Kola Boof
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Everything posted by Kola Boof
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I agree, Troy. I personally prefer to have the Black books in one place where I can shop faster without looking all over the entire store. I'm also nervous about sales. One thing is happening, though....on GOOD READS it's mostly White People reviewing my book. And I get so many emails from Whites now who loved the book and find the subject (Colorism, Skin bleaching) really new & fascinating. So that's a plus. But I'm still nervous about sales. Kola
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Troy, You're right. Publishing (for blacks) is just dead in the water right now. I am LUCKY (extremely lucky) that I got in the door at Akashic at the right moment---because now----EVERYONE is dying to be there & jockeying for a place to land (*major houses are dropping black authors like flies). Joyce Carol Oates has just come to tiny indie label Akashic. Big hitters Nelson George, Edwidge Danticat & Randall Robinson are now on Akashic. Bernice McFadden's books sell twice as much as mine but still had to leave her giant major house. The recession is truly affecting sales of black books. My book has gotten huge press & A-1 attention from Johnny Temple....but it still is not a strong seller (IMO). Now Johnny & Ibrahim insisted to me that "it's a blockbuster Kola!"....but to me, if you don't sell 20,000 copies of 1 title, you still haven't broken through. And I have not broken through. I have 20 more cities on my tour ending in Alaska--that's how determined I am to secure my position at Akashic & Johnny luckily puts a lot into me PR wise. I think I would commit suicide if Akashic dropped me. They're irreplaceable. I did have a "Critical Hit" because of Madison Smart Bell & Boston Globe calling it a masterpiece. And of course my book was the last book blurbed by Derrick Bell (who had spent years trying to agent the book). So in that regard, it's a hit. But NOT sales. Barnes & Noble has a new "experiment" where they're putting Black novels in General Fiction and I am one of the first books stocked this way. That might be hurting my sales as well. Blacks go to B&N and then report back that they can't find me. It's really and truly TOUGH in the business right now. If Johnny Temple hadn't stepped in & taken over my career, I would be nowhere. It's hell out here for writers, especially "gifted" ones. People no longer have attention spans. Amazingly with the break out of Adam Mansbach, Akashic has become the hottest label in publishing right now. It was total LUCK (my talent was looked at)... that I got signed. Johnny was the one who received & read my manuscript himself. I sent it myself, not an agent, not Derrick. Johnny just fell in love with the book, had my background checked out & then took me to lunch & signed me.
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Thanks to Bernice McFadden coining the term "seg-book-gation" last year .....and challenging the industry to stop their practice of placing books by Black Authors in one segregated area.....I have become one of the first authors that Barnes & Noble stocks in "GENERAL FICTION." In a way, I'm very nervous about it. I think not being in the Black Section might hurt book sales. But on the other hand I'm delighted that "The Sexy Part of the Bible" was chosen for Barnes & Noble's new experiment, based on strong reviews of the novel. Publishing is changing immensely right now and black authors are truly suffering and losing leverage for the most part. The UK Guardian did an article on black fiction's ghettoization and gives props to Bernice for her heroic efforts. *Here's a link to that story: http://www.guardian....iction-american
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Well, now that I'm on the same label as Adam Mansbach, I've been able to meet him in person & chat with him. He really is White. So I digress on that argument (I had insisted he was a black writer). He's also REALLY cute and kind. But he is NOT...as so many claimed....my King "ABM" (the popular board member on AALBC that I performed a kind of Duo dance for so many years). The web allows people to be anonymous and many of the most famous writers, editors & agents post here at AALBC.COM. There was the rumor that ABM was really Adam Mansbach pretending to be a Black guy and sitting in on our issues year after year---mostly talking with Kola Boof. I asked Adam directly (in person where I could see his eyes) and he said that he is NOT ABM nor ever been to this board. I believe him. In a way, though it makes me sad...because when I went to Chicago during tour, I also didn't come across any men who could be ABM. I miss ABM and hope that he's alright. I genuinely loved him as my "Web Buddy" a lot. *Make sure to check out Adam Mansbach's latest book "Go the Fuck to Sleep" which has now sold over a million copies!!! It's a marvelous fanciful peace.
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Hi Cynique, Just saw this. Derrick was for Obama until the end. Derrick never mentioned Cornel West to me, ever. Overall, I never got the feeling that Derrick believe in (or cared about) the Political Establishment. He & I seemed to be alike on that. I could be wrong. But he always mentioned the political realm as though it was an "outside menace"---even when discussing our side, the Democrats. Kola
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Pioneering Harvard Law Professor Derrick Bell dies at 80: http://www.nytimes.c...p&smid=fb-share On a personal note: Derrick did so much for me....I can't even begin to express what a great person he was. For years, no one would touch my current novel "Sexy Part of the Bible" (which Derrick LOVED!) and he took the book and agented it himself. He took it to Karen Rinaldi at Bloomsbury and some other people. Despite his insistence that "This girl is the next Alice Walker--I stake my life on it"---no one bought it. But he was so determined to see the book published and he was so angry at the way the U.S. media & the Black literati treated me. He hated injustice of any type. When the book was finally published by Johnny Temple, Derrick gave us TWO blurbs and gave 50 copies to his students "To help you get your sales going Kola." One thing I also loved about Derrick...was how he talked his wife, JANET. Even in his 70's & 80's he had such a vibrant; "fresh" love for his wife. He spoke about her like she was a genius. I loved that! Derrick also did a whole class on me at NYU when I was fired from "Days of Our Lives"--the class was about how I could sue the network & sponsors & others (it was the Bin Laden scandal). But just that level of caring and fairness in his character was riveting. He was truly my Play Grandfather as I called him. The photo I posted here shows Derrick out to dinner with me and a friend last year. He was such a DEAR, WONDERFULLY brilliant...perfect man! Just the best. I too remember him walking (as Joan Morgan said). walking from the restaurant to his cab. Walking & ALWAYS talking. He was everything. This is a great loss for the "good" in the world. I will truly miss him.
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Oh yeah....I was asked to write for that Cynique but I didn't have time. "Chapter a Month" is a really big deal--those are major authors in that program. Congratulations. I've become friends with Bernice McFadden (we're also on the same label). I believe she has a continuing story on "A Chapter A Month." Well...I can't wait to read your story and will be posting the link NEXT WEEK because I go into the hospital the 29th for some routine brain tests (nothing serious). Congrats. You've always been a brilliant mind on this board, that's for sure.
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Sigh. Who gives a shit anymore? Seriously. Black men are not the only men in the world. And the SLOWEST way to get a BM is by being a black female who "looks" black advertising her unyielding loyalty, love & devotion. I have 4 boyfriends right now. And I like it this way. I'm 42 and wish I had done things this way long ago. 1 is Black American, 1 is African black, 1 is White and 1 is Latino. I truly believe this is the way of the future and I'm writing a book about it. This girl is probably really young. She has my sympathy.
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#1---Africans were NEVER Neanderthals. That's your WHITE fucking side. #2--The idea that Black Human Identity is simply a "state of mind" (a western idea) is one of the most blatantly RACIST concepts ever conceived...and the reason that concept goes un-questioned by Slave Descendants is: (a) You were forced to accept & live under the 1 drop rule for 400 years and (.."B") You were taught to severely hate your blackness and your ancestors in that time and therefore do not mind being erased and becoming something that doesn't threaten the tastes of your owner/oppressor. #3--Looking like Whites and Latinos while expressing a Hateful Erasure of Black Human Beings is not "Change"....it's imitation and internalized RACISM. ____________ Again...it's disgusting and disgraceful...and would be better if this "Change" brought about a new race rather than the INSULT of claiming to be the very people you hate so much in Africa.
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How do you all think Africans feel when they meet Very Mixed negroes talking about they're "Black People"?? SAME EXACT THING. Yall are headed for extinction just like the American Indians. White-looking will someday represent you too. I find it disgusting and disgraceful.
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No, MISTY....it's not just you. Osama Bin Laden's Syrian grandmother would be "Black" by U.S. standards. Osama had more Black blood than Mariah Carey does.
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I wrote about Khadafi's crush on Condoleeza Rice 10 YEARS AGO in my autobiography "Diary of a Lost Girl." Nobody believed me. Now ABC NEWS has the proof: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/08/moammar-gadhafis-secret-scrapbook-crush-condoleezza-rice.html#.TlezhqxFF_M.twitter Separate from my book....THE NEW YORK TIMES has now revealed that Saddam Hussein had an obsessive love for singer Whitney Houston. So did Osama Bin Laden. Yasser Arafat spent literally millions on Black Porn Star EBONY AYERS. I have been telling (in quite strong detail) of this portion of our current history for some time. But I was always called a liar, a fraud, an opportunist. Black women, no matter where they are in the world, will have their image distorted and their voices silenced whenever we tell OUR SIDE of things. Kola Boof
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So now the African lady is not so crazy. Let's discuss this article about the 2nd largest Indian Tribe in America (the Cherokee) officially kicking out the "black" slave descendants. http://news.yahoo.com/second-largest-u-indian-tribe-expels-slave-descendants-011650136.html One of these centuries....dumb ass blacks are going to listen to their real mother!!
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When movies or television programs are filmed in Hollywood (and I know this from personally working on daytime soaps).....up to 2 hours is often spent just Lighting the White or Mixed raced actress. They even get 'airbrushed' with new video techniques now to make them look as perfect as possible. When a Black actress is on the set...NO TIME is spent. She is just given her marker and the cameras roll. (Victoria Rowell of "Young and the Restless" talks frequently about the fact that she had to do her own hair & makeup every morning at 5 a.m. & was not "lit.") I witnessed our own Tanya Boyd at "Days of Our Lives" go through similar disrespect and then be called "evil; angry" when she pointed the unfairness out. Herein lies a great overlooked reality in discussions like this. Kola
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The MAJORITY of Black Men in America, though not as vocal, share some variation of those beliefs, Troy. Yes. If they didn't, then the music videos and black men's magazines would be full of beautiful BLACK women and you wouldn't have people like Puff Diddy barring dark skinned models from auditioning for his liquor ads. So yes. The PROOF is in your culture & the daily exhibits advanced by this culture. Those who don't actively participate in this behavior....are pretty much SILENT about the others advancing it. The community here is VERY Anti-Black...but coming from slavery; Jim Crow and being immersed/raised in this shit; it's not noticeable to you all. But it's extremely Anti-Black here (from hair to skin color to anything having to do with Africa). (a) In their speech & writings, Black people (even many Africans) visit Africa like a grave--not a place to build up. ( They BAN any positive imagery of Black women of **child-bearing** age; she is not to be desired, because her womb produces nappy dark skinned Black people. © The entire goal is to become Mulatto (although recently, the Mulatto is not even good enough--now they shun the Mulatto and preach Multi-racialism; anything but blackness is to be valued). Black People have become...utterly pathetic. And the fact that no one is willing to confront our people simply highlights how the SLAVE TRADE took place 500 years ago when AFRICANS initially sold their own people for Bling Bling & made excuses as to why it was OKAY. Same shit; different era; same excuses.
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Troy, You don't meet the MAJORITY of black men in America; I'm just sorry. The O.J. Simpsons; the Lil waynes; the California & Minneapolis "I don't want black children" brigade. And for the record...the so called Dark Skinned Woman is THE Black Woman. The entire black race comes from her. Just the fact they refer to our real mother as "dark skinned black women" as though she's some kind of mistake proves what trash most Blacks have become. I am honestly to the point where I can't stand Black people. I just consider myself African & removed from everybody else. I refuse to raise my sons in the Black community.
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Excellent points Cynique. I agree with your reasoning 100%. I WILL be supporting Obama next year because I actually like most of what he's done; but I do feel that you speak for most of the people I know in that they'd just rather not vote.
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Cynique.... I watch ALL MOVIES from every era ....currently. My statement remains: "I am not supporting anymore Black Maid movies--no matter how good they are." I think MILLIONS of Black Women feel me on this. We're fed up. We want a new image for Black women and we're not supporting this shit anymore. Bottom line.
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"Clara's Heart" "Corinna, Corinna" "Backstairs at the White House" (NBC Mini-series about MAID & other black servants) Queen Latifah as the maid in Steve Martin's "House' movie "I'll Fly Away" (t.v. series) Hattie McDaniel in 50 classic movies as "the maid" "That's My Mama" (t.v. series) "Good Times" (t.v. series) ......these are just a few that I can name, Cynique. But for the 'dark brown' actress this remains the most commonly cast role. I have not seen Viola Davis (or women like her) cast as "Queen Nok" or "Nina Simone." Yet White and Mixed Race women are consistently given a broader range of roles and images.
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Let me say something in regard to Troy's comment: "Some folks are all riled up about it." I personally don't doubt the film and book are entertaining and "good".....my complaint......is that I don't want to see another "Black Maid" movie. For the dark skinned black actress & us watching her on screen.... this seems to be an enduring wasteland. White Actresses have a full range of characters to play (types of women; VIABLE women images that tell the society to cherish & procreate with White wombs). The White Man's mother is presented as desirable; Queenly; intelligent; shrewd; accomplished; a normal and necessary figure. Black women's images in film are almost 3 to 4 different variations on the same 1-note bleakness. The movie "The Help" is basically being loved and supported by WHITE WOMEN. And that's because this is the way they are comfortable seeing Black women; just as many Black men have no problem with constantly seeing Black women portrayed as Maids or Prostitutes. I don't doubt the movie is good. I just refuse to accept in 2011 yet another Maid Epic....because it's time for Black women to have a better more hopeful image. Naomi Campbell is in negotiations to play me in a movie; Michelle Obama's story is riveting; we have novels like "Glorious" and black women Astronauts.
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I just don't care for Tavis and Corny. I liked "Race Matters" by Corny...though I've always seen him totally different than Black Americans do. The fact that he makes almost a million a year yet has never set foot in West Africa (home of his actual ancestors) but went to Ethiopia & Paris and married a NON-Black Ethiopian woman tells me EVERYTHING I need to know. And Tavis Smiley lost me during a discussion on Black American women & Depression. I'd rather have a possum for a son than him. A LOT of Black men don't see what horrible sons they are. They don't even consider their mothers women. They don't think beyond HER usefulness to their daily lives. Can't stand Tavis.
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