Troy

Man when you say it like that you make it sound like an it is unusual for an attractive sista to speak intelligently. More importantly, why do we care what she looks like? I listened to her message while getting myself together this morning. As you know I disagree with not voting. You can build community AND vote. That is what I think we should do. As you also should know, I'm sick of us looking to while folks for validation. But I understand why we do this, because they have all the money and money is often the only way many people measure success. Acquisition of wealth is a worthy goal, but if it is your only goal, you are useless indeed harmful to your fellow man. That said homegirl is easy on the eyes 🥰

To be clear, Farrakhan did not merely say the virus was a curse from God. He said HE asked God to inflict the curse on Florida and God did so on his behalf.

I used to attend these lectures and debates when i lived in NYC. @Pioneer1 I though about you when I got this email. __________ Should Black People Vote for Either Candidate, Yes or No Adelaide Sanford, Betty Dopson, Raymond Dugue, Gloria Dulan Wilson, Omowale Clay, James McIntosh On Wednesday October 7 at 7:00 PM you are invited to a Zoom forum on the topic: Should Black People Vote for either Candidate Hear different views from the participants with a special 15 minute commentary by esteemed Elder, Dr. Adelaide L. Sanford who will speak on what she thinks Black People should do on election day and after. Time: Oct 7, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86922173510?pwd=YS8ydk9MbWZGREpBRldxdzUzZThjUT09 Meeting ID: 869 2217 3510 Passcode: 357930 One tap mobile +16465588656,,86922173510#,,,,,,0#,,357930# US (New York) +13017158592,,86922173510#,,,,,,0#,,357930# US (Germantown)

$65K in profit -- even revenue would be a great success -- news worthy in my opinion 🙂 Keep us posted on your progress! Interesting. Still what is he selling? Clearing the talk is not directed to the masses, living hand-to-mouth.

I hear you @daniellegfny, but I actually agree more with @Pioneer1 last statement. Many people (even white ones) are struggling to meet their most basic needs. Half of the country's family income is less than 65k a year -- the entire family. Many make much less. As @Pioneer1 suggested the messages is clearly not designed for the masses. It is not clear to me what purpose of the entire program would be. My quess usbthat they are selling something. It is rare for indie children's book author to make a living from their books. You will more likely need to live on your driving income and bank your book income. If you make any profit selling books consider yourself a success. If you make enough to live on that would be fantastic.

These are all wealthy white people with best health care available to mankind. None are likely to die. Infections without desths will just "prove" to covid deniers that they are right. Besides, if after 210 thousand American deaths, in less than 8 months, you still have people likening Covid-19 to the common cold, nothing will change their minds

Aw man... I was with Farrakhan until started talking about cursing Florida...

@Pioneer1 I gather he is an entertainer. If his message is to save money -- I can't argue with that. It is only a 2 minute clip, so there was not enough time to relate the more important factors you raised, like how to make enough money to have a comfortable life style or what do you do with the money you are saving.

Well said.

2020 was off the chain; we will see what 2021 has in store for us....

45 understands that. That is why he was emptying the jails and passing out checks. If Biden wins in November right when all the prohibitions against foreclosures and evictions end, Biden will be burdened with all that misery. You think you have seen unrest so far? Wait until 2021.

Very easily. Simply add up the voting population of the 39 states I did not list and then through in 49% of the remaining 11 states. Of course it happens; it happened with Trump and Bush recently. Again the down ballot elections (which you participate in) are just as, even more important than the presidential election. You are in Michigan @Pioneer1 just cast the stupid ballot, you hate 45 to win the state because you and your boys decided to sit this one out. OK thanks for making it perfectly clear that we can't have a reasonable conversation on the subject of Covid-19. I give up.

You should get a bomb shelter too.

Thanks for asking for clarification: Here is the deal. I set up an affiliate store with Bookshop.org when they first launched last year. I figured I could use them to generate revenue when supplying buy links for books that I do not carry in my online store. When I send readers to https://bookshop.org/shop/aalbc I get 10% of any sales generated. Bookshop, in partnership with the ABA, shares an additional 10% with indie-booksellers, who are also ABA members. This is the revenue share that AALBC, an ABA member, is not allowed to receive. Of course Bookshop retains the remaining revenue. So when a readers buys a book from a Bookshop affiliate -- even a affiliate operated by a Black-owned business, like AALBC -- most of the profit goes to white businesses. Does this make sense? A web based booksellers can make anywhere between 65% and 40% on the sale of a book. As the ABA fosters a dependence of Black booksellers (usually the ones with the weaker ecommerce sites) on Bookshop.org they are basically taking 55% to 30% of that potential revenue. Bookshop has another program where Bookshop was they pay 30% of cover price to stores that handover they online sales to bookshop. Still the bookstore is giving up 25% to 10% of their revenue. While strengthening Bookshop and weakening the potential off all other web based booksellers. This is the main source of by gripe -- it is Amazon all over again. Popular booksellers like Powell's books in Oregon, does not use Bookshop.org -- they have a robust ecommerce website. Powell's has also finally stopped using Amazon's marketplace, which has completed perverted rationale pricing for the online sales of books. Powell's still gets the revenue share from Bookshop.org -- even though they do not use bookshop.

As soon as I post this message here is the very next order 🙂 1 x Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys 1 x Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, Vol. 2 1 x Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, Vol. 3 1 x Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, Vol. 4

So what are you gonna do @Pioneer1 roll over and die? Look, the prognosis is indeed grim, but giving up is simply not an option worthy of consideration.

Are you seriously relating the common cold to covid-19?! If so we can't have a serious conversation. No one has said getting covid-19 is a death sentence. You are being intellectually dishonest and irrational. Of course 45 will get the best treatment available, while many, without medical insurance are much more susceptible to dying. Herman Cain died despite these benefits, I don't recall you using the same flawed reasoning in his untimely death. There are 540 electoral votes, a presidential candidate need the majority of these, 270, to win. A candidate can fail to get a single vote in 39 states and win, by only 1 vote, in the following 11 states: California, which has 55 votes, Texas with 38, Florida with 29, New York with 29 votes, Illinois with 20 votes, Pennsylvania with 20 votes, Ohio with 18 votes, Georgia with 16 votes, Michigan with 16 votes, North Carolina with 15 votes, and New Jersey which has 14 votes The candidate would lose by the popular votes by 10's of millions of votes, but win the electoral college and become POTUS. This is why the ongoing disenfranchisement of voters in Florida is so important. Again, this is why voting and completing the census form is so important. Now that the supreme court is stacked with Republicans, and Black people don't vote, the electoral college will be with us for the foreseeable future.

@Nnamdi Azikiwe my guess is that Bookshop.org has siphoned millions of dollars this year away from Black-owned bookstores. I described my reasoning here. No, Black folks do not do well when it comes to the distribution and retail of Black books. Are books fail to enjoy the sales they would otherwise. Of course the readers are less enriched as a result. Books from authors like Anthony Browder, Claud Anderson, Jawanza Kunjufu, for example would enjoy a great deal more success. If there were more Black booksellers and better distribution of their titles.

If you think certain online bookstore is a better alternative to another massive e-commerce site, think again. The following commentary is in reaction to the Black Bookstore Day conversation. We could really use a journalist to investigate this, but it highlights a common challenge: lacking platforms with the resources to conduct this type of research and explain why it matters to readers. It would be fascinating to know how much a certain online platform has earned from people who wish to support Black bookstores, on the heals of George Floyd's murder, but unintentionally ended up supporting the other business instead. For instance, mainstream media has given significant attention to a café that also sells books. This café doesn’t operate an e-commerce site but instead directs readers to another platform for book purchases (see graphic below). This isn’t a critique of the café—they’re free to run their business however they choose. But it's clear that, for anyone genuinely aiming to support a Black-owned bookstore, businesses without online book sales may not be the best primary choice. Some brick-and-mortar bookstores have also struggled to adapt to e-commerce, especially during the pandemic, which forced many stores to rely solely on online sales as their physical locations closed. Another bookstore gaining considerable media attention also directs readers to this third-party platform for online book purchases. Ultimatley this platform functions as the online bookstore for many Black-owned bookstores. Since the rise of interest in supporting Black-owned businesses, Black-owned bookstores have received more support. Unfortunately, this platform has often been the one to profit, rather than the Black-owned stores themselves -- controlling who wins and who loses. As a result, the media has increased their focus on stores without dedicated e-commerce platforms, and this third-party platform often manages online sales for these stores. There is a strong correlation between a store's media attention and this platform managing its online bookstore. Many large publishers link to this third-party site as a place to buy books, and they still act as if they’re supporting Black-owned stores. Here’s an example of how one major publisher offers book-buying options: Here is another... This was particularly notable for a book on civil rights, as it felt ironic given the book’s subject. I reached out to someone to encourage publishers to link to Black-owned stores. Although some publishers are connected with our platform, it seems they’re not fully aware of the impact of their current practices. A supporter mentioned they wouldn’t have known about a recent book by a prominent activist if it hadn’t been for our platform. How much longer would it have taken them to find out? It’s in publishers’ best interests to support Black-owned sites. As someone who avoids large e-commerce sites, I’m glad to see attention going to other platforms. But, as I once was with a different platform, I won’t be fooled by a similar setup that siphons revenue and business from the Black book ecosystem. This platform gained prominence quickly, partly due to an industry association. It has positioned itself as a more ethical alternative to larger e-commerce sites. They pay affiliates a 10% commission, which is slightly higher than what some e-commerce giants offer (currently about 4%). The platform also matches this 10% commission for independent bookstores that are members of the association. Most association-member bookstores that benefit from this revenue share are not Black-owned, and many already have their own well-established websites. For these stores, the revenue share is simply an added benefit. When customers buy books online from Black-owned stores that use this third-party platform, 10% of the sales often go to other independent bookstores, some of which may be white-owned and haven’t done anything to earn that revenue. If readers who want to support Black-owned stores knew this, would they continue to support sites using this platform? Here’s the kicker… AALBC is a member of the same industry association. However, this third-party platform has refused to include us in its revenue share program. The reasons seem clear: they aim to dominate online book sales and exploit the public’s desire to support Black-owned stores in the process. They seemingly view platforms like ours as competition to eliminate. The industry association used to support bookstore owners in running their own websites. Now, however, all of their effort supports this third-party platform. I’ve expressed dissatisfaction with the association on this issue but to no avail. I even considered running for their board to try to influence how the association supports web-based booksellers. Ultimately, I decided against it, as my time is limited, and I wasn’t confident about the impact I could have. While the association means well, there’s still much work to do, particularly regarding support for Black-owned independent bookstores. It is hard out here! LOL! NOTE 11/14/2024: This article was written to remove the names of specific businesses and industry organizations.

The "Clown" should never have been infected. Unbelievable lack of judgement. I take that back the lack of judgment is perfectly believable. Fortunately for him he has the best Doctors available. Who announced 45's infection? Was the source his tweet? Are we supposed to believe that?

Did you understand what I wrote about electors? If so then you'd know your statement is irrelevant. @daniellegfny forget Trump what the judge said about Obama is unbelievable. In fact I don't believe it.

I'm actually working on that as we speak. My test case will be this book. https://aalbc.com/books/bookinfo.php?isbn13=9781568528403 I'm work on securing all the available copies. Amazon will only be able to sell used copies. Looking at giving affiliates 25% of sale price. When white folks wanted to support Black bookstores this summer they made it happen. I can give you numerouse examples of what they did. I can also give you examples of where we failed to step up. I've shared examples of both on these forums Some responsibility is on the reader too. If that Black college graduate was not aware there were Black owned books stores, that means she never bothered to look.

Precisely.

Potentially @Nnamdi Azikiwe the issue is that there have to be filters on some level. What I'd like to see is Black folks having more control over the filters. Today white folks decide whats popular and Black folks run around trying to sell those books.

That is probably not possible Nnamdi. You want your book in every store where it is likely to sold to readers who will buy it. Every bookseller and store has their own tastes and focus. Indentify the stores where your book will most likely resonate and work with them. I'm in the process of trying to figure out how Black dustributors and booksellers can work together reclaim revenue going to Amazon and bookshop.org and to drive demand for important books. We are FAR to dependent upon the majority culture when it comes deciding which authors have a voice. This is a hard problem to solve but it is not intractable.