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Today I sold a few copies of Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist. Ibram is a critically acclaimed author who won a National Book Award in 2016 (I recorded Ibram's acceptance speech). Despite posting video and publishing a review of his latest book. I have not sold many copies of his Kendi's books. However, today I may have sold enough copies of How to Be an Antiracist for it to make my next bestsellers list. This piqued my interest; why is there increased demand of Ibram's work on the site? I decided to check Amazon and discovered that Amazon is currently charging $44 -- minimum price for a used copy! The book's price is $27 new -- Max. Amazon has 3rd party booksellers competing to sell over priced, used copies of a book that is still in print and less than a year old! How many unsophisticated book buyers will Amazon trick with this scheme? The reader is overcharged and neither the author or publisher earns a penny on these sales, but Amazon will, as usual, make money no matter what. Sure, people falsely believe Amazon sells books at the best prices, and maybe some customers feel compelled to buy overpriced books from Amazon because they are already paying 10 bucks a month for a Prime membership. But price gouging on books during a pandemic ... how low can you go? I think people are beginning to see Amazon for what they truly are. They don't care about the books, the readers, authors, or publishers. All they care about is getting paid, and on that they have executed brilliantly. (left) Amazon screen shot* (right) AALBC screen shot (taken 5/31/20) *Yeah, I know I'm breaking my own rule of not allowing links to Amazon, but in this context I think it is appropriate.

... and Black people too. The speaker, Jeffery Robinson, offers a thoughtful, factual, measured, and critical lecture on racism's impact on Black Americans. Some of you may be tired of trying off explaining to good meaning white folks what racism is and how it has hampered Black people and enriched white people. When white people ask you to explain racism, you can point them to this video.

I heard about this eclipse and was really looking forward to seeing it like I did the one in 2017. I even traveled down to Tennessee to view that one. Too bad the one that occurred a few weeks ago couldn't be seen from the United States.

Chev You know, I think he is referring to the UK and not the Spanish Colonizers in terms of 1619 vs the 1500s. I realize that the English were already in the Americas in California during the 1500s, but they did not organize their colonial movement until the early 1600s. Then he should make that clear. But like much of his lecture, he did not. I personally don't believe he realizes that Africans were first brought to the Caribbean for a 64 year process of de-civilization first before being taken to other parts of the Americas. But the reality would be for me, that Jeffrey Robinson's speech to that audience is needed because so many Black people would not have listened very well due to the previous negative conditioning. HIs speech was in 2017 but now, I believe it may be heard by Black people due to what is going on now. This audience that consisted of a certain percentage of White Americans are NOT all of them negative. That's just the nature of human psychology. I was completely amazed at his information! Some of what he spoke about was so new to me! I almost 'fell out' when I heard Ben Carson'! LOL, I never seen the video. But what Robinson did NOT say though, was that Obama said that very same thing BEFORE Ben Carson did. Obama refers to African Americans as immigrants! I could NOT believe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr had spoke so well!!!-- I knew that his words were cherry picked though because I had done my own personal research about him. He blew me away when he broke down the real benefactors of AFIRMATIVE ACTION!!! OMG!!! So true!!! I had never heard of the Stone Wall in Georgia!!! To think it is larger than what is in South DAkota!? You're speaking of Mt. Rushmore? Yeah, that Confederate crap was built (or completed) only a few decades ago. And why they (I'm speaking of the AfroAmericans in Georgia because I'm not suprised at what Caucasians do) even allowed it to be built is beyond me. Perhaps I shouldn't be so selfish in my ciritizms of his information because NOTHING he said was new to me, I knew about everything he told the audience plus more. But after reading what you wrote I realized that just because I knew that history doesn't mean everyone did so perhaps much of it needs to be told. But to me, much of what he said was so redundant and useless that it was frustrating. seemingly Black-on-Black murders committed over the 4th of July weekend and how the police force has not been sent out to protect Black citizens that have been victims of violence. Exactly....."seemingly"....is the correct word! Because many of these homicides allegedly have no witnesses to them although they took place in the middle of major cities with cameras all over the place and police around every corner. THIS IS BY DESIGN. THIS IS WHAT OMAROSA IS REFERRING TO AND THIS IS JUST A PROCESS OF HOW THE MEANS IS MEANT TO JUSTIFY THE END RESULT OF WHAT SHE SAID WOULD BE RACE RIOTS. THIS IS SEEMINGLY BUILDING INTO A PERIOD OF LAWLESSNESS. I agree with you 100%! Before they released the prisoners, many of them were psychological conditioned and turned into socio-pathic MONSTERS whom they knew would reak havoc in the community once released. Not only was this by design but it was a long time in the making as was predicted and known! Not just by Omarosa! Not just by the White Supremacists! Not just by us! But also by the powerful Black Elders/Deities who REALLY control this planet who predicted the destruction of this world before it's inception. They know ALL of the plans (and thoughts) of the White Supremacists and have plans of Their own....lol.

Established by who? Man I thought anti-vaxxers were all white women. Pioneer is there no conspiracy theory that you do not buy into? @Chevdove did you not have your children vaccinated? Man, has this gentleman done something to you personally? Did he steal your woman or something? Are you saying that Black people were murdered by white people over the 4th of July and that these murders were made to look like they were committed by Black people and that the police did nothing and all of this was widely reported in the media? I'm glad you learned something from the video @Chevdove. I'm not sure why Pioneer thinks every white person is an active architect of racism even though they were born into this system just like we were.

Chev Black people need to read. Yes we need to read, and more importantly we need to read the RIGHT material. We also need to get back into properly contacting the spirit realms. Something that many of the monotheistic religions had forbidden Africans to do when they converted them. When you go into the spirit realms you start finding out an unbelievable amount of knowledge and wisdom that hasn't been and will never be revealed in this world where the Caucasian can get his hands on it and corrupt it. ......or use it for himself like many have.

And on this same note too, about how we are being controlled by a narrative: it has been widely reported in the media about the many, seemingly Black-on-Black murders committed over the 4th of July weekend and how the police force has not been sent out to protect Black citizens that have been victims of violence. THIS IS BY DESIGN. THIS IS WHAT OMAROSA IS REFERRING TO AND THIS IS JUST A PROCESS OF HOW THE MEANS IS MEANT TO JUSTIFY THE END RESULT OF WHAT SHE SAID WOULD BE RACE RIOTS. THIS IS SEEMINGLY BUILDING INTO A PERIOD OF LAWLESSNESS. An official on the news spoke about how it was not a good idea to push for the end of the police force, and he said that even law officials were in support of this but this was the plan--to encourage Blacks speak on this ill fated wise. The speaker said too, basically, that because of the Coronavirus, many prisoners have been released from jail and this is a potential problem for many other innocent citizens and has been part of the violence over the weekend. I feel that Black people should confront this government to hire more adequate 'Black' police officers, not to end the police force. That is just crazy.

LOL! Okay @Pioneer1 You are too much. Yes, and I agree but this has to do with our ancestors being enslaved as children. We've been conditioned byway of the slave yard when reading and writing were outlawed to believe lies and statements that are not even in the scriptures at all. Black people need to read. Yes. interesting point!

"A story about stories… the forgotten stories of those who were discarded for their imperfections." Feature Presentation: The Discards, 4 episode (limited) animated series Now Streaming: https://owshowe.com & https://www.197sk8.com Executive Producer: Wolfgang-Pocco Narrator: Madinah Slaise Distributor: MadPo Production Studio

Set in today's political climate, Derrick, a young African American who has built a civic-minded conglomerate that undercuts the retail and gas prices set by the business powers that be--learns political power is needed to ensure the sustainability of his corporation and prevent the blockage of future projects.His mother, Yvonne, who has raised her children to leap over the systematic roadblocks that confine many to juvenile delinquency, spearheads the grassroots voting initiative to change the leadership in congress.Erich Hornsby, the Neo-Nazi chairman of the business powers, plots Derrick's murder and manipulates the voters to elect his puppet, John Donaldson, president. In full control of the White House, Hornsby attempts to raise the Fourth Reich.This realistic tale of disproportion wealth and political tribalism is both chilling and insightful. Release Date: September 15, 2020 ISBN - 9781733150330

The best thing I've done in recent times was NOT to buy from Amazon anymore. Nothing. To hell with them.

I'm not surprised at all by the silence in reaction to this question. Several years ago the strongest critics to to the idea of an all out boycott of Amazon came from indie authors. Many indie authors are beholden to Amazon. In fact they have given Anazon the exclusive right to sell books. Even if they haven't given Amazon exclusivity, Amazon published their book and the terms to other booksellers are so bad it is not profitable for other booksellers to sell their books. Now if you posed that question in a room full of booksellers with physcial bookstores you would not have been able to shut anyone up. I think one solution is helping readers who buy books to buy from anyone but Amazon. The other problem is that too many indie booksellers use Amazon's marketplace to sell books. Unless this stops Amazon's virtual monopoly will grow stronger. They won't stop because these booksellers would be out of business without Amazon's platform. Ultimately, the only solution is a boycott of Amazon. I'm boycotting them and I know others who are too. Talk to you later this afternoon Wendy. I was thinking about creating a drop squad to deal with Black booksellers who sell books on Amazon. 🙂

Today I attended Independent Book Publishing Association's Annual meeting remotely. In the open forum, I asked if IBPA could wean writers away from "A." Considering what happened at Christmas time with delayed orders and the "non-essential" designation during this time of the corona virus I thought it should be a priority. The head of the organization asked for members to comment before she gave her opinion. There was dead silence from the other 106 members at the meeting. The head of the organization then said that IBPA had prevented "A" from using Audible caption on books not in the public domain. True, this was a victory. But reacting to each outrage one by one is not as effective as not using them at all. She then went on to say that IBPA encourages members to "diversify, diversify, diversify" and pointed to an article that one of the members had written. This is true. She continued that the association could not tell members which distribution channel to use. Another panelist said that if you did business with "A" you were "restricted in the way you talked about them." She added that they had the best lawyers around. The next question was from a member asking if IBPA could set up a committee to study "A"'s algorithms. That did it for me. In the chat, I asked if a webinar could be given to let members know about alternatives to "A." I have taken two webinars in which the presenters stressed that trying to get an appearance on "Oprah" or a review in the "New York Times" is probably not likely, but your local station or newspaper is a more realistic possibility. In other words, there are other options. I didn't stay to have an after discussion with the panelists on this issue because I hadn't eaten and didn't think I could continue to be diplomatic. The head of the organization had not read aloud my comments comparing "A" to enslavement. Probably considering them too inflammatory. As for taking "A''s money, this is the stuff novels and plays are made of. Do you stand on principle and go bankrupt or do you take the money and stay in business? Saying no does not just involve the owner. The business has employees and those employees have families. Taking the money and letting them stay anonymous means probably not making negative comments about them. You took the money didn't you? What would I do? I don't know. If I were writing this, I'd have a scene where the owner is going to give in because of her concern for the employees and their families, and they refuse to let her. They raise some money, but not as much as if they had taken the "blood money." But they end with their integrity. There is nothing that upsets wealthy people more than finding out that everyone does not have a price, that money can't buy everyone.

A wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf. In 1892, during the Homestead, PA, strike against Carnegie's steel company, women and children were killed by Pinkerton guards when they joined the strikers to support their sons, brothers, spouses, and fathers. Carnegie--in his native Scotland at the time--hired the Pinkertons guards and Henry Clay Frick ordered them to shoot into the crowd. When Carnegie began funding libraries in small towns, which would then be named after him--the industrialist now turned philanthropist--many would not accept the money. The towns did not want his "blood money" and insisted on raising money for their libraries themselves. You don't have to be a New Yorker to have heard of Carnegie Hall and the Frick Museum. Even if, as a friend of mine says who worked for the Carnegie Endowment, in later life Carnegie saw the error of his ways, it should not mean that what he did to make the money he gave away should not be forgotten. Tell both sides of the story. The same is true of "A."

Authors have compiled a public spreadsheet detailing the advances. According to Publishers Weekly, National Book Award-winner Jesmyn Ward, wrote: "Even after Salvage the Bones won the NBA [National Book Award], my publishing company did not want to give me 100k for my next novel. My agent and I fought and fought before we wrestled our way to that number." That is remarkable.

Interesting. I did not know this. Imagine what a powerful statement it would have been if Amazon's money was rejected. I can however understand why'd they would take it. I definitely would have kept them anonymous. Revealing who they were played right into their hands. Amazon made an investment. ------- Amazon has a grocery store near where I teach. There are no cashiers. You swipe in pick up what you want and are automatically billed. Amazon has a physical bookstore not too far away. No booksellers, very few Black books, and steps aways from a Borders bookstore that shut down. There are several Wholefoods nearby including one in Harlem... Amazon will not stop until they are the only place you can by anything.