Troy

Interesting.

Not surprisingly, wrong again: His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa ADD TO CART Publication Date: May 17, 2022 List Price: $30.00 Format: Hardcover, 432 pages Classification: Nonfiction ISBN13: 9780593490617 Imprint: Viking Publisher: Penguin Random House Parent Company: Bertelsmann Borrow from Library Read Our Review of His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice Read an Excerpt from His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice

Read the work of James Cone. https://aalbc.com/books/bookinfo.php?isbn13=9781626983083

In The Lightmaker's Manifesto, Karen Walrond helps us name the skills, values, and actions that bring us joy; identify the causes that spark our empathy and concern; and then put it all together to change the world. Creative and practical exercises, including journaling, daily intention-setting, and mindful self-compassion, are complemented by lively conversations with activists and thought leaders such as Valarie Kaur, Brené Brown, Tarana Burke, and Zuri Adele. With stories from around the world and wisdom from those leading movements for change, Walrond beckons readers toward lives of integrity, advocacy, conviction, and joy. Buy Now ▶ AALBC Book Reviews His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa The book’s authors, Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, both respected political journalists for The Washington Post, reveal the grim, deeply personal account of the man whose martyrdom triggered a global response to this nation’s racism. While many youths have embraced the symbol of Floyd, very few people recognized the commonality of this man with so many black males in our community. In so many ways, George Perry Floyd Jr. was an everyman through towns and cities containing men of color. These newspaper scribes want to give the full measure of Floyd’s life, warts and all. They speak candidly about Floyd’s colorful father. The elder George Floyd was a professional musician, playing guitar for the Chocolate Buttermilk Band, a funk group that backed James Brown, Teddy Pendergrass, and other R&B bands. More ▶ Read an Excerpt ▶ The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World by Kehinde Andrews This is an updated version of, Kehinde Andrews, seminal book, which has shaken up academia and historians in Europe and the Caribbean with its penetrating analysis. Historian Robin D, G Kelley called the book “a provocation,” and adds: “…we are still living this imperial nightmare, still reaping consequences of contemporary racialized violence and exploitation. The lesson: no freedom under racism, no future under capitalism, no justice without decolonization.” It’s very timely that the book opens with the 2020 George Floyd killing and the huge protest of resistance that followed the police murder. The British critic terms the Floyd killing as “the straw that broke the camel’s back, coming so close on the heels of the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery and state-sanctioned murder of Breonna Taylor.” He mentions the killing as one of the most significant events to rock the foundations of racism, genocide, colonialism, and imperialism. More ▶ Book Excerpts The Sun Does Shine (Young Readers Edition) by Anthony Ray Hinton, with Lara Love Hardin and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich The Sun Does Shine is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times, now adapted for younger readers, with a revised foreword by Just Mercy author Bryan Stevenson. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only 29 years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. Read an Excerpt ▶ Will by Will Smith I’ve always thought of myself as a coward. Most of my memories of my childhood involve me being afraid in some way-afraid of other kids, afraid of being hurt or embarrassed, afraid of being seen as weak. But mostly, I was afraid of my father. When I was nine years old, I watched my father punch my mother in the side of her head so hard that she collapsed. I saw her spit blood. That moment in that bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am today. Within everything that I have done since then—the awards and accolades, the spotlights and the attention, the characters and the laughs—there has been a subtle string of apologies to my mother for my inaction that day. For failing her in that moment. For failing to stand up to my father. For being a coward. Read the Rest of Chapter One ▶ Unbossed: How Black Girls Are Leading the Way by Khristi Lauren Adams From Khristi Lauren Adams, author of the celebrated Parable of the Brown Girl, comes Unbossed, a hopeful and riveting inquiry into the lives of eight young Black women who are agitating for change and imagining a better world. Offering practical lessons in leadership, resilience, empathy, and tenacity from a group of young leaders of color who are often neglected, Unbossed includes profiles of Jaychele Nicole Schenck, Ssanyu Lukoma, Tyah-Amoy Roberts, Grace Callwood, Hannah Lucas, Amara Ifeji, Stephanie Younger, and Kynnedy Smith. Read an Excerpt ▶ How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi “What is your definition of a Christian?” Dad asked in his deeply earnest way. Cone looked at Dad with equal seriousness and responded: “A Christian is one who is striving for liberation.” James Cone’s working definition of a Christian described a Christianity of the enslaved, not the Christianity of the slaveholders. Receiving this definition was a revelatory moment in Dad’s life. Ma had her own similar revelation in her Black student union—that Christianity was about struggle and liberation. My parents now had, separately, arrived at a creed with which to shape their lives, to be the type of Christians that Jesus the revolutionary inspired them to be. This new definition of a word that they’d already chosen as their core identity naturally transformed them. Read the Rest of Chapter One ▶ Dear Troy, George Floyd’s, tragic murder, just over 2 years ago, has had the most profound impact on the Black book ecosystem than any event I have witnessed in the past 25 years. Our country was forced to reckon with its legacy of brutality leveled against Black people and how it impacts everyone today. This resulted in a huge surge of interest in books on racism. Led by Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist, book buyers intentionally purchased these books from Black-owned bookstores. This support, during the pandemic, was a tremendous windfall for many stores. Today there are more Black-owned bookstores than ever before. We recognize the importance of our bookstores; the challenge will be continuing to support them. Troy, your support is crucial to helping us celebrate our triumphs over tremendous obstacles, through books. Your paid subscriptions, book purchases, suggestions, engagement on the site, social sharing, advertisements, and feedback — all actions are crucial. No matter how trivial you may feel your actions might be, collectively they matter a great deal. Peace and Love, Troy Johnson Founder & Webmaster, AALBC.com This message is sponsored by Broadleaf Books an imprint of 1517 Media. Consider sponsoring our eNewsletter or a dedicated email. ★ AALBC.com eNewsletter – June 21, 2022 - Issue #361

The guys above look better than Greg does in real life

Uncle Ruckus, I mean @Greg you at it again!

This quote from the article reflects a sentiment I often feel and expressed here: “Dogmatism is sometimes an attempt to keep things simpler and easier to understand. By rejecting alternative ideas that might challenge the status quo, people are able to minimize uncertainty and risk —or at least their perception of risk.“ The article also referenced 5 personality traits, one being “openness.” If someone is low on the openness scale and they are dogmatic you will never change their minds. Whether the subject is a political belief, a religious one, or a racial stereotype, these people hold onto beliefs very firmly.

I got it! Greg is really UNCLE RUCKUS! 😮

Oh brother …. You really don’t know history. Try reading more. Here are some books to get you started @Greg (and anyone who thinks greg might be right): https://aalbc.com/blog/index.php/2013/07/16/dr-ben-dr-clarke-dr-van-sertima-recommendations/

@Greg, you math is off, but that really matter very little... Not really, a cursory knowledge of history would tell inform you that sharecropping especially immediately after the end of slavery was not very different. Also have you ever heard of convict leasing? One could argue that system was even worse than slavery... The Northern soldiers, who actually knew what the war was about, were not interested in fighting for the freedom of Black people. The only solders knowingly fighting for Black freedom were the Black ones. Northern white soldiers fought, mostly because they had to. Men like the abolitionist John Brown, who actually fought to free enslaved Black people were aberrations. Greg I'm going to create a reading list for you. Well not for you, because I know have no interest in learning, but for those who desire a deeper understanding of racism, genocide, colonialism, and the devastating impact this has had on Black people in these United States ... still we rise 🙂

89! I remember once describing you as an octogenarian and you corrected me, as you had not become one yet. Now here you are 🙂 It is amazing you are as technically fluent are you are @Cynique My mother, who is several years your junior. has never touched a computer and does not use a smart phone. Cynique when you were 10 years old, a Black person your age now, back then could have very well have been enslaved and old enough to have a memory of the experience. Have you even met someone who was formerly enslaved? if so I would love to read what know (please start another thread). Maybe you know someone who related a story...

@Mel Hopkins that was an interesting video. It is almost 4 years old (since it was posted). Since the pandemic things have only gotten worse. The worsening economy will only make things worse still. Existing social media platforms will not "fix" their platforms as the speaks suggests is necessary.

@Cynique a "troll" is indeed someone who spams posts with their political views and propaganda. Trolling can be executed with a bot, but generally the more sophisticated trolling is implemented with an actual human and increasingly AI. The goal of trolls vary from just being a nuisance by posting porn, advertisements, and other garbage to trying trying to influencing opinion and manipulating people. Trolls are always characterized by the fact that they can't be reasoned with for they are not interested in dialogue. They are interested in pushing a view point, which is why they sound like a "broken record." This is what gives Greg his troll-like characteristics the incessant repetition of BS. For example, according to Greg, a Black man who works hard and raises his children is called a sell-out. Who calls these Black men that? I'm one of those Black men. I've been called a lot of things, but sell-out was never one of them. A troll pushes absurd notions like this. Greg and I can agree on one thing perhaps; "There is something seriously wrong with the black community." Of course Greg would say it is the Black community itself that is the problem, and I'd assert it is the unaddressed problem of living under extremely hostile conditions for hundred of years in this country. @Greg for example sees George Floyd as the problem, the poster child of all the ills of the Black community he's been repeating here. That is shallow and narrow view. Greg will never pick up a book to understand context. They embrace the simplistic view point because it is easy. It is why many white folks were shocked by what happen to Floyd two years.

@Cynique you’ve dispensed a considerable amount of wisdom and your talent at doing so continues to impress me. Glutton for punishment or not, given the time you to took respond to Greg, I presume you do not believe they are a true troll. They remain incorrigible as ever. If they are not a troll, they are not too bright. While your words are wasted on them, fortunately, I and other readers have benefited from your words. Thank you.

This is not true, these men dislike those that actively harm Black people. They never assert a hatred of every individual in any group. In any group of people, of considerable size, you’ll find both wicked people, good ones, and everything in between. It has happened, but with most violence the victim and perpetrators are in the same group. Whites kill whites, blacks kill blacks, etc.

which is so often confused. say you have a position on a subject, learn more and change your position as a result. That is disparage today as, “flip-flopping.”

Honestly, @ProfD I'm curious too, not so much out of humor but understanding the behavior. I've encountered a couple of other trolls here who were much more sophisticated than Greg, but you learn from every experience. I usually do a good job identifying trolls at account signup. Usually the location of the IP address is a dead give-away, but if a VPN is used you have to look deeper. My biggest concern is banning an account of someone who is a legitimate poster. I wish more people would post under their true identities, but I understand why some people don't have that freedom.

American slavery was unique in that it's victims and their descendants -- even those fathered by the enslaver -- were enslaved in perpetuity. All people with brown skin were deemed as genetically subhuman, and needed to be enslaved for their own good. Those who sold other Africans to Europeans could not know what they were doing, as the European practice of enslavement was so alien to anything practiced in Africa before or since. America has make a great deal of progress, but has never reckoned with it's violent history. The murder of George Floyd was a seminal event because it helped many people really see America and it started an anti-racist movement, something the republicans party is pushing hard against.

Come on lets be perfectly clear. Black people never crossed an ocean, committed genocide. and built a country using enslaved labor! We did not create laws to systematical exclude American Black people from all forms of participation in this system. ProfD you don't have to defend our collective Black behavior in this country. If anything our survival needs to be honored and praised -- reparations are in order if you ask me. As long as people keep talking so called Black on Black crime, out of wedlock births, or being better off here that we would be in Africa. People will begin to believe this BS, -- primarily because they have no context. They will have no empathy because they don't know history -- least of all African history. This is my biggest problem with the republican party. The keep repeating the nonsense Greg is spewing. Of course this attracts a racist element to that party but well meaning, but ignorant, people lap it up too. Imagine a group of people who revere American traitors?! It is like an alternative universe.

This is racist trope that I hear all the time... The African continent exploited for centuries and America was a main beneficiary. To say that the descendants of the kidnapped Africans who live in America today are "better off" than the descendants of the ones who remained in the aftermath of centuries or rape pillage and plunder is a profoundly asinine statement. @Greg if you continue with the "black women need to stop having babies out of wedlock at a young age," I will ban your account. (I know you don't care; this notice is really for the other posters benefit).

@Mel Hopkins, thanks for listening to the WSJ Panel. Did you notice at the end how passionately the ladies described the books that they were reading. The is the thing that a good bookseller can do. If you find a bookstore where the sales people are actually book people you are very fortunate. While there are more Black-owned stores stores than ever -- there are probably fewer booksellers than ever. @Stefan, you mentioned that I called you a troll once, I'm actually drawing your attention to Greg, who has clearly demonstrated that they are a toll. Their post above is an example. You struck me like this initially, but over time my opinion changed. 😉 Now all Greg is doing is ranting about "black women need to stop having babies out of wedlock at a young age." he is not adding anything new to the conversation and appears to be solely interested, not in dialogue, but in advancing racist stereotypes. If it continues I will ban his account. In 25 years I have banned less than a handful of accounts. If anyone disagrees I'm open to hearing your thoughts.

I always felt Cynique could publish some essays through a traditional publisher. Her biting commentary, whether i agree with it or not, is always interesting. @Cynique on social do you get the same reaction? I mean do people express similar sentiment as Del?

Trolls avoid these like the plague. Sorry man ☹️

Here too you make wild unsupported accusations. ...trolls are relentless. While most Black children are born out of wedlock. That does not mean the father is not present. Nor does it mean the father is locked up for a violent crime (most Black men are not locked up for violent crimes, btw). Here too, as with welfare as @Cynique pointed out, there are numerically more white children born out of wedlock than Black children, Why aren't you lamenting the hordes of children born to unwed white mothers? I know you won't address that fact, for it will force you to look more closely and reject your wildly ignorant statements like "Who helps those black children with their homework? Who makes sure those kids aren’t roaming the streets on a school night? Who Is making sure those kids are respecting teachers and police ?" Who is helping the white children? Another benefit of whiteness in America, is no one goes around disparaging the white mothers and their children who are born out of wedlock -- despite the fact that the majority of children who are born out of wedlock are white. You are regurgitating right wing political racist rhetoric used to justify the margination of Black people. This is a tried and true tactic and it always works on people unable to think deeply or critically. Black babies born to unwed mother is not the problem. People like you Greg try really hard to make it a problem though. Even if you are not a troll, and actually believe the right-wing propaganda you are spewing, you should read more. The stuff you are parroting tells me how much you don't know. Isn't their anything positive about Black people that you can spread across the web?

@Greg making an even more more outrageous claim, 80%, does not support your argument. Lets say the out of wedlock birth weres 100%. What makes you so confident that out of wedlock births, in and of themselves, are a problem? Presumably being a problem is really the point of sharing an 80% stat, right? Are you suggesting that all, or most, out of wedlock births must be by Black women who are "young, low income, unskilled" as you described? You are saying that once we get out of wedlock birth down to the rate that it is for white folks, that this will go a long way to solving the ills in the Black community. Is that your argument? During the past the past two years a great deal of energy has been put into helping people understand how white racism has hobbled the Black community. Have your ever read about the prosperous Black community in Tulsa OK that was destroyed in a racists massacre. The Black people in Tulsa, did not make excuses and enjoyed great success despite all the obstacles until it was destroyed. Tulsa was not a one off. Policies and laws are specifically designed to hobble Black people and are deeply embedded into the fabric of this country. The very fact they we (Black people) are are still here and enjoy any modicum of success is testament to our resilience and fortitude. Constantly harping on a stupid stats out of context is counterproductive. Greg, consider spending your time celebrating Black success and achievement rather than spreading negativity about Black folks. You confuse "making excuses" with acknowledging, understanding, and addressing the wrongs that have been done to us.