Nnamdi Azikiwe

65 percent of Black respondents had read at least one book in the previous 12 months No crystal stair : a documentary novel of the life and work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem bookseller https://archive.org/details/nocrystalstairdo0000nels Lewis Michaux, 92, Dies; Ran Bookstore in Harlem https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/27/archives/lewis-michaux-92-dies-ran-bookstore-in-harlem.html By C. Gerald Fraser Aug. 27, 1976 Lewis H. Michaux, whose National Memorial African Book. store was for 44 years a Harlem landmark, died of cancer Wednesday at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. He was 92 years old and lived at 1270 Fifth Avenue. Mr. Michaux called his bookstore the house of common sense and the home of proper propaganda. The community called it Michaux's. The store was situated for 38 years on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard at 125th Street. Browsers and customers included Kwame Nkrumah, who later became Ghana's first President; Malcolm X and many authors and scholars, such as W. E. B. DuBois, who met his wife, Shirley Graham, there. Joe Louis, Earths Kitt, Louis Armstrong and Langston Hughes held autograph parties there. Outside the store, at the intersection Mr. Michaux called Harlem Square, street speakers for decades mounted stepladders to espouse black nationalism. Mr. Michaux himself was a black nationalist. He was involved in nationalist movements in Harlem from the 1930's to the 1960's, and he supported Marcus Garvey's back‐to‐Africa movement. He picketed in Harlem to put blacks in business on busy 125th Street. He picketed at the United Nations to protest its acions in Zaire and the murder of Patrice Lumumba, the Congo's, Prime Minister. He led an organization called African Nationalists in America, and he was a member of the advisory board of the now‐defunct Liberator, a magazine that began in 1960 and provided the first national forum for many now prominent black authors, critics and playwrights. ‘Enemy of Racism’ Mr. Michaux despised the word “Negro,” contending that it was a word used for slaves and that it denied a people their history and their homeland. Frank Hercules, the author, said yesterday that Mr. Michaux “was an uncompromising enemy of racism.” “Black nationalism was the weapon he employed to fight this evil,” Mr. Hercules said. “But he was also a great American patriot in the nativist tradition.” He brought books to black people, Mr. Hercules continued, that gave them “the impact of their heritage and of their own distinguished contribution to world civilization.” Mr. Michaux, who was born in Newport News, Va., on Aug. 4,1885, said that he had never worked for anyone one day in his life. But he also said he had picked peas as a youth, washed windows and later served as a church deacon. late brother was Elder Solomon Lightfoot Michaux, the evangelist. Mr. Michaux left the church, disenchanted. “I don't want any religion that takes away my individuality,” he said in an interview last May. Mr. Michaux first sold books from a wagon, and then from the store on Seventh Avenue, as the street was then called. He slept in the back of his bookstore. “You couldn't find 15 to 20 books by black people,” he said. He added that his receipts then for a day's sales were often only 75 cents or a dollar. When he retired, he said, he was taking in up to $1,500 a day. When he closed his store, which was moved in 1968 to West 125th Street from Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard to make room for the State Harlem Office Building, he had amassed an inventory of 200,000 hooks by and about black people. His bookstore was the largest in Harlem. Jean Blackwell Hutson, the curator of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a New York Public Library facility, said Mr. Michaux's store complemented the Schomberg by selling books that could be read but not borrowed from the library. Ready Wit Mr. Michaux was a peppery, charming, streetwise Harlemite whose wit was legendary. “Negro is a thing,” he used to say. “Use it, abuse, it, accuse it, refuse it.” “No white God answers no black prayers,” he said. “The only lord I know is the landlord, and I don't have to pray for him, he comes every month for the rent.” Describing his departure from the church to the book business, he said: “I left the pulpit for the snake pit.” And the pervasiveness of black awareness in the 1960's caused him to say: “The white man's dream of being supreme has turned to sour cream.” During a lecture at the Black Theater in Harlem, Mr. Michaux said, “The black man is asleep.” He paused and then corrected himself. “No, he's not asleep. He's awake. He's sitting on the edge of the bed, scratching.” His basic belief was on a sign over his 125th Street store: “Knowledge is power; you need it every hour. Read a book.” He proudly related that once a father and son came into his store and the father asked him what the son should be. Mr. Michaux answered, “A doctor.” He sold the father “The Negro in Medicine,” and 26 years later he met the son, then a physician. Mr. Michaux is survived by his wife, Bettie; a son, Lewis Jr., and two sisters, Ruth, of Washington and Margaret, of Newport News. Funeral services will beheld 10 A.M. Monday at Benta's Funeral Chapel on St. Nicholas Avenue at 141st Street.

So @Troycalled me out when I said there should be a white paper on the Black Books Ecosystem by suggesting I write it. Since I don't really have the time and feel it is important I will start an open source version of it. This post will be kind of a sounding board for the White paper and what it should be. A lot of what it will do is document what the Black Books Ecosystem is. What are its inputs and outputs? How is it quantified? How many authors are there? How many publishers? How many bookstores? How many distributors? What is its history? What are its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? What are the trends that affect it? Any suggestions for what should be included are welcome. Contributors are welcome also.

I got the impression she has no valid argument against the people she is referring to so she'll just not have them to contend with the way the Republicans "deported" Alan Keyes from a debate in Atlanta during 1996. No Republican has ever suggested deporting the KKK or Neo-Nazis. Does that mean they support their views? Maybe somebody should point out to her that by being willing to purchase a ticket to Europe for people on the Far-Right , she is implying support for them. Why hasn't she suggested a free ticket to a country where abortion is free for those who are Pro-Choice or free tickets to countries where the death penalty has been abolished for those opposed to Capital Punishment? Who is she talking about by the way? It seems like the clip starts after she made another statement almost intentionally so it would be open ended. That allows people to infer she is talking about them when really she is not talking about any body in particular.

Nailed it!!!

I guess I am. Was that an act of omission or commission? If it was commission then we need to quantify how big a market we are dealing with financially, because the dollar factor is the driving force. If it was omission, then it is important for them to learn the errors of their ways. One of the major objectives of the white paper would be to either define the contours of the ecosystem or educate ABA, Oprah and others about the importance of the BBE.. Paul's quote of you at the end seemed like he was calling on you to organize the next convo.

I was thinking about crowdfunding. Grants as well. Foundations that encourage literacy could be tapped. There might also be some money from the Department of Education too. Maybe even money from the SBA, since most of the bookstores are small businesses. Add in angles so different funders could be tapped. The National Endowment for the Humanities could be a source as well. Guess I might as well get started on a treatment.

That's the title for a documentary on the Black Books Ecosystem (BBE.) The concept is get a bookmobile, fill it with books and drive around the country interviewing authors, publishers, distributors, readers and bookstore owners about the Black books ecosystem. We would document the history, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the BBE. It could be a webseries funded by the participants themselves. The title iSankore is a reference to the University of Sankore at Timbuktu. The route followed by the Bookmobile would be a modern day version of the African Ink Road which ran from north of Timbuktu to south of Kaduna in present day Nigeria. Using the "i" connects to the internet, but also references individual, inform, instruct and inspire. All of which are related to the BBE. It uses the internet to connect individuals to instructive information that inspires.

The Black Books Ecosystem needs a white paper defining it and it's prospects for the future.

Wow @Troythat's a lot of incitement. She and people like her are pandering to their audience. When she gets people who do not agree with her position angry that means she is doing her job. She only represents a certain viewpoint just like Fox News. They know an audience exists for the content they present. In fact I bet all she or someone did is conduct an data analysis of what people think. Chris Carter did the same thing when he pitched the X-Files. He had found a survey where people had been asked about their interest or belief in UFOs. A significant number believed that they had been abducted by aliens like Betty and Barney Hill. She shows there is a market for a certain idea. It is also an opportunity for people opposed to her to simply refute what she is presenting and get the other side to come to the rescue. #BookIdea

It has been six months since this conversation. Will there be a follow up? I would like to know how much has changed since then. Do authors, publishers, distributors, and bookstores know they are part of the Black Books Ecosystem? Donna or Donia Craddock sounded like she was talking about #BlackBookStoreDay. "What would happen if Marcus Garvey had a laptop." Ethelbert Miller (Paul liked that one.)

Hodari Ali was the founder and owner of Pyramid Books in Washington, D.C. As I mentioned earlier, I grew up three blocks from that black owned bookstore, even went past the building every day while attending high school, yet had no idea it existed until I was an adult. Another store, Jewels of Aton was two doors away, though it specialized in jewelry it sold books also. This Black Enterprise article from 1981 is before Pyramid opened and tells how a business grew to fill a need through distribution. I knew I had to post it here when I read the quote "they don't want blacks to think." https://books.google.com/books?id=L8nDKoa0eBQC&lpg=PA30&dq=hodari ali&pg=PA30#v=onepage&q=hodari ali&f=true

I absolutely agree. "The Struggle" didn't always exist. There was a time when there was no such thing. That time could come again at any moment. To me the struggle now is to see ourselves living in a world where justice prevails relentlessly. To paraphrase Dr. King: "Justice everywhere is a threat to injustice anywhere."

@Pioneer1I don't recall the question. My name is Igbo.

To most people in Nigeria that is the face of FESTAC (Festival of African Culture). In actuality she is Iyoba Idia Esigie. It is a belt buckle made of Ivory honoring the Queen mother of Benin. https://guardian.ng/life/the-untold-tale-between-oba-esigie-and-iyoba-idia-of-benin/

African American Income Black Median Household income: $41,361* (all races $63,179) All Black Workers 2018 weekly earnings: $769 (all races $969) Black Men weekly earnings: $814 (All men $1070) Black Women weekly earnings: $735 (All women $865) https://blackdemographics.com/households/african-american-income/

I use the term "Melanin Challenged." I got it from a short film PBS produced named "White" where a man in the future ends up selling his melanin as impossible as it is. The idea of people being "Caucasian" is a misnomer. It started with Christophe Meiners. Johann Blumenbach used it in his attempt to describe the varieties of humans in his book "Handbuch der Naturgeschichte" (Handbook of Natural History). It has nothing to do with the origin of the "Caucasian" race.

I don't know that. I know Anansi was in American Gods. I know Hulk is the Jewish golem. Iron Man was a European myth. The Fantastic Four are Earth Wind Fire and Water (The Thing, Invisible Girl, The Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic) of course Thor is the Nordic/Viking God. I do know Hugo Canuto did something special with the Tales of the Orixas. I'll never get over how close he emulates Jack Kirby's style. https://hugocanuto.com/gallery/contos-dos-orixas-tales-of-the-orishas/ Joseph Campbell tried to redeem himself at the end and take back his claim that there was only one story...being told by everyone except people in Africa. I was really annoyed by that. Apparently I was not the only one. Clyde Ford put the issue to rest with The Hero with An African Face. https://aalbc.com/books/bookinfo.php?isbn13=9780553378689

I absolutely agree. "The Struggle" didn't always exist. There was a time when there was no such thing. That time could come again at any moment.

Had vaguely heard about Raising Dion until this day. Thank you @Delano for making me watch what I guess was the Pre-viz.

Maybe it was. In fact, I might have subconsciously been motivated by my disappointment in Stan to write what I call Keyamsha the Awakening for that same reason. We live in a world of infinite possibilities of which we are living only one. In a parallel universe I might have tracked down Stan before he ventured into the great beyond and put some of this to him so we can get a definitive answer. Or maybe the answer lies somewhere in a book we haven't explored yet. It is kind of hard to let ol' Stan off the hook knowing that in 1960 appeared an English language version of a story by Michael Verne attributed to his father Jules with a bit more than a passing similarity to the idea of Wakanda...except with Tarzan framed characters added in for good measure. Of course Verne was a compatriot of the notorious Felix Dubois, the first Europen to enter Timbuktu. The 1960 publication of City in the Sahara/The Barsac Mission puts us back in the Silver Age of Marvel, in Africa with high technology isolated from the rest of Africa. Possibilities. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_City_in_the_Sahara/jYwd1jgmSKkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=city+in+the+sahara+jules+verne&printsec=frontcover You just described the theme of Stephen King's "On Writing." He didn't know he was going to write Carrie until he wrote it. Then he threw it in the trash. His wife found it and made him finish it. Carrie might have been struggling, but the struggle wasn't King's own. It was a composite of several people culminating in a coming of age story that many people relate to. We want Carrie to win because King made us care about her and her struggle became ours. For instance instead of racism, what about the emotions it produces. Make it something unconnected to it but sparking the same emotions. Rod Serling tried going away from Emmett Till in "A Town Has Turned To Dust." He got the same effect, emotionally, but was dissatisfied with the story. "Noon on Doomsday" was supposed to be his retelling of Emmett Till but the sponsors didn't go for it.

Why does Powell's get the 10% revenue share but AALBC does not?

To me Black Panther represents the idea of the Berlin Conference...divide and conquer/rule. Prior to the Berlin Conference Africans did not have boundaries like there are now. One of the things that I really see as fundamental to really understanding Pre-Berlin Conference Africa is what some people call "The African Ink Road." From north of Timbuktu to south of Kaduna in what is present-day Nigeria was a trading route memorialized with the proverb/slogan "Gold comes from the south. Salt comes from the North. But knowledge and beautiful things come from Timbuktu." Black Panther really is ahistorical...here is Wakanda, the only African country with all this fantastical technological ability. Meanwhile, it pays not attention to apartheid? Doesn't lend a hand during to the Mau Mau? Is completely indifferent to Cecil Rhodes' intention to colonize everything "From the Cape to Cairo?" What made Wakanda ignore the fact all it's neighbors except Ethiopia and Liberia were colonized up until Ghana's independence? Here's the kicker for me. The Biafran War took place during the Sliver Age of Marvel Comics. Wakanda ignored it. I know comics are not the real world, but this is a fantasy world that defies reality in too many ways to be ignored. So what made Wakanda separate itself from the rest of the continent? Stan Lee. Dr. Welsing made me look at how the subconscious speaks loud and clear when we look at motivations. Just like Edgar Rice Burroughs, and James Patterson, Lee's version of Africa is HIS view. T'challa is who Stan Lee would be in Africa if he had the opportunity. The movie does the same thing. The African diaspora becomes the enemy through Killmonger. The CIA/USA becomes the (shadow) hero/ally through Ross. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Stan Lee. Love Jack Kirby. Wanted to be a mix of Jim Starlin, Gil Kane, and Kirby with Big John Buscema and Frank Frazetta sprinkled on top growing up. That whole "What Kinda" thing sank my battle ship. Thanks for questioning the Melanin Envy angle @Delano. Who knows this might turn into a book. "Psychoanalyzing Wakanda." I'm a "late adopter" because of Microsoft's tendency to release software before it's time. Nothing ever lives up to it's propaganda.

#flabbergasted

No @Troy it's not obvious. I am really confused with that statement. It contradicts Please clarify this for me. Why doesn't AALBC get the revenue share? Also, this tells me there is a HUGE market out there. Just a slice of the market share means "cha-ching."