Troy

Paying tribute to her mother’s strength and determination to raise four successful children in the shadow of tragedy, Where the Children Take Us is a spellbinding memoir by popular CNN anchor Zain E. Asher. An unforgettable portrait of strength, tenacity, love, and perseverance embodied in one towering woman. Buy Now ▶ The Top 50 Black-Owned Websites Our mission includes uplifting websites created by, and for, people of African descent. These sites are sorted by the strength of their “AALBC Score.” Check out the more than 400 (and growing) popular, Black-owned, websites considered for inclusion on this top 50 list. AALBC.com also researches and reports on, Top Black Book Websites, Black-Owned Bookstores, Black-Owned Magazines, and Black-Owned Newspapers, in the United States. You may also use our Huria Search engine; which is a curated search engine that only returns results from Black-owned websites—including these top 50 and hundreds of others. Read why this list of Black-owned websites was created. Dear Reader, I’ve strayed from my usual focus on books to the World Wide Web. I have always been a strong advocate for independent websites and Black-owned indie websites in particular. I’ve been creating websites since it was possible to do so—for over 25 years. One of the most dramatic changes I’ve seen is how much harder it is for indie websites to survive, As a result, the WWW is a less diverse and rich place than it could be. The biggest reason is that Google’s search results are dominated by its products and advertisements. The actual search results are biased toward corporate sites. This makes indie harder to discover. Other reasons include the dominance of social media sites that use our data to addict us to their platforms. If Black-owned websites are to be created and thrive, we have to take an active role in making it happen. This is why I spend time and energy creating the lists I’ve shared above. Hopefully, you will share this information and support these sites and any others you find valuable. Always remember Reader, you are why we’ve been able to make AALBC the premier online platform for books by, or about, people of African descent. Your paid subscriptions, book purchases, suggestions, engagement on the site, commenting, social sharing, and advertisements help support AALBC’s mission. Peace and Love, Troy Johnson Founder & Webmaster, AALBC.com This message is sponsored by Amistad Consider sponsoring our eNewsletter or a dedicated email. ★ AALBC.com eNewsletter – April 26, 2022 - Issue #358

You are obviously familiar with Uvalde Texas. I was actually thinking about Texans when I made my comments. I've spent a lot of time in Texas over that past year including the past month in Houston. Nonexistent gun control laws did not thwart the massacre in Uvalde. Even Texans, afraid of more shootings, are calling for some controls. I doubt they will happen ... it is Texas

I have not watched it yet, but will let you know what I thin k when I do. Please do the same.

Yes one can avoid being victimized by doing a great many things like not walking around flashing a lot of cash, not walking around inebriated, avoiding dark alleys in unfamiliar neighborhoods, etc. The best protection perhaps is living in a decent neighborhood. All of which are more FAR effective than carrying around a deadly weapon. Again, the surge in alarm installations has more to do with effective marketers taking advantage of a population made hyper-paranoid by the media. Technological advances have made home security devices more easily accessible; albeit largely unnecessary. Living in a country where walking around with a loaded gun is necessary is scary. Fortunately, we do not inhabit such a country -- even though many of us have become convinced that we do.

Well, it depends; here in the south you'd probably be in the majority. If you've every been robbed you know the robber generally uses the element of surprise where is gun is of little use. Now you could of course shot the person in the back as he leaves. But is killing someone over some personal items worth someone's life? As far as having a gun for home invasions which rarely when you are actually at home. The gun is more likely to be used by a kid to accidentally kill himself or someone else that stop a criminal who is breaking into you home. Buy hey if keeping a gun under your pillow at night or on your person as you are out and about makes you feel safe -- by all means get a gun. I just think you'd be better off and safer spending your money on a book. As far as preparation for the race war. We don't manufacture or own guns shop in large numbers, so our supply would be quickly eliminated. We are also outnumbered and out gunned. ...why am I even entertaining this idea -- there ain't gonna be no race war y'all. 😉

There are definitely generational differences in how people view the world. I actually grew up in a dangerous neighborhood in a crime ridden city. One could reasonably argue that carrying a weapon was warranted because there was a good chance you would be robbed. But when I was a kid I was not being constantly fed a diet, to a handheld computer, of mass shooting from all over the country every minute of the day. Today I live a a virtually crime free and safe neighborhood in Tampa Florida. but people are more afraid and concerned about security than I have ever been. Packages can be left on my stoop for days and no one will steal them. I can leave my garage door open for hours and no one will come by and steal something. I can leave my doors unlooked and not one will come in. There are very few crimes of opportunity. I live in a gated community, but no one here is rich. One could also argue, that the fact anyone can buy a gun here discourages crime. However that is easily disproven by the fact that crime is much higher in other nearby areas and elsewhere in the state. I think the 24/7 news cycle which focuses so much on crime, and put on steroids by social media's emotion driven algorithms, gives people the false impression that crime is so much worse today and is making them unduly stressed. If you consume a steady diet of social media you would understandably feel like you need a gun for the impending race war. That is a very sad notion, but again completely understandable. Do yourself a favor, don't consume news on social media. Slow things down and read a newspaper once a week, if you can find one :-)

Above is a clip from the WSJ’s Future of Everything Festival. The festival was held in New York City on May 18, 2022. Here I answer the question, “...what is their biggest complaint about reading...?” Watch the full 30-minute video: https://on.wsj.com/3NZbwrM I was a very cool event and I'm glad I was invited to participate. There was also a area where technology was displayed and demonstrated. I git a much better appreciation for technology and where is going. The technology will make it even easier for marketers and those with malintent to hack into your brain and control your thinking and behavior. We are not ready for this...

If my calculations are right, $8 a gallon is about what a gallon of gas costs in Cape Town, South Africa now (I was lucky enough to spend the month of April there). Here is something else to consider. Uber rides, in Cape Town, were so plentiful and super cheap -- it did not make sense to drive! In NYC depending on the time of day an Uber ride to the JKF airport might cost $80 from Manhattan. A similar ride in Cape Town might cost $4 -- seriously. I took a 40 minute ride in Cape Town and it cost me something like $15. Could something similar happen with Uber prices here? As people struggle to make ends meet there will be more demand for Uber drivers. If that demand increases competition may drive prices for Uber rides down to the point were people start ditching their cars. We already see this trend among younger people. There is also a trend toward electric vehicles. Meanwhile a secondary market for will have criminal entrepreneurs syphoning gasoline from cars and trucks to resell to people who have to drive but can't afford to pay for gas -- like the aforementioned Uber Drivers. People who can afford to pay $8 a gallon will gladly continue to do so while benefiting from the much shorter lines. I agree @ProfD, I can see $8 gas in our future.

@ProfD perhaps but who do you think uses more gasoline truck drivers, busses, industry and airlines, or people like you and me? We can certainly drive less and carpool. I could probably make it a month on a tank of gas if I did not venture outside my neighborhood -- something I have never done. That said, lower demand would drove prices down, but any decrease would be temporary and end as soon a people got back into their trucks.

These two comments basically explain everything including the use of phenotype (race) to enslave and more recently marginalize people. I do not believe racism is inherently human. People of the same so called races have rained all kinds or havoc on each other using a variety of reasons to justify their evil. ------------ I was pleasantly surprised to see both @Cynique, @Chevdove, and @Pioneer1 contributing for the first time in a while (at least of the posts I've gotten to -- I'm way behind). I've been kinda scarce myself -- busy with website, traveling, and major life changes.

I have to purchase premium gas. Yesterday I paid the most for gas than I have ever had to pay im my life, $5.099 ( really wish they would stop pricing gas in 10th of a cent). In the early days of the pandemic gas was a cheap as I've seen it in recent memory less than 2 bucks! There has been a dramatic, and I'm sure unprecedented increase in the priced of gas in the last two years last two years. No, I don't buy the idea that Russia's behavior is the only reason for the increase. You don't think American's are not complaining enough about the price of gas? That said, gas is still relatively cheap here relative to other countries. In fact, the taxes on gas should be higher to reduce demand. Here in the south people drive big ass gas guzzling trucks for no particular reason. I'll be driving less. It is almost $70 for fill up my little 4 cylinder 2-door... and that is at Costco

Oprah To Host Interactive Book Club Conversation with the Author and Oprah Daily Insiders on June 30 only on OprahDaily.com Los Angeles - Oprah’s Book Club today announced the latest selection is “Nightcrawling,” the debut novel from Leila Mottley. “Nightcrawling,” published by Knopf, is available now wherever books are sold. Oprah will sit down with the author alongside Oprah Daily Insiders for an interactive book club gathering on Thursday, June 30, in addition to immersive editorial content being available for readers on OprahDaily.com, the online hub of Oprah’s Book Club. Oprah announced the selection on CBS Mornings, as Mottley then joined the hosts in-studio to discuss the latest Oprah’s Book Club selection and the surprising way she found out her novel was being chosen. You can view the CBS Mornings segment HERE. “It brings me great joy to introduce readers to new authors, and this young poet Leila Mottley wrote a soul-searching portrait of survival and hope,” said Oprah Winfrey. “I was absolutely floored when Ms. Winfrey popped up in what I thought was going to be a regular meeting,” said Leila Mottley. “It was the surprise of a lifetime! I am beyond grateful to be able to share my debut novel with the passionate readers of Oprah’s Book Club.” “Nightcrawling” tells the story of Kiara and her brother, Marcus, who are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent—which has more than doubled—and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department. About Oprah’s Book Club Oprah’s Book Club connects a worldwide community of readers to stories that truly matter by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Readers around the world can join the conversation on Oprah’s Book Club across social media using @OprahsBookClub and on OprahDaily.com. All selections are available now on Apple Books in both ebook and audiobook at apple.co/OprahsBookClub, and wherever books are sold. About Oprah Daily In 2021, building on the mission and legacy of O, The Oprah Magazine, Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Magazines introduced Oprah Daily, a new multi-platform lifestyle venture offering audiences the content and tools to make living their best lives a daily practice. The brand features digital destination OprahDaily.com, offering the latest in wellness, culture, personal growth, style, beauty and more—including Oprah Daily Insiders, a special membership-only community where Insiders connect live with Oprah and each other in her monthly livestream The Life You Want Class; as well as with Editor-at-Large Gayle King, Creative Director Adam Glassman and other O personalities for exclusive events, videos, lives and more. The brand also publishes O Quarterly, a premium print edition published four times a year, available on newsstands and included with every Insider membership. Follow Oprah Daily on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. # # #

Here in the south people say things like “i need to protect my family.” This is despite the fact that there are few instances where someone successfully thwarts a home invader by killing then before they are killed. It is far more likely a kid in the home will use a that gun to accidentally kill themselves or someone else. Many believe there is a pending race war violent over throw off the government and are arming themselves in preparation. given the “news” being fed on Fox News, and amplified on social media it is completely understandable why people feel this way.

Yeah TSA went over my baby stroller with a fine tooth comb but kids too young to buy a beer can legally roam the streets with a rifle

Coinbase Lets Users Know What a Bankruptcy Could Mean for Their Crypto https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-11/coinbase-gives-256-billion-reminder-about-agonies-of-bankruptcy

For me there is no compelling use case for crypto for the general population. It is no surprise the mark who paid 3 million for Dorsey's first tweet will was not able to resell it for a profit. But I understand if someone is willing to pay $70MM for a jpeg others will try to jump on the band wagon -- even if they can only make a fraction of that amount. But who, other than someone fantastically wealthy would spend that much on an NFT? As far as the energy required to mine that is a problem which is not limited to crypto. As long as people are making money we will not address this issue. Again the problem is much bigger than Crypto. The price of Crypto could be described as being in "free fall" since this past winter (see charts below) but this probably considered a buying opportunity for a investor with a high risk tolerance.

Yes white supremacy is real. I doubt any Black person over 25 will dispute that. The link you provided of the bus being tossed for weed is a good example. My point of contention is that it is "getting much worse, week by week." I don't agree with the statement. Perhaps I need to better understand what you mean... Are you comparing the racism today with the racism of the 19th century, or the racism of the Jim Crow era? Surely you can't believe racism today is worse that those periods. Are you asserting that racism is worse today than last year or the year before? If so, I think you are just reading more accounts of racism and are getting the impression it is worse. It todays algorithmically driven social media world I suspect you are simply seeing more incidents and more frequently and it is making you believe racism is worse today. A generation ago thet story you shared would have been a local story -- it if made the news at all. There would have been no video footage and you would have not known about it at all. As a result it is not possible to use these stories to draw the conclusion that racism is getting worse. The are however much easier ways to quantify racism and in ways that we can you'll conclude that racism is decreasing. That does not mean that it does not exist. you and I will not see and send of racism. Are biggest problem is that stories of racism make the news and stories of racial unity do not, as a result people get the false impression that racism is getting worse.

Fat Ham, by James Ijames A funny, poignant play that deftly transposes "Hamlet" to a family barbecue in the American South to grapple with questions of identity, kinship, responsibility, and honesty.

Of course my distain for how Wikipedia is used is motivated by my self interest and that of my people. @Stefan, did you not see a problem with how biased the editors were for promoting the most scandalous aspects of the lives of Zane and Terry McMillian? Do you also not see how corporations like Goodreads, Google, and Facebooks copying of that scandalous of information helps that negative information propagate more quickly and more widely cross the web. I appreciate most people don't get it (which is why I wrote the article) or if they do get it they may not care. Yes, as a book seller, I am more aware of the accomplishments of writers like Zane and McMillan, so when I saw their lives described as it they are no more than tax cheats and victims of cat fishing. I did not like it. Corporations marginalize Black people is ways we can not full appreciate. So, if you want to sing Wikipedia's praises go ahead, but based upon what I know I will not.

Thanks Richard. Of course spam on your blog has increased since i blocked guest posts on the forum… i honestly believe someone just wants to make my life miserable. @Pioneer1 would say it is an overt act of racism.

That is a problem, for it would have revealed that your conclusion is baseless. I suspect that is not the only response of mine you have not read. Do you think it is better to ignore my thoughts and superimpose yours? I agree; Wikipedia can be very biased. Check out how they portrayed a couple of Black writers in an unnecessarily overly negative light: “What is Wrong with Goodreads and Wikipedia?”

@richardmurray can you see the spam on your blog? I’m just checking before i delete them.

Yeah compared to the spam on the boards the spam on your blog is negligible -- at least up until now.

Well, they are doing a horrible job in so far as Black people are concerned.

Absolutely. Unfortunately, Black people get played the most and we do very little about it. Whether it is through ignorance, apathy, helplessness, or greed, collectively we don't very much to change our situation. ...and that is entirely understandable.