Troy

Sure chikdren can tell humans apart from each other, but the fear or hated based upon those differences is taught. Cynique where did you get this from? I know you did not read this in a book. Is it based upon an observation. At the risk if offending you, it sounds exactly like something Pioneer would say Racism is not inherent to humans: it is a learned behavior. America is perhaps the greatest teacher if racism. They have people beliving it is human nature... deep. @Chevdove, OK.

Hey man this us cool Omar on the Wire reading your book and now Wendy Williams shouting you out way back in 2005.. time is flying.

That is just white folks talking amoungst themselves. @Mel Hopkins, i missed you post about Bill sacrificing himself for Camille. That seems highly unlikely to me; why do you think that?

This is who Facebook really makes most of the from. The money facebook get from small businesses like mine is chump change, which is why we are not serviced very well.

@Milton I used your quote in the newsletter I'm mailing in the morning. Yeah I know it is November.. but I've been busy At any rate I've categories most of the book I have on AALBC using the BISAC codes and hyper linked your message as shown below: “It's Black Speculative Fiction Month! This month we celebrate the Black Fantastic by supporting our creators and their events throughout the Diaspora! If you've never read a Sword and Soul, Steamfunk, Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, African Fantasy, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Horror book or graphic novel by a Black author, this is your month. I encourage all my friends to read, support an author by writing a review, attend a Black Speculative Fiction event, share a book, event, and/or an author with friends. This is our month, so let's celebrate!” —Milton J. Davis There are over 4,600 BISAC codes defined (yes I counted them). I would you believe there are no categories for Afrofuturism, Sword and Soul, or anything African (the list of codes is American centric). I've taken to creating my own codes so that I can categorie these books and make them easier for readers to find. The challenge for authors is discovery. The lack of stores, websites, magazines, media coverage, make the discover of book very challenging today. I most people I talk to have ever heard of N.K. Jemison. @Valjeanne Jeffers, I believe I have all your books (physical) on the site: https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Valjeanne+Jeffers

The TEA who also read Barracoon. The ladies attended the Black Authors & Readers Rock Weekend in Maryland and discussed the book with attendees. I'll be joining them for the 2019 celebration. Enjoy the video.

Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden Publication Date: Jul 03, 2018 List Price: $27.95 (store prices may vary) Format: Hardcover Classification: Fiction Page Count: 224 ISBN13: 9781617755750 Imprint: Akashic Books Publisher: Akashic Books Parent Company: Akashic Books Read Our Review of Praise Song for the Butterflies Book Description: Praise Song for the Butterflies addresses “Trokosi,” the practice of sending girls to shrines as slaves to serve priests in order to protect their family from the gods’ anger.

I attended on day of this two day event and I'd have to saw it was once of the best book festivals I've attended in a long time. Below are video I shot during the event. It is just a small sample of all that was there to see and do. These videos are also grouped in a playlist on Youtube.

Wow 22 years later and this story is still weighing on your mind. I would have defintely given you something i don't know how much but at least a few hundred dollars. Did you ever quit that job @Willie J Moye?

@Pioneer1 are you really and truly puzzled over why white men get away with shit Black men get put away for? Still, Harvey is not out of the woods yet

@Pioneer1, well I deleted my personal account and just post links to my business account. If the traffic from facebook to AALBC drops i'll stop posting links. I never read anything on Twitter. Why didnt you ever create a facebook account?

Yes, live and let live.

This strikes me as illogical, or at least the strangest behavior of a racist I've ever heard of. I fail to see what this has to with racism. Besides the question is biased and flawed, because the only examples I'd be able to come up with, that you would be familiar with, are celebrities who are all bread winners. That is because what you understand as racism is not inherent to human nature; it is something that is taught. Fear of "the other" has nothing to do with skin color; that is incidental. The white racism exhibited in the western world today is relatively new energing with the Atlantic slave trade. Our racism @Cynique is a consequence of being Black in America. Our difference is that I won't accept it as "normal," for there is no evidence of racism, based upon skin color, being natural. @Cynique I hear the word nigger used so much it means nothing to me in most circumstances. Obviously if a group of white men carrying a noose are using it you won't find me hanging around videoing it for social media

Here are the most popular book categories on the AALBC website. If you follow the links you will be sent to a page where the book in each category is listed. The first list has over 800 books in it. There are currently 288 books in the “Poetry / American / General” category. I found this personally interesting that this category of books is in the top 10, because poetry does not sell as well as it did which I launched the site over 20 years ago. Despite that it is obvious my focus on the genre has not wavered. A website can afford to do this, a physical bookstore can not because it is much wiser to dedicate floor space to products that are moving Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies Fiction / General Fiction / Literary Biography & Autobiography / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / General Fiction / Romance / Contemporary Fiction / African American / Urban Fiction / African American / Women Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs Poetry / American / General Juvenile Fiction / People & Places / United States / African American Fiction / African American / General Fiction / Urban Fiction / Romance / African American Poetry / American / African American Fiction / Women Biography & Autobiography / Women Fiction / Historical / General Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations Fiction / Romance / General History / United States / 20th Century Literary Criticism / American / African American Juvenile Fiction / General Fiction / Short Stories (Single Author) Fiction / Erotica / General Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Cultural Heritage Juvenile Nonfiction / People & Places / United States / African American Biography & Autobiography / General Self-Help / Motivational & Inspirational Fiction / African American / Christian Juvenile Fiction / Social Themes / Friendship Social Science / Minority Studies Social Science / Women’s Studies Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense Political Science / Civil Rights @Mel Hopkins this is just more fun with BISAC codes

I clearly understand your point @Cynique. I recently had a conversation with a writer who described a situation they were in, which I witnessed as, racist. The problem was that there were were a variety of other potential reasons for the perceived slight. I looked into the situation and concluded that writer was actually being given a benefit rather than being slighted. Admittedly, this was not obvious to either of us at the time. Collectively we are far too eager to call someone racist. If you see racism everywhere you look, you'll find racism everywhere you look. Every white woman who does something stupid is simply not a racist. All racists are stupid, but not all stupid people are racist. I'll be the first to admit it is hard not to be racist in America -- especially when every single incident is exaggerated and viewed under the lense of racism. I have to force myself to consider people as individuals and not assume every negative incident involving a white person is a result of racism. Usually the reason is much more base, like fear, greed, or envy, If the quote you attributed to Biden was considered racist; that strikes me as absurd, more a reflection of Black paranoia. It also does not surprise me, in the least bit, that Obama and Biden are BFFs. Now if you said Obama was best buds with Al Sharpton I would be very surprised Obama used Sharpton well. I knew that Sharpton's MSNBC show would not last beyond Obama's presidency.

@Cynique Well said. I had not formulated my own opinion, but after reading what you wrote. I cosign it. Of course the more hysterical #metoo folks would probably offense with the mere thought of considering the whole man, context, and tradeoffs.

Well it was Bill's money. But we will never know the true depths of Cosby's depravity. If, as you imply, that the Fisk, Spelman, and others helped keep Bill's wickedness hidden in exchange for contributions, that is horrible. The HBCUs may have dropped Bill like a "hot potato," but let me know which ones returned any of the money he gave them. Does anyone think Black folks are worse off or better off, all things considered because of Bill Cosby?

I agree; naps and sleep, as paradoxical as it may seem, are key to life. So is staying up past 9:30 p.m., the good stuff does not happen before then LOL.

@TiciaLuv, The November book may be found here: https://aalbc.com/bookclubs/cwmyb.php?year=2018 I have been lackadaisical in my responsibility of updating the site, partially because I've been wrestling with the configuration of the online club and partially because I fully engaged in other areas of the website. But there are some good things coming to the club -- stay tuned!

@Chevdove I know but your response did not answer my question. Are you suggesting that she was a racist when she married the Black man -- or only became a racist after she divorced him. The former would not make sense and the latter makes her no different than the majority of Black women who married Black men. While calling every slight made my a white person against a Black person racist is great for a social media meme, it is simplistic and reductionist. The answer to your questions are yes, yes, and yes.

Yeah like the gangstervwho hands out turkeys during the holidays in the hood. People are complex. The documentary cosby produced was in a word, great. The Cosby Show, donations to HBCU, great and great -- and I don't like to throw the word great around loosely. But the man also had a dark side. Stallone contributions to society pale in comparion (as far as i know). Cosby was a great humanitarian and a degenerate.

I'm going to watch more football, drink more beer, and look for more women to have uncommitted sex with -- like every red blooded American. Seriously, what can you do? Reason and truth are less profitable than extremism and lies so the masses are woefully misinformed. Trump is our president and Oprah has a great chance to win in 2020... pass me another beer.

@ErnestLiving, man do you really write between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.? I get up early once a week to catch a flight. Today for example, i was up at 3:30 but i took a 4 hour nap around noon my problem is that i don't usually get to sleep until midnight. What time do you got to bed?

@Chevdove you do realize that tbe keyfob woman you keep saying that does not want black people living in her building was married to a Black man? Many Black women cant say that. How do you rationalize her supposedly overt racist behavior having been martied to a brotheer? Yeah @Pioneer1 anytime a Black person kills another Black person in the U.S. they just say Chicago Acutually i believe detriot has a higher murder rate.

Man you guys love citing tabloids huh? Are you trying to compare stallone to cosby. One is a convicted serial sexual predator and the other was falsely accussed.