richardmurray

Where is Norma Rae now? MY EXAMPLE STORY https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Where-is-Norma-Rae-now-1223570786 THE CHALLENGE- only a 250 word comment to enter by September 31st 2025 https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/journal/Where-Are-They-Now-Norma-Rae-Norma-Rae-1216944037 AUDIO https://www.tumblr.com/communities/black-artist-on-tjambler/post/793533276775235584?source=share https://www.tumblr.com/richardmurrayhumblr/793533249354940416/where-are-they-now-norma-rae-norma-rae-by

ALL Entries for the CLOSED August Birthday 2025 Literary Challenge from @Crliterature on DeviantArt Voting will commence and awards will be given, but give all the writers a congrats!!!! https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/journal/August-Birthday-Writing-Challenge-1222529726 MY EXAMPLE PDF https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Biround-Mornings-1229347827 Regular Text or Audio https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/August-Birthday-Writing-Challenge-Example-1223660370 Reader which do you like, did you enjoy? LIST from @meedrowh The birth of a legend - Aria Brinn https://www.deviantart.com/meedrowh/art/1225203000 from @twomig Rebirth https://www.deviantart.com/twomig/art/Rebirth-1222276045 from @supersader9 Misfits High: A New Year https://www.deviantart.com/supersader9/art/Misfits-High-A-New-Year-1230787578 from @aland1w Cinderellas Little Glass Shop https://www.deviantart.com/aland1w/journal/Cinderellas-Little-Glass-Shop-1230687958 from @night--bloom Short Story Contest Entry: Upon a Tiny Girl https://www.deviantart.com/night--bloom/art/Short-Story-Contest-Entry-Upon-a-Tiny-Girl-1232661524 from @ope1ativ3 MIRRORS - A Tale of Tomorrow's Past https://www.deviantart.com/ope1ativ3/art/MIRRORS-A-Tale-of-Tomorrow-s-Past-1231908594 from @sunlits Party Animals: A Deviantart's Tale https://www.deviantart.com/sunlits/art/Party-Animals-A-Deviantart-s-Tale-1234417855 from @peeepod TIME https://www.deviantart.com/peeepod/art/TIME-1235928763 from @oboltus208 Not Without a Reason https://www.deviantart.com/oboltus208/art/Not-Without-a-Reason-1236392167 from @princeoffire Vampire Confrontation https://www.deviantart.com/princeoffire/art/Vampire-Confrontation-1236508270 #crliterature #hddeviant #richardmurrayhumblr #deviantart

MY SUMMARY REPLY There have been a slew of modern Black box office failures. Who (or what) will solve Black cinema’s (marketing) crisis? How many film productions are following Sinners guidelines? What is up with all the trauma in Black film/media? I ask anyone Black who feels to much trauma is in Black media, what books with stories with Black heroes in mythical or fantastical ways written by Black people were available in their home as kids growing up? Why do we need sex on screen? The question I always have to any who question allusions to fornication is, what is wrong with allusions, including lustful ones, to fornication? URL of summary reply https://open.substack.com/pub/blackfilmarchive/p/who-will-solve-black-cinemas-marketing?r=xit0b&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=150489193 MY EXTENDED REPLY There have been a slew of modern Black box office failures. Who (or what) will solve Black cinema’s (marketing) crisis? Well crisis? In the art world no film is guaranteed success. I know many writers/illustrators/musicians say some formula works, some formulaic path works, but I have never seen any validity in that. For every film that succeeds being processed one way from preproduction to production to post production, another film failed doing the same things. Now looking at the most financially example in the most recent context for Black Films [films I say are produced/directed/written/mostly starring Black people ] Sinners is the reply. For other films [not produced/directed/written/or mostly starring black people] called Black by many black people I have nothing to say. I don't consider said films with significant non Black participation Black films. To me Antoine Fuqua's King Arthur isn't a black film.[and I like that film] Black Panther produced by Disney isn't a black film. [and I like that film] Shaft from a white writer isn't a black film. [nice soundtrack and love Gordon Parks or Richard Roundtree rest their souls but not my cup of tea] The Foxes of Harrow written by Frank Yerby is not a black film [it is a black book, yes, but it isn't a black film, as a writer if I write a story with mostly white characters that is black fiction, alongside Devil in a Blue Dress or A Raisin in the Sun but a film from my theoretical book is not a black film to me] So to what I call Black films, what do we learn from Sinners? A movie needs to have a large but accessible budget [100 million budget returned 300 million] Having a number of up and coming or well known or brightest thespians to the Black populace who are known outside the black populace doesn't hurt [Michael B Jordan /Hailee Steinfeld/Wunmi Mosaku/Jayme Lawson/ Omar Miller/Delroy Lindo ] Having a one and done focused story [No Sinners 2 is coming, the story was complete from beginning of the film to the end, Black Nightclub in early 1900s southern USA is attacked by vampires, all characters accounted for ] Having a genre black people + non black want to pay ticket prices for [how many saws/aliens/movies get made a year, horror films are a safe genre to reach all audiences, must keep the budget wise or danger, ala Tom Cruise's the Mummy] How many film productions are following Sinners guidelines? What is up with all the trauma in Black film/media? Growing up I remember the People Could Fly, High John the Conqueror, Black Fable collections my parents had, Sun Man, Milestone comics, Daughters of the Dust. And as I got older and Oscar Micheaux and Alice Dunbar Nelson and Zora Neale Hurston works, plays by August Wilson [I have all but Michaeuz in my literature library ] and others I have never felt trauma is overwhelming in the Black fiction. I think too many Black parents didn't do what my Black parents did and made sure a wide array of Black literature was available. Yes, no shame in having Brother Malcolm's and Nkrumah's words on the shelf for Black kids to see. But also have High John the Conquerer, and Fables from the Caribbean. I think many black parents simply fail black children in making sure a wide array of media content from black people is present in the home. My parents were not rolling in dough or diving in coins, but they made sure. Make the effort. Black writers have always existed with uplifting tales. If OScar Micheaux proves anything, he proves that. He went from Black door to Black door presenting his stories all with happy endings for black characters after only some of those black characters had antagonistic scenarios from all sorts of antagonist. Black writers have always made uplifting positive work absent slave whippings by whites or mass rapings by whites or mass destruction by whites. Find them, show them to black children. No excuse. I ask anyone Black who feels to much trauma is in Black media, what books with stories with Black heroes in mythical or fantastical ways written by Black people were available in their home as kids growing up? Why do we need sex on screen? Do we need fornication on screen? I have to step back and admit. The United States of America, cross phenotypical lines, is very religious in a negative way to the issue of fornication. Lets say for example, start commerical, Fade in Jennifer Lopez/Beyonce/Taylor Swift/Michelle Yeoh stand side to side bare breasted and start shaking their torsos as hard as possible and say simultaneously "Bare Breasted" Fade out and on the black screen two hashtags in white positioned side to side #barebreasted #barebreasting End of commercial The media world will go crazy. All of these women have fans throughout humanity, are millionaires, control their lives. But if they show their breast many will say slutty , unwarranted , some negative. But, is it because they are women or because this alludes to a fornicative desires to women? When Monica Bellucci said while married that she can't promise to only sleep with her husband that was a media uproar. Again it isn't that she is a woman but that fornication with women in many religions is not equal in openness to men. Lot slept with his own daughters, this gets read by many christians of all ages every year with acceptability. Lot isn't considered a bad guy, no metoo for his daughters. Samson who runs around killing people with the necks of animals hasn't broken any jewish farm girls hearts in the tale but Delilah is a great sinner cause she is beautiful and Sampson is enthralled to her, not that she is enthralled to him, even though they slept together. It is the inequality in fornication that is the key and it is a human thing. In Islam women can only be to one man but a man can be to multiple women. When married male thespians go naked, women googling at them is acceptable. The desired fornication of a woman running after a male stranger is acceptable. But if an unmarried woman has her nipples showing through her dress, men googling at her is unacceptable. The desired fornication of a man running after a female stranger is unacceptable. Both genders or sexes are criminalized when a female stranger is enticing to a male stranger. While both genders or sexes are accepted when a male stranger is enticing to a female stranger. And in such an environment, all fornication is poorly crafted. The Tan magazine shared has questions: love life of a midget [which is a criminalization of the fornication of midgets], will hollywood let negroes make love [will hollywood let anyone make love?] I argue that many Black people have to first find a more positive place with fornication in their lives before they start asking about it in films. And I can say the same for the non black as well. A Warm December, Buck and the Preacher, Queen and Slim, if Beale Street Could Talk, Mississippi Masala, Claudine, Oscar Michaeux's swing all have scenes in various grades of intensity or style showing love absent nudity or lust. But lust is not evil, and male lust to the body of a female is not evil. At the end of the day Carmen, [and I have seen quite a few variants of Carmen over the years] is a multiculturally embraced story in modernity. Where the men who lust for carmen for her beauty and carmen herself for being beautiful and unbound to any of the men lusting after her are criminalized through the fate of the play. The question I always have to any who question allusions to fornication is, what is wrong with allusions, including lustful ones, to fornication? Saidiya Hartman’s curiosities in “Scenes of Subjection James Baldwin's review of Carmen Jones are cited in the post URL of Article https://open.substack.com/pub/blackfilmarchive/p/who-will-solve-black-cinemas-marketing?r=xit0b&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Who will solve Black cinema’s marketing crisis? by Maya Cade … and other questions in my inbox on the 4th anniversary of Black Film Archive. Read on Substack

MY COMMENT I think every writer finds out their rhythm eventually cause they have to. The more you write what you find out is you let out alot of imagination. And you start seeing repeating ideas which means you need to embrace what you have created. I give as an example, Edgar Allen Poe. I have his complete works of fiction, poems stories everything in one big book . If I look at my own fiction. I have a larger book , even before the age poe died. And like Poe or every other writer I have more sketches and similars. So, you have to embrace what you have created. And spend more time being honest about new roads of imagination if roads have closed. Keannu reeves and the director of the John Wick series , who collaboratively wrote the stories/screenplays, were going to stop at chapter 3, because they didn't see anything else. It was done. But they saw a story for four and thus did it. But it took some time, because they had made a huge world. And the studios said,after four, where is five now, and they said, they have to wait and see. If John Wick five happens it will be some time. The lesson is the same thing I said, part of writers gaining a schedule is admitting when they have written their imagination out. When I look at some movies for certain manga like Ghost in the shell with johanssen or the Statian, Avatar the last airbender movie from shamalah. The problem the movies have is both shows/books covered everything. They did everything you could do. No hour and a half movie was going to do something new that hadn't already been done in the show with the main characters. So, they both needed to go to uncharted places. Back to John Wick, when you look at the Ballerina film, the coming Kane film, that proves my point. John Wick has been completely done. But the world created for John Wick has space for other characters to be born and grow. And that relates to all writers. If you have burned out, and I am lucky to not have, look back at your work and realize its worth. You may find more than you realized. Have patience and relax, you earned it based on volume, even if you don't have million dollar book deals or contracts to write screenplays. COMMENT URL https://substack.com/note/c-150400293 POST URL from Alicia McCalla https://aliciamccalla.substack.com/p/permission-to-stop-burning-out-the Permission to Stop Burning Out: The Rhythm That Saved My Writing Life by Alicia McCalla How I Stopped Chasing Word Counts And Started Building A Sustainable Author Empire Read on Substack

The government of the USA is at a time demanding change. The population in it, requires changes not merely in personel, but in the structure of the bureaucracy. In times like these for any government all the agendas/powers/impotencies/attempts/failures to manipulate the system will lead to a result most , whether they like it or not, will have to live with. MY COMMENT @aka Contrarian Well, historically the union you refer to arguably has never existed outside of the law. The southern states only embraced independence from the british empire on condition that enslaving would be untouched and thus they saw it as a way to make more money, not for any human equality or egalitarian reason , so from the beginning the two blocks of states existed. The war between the states prove from cessation from the british empire to said war, the two blocks existed. Jim crow's variance, from the end of the war between the states to the late 1970s prove two blocks, from the northern block where black people were herded into cities that were then cut off from funding while whites went into northern suburbs to the southern block where black towns were terrorized to never be able to grow ever beyond an impoverished place, forcing black people away even leaving loved ones to die by lynch mobs. Now from the 1980s to 2025 you have a traditional southern white populace voting/planning to preserve itself in the southern block while the traditional northern white populace has integrationed itself unlike any time in usa history which has presented a multiracial component to northern states life that makes it foreign to southern states which are tribalized internally. The problem militaristically is the usa has the largest horde of nuclear weapons of any government in modern humanity, the largest military operation of any government in modern humanity, and with a split, who controls those weapons? and yes, that matters and yes even if both blocks of states were fully engaged, both will want that control. Now, legally, one way exists for the usa to split. So you have a set of states, meant to be self sufficient, in a federation for collective defense with a complete history of abrasive variance in heritage or culture. A military operation that is the largest in the world and will be fought over if a break up occurs. What is the solution? The declaration of independence + the amendment process. The declaration of independence clearly states, that any form of government is acceptable if the populace want it. People in the usa talk of voting but the truth is, the declarations words show that a monarchy can return as long as the people truly support it. The rule of the people from the declaration isn't about voting or elected office, it is about a more abstract idea of people power making any government style or form possible. To restate , the declaration of independence isn't saying a monarchy is undemocratic. it is saying a monarchy the people don't want is undemocratic. So, a splitting of a federation into two isn't against the spirit of the declaration of independence. And the amendment process literally allows for any law to become instilled. An unchangeable law that breaks the usa into two federations is completely possible by the amendment process. Congressional law or Supreme court rulings or executive orders all have limitations or impotencies. but the amendment process alone adds to the constitution with no manipulation, afterward or during. So the question is what is the wisest law to make an amendment to the us constitution to you get the states to split ? The military and the financial power of the usa are the impediments. A white sheet wearing, confederacy cross tatoo having white man from an all white mississippi town will not accept the "southern block" not having the us military for protection or the financial clout of the dollar operating in his life. A kente cloth wearing lgbtq+ flag tattoo having white transexual woman from San Francisco will not accept the "northern block" not having the us military for protection or the financial clout of the dillar operating in her life. Now once you take those two things away , it is doable. So what can this hypothetical proposed amendment be? The federal government will remain as a protector to two federations but modulated. The constitution remains in tact, but on freeze, until the two federations unite. The congress is frozen, abolished until reunion. The supreme court is frozen and abolished until reunion. The us military remains in tact protecting all the states, but now the president has only the district of columbia+ territories of the usa as places the president is privy to. No camp david. All military bases in the fifty states need to be evacuated by the us military to not show favoritism or influence. The territories of the usa: guam/Puerto rico /virgin islands/various pacific ocean islands will have to be fitted for military bases. Guantanemo in cuba as well. The federal reserve must remain. Both the "Northern Block" + "Southern Block" have their own judiciary + their own congress. Some sort of arrangement on federal funds [nitty gritty] will have to be decided. Southern block will not want population to decide and want some weight scale. While Northern Block will want a wider range of residents to allow for federal funds. It is impossible to see, but here is the problem. The people of the USA are little peoples really. Always have been. The First Peoples aren't powerful enough. The DOSers aren't communal enough. The Whites are not honest enough. The immigrants aren't realistic enough. They all will reject anything like what I just said, even though it fits legal parameters, is nonviolent, and embraces giving the three hundred million plus strangers a little of the space, most have always wanted from some other. The problem aka contrarian is the same thing that plagued the war between the states. General Beausejour tlred Robert Lee or dreamy jefferson davis the simple engineering truth. Put up a fence, on the mason dixie, focus the military south to mexico to get a trade outlet and were done, success the confederacy exist. But, Lee , an old white man who like so many white people in the usa, remembers the good old days for whites while doesn't consider how terrible said days were for others, wanted to prove he could take the whole country, a last horah for the silver haired general, very napoleonic, who also acted as stupidly in his european conquest. Jefferson Davis who clearly envied Lincoln wasn't happy with his slice of the pie and wanted to one up. But Lee + Davis were not alone. The generals of the Union including Grant as well as Abraham Lincoln were guilty as well. Lincoln could had ordered the same line be drawn but didn't for pride. He goaded Lee and Davis , knowing them well, and while some suggest incorrectly, he preserved the union, what he did was betray his role as the commander in chief. The role of the commander in chief is the safety of everyone in the usa. If Lincoln was serious about that safety he would had placed a fence, since the north had maritime control very early on and thus all the sea trade advantage and embraced the two state solution. The president's job is the safety of all people in the usa, even if the people don't want to be together. All those deaths in the war between the states are Lincoln's fault and are not forgivable for the constitution through the amendment process allows for complete government flexibility through the law+ the declaration of independence allows for complete government modulation. If brothers are tired of brothers then let them split. why fight the will of the people Lincoln? The answer is pride. And Lincoln's pride cost more than the white community, Jim Crow and the never ending waves of assault on First peoples, commonly called native americans, is lincoln's fault as well, because in forcing the union, he forced the dislike that led to the war between the states in the first place to mutate into various other things, whether he lived or was assasinated. The generals of the Union pre Grant, were clearly envious of Lee and wanted to best him thus their foolish zeal, which led to the need to get black troops which mean those generals had literally made the primary error of any commander in war by not assessing your army properly. to make a plan that forces your army to change is the sign of the utmost mismanagement. I end with Grant. Grant inherited a problem. The war was at a stalemate. William Tecumseh Sherman correctly realized the stalemate after all the bloodshed would never end in peaceful resolution as long as the confederacy could fight. The time for that was at the beginning of the war with General Beauregard's plan , which lincoln, lee, davis earlier generals of the union all wasted with their agendas. Sherman allowed Grant to not be the bad guy and go for the throat. Grant did and it was over. The north always had trade supremacy. The south never figured out how to improve trade, which is why Beauregard told them to do that. And the point of this is, regardless of people who have wisdom, the usa then circa 1865 and now circa 2025, have a populace of people who are like Lee, Lincoln, Davis, they love telling another I told you so, making them see "The Light". This is not restricted to the U.S.A. It is very human and always when you have abrasive groups who share a heritage but have a different heritage as well and especially a different culture. If North Korea would had not needed to have the entire peninsula and let south Korea be a little city state at the south of the island circa May 1950 North Korea would be most of the Korean peninsula today, absent any intervention by USA or China or Russia or Europe. If Ireland would just let Northern Ireland go no talks of continuing troubles will persist. If the Yoruba/Igbo/Hausa can accept they don't want to be Nigerian, they can grow freely better from each other. The anglophiles in Jamaica and the Rastafariansin Jamaica can realize that their two paths can never make one Jamaica... As in this little community, African American Literary Book Club, in the massive world wide web proves in its forum daily, the ability of Statians to "I told you so" is so strong, they love to do that offer acting functionally to the causes they say they want. And so what I say will not occur in the USA, which is the functional answer to your call. URL REFERRAL https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/11814-another-mass-shooting-national-guard/#findComment-75721 IN AMENDMENT @aka Contrarian Well I am going to defend your original position and not because your birthday recently passed:) You didn't make a mistake at all. What you said originally wasn't simple, it was the truth. The truth doesn't have to be an essay, or speech, nor should it be expanded or contracted in verbosity. It can be one sentence. My entire reply simply supported your one sentence, so my reply wasn't needed. Is it not true the first peoples, commonly called the native american, warrant their own country? Is it not true DOSers warrant their own country? Is it not true Whites have killed and enslaved nonwhites to their benefit in their country, the USA? Is it not true, immigrants come to the usa for the impotency under the governments they left? If all of the prior questions are true how is what you said not the truth? The problems aren't complicated either, the problems are the truth. Whites don't know how to lose. Centuries of winning does that. First people and DOSers don't know how to win, centuries of losing does that. The immigrants don't want instability. They came because the usa is stable. A break up of the usa is instability, shaking things up. The one thing immigrants fear more than anything cause instability reminds them of the countries whose flags they wear in the usa. The problems are simple, the people of the usa are the problem. And you have never suggested prescience , you are too wise for that. I will amend, time plus life is hope. Change is usually gradual but not always. And the truth is, the choices people make determine the future. Even if they think their choice is unimportant. Cause every life touches another even after a passing.

My Sudowoodo do you see him in the poster below? https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Sudowoodo-at-the-Library-submit-to-charity-1214090375 Library Project Poster from @goldenemotions https://www.deviantart.com/goldenemotions/art/Library-Project-Poster-1233375459 Here is the library, the goal of the charity https://discord.com/channels/619731511716872205/972156466511355914/1410328199308771339

Don't Call Me Crazy! I'm Just in Love Paperback – February 4, 2014 by Swiyyah Nadirah Woodard @Swiyyah OFFICIAL SITE LINK https://swiyyah.com/products/dont-call-me-crazy-im-just-in-love?variant=47024628924635 more books from the author https://swiyyah.com/collections/all She believes she’s found the man of her dreams. But what if her mind is playing tricks? Anika Muhammad struggles to trust men. But after meeting a handsome playa in her business course, she unexpectedly falls head over heels. Yet she can’t forgive his once-wandering ways and is paralyzed by paranoia that he must be cheating. Seeking something better, Anika gravitates toward an attractive artist whose religious beliefs open her up to a new spiritual world. But some part of her still wants to marry her smooth-talking ladies’ man, and her desperate choices are driving her to the edge of sanity. Can Anika conquer her inner demons before she loses the guy who truly holds her heart? https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/11790-urban-fiction-women-fiction-readers/

A Gardin Wedding from Rosey Lee @Rosey Lee A Gardin Wedding May 13, 2025 A Gardin Wedding: A Gardins of Edin Novel Book Cover Images image of A Gardin Wedding: A Gardins of Edin Novel by Rosey Lee BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780593445518 MY REVIEW “When we really fell for each other, the rules we were playing by changed.” These wise words from Martha, a character in A Gardin Wedding by Rosey Lee, encapsulate the novel’s emotional depth. As the second book in the A Gardins of Edin series, it explores growth in a premarital environment through characters spanning various adult age groups. The theme of personal and relational development forms the core of the story. Lee employs gentle comedy and elegant, illustrative descriptions of fashion to shift the novel’s tone. The two main characters, a couple introduced in the first book, find their love intertwined with a broader cast than before. While Lee guarantees a happy ending in her preface, any reader will likely question that certainty at some point. A Gardin Wedding retains the stylistic elements and framework of the first book but expands its scope, presenting dramatic love across two clans instead of just one. Unlike many authors' sequels, Lee refrains from heavy exposition—a skill often lacking in follow-up novels. She beautifully portrays the love of Black people through belle couture, bringing richness and sophistication to her descriptions. Malcolm X once said, “I was going through the hardest thing, also the greatest thing, for any human being to do: to accept that which is already within you, and around you.” Every couple in A Gardin Wedding is navigating distinct phases of accepting what is already between them and around them. That environment—a thriving, mature, and financially successful Black community—made for an immensely joyful and rewarding read.

Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery from LEah Schanke @Leah Schanke Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery Apr 10, 2025 Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery Book Cover Images image of Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery by Leah Schanke, Illustrated by Oboh Moses BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780807524282 MY REVIEW Frederick Douglass once said, “The American Government and the American Constitution are spoken of in a manner which would naturally lead the hearer to believe that one is identical with the other; when the truth is, they are distinct in character as is a ship and a compass.” (The Constitution of the United States: Is It Pro-Slavery or Anti-Slavery?; source) This statement came two years and two months before Robert Smalls sailed a steamboat, carrying his wife, children, and peers in its belly, successfully using a compass to freedom during the inescapable Civil War on May 13, 1862. In Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery, the historical fiction by South Carolinian descendant Leah Schanke, the narration comes from Lizzy, the daughter of Robert Smalls. Lizzy’s voice provides unbroken, honest grammar and a slightly geographic but accessible style for modern U.S. readers. Her narration maintains the pace and tone of the escape adventure in the title, crafted for four- to eight-year-olds. Lizzy’s story conveys the fear and consequences of failure without delving into the most gruesome pains of slavery—details that would be difficult for children to comprehend, inconvenient for adults to explain in today’s context, or too vast for a book of this size to contain. While the Civil War serves as the backdrop, Lizzy’s narration avoids suggesting that either side in the war was primarily concerned with the enslaved seeking freedom. This nuance emphasizes that escapes to freedom were driven by the enslaved themselves, unbound to the motives of any army or navy. It’s a subtle but vital message to convey to children—one that many adults may not even know. Schanke’s story concludes with peace after adversity, and her author’s note provides additional context about the fate of the Smalls family, satisfying the curiosity of parents, educators, and readers alike. The illustrations by Oboh Moses are vibrant digital constructs, blending the textures of oil and watercolor. The colors shift to match the text’s mood and tempo, enhancing the narrative’s dramatic effects. Lizzy and the other characters are depicted with authenticity, and Moses’s illustrations often suggest that Lizzy is recounting the story to her younger self, a heartwarming touch. If you appreciate the works of Ezra Jack Keats—his illustrative forms, colors, and narrative focus—the combination of Schanke and Moses in Freedom at Dawn will undoubtedly satisfy you. Frederick Douglass remarked in 1867, five years after Smalls’s escape, “It is by comparing one nation with another, and one learning from another, each competing with all, and all competing with each, that hurtful errors are exposed.” (Our Composite Nation; source) This book exposes the error of slavery through a child’s lens, set between two governments fighting over destiny.

HAMILTON HEIGHTS and SUGAR HILL: Alexander Hamilton's Old Harlem Neighborhood Through the Centuries by Davida Siwisa James @DeeSiwisa Fordham University Press: Empire State Editions Nonfiction; 432 pages; 126 illustrations: PUBLICATION DATE: April 2, 2024 ISBN-13: 978-1531506148 BUYING PAGE https://aalbc.com/books/hamilton-heights-and-sugar-hill-9781531506148 REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10792-hamilton-heights-and-sugar-hill-book-review-request/ MY REVIEW "Indeed, the average Harlemite's impression of white folk, democracy and life in general is rather bad. Naturally if you live on nice, tree lined, quiet convent avenue, even though you are colored, it would never occur to you to riot or break windows." Langston Hughes Davida Siwisa James unbiased, temporally complete history book achieves three goals of equal value. One, to be as definitive a history book to the Hamilton Heights or Sugar Hill sections of Harlem. No single book has the length to cover the complete history of Harlem, that will demand an encyclopedia which reading this book proves. Two, to explain through the history of said regions in Harlem how Harlem has heritages of blemished grandeurs that includes all people from the Native American populace before European colonies to the time of this prose in the Gregorian year two thousand and twenty-four. Said heritages warrant preservation that can become a living example of multiracial coexistence in the USA if implemented equal to all. Three, to explain how the negativities: negative biases from whites to non-whites, negative biases from the financially wealthy of any phenotype to the financially poor of any phenotype, negative bias from New York City in ruling/governing/administering Harlem, created a constancy of: lies, malfunctions, pains that have always hindered the reach of grandeurs born in Harlem but have not stymied the potential of Harlem. Said potential of Harlem is to be the truest example of peaceful positive productive life for pan-individuals in the declaration that many in humanity cling to as a hope. Siwisa, a Harlemite, achieves all three intricate, modernly purposeful, goals. She uses a straightforward temporal sequence, as chapters, from the time of the Lenape, long gone outside name places, to the time of New York City's first Black Mayor, Harlemite David Dinkins. Unlike most historians, who try to provide a history to a place from its past to modernity, she was able to communicate with residents long gone or residents relatively new, while including her own life, to support the temporal width of her work. Reading this book, you can tell Siwisa loves Harlem but isn't willing to accept a great memory. She wants to fight against the literary plus nonliterary challenges the region has to live with. I, a Harlemite, was unaware that Harlem was to be named Lancaster by the British empire on winning New Amsterdam and turning it into New York. But from the time of New Amsterdam onward, which the book conveys through Harlemites named Hamilton/Jumel/Deforest/Hughes/Williams/Powell jr./Spollen, the region has constantly been a chess piece for New York City and a harbor for the heart of New York City's culture of integration. If you don't know about Harlem, this book is a great starting point for it will create a proper framework to comprehending the region which has, sadly, a heritage of being mislabeled or mis-defined or misrepresented, even when mostly white before the New Negro Movement. If you know about Harlem, you already know Harlem has a vast history, that involves the entire racial landscape of the USA. But you will learn many new things about Harlem through the Hamilton Heights or Sugar Hill regions, which are the main subject of the book. The entire history in the book is supported evenly by photographic or illustrative evidence, which is mandatory in modern times while also serving as undeniable proof for naysayers to Harlem's various periods of grandeur in its history. Harlem's history is as bright as the light off the skyscrapers to its south, while the perception of it is plagued by a shadow that was and is constructed or maintained by those in or out of Harlem. Let this book take down the blinds page by page.

The Gardins of Edin from Rosey Lee The Gardins of Edin Jan 09, 2024 The Gardins of Edin Book Cover Images image of The Gardins of Edin by Rosey Lee @Rosey Lee BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780593445495 MY REVIEW “What if I’m not too old to have a happy childhood now?” is a poignant line from the character Ruth in The Gardins of Edin by Rosey Lee, a novel that begins with apprehension and confusion but ends with a sense of fulfillment. The book explores modern relationship dynamics, with a central theme of personal growth: healing from the past, being steady in the present, and not seeking perfection in the future. Not every character in the book learns or desires this lesson, but it lies at the heart of each of their stories. The story is driven by four central characters: Ruth, who manages a family business that has long been a pillar in the local community; Naomi, the emotional center of the family; Mary, an aspiring restaurateur; and her sister Martha, a doctor. These four Black women from the south are each on a journey of self-discovery, while also grappling with the evolving dynamics of their family and community. The novel, which spans roughly 300 pages, has two main plot arcs that delve into their personal and shared challenges. While some characters may evoke frustration with their negativity, the book never suggests that their futures will be entirely bleak. Instead, it’s a feel-good drama that features flawed, realistic characters whose weaknesses are neither exaggerated nor overly moralized. For fans of well-crafted, character-driven stories with genuine emotional depth, this book is a great fit. Although the back cover hints at larger conflicts, the story isn’t about grand battles over empires; it's more about the internal struggles and infighting within a close-knit community. The characters wrestle with concealing painful pasts, and the hidden scars of that past pose real threats to their relationships. These conflicts are handled with sincerity, never veering into melodrama or caricature, but they do create the possibility of lasting damage if left unresolved. The novel doesn’t position itself as a guide on mental or physical health, but it does offer insights into both. Through the characters' struggles, the value of mental and heart health is subtly highlighted, adding another layer of depth to the story. I found myself learning more about these topics without the narrative losing focus or becoming preachy. The readers’ guide at the end of the book revealed something I should have noticed right away—if it had been a snake, it would have bitten me! While The Gardins of Edin may seem like a clear reference to the biblical Garden of Eden, the book doesn’t feel like a Christian allegory or preach to the reader. The Christianity of some characters is important to their individual stories, but it doesn’t dominate the narrative or alienate readers of different beliefs. Finally, this book sets up its characters in such a way that a sequel could easily follow, though it’s not necessary. By the end, The Gardins have found peace, and the story feels complete as it is.

Title: I wrote you 37 letters Authors: Dee Miller @Dee Miller Reading Age range: ISBN: 979-8-218-09319-8 Published: 12/2022 REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10016-i-wrote-you-37-letters-book-review-request/ Phillis Wheatley said:" The world is a severe school master, for its frowns are less dangerous than its smiles and flatteries"; said danger comes in what is inspired. Wheatley comprehended a flattery from an enemy may inspire short term glee while inspire long term resentment. " I wrote you 37 letters" is a tool in the form of an epistolary to aid in a reader inspiring themselves through their own writing, motivated by Miller's letters which cover an extensive set of mental or spiritual states. No book can ever cover the infinite states of the mind or infinite states of the soul. The honesty in each letter , discarding the selling or advertising style may writers will choose , is purposeful; said purpose is to convince the reader that these letters are not meant to be sermons or meant to be self righteous. Even if the variance in length of letters, yes 37 in total , will negatively alarm some readers. Those who want help getting to hear their own: honest<Dear Moment In Time>, confessional <A Letter To My Big>, at times praising<Dear Mommie>, unashamed to what is deemed shameful <Dear Secret Lover> voice have a chance to be convinced to do so before they reach the end of this book. The book offers a path way for a reader to share their voice to a larger audience but it needs polishing to read like a more secure request in the age of lawsuits that is modern USA.

Title: Soil Sisters Magical Garden Adventure: Savoring the Soul of Mother Earth Authors: Bobbi J Simmons , Thomas Simmons @Jean2021 Illustrator: Blakely Frederick Reading Age range: Publisher: BlackGold Publishing (May 1, 2023) Paperback: 39 pages ISBN-10: 1953130267 ISBN-13: 978-1953130266 REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10407-book-reviews MY REVIEW John Boyd Jr , founder of the National Black Farmer's Association said: "I'm owning land that many of my forefathers worked when it was scotch-free. You know - slave labor man" The relationship that Black people whose forebears were enslaved have to the land that compose the states of the U.S.A. is older than the U.S.A. itself; it is a relationship that introduced the yam, varieties of rice, introduced the okra into the cuisine of the entire populace of the U.S.A.; it is a relationship full of blood, from black bodies after exposure to white whips, white laws, white guns nourishing the soil. A relationship most of said blacks want to forget for obvious reasons. But, Bobbi J Simmons side her husband, Tommy Simmons, compose a loving Black descended of enslaved couple who don't want the relationship forgotten. Not to deny the painful shedding of blood but to keep alive the pride in the craft, the heritage of loving nature, that exist alongside the painful blood in said relationship. In their book, Soil Sisters Magical Garden Adventure, they focus their efforts on the children, the youngest descendants of those enslaved in the U.S.A. , who in majority have been denied learning or knowing of said relationship for said negative reasons. The Simmons weave a simple tale of love, love of growing things, as pure as Bilbo Baggins love for the shire in "the hobbit". The goal, the road, the prize are all the same, watching something in nature you nurture spread joy throughout your life. The illustrations from Blakely have functional color tones, and usually reflect the prose the authors set. Some parents or adult readers may be offset or opposed to certain word choices but I argue the language is appropriate to the audience of young children who should be forgiven as well for a few emissions of their dialect or a few slip ups of the tongue. All readers: child, parent, teacher will enjoy the historical pages; each give a key factor plus visage of a historical figure but said readers will also want more of them. The most important aspect in the book is what can not be read. It is the seeds that come with the book, which surprised me. The little packet of seeds provide children or parents or teachers an offline chance to do more than be inspired from or enjoy reading a story about black youth loving to grow things, supported by their local community while supporting their local community, even with spiritual help when need be; it allows all who buy the book a chance to do offline as the characters in the book, on land they own. And even if said land is only a small pot, the heritage of love to the land Black people grow in the USA: the Simmons prose speaks of, Blakely's art visualizes, Boyd jr. organizes for gains another Black person on an adventurous path to embracing. That is a worthy cause and the only way to lessen the growth of the negativity from the past is to grow another tree that emphasizes the positivity from the past.

ADAM AND EVE MAKE A BIG, BIG MISTAKE BUT GOD FIX' IT from Jean Ann Field-Ridley ADAM AND EVE MAKE A BIG, BIG MISTAKE BUT GOD FIX' IT September 15,2023 by Jean Ann Field-Ridley @JenanFR REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10622-racial-and-cultural-representation-in-biblical-storytelling-the-caribbean-experience/ Buy The Book https://www.am*zon.com/ADAM-EVE-MAKE-BIG-MISTAKE-ebook/dp/B0CH5S5KZ5 MY REVIEW "Elenchos kai anatrope tes pseudonymou gnoseos" is the title of a book by a Christian, defined in this review as someone who has faith in Jesus Christ in some form or fashion, named Irenaeus, of Hellenistic ancestry who lived in Lugdunum now commonly called in modernity Lyon in France, who lived circa 130 to 202 years after the birth of Jesus. The title translates, Control and overthrow the falsely named Knowing. The message in this old book is to suggest one thing, no option available. Orthodoxy, straight opinion, is superior to heresy, choice. The Gnostic movement at its historic core opposed the idea that Christianity has one line of thinking, a straight road. Throughout the course of Christian history Christian groups through schisms, like the split between the Christian Church centered in Roma side the Christian church centered in Nova Roma, or groups protesting a new way, like the Church of Jesus Christ and latter-day saints, publicly support heresy. "Adam And Eve Make Big Mistake" by Jean Ann Field-Ridley is a modern book, while its purpose reflect the literary heritage of Irenaeus plus the Gnostics, through a Christian making a book to a need in the Christian community of the literature's time while emphasizing a choice that is against a standard presentation of Christianity. Field-Ridley is a Black woman of the Caribbean and has publicly stated she feels in the Caribbean Christianity is viewed by many as a religion for whites of European descent or whites of anywhere. Sequentially, many Blacks in the Caribbean don't see a choice in being Christian, if they also wish to be true to themselves. The book is geared towards children of the Caribbean, using literature that when spoken resounds culturally to the Caribbean. While I comprehended immediately the stories within the book, reflecting Christian bible stories, the flavor of the text was unfamiliar to me, as for example the book of Genesis covered in the book. In the spirit of early Christian literature this book does not interpret each book of the apostles or all books of the Septuagint, the predecessor of the Old Testament. The illustrative border style is elegant or beautiful while the images are incoherent in storytelling approach. Christian parents may need to make adjustments to what they say while they read based on their faith in Jesus. But the book totally embraces or never betrays through language or imagery aracial unity in humanity. Which is a prerequisite in the goal of the author or the agenda in the book, to get a populace of humans who have lived under the power of another populace to embrace a culture delivered by slave chain when they are no longer enslaved. It is in the spirit of heresy, choice, that Jesus, born a Jew and surrounded by Jewish clergy testing or challenging him, chose to lead a new way open to all, which became Christianity. No book can guarantee an affect on a reader. But after an attempt, if it can increase, by any measure, a human child choosing to embrace or hold onto something from humanity they opposed or doubted, the extended family of Eve and Adam is better for it.