to be READERS. Reading is fundamental and if teachers can make readers of children, the battle is half won because this enables them to learn on their own. When young people enter the work force they most likely will have to be re-trained, and knowing how to be a problem solver is what will serve them just as much as being someone who might be classified as an educated fool. I always encouraged my kids to learn a little bit about a lot of things so that they could be conversant on a variety of subjects, something that would make them interesting observant people because having people skills is also an asset. The works of Shakespeare, along with Mythology, are components of a classic education but they also provide lessons for every day life because they are about human foibles, about playing the hand you are dealt whether you live in the ghetto or in a gated community.

I will get around to it. This reminds me of the old linkshare days. Good stuff. Other people should definitely be joining in the party.

I can't bring myself to watch it. I haven't watched it and I don't plan on watching it. I'm not ignoring the shooting or violence against Blacks, there just isn't anything I can do about it. I commend those who continuously march and fight, but I know now the best thing I can do is raise my children in the best way I can and then affect the children I've taught and continue to interact with as best as I can. If I can keep my kids safe, while also mentoring 5-20 kids, I've done my part. Now, take me and multiply that with all black men and then you have a solution to the shootings. I say it once, I say it over and over, you can't kill a together people. Go to 1:40 of this video. The most revolutionary thing Black people can do is come together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4H0rwumscA