Troy

As some of you know I not using social media for at least 6 months. Instead I'm using other websites to help promote my content. So for this list I ran a Google search to find articles and other lists on other websites where I might be able to share a link to my page. During my search it was interesting to discover so many articles on the issue of African writers who feel they are the flavor of the day. It was interesting because I noticed this trend myself. here in US, African authors dominate disproportionately book deals and the media's attention in general relative to Black writers. However the same was true for the media's outsized focus on Urban fiction before that African writers, and chicklet before Urban fiction... The attention paid to Black writers goes through ups and downs the sad part is that black people control none of these trends we rely solely upon white corporate media media and we react accordingly. When was the last time you read an article about Urban fiction? With the exception Ray Brown's Good2go publishing https://aalbc.com/authors/imprint.php?imprint=Good2go+Publishing there is no urban fiction promotion here. It is not like the readers of the genre went away all of a sudden, they are just ignored. And we can't do anything about it...at least right now.

I just emailed Shannon. If he replies I'll ask him to pop in. I found a reviewer for this book too.

@Delano, when you write "sociological dinosaur" the implication is that from a social perspective I'm archaic or behind the times, which has an a negative connotation. I think from a sociological perspective my thoughts, at least on this specific point, is more enlightened. Don't you see that the rise of a Donald Trump is a direct consequence of technology fueled manipulation, fake news, and filter bubbles? I was on a three-hour flight yesterday and the guy next to me never put his phone down. he was swiftly switching between texting Instagram and Snapchat it was amazing. His fingers flew across the glass like nothing I've seen before. Yes compared to that dude I'm a dinosaur (I dictated most of what you are reading now). While he spent three hours consumming memes, I was reading articles and thinking. Now I'm not going to suggest that my use of time was better because it was really a difference between entertainment and education there is time for both in all of our lives. However our social media is driving us toward continuous consumption of brief bursts of entertainment and away from information communicated in long like articles and books. Technology, in addition to manipulating us, is also concentrating wealth into the hands of a few. these are the things that have created an environment that has allowed 45 come to power. In fact it was the same thing that brought the inexperienced Barack Obama into office as well but that's another story...

@Pioneer1 I'm not going to muddy the issue by getting it into all the other characteristics you described like lips size head angularity (whatever that means) and all the rest. I'll just stick with your definition of black dealing with skin color. On one hand you say those who are not Bernie Mac black are simply mixed like Obama and myself. Then you introduce some people Chinese looking people from southern Africa and say they are "racially black!" Those people have characteristics, racially speaking, that one would normally associate with Asians. However you find no difficulty in calling them black. Don't you see how little sense that makes? It's just too inconsistent. In fact it is so inconsistent and subjective it is impossible understand. The fact that all your reasoning is based on 18th century science does not help your position either. As I said a million times there is only one race and it is human. According to you, the majority of so call Black people in America are "mixed race," not truly Black. Therefore what it means to be black to you is to either be Precious purple or look like the Chinese looking people in South Africa.

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OK I see why I misunderstood you @Pioneer1, In this conversation I've been equating Black with African-American, Afro-American, Negro, etc as it relates to African American culture. You are equating Black primarily with skin color, with no real relationship to culture. Still, it is not clear given your definition why Obama is not Black. He is basically the same complexion as I am; am I not Black? My mother and sister are much lighter than Obama, are they also not Black? Let me know.

@Pioneer1, so you are asserting that l Blackness is solely about skin color. And because of his complexion, Obama is Black. Do I understand you correctly Are you also saying culture as nothing to do with what is means to be "Black" in America?

There was an interesting segment on 60 minutes this evening. They described how social media companies design the apps to engage you--individually! They do things like hold back likes so that they can display them in a burst because for some people that will keep them more engaged. Anyone who uses social media should watch this program. Again White folks know exactly what is happening and we still talking about how to get more engaged on social media...

Thanks for letting me know about Shannon's book. I remember him telling me about the research he did at the Schomberg Library, which is down the street from where I live. I see the book was originally published in a couple of years ago. I have to admit I'm disappointed he never shared information about the publication of his book here. Perpahs he felt it was too academic... At any rate, I just added the book to the site: https://aalbc.com/books/bookinfo.php?isbn13=9781479889082 and I think I might have someone willing to review it. I see you can share images now Where did you find this image?

I was reading this like, "Wow, someone else's birthday is today too." Thanks so much for you kind words Cynique. I truly appreciate you, you are a gift to us all every day of the year!

I'm working more closely with authors and publishers across the African Diaspora and Africa. Over the years I've discovered restricting the books I cover and the audience I attempt to reach to American is unnecessarily limiting. In fact, it is narrow-minded. Here are 25 female African writers you should read. Some have realized great fame and wealth in the Unites States. Others are relatively unknown in America but are very successful in their respective countries. These writers come from different African nations and write across genres. Who won't go wrong reading any of their books. Actually, since I add ever book on this site by hand, that should go without saying ;-)

It is just my opinion Del, but we are close in age and grew up in similar environments, so I'd imagine some of what I said might resonate with you. I live in the same neighborhood I grew up in, so it is easy for me to make a direct comparison. Despite my neighborhood being much safer now, I'm not sure the kids here are actually before off--all things considered. I think the way we are driven to use technology is a big part of the problem. The cell phone is great. However, the Instagram and Snapchat apps which is what the cell phone is actually primarily used for, by many, does enough harm to outweigh the benefits of the cell phone itself. Corporations are working feverously on wearable devices so that we can be engaged with Facebook 100% of the time. Many potential users think this is a great thing and can't wait; they will also be willing to pay a couple hundred bucks a month for the privilege.

Del, maybe the high schoolers were engaged in required reading--which is better than scrolling through Snapchat. The alienation may have been there, but I think the technology, at least the way we are programmed to use it increases the alienation by provider optimal conditions for it. Why do you need a person when you have virtual reality. I don't consider myself a dinosaur, I'm far more tech savvy than most. I just don't consume technology I use it to produce content, build community, business, etc. or at least I try to. But I'm fighting an uphill battle. When I was a kid it was hard to find an open basketball court to shoot hoops, the playgrounds were full of kids running around playing a bazillion variations of tag. it was a miracle to go to the park and find an empty swing. Today the basketball courts are empty and the playgrounds largely deserted. I can't remember the last time I saw a stickball game or even girls jumping double dutch. The swings hang idly. What are these kids doing instead? Is swapping memes on Instagram better than a game of hide-n-go seek? I dunno, but I doubt it. The exercise alone is probably worth it. I'm just glad I knew a time before people were controlled by their cell phones and grew up in an era where we played games outdoors.

Pioneer, you realize of course that Obama could have come out looking as white as the Jesus you envision. It was just the roll of the genetic dice that resulted in his physical appearance. If Obama was born looking like his mother and could pass for what you define as "white," you would be calling him white--and there would be no difference in his ancestry. Further, despite an identical upbringing you would treat and think of Obama completely differently applying a completely different set of stereotypes to him. Pioneer define "sex."

@CDBurns , one of the enhancements to the site is that I can create customized buy links for each individual book. So if you want me to direct readers to you, lighting source or any other place all I need is the URL. The cool thing is that this is something Amazon is not likely to ever do, so I have a small competitive advantage over them.

Since I shared this information, sent to me by the Art Sanctuary, I subsequently learned that Extra Mile Books is NOT an imprint of Akashic Books. As a result, I can not vouch for the information previously shared above. Sorry for any confusion.

...and I'm not that old. In a few days, God willing I will be 55 years of age. I would like to live to be 100, but I'm not doing anything to help accomplish the feat, but I digress... Sometimes I wonder if why I want to even bother sticking around that long. It is not like the culture values the elderly for their wisdom and experience, but that is a minor consideration. Lately, I feel like I'm surrounded by a bunch of mindless zombies. Case in point; leaving my apartment building yesterday, I got into the elevator with a woman, who was fullly engrossed in whatever she was doing on her phone. I glanced over to see what it was (she did not notice me), and saw she was on Instagram. The doors to the elevator opened, and we both exited. We followed the same path out the front door. We crossed the street and went our separate ways. Not once, even to cross the street, did the woman take her face out of the phone. It seems no matter where I go or what I'm doing the majority of people around me have their heads buried in a cell phone. When I'm on the subway and look (I usually look), they are playing candy crush (really popular) watching a video, or scrolling through social media. Rarely do I see people reading books or articles, they are usually just mindlessly scrolling. They don't even appear to be that entertained. I'm beginning to wonder if the nature of humanity is changing and I'm being left behind. What will it be like in another 10 years or even 20? Will it be a world that I even want to be a part of where people are more tied to their technology that each other? All of the trends people talk about enthusiastically actually concern, if not outright scare me; virtual reality, connecting everything to the net, the growth of social media, etc. Even that device Amazon sells that allow people to order more Coke just by asking for it gives me the willies. We had a snow storm about a week ago, so they did not collect trash of a couple of days. The amount of trash piled up on the street waiting to be collected was astonishing. I wondered what do they do with all of that trash, why do we create so much of it, and why doesn't anyone care? Sometimes I just wish I lived in a time when you could still see the stars at night. I'm no technophobe--far from it, but I remember a time before all this technology dominated our world and I'm not convinced we are better off. @Cynique, you've seen more profound changes over a longer period of time. What do you think? Is it even possible to answer the question and discount the overt racism and sexism from years ago?

Remember when we had Black American's in Baseball?

Cynique, I never heard that about Black people being called Moors. That is the benefit of having access to someone who has been around more than 5 minutes. I notice that you included the fact the both were dead. Do you miss them? Do you miss the earlier times in which those two were alive? I think I will start another conversation with this question.

There you go again Pioneer using subjective means to access one's so called race. What about the mother influence? If Barack Obama went around trying to assert his whiteness based upon the 50% of the genes he got from his mother; Black folks would never have put him into office. We already know how Tiger Woods was treated by Black folks when he tries to embrace his mother's "race." As far as your question about the Puerto Rican's kid's children. I personally don't consider people born and raised in America anything else but American. I think that might be the legal definition as well. Do you know anything about people who are transgender, or have gender dysphoria? It is complicated stuff and not as black and white as you are trying to make it. @Delano It was not clear if you were asking questions, making rhetorical statement, or doing something else to prompt discussion Maybe using a question mark after your questions would make that clearer.

Pioneer why do Black people have to be predisposed to more creative? Could it be that for hundreds of years, entertaining white folks is the only option we had to acquire wealth.

Pioneer you agree with Aires conclusion, but not the way he expressed it. I guess that's 'cause we's real niggaz and you ain't down

Clarke actually addresses the "race" of Jesus in the video. Whether is it is Jesus or anybody else who lived during that time in the region, we know what those people looked like. They were not caucasion.

Pioneer, I used to think like you too, but I see thing differently When I first went to college I was talking to some other students they were Blond with blue eyes. I asked them where they were from and they said, "Puerto Rico." I could not believe it. All the Puerto Rican I knew looked Black or if they were light skinned they had dark hair and dark eyes. They look whiter than white, the only difference was they spoke Spanish. Puerto Rico is a culture and "nationality," neither have anything to do with one's so-called Race. Your friend's son is Puerto Rican, when he gets older he may decie to become a white American--like som many others have. Pray tell, what preferential treatment do Black people get that white people would renounce their whiteness to get? If a white man rapes a native American and the child is reared as a native America, and claims to be one, why can't he be? Human gender is determined by more than one's sex organs.

@Pioneer1 are you saying Jesus Christ was caucasian? Are you saying that the Moors were not Black, but of Greek (caucasian) descent? Yeah I like deepak's quote too.