Mel Hopkins

Indeed. Stupidity, greed, fear, and lack of empathy definitely explains "Covidiots." And it also explains why one would not wear a mask even if they might unwittingly infect someone. And for the record, Troy, you know I work hard not to be reductionist - but this isn't a complicated matter. COVID-19 is a novel virus, which means, as you know, its total effect on humans, how it's transmitted and, a cure is unknown. Virologists, who spend 3 to 5 years' POST-doctoral-level research and are likely to have licenses to practice medicine, have reported as much. AND with more than one million dead worldwide in less than a year (since December 2019), I'll never want to understand how the alleged pro-life group can be so cavalier. So, I'll go with reductionism because I don't want to relate to that mindset on any level.

@Troy there's no cure for ignorance. By the way, I'm not talking about the GOP leaders, their focus is on money and power... nothing will separate a human from their goal to get that money - not even death. So the GOP realize how serious COVID-19 is but they have the money to survive it. @Pioneer1 yes. We both knew him. He was Nigerian and lived here but would also go back home occasionally.

@Troy, I saved a conversation our classmate and I had about 5 years ago and one of his goals was to bridge the divide between Africans and African-Americans - He was really a forward thinker making a difference through his actions when and where he could.

@Wendy Jones you're welcome! Thank you for making the request! There's always something new to appreciate about this forum. Also - when you type the " @ " symbol, and type a letter. a list of aalbc member names that begin with the selected letter such as "W" for wendy jones , will appear in a pull down menu. Next, you can just click on the name and it will appear in the dialogue box.

Yes! I know of "Aunt Nancy" 😄 (Anansi - west african origin) from the research I did for my novel. In fact, that's how I found about many of the African Gods/Goddesses. Funny thing is Western civilization would have us to believe that there's only gods/goddess from North Africa - so we ignore or not realize the greek & roman gods were just ripoffs of the indigenous deities. But for every god/goddess the West claims - there is the original from the motherland. I don't think it's disputed but like in the book and TVshow of the same name "American Gods, " the gods disappear when their people stop believing. So, sadly, colonization left us with jesus while the conquerors took and renamed the African god/ess. But early on, I think it was just translation not theft that turned Shango into Thor. For example, Shango would have been prevalent in the Viking world - because of rough traveling on stormy seas. Recent reports like the one highlighted in the NY Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/science/vikings-DNA.html indicate that the Vikings - weren't all nordic as previously thought but were made up of several ethnic groups. So, trading stories about weather gods probably helped calm the sailors.

What if that was the point? What if Stan Lee made Wakanda separate for that very reason. In hopes, someone like you to come along and raise this point. Our content, our literature, always ask a question. This is what makes literature (comic books included) the best conceptual teacher! So, for example, you come to the aalbc community and teach / remind us about the Berlin conference - and now we are able to build our knowledge with that piece of the puzzle. One thing I learned after publishing my debut novel and gathering intel on my readers is that comic book aficionados are a “rare intelligent breed.” Stan Lee knew his audience and subconscious or not - if you want to keep a secret, hide it in a book. So, maybe Wakanda was a wink and a nod conversation starter. As you’ll see here in this forum - there are facts, perception and perspective and they rarely meet. But I do like conversations that help me understand the world a bit better. I like the short film that led to Raising Dion - better than Netflix’s version. The short was a true allegory of how to raise a black boy in a world that wants to steal his power. 😉 I have a hard time with Thor. I’m still mad at that one @Delano because Thor is a ripoff of “T'shango, the Yoruba god of lightning & thunder. He is a warrior god and wielded a wicked hammer and thunderstones according to legend.

@Troy, Is there room for a marketplace on aalbc? I follow @zaji on WordPress.com too. And I usually read her post in my WP reader. I hadn't seen any new posts, so I went to her website. Do you know this sister designs the most fabulous book covers and websites and...Well, long story short zaji is talented in the media arts and operates the Creative Ankh. So, I got to thinking. Is there a way to populate a page on aalbc.com that will would pull content from bios and if any member posted their business offerings, it would generate a brief listing? Or maybe, members could pay for a listing if their business is in a book publishing vertical market? Just a thought. 🙃

I still haven't. When the masses talk about a project their chatter influences the vibration. So, I'm still waiting for all of the hoopla to die down. I've recently seen Hamilton. I was able to experience the hype for myself. And beside the rhyming, the hype IS the rhythm and the drums, so to speak. I appreciate the influence Chadwick Boseman had on Black Panther. In his passing, those connected with the film are sharing the backstories. I think this is what makes the movie uniquely African, and African American. So. even without seeing it, I get now why Black Panther connected on soul level with so many African ascendants around the world.

@Wendy Jones I recommend aalbc.com member, writer and web designer @zaji at the Creative Ankh https://creativeankh.com/

And I would add “Editing.” I can write and a lot. It’s the editing that gets me all twisted. It took me practically no time to write my first novel but nearly 10 years to edit it and THEN hand it over to my editor. 😳

@Wendy JonesIf Standard brand then or Kraft today never registered for a copyright (work for hire also requires a separate filing too) - they can't sue the publishing company for copyright infringement. That US Supreme Court ruling came down in 2019 and I wrote about on my blog (melhopkins.com : https://melhopkins.com/2019/03/04/copyright-registration-first-then-sue/ ) If a registration exist I hope you can get permission to use the photographs at least for fair us https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html and get a grant from the foundation to offset the cost of publishing your book - plus get a distribution deal with them too. I can only imagine how Kraft Heinz would love to support your book!!! If you follow this path - got through the KraftHeinz company foundation - check out their Corporate Social Responsibility report and consider back door your request through this department - (NOT legal ) https://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/pdf/KHC_CSR_2017_Overview.pdf So excited for this book!

Wow - remember when we discussed black culture here - I don't think we ever came up with a definitive description. I'm still searching. I'd like to know how Dr. T'shaka defines Black culture. "white-american culture" is a misnomer because most americans are actually german, followed by irish. Even Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles are mostly german descent. Allegedly, the next largest group here in the US is those of us who ascend from Africa. ( I say allegedly because we may be the largest group but still undercounted i.e., 3/5) In 2010, I believe that the census group decided to put an emphasis on "race" to include latinx/hispanics but like the group in the video said they aren't a "race." That's a moot point for me, I believe race is a social construct - whereas ethnicity is cultural, biological and geographical.

Twin! I know right?! I have to listen again. I really wasn't expecting this - and now I wonder why I didn't follow up on him a decade ago!

@Yvonne Welcome! I love this idea! I was just complaining about keepsakes that I will never use or stick in a box. I'm tired of hoarding LOL. I would I prefer something digital. One of the digital keepsakes I like is royalty-free videos, photos, memes and gifs that I can share on my website without fear of someone coming to sue me. For example, I asked @Troy if I could print t-shirts with the readingblack.com logo - and he said yes! That works for both of us - I sell a t-shirt I get the money and he gets the exposure. Thank you for being environmentally friendly too

@Troy please reach out to one of your Random House contacts. If they aren't behind this - they should know that someone is taking money from the author.

In 2013, Dr. Oba T'Shaka predicted the rise of 45* through the tea party patriots GOP. Wow. :mindblown: This nearly 1 hour keynote address at the "Free Your Mind: A Revolution In Words Literary Festival, Dr. T'Shaka (formerly bill bradley) .shares a lot of insight in what he calls "the San Francisco Freedom movement " I found out about the Professor Emeritus, San Francisco State University, when I stumbled upon a book note today, that I left to myself back in 2010. The name of the book is "Return to the African Mother Principle of Male and Female Equality" Pan Afrikan Pubn; 1st Edition (June 1, 1995) - It appears Dr. T' Shaka's website is down now - https://www.obatshaka.com/ It appears that he's also published "Political Legacy of Malcolm X" and "The Art of Leadership,"

@Maurice You are correct. I've written dozens of books. I've only published one. 😉

@Troy "Mr. Johnson! Don't get on that ship! ...Tulsa Remote, it's... it's a cookbook!" Heh, heh, heh. Seriously, though this is so cool! Please keep a journal.

@Maurice thank you. @Troy THIS! Yes, you nailed it!

@Maurice sure, go here: https://aalbc.com/books/home.php?isbn13=9781411673144

Besides me, you @Troy, on behalf of AALBC, are the only authorized bookseller of my book (s). As a result of our ongoing friendship, I didn't have to pitch it to you and wait a long time to get a yes or no. I didn't have to contact your corporate headquarters like I did when I asked Borders, Barnes & Noble, or Booksamillion to sell my book. And I certainly didn't have to beg and plead like I did the popular bookstore in my old neighborhood only to get a "no, we'll order it from books in print if we get a request." So, I'm thankful you chose to sell my book. I didn't realize how vital your bookseller position was until after listening to a podcast that outlined the relationship between mainstream traditional publishers and booksellers. Although you don't have to warehouse the books in this digital economy - the transactional nature of bookselling is still relevant. To paraphrase, the podcaster said, the Publishing company buys books from writers that BOOKSELLERS want to buy. Publishing companies buy books from writers that booksellers want to buy. writer-publisher-bookseller Intuitively and from experience, I knew this to be factual- but to hear someone else say it aloud was a definite A-Ha moment for me. Even when the writer is the publisher - we must consider whether the bookseller wants to "buy" or "buy into" our book or not. It is the bookseller that is going to "hand-sell" our book to their audience (the readers). So it's inconsiderate to come here and post links to am*zon. am*zon is not cultivating a community to promote black books. Especially in the way the money remains in the black community. I think you must jump through some serious marketing hoops before am*zon's algorithm will promote any book. And they still take the lion's share of the royalties. For independent authors to come to this site and post am*zon links to sell their book is counterproductive. One brother illustrated it to his city council. He said - hiring police and teachers from outside of our area, paying them a good salary, with benefits and pension with our tax dollars enriches their community. But it decimates our neighborhood, leaving it in shambles. That's what we're doing when we promote am*zon. Can we please stop? Especially if we call ourselves "woke." So again, Troy, thank you for all you do for books by and for African Americans. We ain't mad at you for protecting our intellectual property.

@Troy NOPE! Clarence Thomas is hateful period. We just hate his ass the same way we hate Kavanaugh. Aside: Candace is a sellout period. I doubt she believes anything she says. She's a good looking tool and the sexist misogynists GOP appreciate good looking women period - and if they can use them to achieve a goal - they will. And they reward/pay folks well. Especially good looking smart black women. I'm sure that's true of all politicians but they don't make it a secret. If you married a white woman - I already know she'd be down for the cause. She'd be fit, fierce and fine - because you can't be slipping when you married outside your ethnic group. Since you are one of the good ones - you can't settle for less. Some of us black women have a saying - "We' glad you took him. hon'. Maybe his genes will have a chance" - Kinda like what we said about Jay Z and Beyonce when it came to the looks department. [ok that's all just awful - charge it to this sore throat I'm dealing with this morning] But I digress. That's how it works when you marry a compatible partner no matter what skin they're in. If you met my ex - you'd see how much a like we are. It's how we ended up raising successful daughters - we share similar perspectives on life. I'm also reminded of the guy from Power -Omari Hardwick (?) his wife is anglo and I swear she is more militant than I could ever be. Maybe she's more militant because she is anglo and therefore gets a pass - but still she's a roughneck when it comes to championing the Black cause and Black lives matter. I don't find anything you wrote as racist -because while you can be bigoted/prejudice you need to hold the power to be racist.

Dana Canedy, Senior Vice President and Publisher, Simon and Schuster, Inc weighs in this topic during her PBS interview.

Sheets tremor as the phone left on the bed beckons attention.

I thought so too @Troy . When you click on the tag, however, it pulls up all the tagged discussions. Please share with me how to use the tag feature. I'd like to use the tags to include topical threads.