Troy

Love it! This is Art!

Happy Holiday!!!

happy holidays brother:)

When I saw that 55 - I immediately thought did they get that from Troy?  Did they check... You may not believe this but I actually have it flagged in my email because I wanted to see how they came up with the number.   You answered my question, thank you!   

That is sloppy journalism. 

After you took me to task over my slip up with labor participation and labor force / black women voting percentages - I began to break down the percentages into number of ... as a rule.

That's how serious I am about presenting as a journalist even when I'm not being paid... This is an embarrassment.

No attribution, no reference to the individual 55 books stores.  Who was the fact checker?  

I don't even want to read the story, anymore but I will.  I want to see just how lackadaisical we've have become now that we 45* in office. 

I hope you write Alfred Edmond, Jr. and mention it to him.  We don't have very many black publications in print.  So the newspapers/ magazines we do have should be beyond reproach. 

@Troy  Did you see this article in Final Call?  Ok I only skimmed but this seems more like journalism... did they interview you directly or use your reporting?  

By Jehron Muhammad -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Dec 19, 2017 - 2:48:20 PM

PHILADELPHIA—According to the American Booksellers Association there has been a resurgence in independent bookstores in recent years. However, this growth hasn’t necessarily included Black-owned bookstores.  

Between 2002 and 2012, two-thirds of Black-owned bookstores closed. And of the remaining 400 Black bookstores more than half closed in 2013 and 2014, according to statistics compiled by Troy Johnson, founder of the African-American Literature Book Club. By the end of January of 2016 only 67 Black-owned bookstores remained.

But with the opening in Philadelphia’s Germantown section of Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books, that downward trend may be changing. Part library, part coffee shop, part eatery, part living room, the inviting space encourages customers to hang around and soak in the culturally rich and intellectually stimulating atmosphere.

Since Philly has been labeled as a “big small town,” it’s almost impossible to spend time at Uncle Bobbie’s, fast becoming the new Philly meet up spot, without bumping into new and old acquaintances.  

The owner, Marc Lamont Hill, during an interview with The Final Call, said, “Hopefully it’s a home for folks. It’s a cafe. It’s a bookstore. It’s a meeting place (and) hopefully it’s a place where people can connect, be inspired and bring some energy.”

The store was “birthed by Black bookstores, (or the lack there of)” Mr. Hill said. “It started with my uncle Bobbie, my father’s brother,” he explained.  More here