Troy

Oh I thought I made this abundantly clear, but I'll repeat one. I want to see more novels published that speak to the experiences of middle aged Black men. I'd like to see these books widely discussed, critically reviewed, and making bestsellers lists.

I was thumbing through the latest issue of Ebony and noticed that Mary J. Blige was on a recent cover. I noticed she had straight blond hair. This is her style (not staged by Ebony), as I looked for other photos of Mary and they all had straight Blond hair in different styles. Now I'm not offering an opinion, but I was curious if you thought that this was a good look for Mary? Do you think there was no influence from Europeans in adapting this look. Is it just a Black woman revelling in her Blackness any way she choose. \

@Xeon where you been?

@Mel Hopkins, don't get me wrong the book fair in Jackson was really quite well done. The authors and books they presented reflected what the industry produces. This more than anything else explains the dearth of titles that speak to middle aged Black men that were presented there. OK I give up. You all want to talk about celebrities and I just want to talk about regular folk. Further I'm talking about novels these famous entertainers are not novelist. They are not writers. They don't create literature. Moving on... I was unaware of Omar's book until an industry person asked, just yesterday, if I was aware of it. In the past I'd follow up and add the book to the site. But I no longer just add celebrity books to the site. If they can pay a publicist to get them on the Today Show they can spare a couple hundred bucks for promotion on AALBC. GIven the demographic of the Today show I'm sure AALBC would have been a much better investment -- Do any Black men watch the Today show? Boy, if I relied on wealthy celebrities with books to keep this site alive I would have been out of business long ago. It is regular people who keep this site alive -- it is the Black men whose stories I try to ensure are told who keep me in business. Maybe I'll dedicate a newsletter just to Black men and our stories.

Oh, OK I misunderstood you @Chevdove. Your position is clearer now.

Our very own @Mel Hopkins has not one, but two articles in the September 2018 issue of Ebony Magazine! Congrats once again!

@Chevdove you are trying to shove the artificial construct or race into the science of genetics. Ascribing racial characteristics to Neanderthals makes even less sense than it does with Sapiens. This is like saying, Gorillas are members of the Black race and Orangutans are white. Since scientists are not saying that Orangutans are white they must be hiding something. That sounds crazy right? There is no objective criteria for determining one's race -- zero. This is because there is no scientific basis for the racial categories we use. In AmeriKKKa you can have all the phenotypic characteristics of a so called white person but be Black. This is why people can "pass." This is why a Rachel Dolezal can run a branch of the NAACP. This is why @Pioneer1 does not believe Beyonce is Black. Don't you see "race," as we know it, is purely subjective.

I can't say that I follow your reasoning here @Chevdove on how a Denisovan/Neanderthal Hybrid bone found in cave has anything to do with the origins of racism, white supremacy, issues of colorism, and color supremacy.

Actually Del, my position is really more a function of my faith (or lack thereof) in the system of justice. I have not really been following the news. I try to moderate the noise on Trump that I consume, but this is difficult to do. The only articles I've read are the ones you've posted links to. Sure if I change my mind and it happens to be in line with a position you've always had, that is fine with me

Gee Del I have access to new information and I have changed my position. I know you are very rigid in your stances, dig in, and don't change your mind without a great deal of resistance. That said, there is nothing that has been written, or said by any reasonable person, to suggest that 45 will be booted from office before the end of the year. Nothing will happen before the midterms and even if they started the process of booting 45, it will can not be completed before the end of the year. What is so hard to understand? Your $50 is a money n my bank right now (your's too @Kalexander2)... like taking candy from a baby

@Cynique I only discounted Steve Harvey because he is an entertainer. As long as we are providing entertainment, we can get some partial visibility. Again, I'm talking about regular folks who can't tell jokes for an hour or run with a ball. @Mel Hopkins, I know you mentioned me previously, I as addressing your current response. But again, that was a relatively minor observation and as I wrote I was most concerned with the book you presented. Would you agree that novels reflecting middle aged Black men are relatively nonexistent compared to those of Black women, white women or white men? Or do you believe it is on par? How would you explain the absence of novels about Black men at a book festival presented in a city (Jackson, MS) that is essentially 40% Black and male (estimated by halving the total Black population)?

@Mel Hopkins You left, the largest site dedicated to Black books (which happens to be run by a Black man) to go to a white-owned site to retrieve the cover of a book written by a white man to to support your point. You are making it easy for me to make my point. You and I both know I could have found a book with Black middle aged characters. Indeed, I have every book Walter Mosley ever wrote on the site (whether out of print or to be released). However, I was interested in what you would write and your response spoke volumes. The number 333 sounds like a lot but it is really rather small when you compare it to the total number of books sold on the B&N website. More importantly however, if you actually examine the titles, you find many are reprints of books that are decades old. The first 6 books show Invisible Man twice Most are not about middle aged Black men at all. 25% of the books in the top 20 (the first page of results) are books from K'wan's Animal series. K'wans is my man, but his books don't speak to the middle aged Black man's experience at all. Did you think I would not look at the books? I'll give you Walter, but Walter is a unicorn too. I just came from a book Festival in Jackson MS, a city that is 80% Black, and there was not one book --- NOT ONE -- that spoke to the middle aged Black male experience. The were books for Black kids and Black women, as there always are, but there weren't any for Black men. Mel, frankly no one really cares about this, either they are unaware of this reality, completely denial of it, or doing everything they can to ensure the status quo is maintained. Now as a Black man, I'm used to this. As a bookseller it is obvious. You can probably count on 1 finger the number of heterosexual, middle aged Black males working in Big five NY publishing. The novels produced reflect this reality. As @Cynique, just wrote America is a land of contradictions, sometimes you have to look carefully to see them.

I'm not so sure about his term, though I think he has a better than 50-50 chance -- the outcome of midterms will be a good indicator.

Mel all the men you mention re not just wealth but extremely wealthy -- shoot they have fw white peers. OK, name one novel that speaks to the Black male middle age black experience that is not driven by a celebrity, athlete, or some other entertainer.

For the upteenth time, no one doubts that 45 has engaged in criminal activity. This issue, and the basis for our wager, is whether 45 will be removed from office by December 31, 2018, 11:59:59 p.m. The blow-by-blow has not showed anything to suggest that this will happen.

@Mel Hopkins You realize you are the one who has introduced women, the wealthy and celebrities and now you are restricting me to just middle aged Black men when I talk about prison statistics? If would be easier if you stopped bringing up women, billionaires, celebrities and focused on the original demographic. Now keeping the conversation focused on middle aged Black men (the ages of say 40 to 65), we can continue. I'm sure that you'll also find that middle aged Black men are overrepresented in prison too. I'd have to try to find a source when I get a second. Again, I ask you, where are the books that speak to the lives of middle aged Black men? Do you believe we are equality represented in literature? How about TV or Film? Please don't say Black Panther.

Wait, what? Are you saying oprah is not the the richest black person in America? Who cares who is in second? Who was second behind Usain Bolt or Seymone Biles? Black men are over represented in the prison population when compared to the general population. Ask yourself what percentage of the population is made up of black men, then compare that to the percentage of those locked up, then you will understand my point. We are also more frequently incarcerated and more harshly sentenced when compared to any other group. 1 in 3 Bkack men can expect to be locked up at some time in their life. No other group has been so crippled. I guess all these Brother gotta do is "choose" to be seen... sort of like pulling oneself self up by one's own boostraps. Maybe having visited museums in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Jackson indeed just being in the deep south over the last few days has left me hyper sensitive to the plight of the Black man in America.

@Mel Hopkins as a percentage of the population Black men are the most incarcerated demographic -- no other demo comes close. Mel you wrote: But then you proceeded to write mostly about this comparison. Is the reason you disagree with me -- based on the belief that men are far more visible than women? I'd happy argue this point as well: Women out live Black men by a decade. Black women attend and graduate from college at higher rates. Black men are FAR more likely to be killed by police and other Black people. Of course I can go on, but you get the point. I can find female peers for all the men you mentioned. Indeed you might struggle to find male peers Last I looked Oprah was the richest Black person in America -- she has no male peer. But rather than go tit-for-tat lets keep the focus on the invisibility of the great masses of Black men. Mel, forget the celebrities for a moment. Do you think Black men are really "seen" by our society? How are we portrayed in the media, is it accurate? How many books are you aware of that include regular Brothers, not the drop dead gorgeous stud-muffins of romance novels, or the gangsters of the popular fiction, but the novels that speak to the lives of people like me, Pioneer or Del. Do these novels get reviewed, are they on the NY Times bestsellers list? And they wonder why Black men don't read...

HAPPY Belated Birthday Cynique! That was an interesting story.

My kid is O+ your memory was better than mine on this issue @Cynique

@Cynique what you expressed was my train of thought when I made the comment. @Mel Hopkins, two of the three men were entertainers, and their enormous wealth has certainly afforded them a great deal of visibility. It is interesting that you've only selected extremely wealthy people to picture. Is great wealth the key to achieving visibility? I bet if you asked any of the millions of Black men who make up 40% of the prison population if they felt visible, you'd get a different response. You can ask one of the Black professionals overlooked in favor of a less qualified white coworker, or the brothers struggling to find a job that pays a living wage. Sure Mel, we can both name high profile celebrities, but I'm talking about everyone else -- the VAST majority of Black men who no one sees. The ones who are no longer counted as unemployed because they have been out of work for so long. You know the ones who fell through the cracks in high school and no one noticed or cared. The ones who have done their time but because of a record can't take advantage of federally subsidized housing, find a job, or even vote. I'm talking about the brothers who commit suicide by homicide and whose only achievement is to contribute to stats recounted on the evening news. I'm talking about the Brothers who will never own a home, raise the children they have in the context of a loving relationship. The Brothers no one ever seems to see, save law enforcement who notice every minor transgression. Black men have the lowest life expectancy than any other group or gender. Is this cause for outrage or even concern, nope.

LOL! Blasphemy indeed. I'll respond in the other thread. Colin Powell is retired. Tavis was erased as part of the #metoo movement. Obama nullified West....

My blood type is B+ I don't recall my kid's blood type so I 'm not sure -- I just texted them when they get back to me I'll update you

Jesse Lee Peterson will remain in relative obscurity. But if he were female, 25, and cute spouting the same nonsense he'd have a name we'd all know. What Black CEO of fortune 500 companies are you talking about @Mel Hopkins? I'm sure there are no more than 5 -- not exactly a powerful example to make a counter argument. As far as self help, I dunno; who are the self-help gurus? People like Steve Harvey come to mind but he is an entertainer. Sure Black men dominate the church's leadership, but that is like saying the leaders of local chapters of Black greek letter organizations are visible -- sure they are, but that visibility does not extend beyond the narrow spheres of influence. Skip gates would be an exception, but there are always exceptions. Skip is a unicorn, not exactly reflective of the educators at elite institutions and certainly not the norm.

@Thumper came up with the name. I believe he got it from April Sinclair's novel of the same name.