Troy

Come to think of it neither have I -- excepting in the lynching photos I saw so many of that weekend. Yes it was shocking and like i said when they started talking about the Klan I started to feel kind of strange. There was an elderly sister sitting near me, but she was very fair and I only noticed her was because I was looking very hard. When I did see her she we made eye contact and we acknowledged each other the way Black folk do. Tie but Mel you don't have to leave NYC to experience this. There are kids in Brooklyn who have never been to Manhattan, or a museum, or a Broadway Play, or the beach... NYC like much of the deep south is very stratified first by class and then by race. Again the turn out at the book festival, in majority Black city, did catch me off guard. There however was a large group of young girls from some other city in MS (I have video to edit of their director (Quvenzhane Wallis) is the tallest girl in the shot). Every Black people I spoke to was from out of town. I guess you'd have to consider the literary and educational levels of the Black folks in Jackson. I have not looked them up, but I know the MS has the worst educational outcomes in the country and I know that is not good news for the Black folks there...

Perhaps @Cynique but who is Mary trying to be attractive to, herself, other females, who? The only men to comment on this issue is Pioneer and myself. I agree with @Pioneer1 in that I find Mary attractive despite her hairstyle. Now whether she wears her hair because she has been programmed to seek a European standard of beauty is a matter for a psychologist to discern and is no longer a position I'm willing to assert on complete strangers -- I doubt Mary even knows whether this is the case herself...

@Delano No, Morrison is not Dr. Suess. I guess appreciating her work requires the motivation to do so. Anyone with the brain power and energy to earn an MBA can enjoy Beloved -- if they wanted to do so. @Mel Hopkins, I created a short video to help make my point. You may still choose to disagree with me, but hopefully it will not be because you don't "understand" me.

This post was motivated, in part, by another conversation on these forums, “Black Middle Aged Men Invisible? I call BS.” I’m using the world of books to support my argument that Black middle aged men have been so marginalized in our culture; that they have been rendered invisible. I'm hoping this 3 minute video will help drive home my point. Let me know what you think?

The Spirit of a Man: A Vision of Transformation for Black Men and the Women Who Love Them by Iyanla Vanzant

I use the terms Black and white as we understand them here in the US, but I also recognize that there is no scientific basis for the designations. I'm sure there are a number of Black folks who ascribe to Peterson's worldview. Indeed, someone described him as part of the "Coon Squad," a group of folks including Omarosa who take positions that serve white folks, usually at the expense of Black folks. (Generally I believe these people are mostly interested in serving themselves, but that is another story). To answer you last question: what I find is that we in the Black community, with rare exception, do not determine who is visible. Anyone who has any level of visibility that benefits Black folks is shut down. Whether it is Malcolm X, Colin Kaepernick, or any number of Black men who try to build a platform to support Black people. The Black men who are visible are there was because white folks put them in the position. Typically it is because they are the likes of Peterson or provide some form of entertainment. @Mel Hopkins, please don't give me the names of entertainers to counter my point or some obscure business leader who the general public never heard of because they don't impact anyone's life in a positive way. I used literature as an example, because the books we produce are excellent proxy for what the culture deems to be important. Again ours is a culture that marginalizes Black men -- middle aged Black men in particular. These are the men who should be having their greatest impact on the culture, but do not. I'm not even sure why the is a topic for debate... Again, if you want to believe Black middle aged men are truly visible go ahead, but I suspect now that this might be a situation that you really can't understand, because you are not a Black man. Camille Yarbrough understands:

@Cynique that is a reasonable question. However we do know that Black men will not read novels written for women in great numbers. Before E. Lynn Harris and Terry McMillan began selling books out of the trunks of their cars, mainstream publishing did not think Black people of any demographic read enough to risk publishing books written by and featuring Black people. If you only make poop flavored ice cream, you can't use that as a reason to justify that there is no market for ice cream. As Del said Iceberg Slim was a very popular author and is one of the top selling authors on the website -- and he died almost 30 years ago! @Delano, why on Earth would you ask me if I read Beloved? What is that about?! Please tell explain the motivation for that question. I read the book even before I started AALBC.

@Pioneer1 now that I watched that one Jessie Lee Peterson's video Google's Youtube is shoving all the other Peterson videos in my face. Reverend Jessie Lee Peterson, unbeknownst to me before now is a pretty prominent fellow and he has seemingly made himself pretty popular with his silly perspectives on race. (Don't jump all over me @Mel Hopkins 😉 for he serves purpose for white folks). In the videos below Bill Maher and Sean Hannity uses Petersen In an interesting way:

As far as the definition of "Apathy" you are unnecesary mincing words. When I wrote, " I was really focused on literary fiction in my argument" that was a typo. What meant to write was, "I was really not focused on literary fiction in my argument". Still I'm surprised to read that you don't read Morrison. You should try Beloved, it is MUCH better than the film and a great read.

@Mel Hopkins "Lack of interest" = Apathy You asked for an example Mel and I repeated the one about Black novelist, but all of your examples don't address this genre. Gates and Tyson write nonfiction. I also said said entertainers like JayZ and Kendrick Lamar are not novelists at only get attention because they provide entertainment for and enrich white people... but I said I gave up trying to explain the difference. As far as James patterson is concerned white people can write about Black people all day long and get more attention than a Black writer. White folks created Black Panther. Black people created superheroes but they give no attention -- they are invisible. I actually do care, very much, who tells the story. It matters who tells the story not just for financial reasons but for truth. If you believe that the likes of, dean koontz, stephen king, neil gaiman, greg iles,et al, can write about Black men better than Black man... I don't know what to tell you. Kwame is my man too. I've know him 20 years, he put me on my first panel discussion related to books, but he writes children's books. He is not writing novels addressing the middle-aged Black men. Why is my simple case so hard to comprehend? This is a surprising statement. You mean don't read the likes of Toni Morrison, Bernice Mcfadden, Chimamanda Adichie? I was really focused on literary fiction in my argument

Julius Lester came to mind today because I just read the New York TImes  review of James Baldwin's recently rereleased only book for children, Little Man, Little Man. That review linked to a review Julius Lester wrote when the book was originally published. I also thought about Lester in the context of the conversation we have been having about novels written about middle aged Black men experiences. When I revisited Lester's page I discovered that the was also a prolific children's book author. Those books were missing from the page and I added many of them (more than 20), and have not added them all. This video on on his page, and I rewatched it. In it he talks about the freedom rides in 1964, the music he performed, and the danger of traveling in Mississippi in 1964. I thought about my own experience driving through the state last week. While i was careful not to speed (I've stopped more than several times for minor traffic violations in the South the last time it cost be $700), I also know that my life was not actually in danger as it was when Lester traveled there. I also ate in a hotel that, in my life time, did not allow Black people to dine or stay there. I don't recall reading anywhere that Lester passed. Even the recent passing of Sam Cornish, a prominent Black poet, failed to make national news or even trend on social media.

@Mel Hopkins I'm not sure you are reading my replies. If you search this thread for the word "Mosley" (hit the "ctrl" and "f" key at the same time) you'd read that I agreed that Mosley would meet my criteria -- and that I have all of his book on the site. Yes, August Wilson is a great example too, though he is not a novelist nor is a contemporary writers as he died over a decade ago. You'll also find that I said I'm aware of such titles. The problem is, as a function of all the titles published, novels that speak to the Black middle aged male experience do not get very much light -- save unicorns like Mosley, whose profile was raised when our "first Black president," said Mosley was his favorite author. That was better than getting the Oprah boost. Speaking of Oprah, can you think of a single Oprah picks that was a novel that spoke to a Black middle aged male experience? Again, I'm going to create list of such writers. I published an article, years ago, by a young writer, Kevin Reeves, who touched on this subject and explained why it matters, “Richard Wright to Jay-Z: The Decline of Young Black Male Literary Writers.” The issue i'm raising is not a new one. I understand it is apathy, ignorance, and maliciousness that allows it to persist.

No I did not know that, but does it make a difference when she adopted the style?

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.