Troy

Interestingly, I did not know Trevor Noah had a book out. His book Born a Crime won two awards, for Biography/Autobiography and Debut Author. I was pleasured to see Bernice's book, The Book of Harlan win the Fiction Award. Bernice is a friend of the site and her novel The Book of Harlan is also an AALBC.com bestseller. Bernice acceptance speech was cut short and the audience, understandably, expressed dissatisfaction. Rita Dove's poetry collection won the Poetry Award. Dove was also a finalist for a national Book Award this year. Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures got an obvious boost due to the popularity of the film based upon it. Gwendolyn Hooks' Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas won the Children's category. Basically, you can't go wrong with anything the publisher of this book, Lee and Low, produce.

Preach! I will make a point of visiting and contributing to all of these forums and I will reference your article in my next eNewsletter. New registration for the Cocoa Lounge has been disabled. The Somalispot reaction to their inclusion on this list is interesting: http://www.somalispot.com/threads/5-best-black-forums-on-the-net-somalispot-made-the-list.19153/ it is hard to discern the trolls from the regular posters I did not bother post there. My first post of Black Visions was rejected. The message indicated the folder was full. I uploaded the image below and a couple of sentences about the image awards. The site is also very slow. I suspect it is the server they are using (a problem I'm very familiar with) Destee looks like the most interesting forum of the bunch. I read their rules and one struck me, "No Staying Here Complaining About How You Don't Like Us." At first glance, a rule like this would seem to make no sense, but if you've moderated a discussion forum you get it right away. :-) At any rate, I probably won't share the article as I original wrote. I simply can't vouch for all of the forums, but I will check out Destee and the Blackboard and share and interesting posts I discover from time to time. Sites like these are important to the variety of content available on the web.

Prior to knowing @Delano, I became friendly with one other professional astrologer. I was living in West Palm Beach Florida and I, by chance, met this woman (I don't remember how we met, but this was about 27 years ago. I don't even recall her name). Ultimately we discovered that her mother was my 3rd grade teacher, but that is unrelated to this story. At any rate, she cast a chart for my sister who she never met and who I never described--other than providing her with her birthdate and place of birth. After casting my sister's chart, a process which it took a day or two (this was before the advent of personal computers which would ultimately make this process pretty easy), she was able to describe my sister's personality quite well. Now I was very skeptical but this convinced me enough to learn more about astrology by taking a course at a local college. For a few years later I cast my own charts using a program I purchased and a thick book, which I still have, to interpret the chart's meanings. Prior to meeting the astrologer, my girlfriend at the time, was really into astrology and I basically dismissed her beliefs it out of hand. I knew my Sun and all, but the I gave no credence to the daily horoscopes one reads in the daily newspapers. In reality, those newspaper articles do a disservice to Astrology. My mother caught wind of my interest and was sure to remind me, every now and again, that it was the work of the devil. But I was a not believer in the Devil she believed in either so... ...at any rate, this was over a quarter of a century ago and my beliefs have evolved with my time on Earth. I'm content to know that most things about the way the universe operates are simply unknowable. Perhaps our brains are too small conceive or operate outside dimensions we can not perceive. In their purest sense, Astrology, religion, and even science are blind men feeling different parts of the proverbial elephant and arriving at different conclusions about the universe we occupy. Perhaps we'll learn more after we transition. Scientist are looking for a theory to unify the quantum and macro world. Maybe we should seek a theory to unify the scientific and spiritual worlds. Oh I still have not watched the video Del posted. I tried to watch it a few days ago but fell asleep on it. I'll try again this week.

Good Old Fashioned Comming Sense; Books by J. California Cooper. Cooper is one of my favorite writers. I have not read everything she has written, but what I have read I've thoroughly enjoyed. For you discussion forum regulars think Cynique, but with more of a Christian sensibility. Now you don't have to be a hardcore Southern Baptist to enjoy Cooper's work, but if you are culturally African-American her work will definitely resonate, and if you are not, you learn something about our culture.

If an error to clean up this post I inadvertently deleted a portion of the text.. The video has over 1.2 million views.

“In 1997, I self-published my first novel, Temptation. I sold 9,000 copies in 6 months, was picked up by a major publisher (Time Warner), and received my first NAACP Image Award nomination. Now, 20 years later, I’m still with a major publisher (Simon and Schuster), but I have also self-published a few novels. And now, my 26th book hits the shelves…” —Victoria Christopher Murray Victoria’s latest book is LUST: A Seven Deadly Sins Novel (Touchstone, February 7, 2017) “I have read Murray for years and have purchased Joy for at least 10 or more of my friends—birthdays, weddings, Christmas, etc. I love her books and have read about 8 or 10 of them. Now that l’ve retired, I can now catch up on the list of 26[1]! Wonderful writer with the spiritual and real world approach! She, Pearl Cleage and, Walter Mosley are my absolute favorites!” —Betti Clausell Chaney, AALBC.com eNewsletter Subscriber 1When I sent the mailing I wrote 26, but I pretty sure the total number of book published is 27.

...not to mention all the chemicals in the food supply @Pioneer1. Think about how much faster girls are developing today compared to just 50 years ago. Cynique you are right most negroes are crazy--particularly in the large urban centers. How can you live in a New York City or Chicago ghetto and NOT be hurt mentally--especially today when so much wealth in flaunted in front of your face. Plus advertising drives you to consume more than you can afford--making matters even worse. @Mel Hopkins, in the Amerian culture a "real man" is conditioned to never ask for help. Needing help is a sign or weakness or stupidity. Men are not conditioned to reveal vulnerabilities. "Stop that crying boy, you acting like a /punk/pussy/fag/etc" Men are not going to ask for help, not for driving directions--nothing. Shoot, a man can have chest pains, numbness in his left arm, and be slurring his words--and still won't ask for help--we gonna walk that shit off. But @Mel Hopkins you are my age you know this right? Now these attitudes may be changing with the younger generation, but we still have large percentages of guys this way raised this way. @Pioneer1 you now what I'm talking about right? I KNOW @Cynique knows what I;m talking about. I was talking to an 83 your old guy the other day. "A man's man" as they say. He used to coach football. He was telling me a story about a kid on one of his teams who broke his arm on during a game. The kid was sprawled in the field bawling. He said he went over the boy and told him to "get up and stop crying like a little girl." He did not offer to help, there was no hug, what he was doing was preparing him for the world he was about to encounter. Given recent events, I'm not sure I can argue with the sentiment. Yes we are crazy. But that is a normal reaction given the conditions.

In light of the impending snow storm tomorrow (Feb 9th), the Center for Black Lit. has decided to postpone the event " Langston Hughes and Friends". This event, unfortunately, will have to be held AFTER Black History Month based on the primary speaker's availability. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Clarence V. Reynolds 718-804-8881 creynolds@mec.cuny.edu Felicia R. Lee 718-270-5046 Flee@mec.cuny.edu The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College Celebrates Gwendolyn Brooks and June Jordan “Black Writers of Conscience” NEW YORK, N.Y. (Feb. 6, 2017): The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, will host two programs that pay tribute to the legacies of two Black writers of conscience: Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks (1917– 2000) and literary activist June Jordan (1936–2002). Both writers had a major impact on the Black Arts Movement and Black Power Movement. Brooks and Jordan provided artistic and literary responses that spoke to the structural racism, social inequity and gender bias in our society. Their writing also documented the interior lives and cultural experiences of Blacks in urban America. “Our Miss Brooks: A Centennial Celebration,” will be held as part of the 2017 National Black Writers Conference Biennial Symposium. It will take place on Saturday, March 25, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York, 1650 Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn. For National Poetry Month, “June Jordan: Reflections on Her Life and Activism” will be held on Thursday, April 20, 2017; 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238. The year 2017 marks the centennial of the birth of Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black author to win the Pulitzer Prize, an Illinois poet laureate, and the author of more than 20 books of poetry, including A Street in Bronzeville (1945); Annie Allen (1949); The Bean Eaters (1960); In the Mecca (1968); and the novel Maud Martha (1953). During what promises to be an engaging celebration of Brooks’ life and work, the “Our Miss Brooks: A Centennial Celebration” program will include reflections on Brooks’ life, a discussion of the impact and significance of her literary works, and dramatic presentations both from her work and inspired by her passionate and vigorous works. Dr. Haki R. Madhubuti, author, poet and publisher of Third World Press, will be the keynote speaker. Poets and educators Cheryl Clarke, Angela Jackson, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Marilyn Nelson and Nicole Sealey are also featured on the program. The program will include: A presentation of scholars’ papers coordinated by the CollegeLanguage Association’s Black Studies Committee Intergenerational poetic readings from the works of Gwendolyn Brooks and dramatic readings of her works A performance featuring an original composition and poetry inspired by Brooks’ works. “Gwendolyn Brooks was an extraordinary writer, educator and activist who wrote with fierce urgency about issues her community as well as society were dealing with; she captured in words what was happening at the moment,” said Dr. Brenda Greene, executive director of The Center for Black Literature and Chair of the English Department at Medgar Evers College. In his book Honoring Genius, Gwendolyn Brooks: The Narrative of Craft, Art, Kindness and Justice, Haki R. Madhubuti writes: “Ms. Brooks was a woman who could not live without her art, but who had never put her art above or before the people she wrote about.” June Jordan was a poet, essayist, activist, educator and the author of more than 25 books of poetry, essays and fiction. She was one of the most widely published and highly acclaimed African-American writers of her generation. Her works include Directed by Desire: The Collected Poems (2007); Kissing God Goodbye: Poems, 1991–1997 (1997); Haruko/Love Poems (1994); Naming Our Destiny: New and Selected Poems (1989); Things That I Do in the Dark (1977); and Affirmative Acts: Political Essays (1998). The program “June Jordan: Reflections on Her Life and Activism,” presented in partnership with The Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College and the Brooklyn Public Library, will focus on Jordan’s works, how she represents a life of activism, and the ways today’s artists continue the tradition of literary activism. Poet and literary activist E. Ethelbert Miller and biographer and scholar Valerie Kinloch will participate in a conversation on Jordan’s work and life of activism. Social Justice activist and attorney Joan Gibbs will join the conversation as a respondent. These literary programs have received contributions and funding from the Brooklyn Delegation of New York City Council; Con Edison; The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Humanities New York; the New-York Historical Society; Beacon Press; and the Library of America. Harlem-based Sisters Uptown Bookstore will serve as official book vendor for the Symposium. “Our Miss Brooks: A Centennial Celebration” will be live-streamed from Medgar Evers College. General donation for “Our Miss Brooks” is $10 in advance; ($5 for students with ID, faculty, and seniors); and the price will go up on-site. To register and for ticket information, go to http://centerforblackliterature.org/2017-nbwc-our-miss-brooks-a-centennial/. “June Jordan: Reflections on Her Life and Activism” is free and open to the public. About the Center for Black Literature The mission of the Center for Black Literature is to expand, broaden and enrich the public’s knowledge and aesthetic appreciation of the value of Black literature. Through a series of programs that build an audience for the reading, discussion and critical analysis of contemporary Black literature and that serve as a forum for the research and study of Black literature, the Center convenes and supports various literary programs and events such as author readings and book signings, writing workshops, panel discussions, conferences and symposia. It is the only center devoted to this in the country. For more information about the Center for Black Literature and its programs, call the Center at 718-804-8883, or visit our website at www.centerforblackliterature.org. ### The Center for Black Literature Brenda M. Greene, Ph.D. Executive Director CBL Advisory Board Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams Honorary Chair Dale Allender, Ph.D. English Professor of Language and Literacy, California State University Sacramento Patrick A. Buddington Chief Marketing Officer IMC Communications Group The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries U.S. House of Representatives, D-NY, 8th District Richard Jones Jr. Executive Dean for Accreditation & Quality Assurance Medgar Evers College, CUNY Louise Mirrer, Ph.D. President and CEO New-York Historical Society Jerald Posman Senior Vice President/ Chief Operating Officer Medgar Evers College, CUNY Lawrence Schiller Jr. President and Co-Founder The Norman Mailer Center Richard Wesley Writer, Goldberg Chair, Department of Dramatic Writing, New York University Marcia White President Personalized Skincare John Edgar Wideman Writer, ASA Messer Emeritus, Professor of African American Studies and English, Brown University Cheryl Wills Author, Anchor, Reporter Time Warner Cable, NY1 News Schawannah Wright Associate Director, Community Outreach and Education, Columbia University School of the Arts

Black women are absolutely not the problem. They are victims of the same oppressive culture. One can argue women have been instrumental in our very survival. I don't however believe Obama did anything the specifiically to benefit Black people. He was the president of all people right? I'd argue for example that white people benefitted more from those changes in the sentencing laws. The laws needed to be changed and anything Obama did to change them was good, but they were not done for the purpose of helping us as a people. It would be nice if the government recognized the profound damage it did to Bkack peole and did something specifically to address it , but I'm not holding my breath. And as Del suggests I'm doing my own thing to help...despite the government.

I read the article Frederic posted (welcome to the forum Frederic), but I don't believe any of it. I don't believe you can sell your soul to the devil in the literal sense. I believe some people will stop at nothing to achieve a goal, but a contact with the devil isn't necessary... you can be evil on your own no supernatural assistance is necessary.

The odds are he won't, but his post was better than most. In fact I think his book addresses some the issues that you and Xeon addressed in the other post It is interesting that the book, written by a brother, sports a white man on the cover, and that the promotional video shows most white folks. I think that the conversation amongst men must eventually men of all colors. That would be one very challenging conversation, This in of itself would peak my interest in this bo I also noticed after watching the video, that the author whose man is Micahel Taylor was one of the first authors I put on the website: http://aalbc.com/authors/michael.htm (I have not completely migrated his page yet). Which mean I've previously communicated with him. Even though it has been at least 15 years ago, I'm surprised he did not mention this in this post. I'll update his page next week and reference this page. So there was truly a benefit, at least for this author, for making this "drive-by post"

No problem. @richardmurray, was having a problem with polling on his blog. Pools are also a feature I've never personally used here. Hopefully, that problem has been resolved with the latest patch as well.

Mel I'll pose the question that I indirectly posed to Xeon; do you not attribute responsibility to the culture that created the conditions that produced the type of black men you are complaining about? If not, there really is no other conclusion that you can draw other than that these Black men are inherently dysfunctional. Which the larger society believes. Which also, in a perverse way, perpetuates the problem and the informs the solutions that are provided. Like building more jails. Remember when the US government pumped drugs into the black community? Remember how they reacted to the inevitable drug dealing and addiction--hyper-incarceration and 3 strike laws. Today as white people OD on prescription drugs across the nation, harsh sentencing laws are removed and calls for treatment are made. White folks get compassion that has systematically been denied all Black people, since we were dragged here in chains...

I encourage authors to share information about their books on the discussion forum, rather than just emailing me directly. The idea is that it might peak the interest of someone reading the forum but unfortunately, most authors do the Facebook drive-by thing. They swing throw "shoot" their info here and never to return for fear of recognition or engaging with readers. But that is cool, occasionally I see something that interests me, like this book, posted just today, which I use to expand the content of the website and hopefully reach others with important information.

Mel that is actually a feature I've never personally used. I'll have to check it out and get back to you. In the last two days I've applied two updates to the forum software. I'm sure the 2nd was a patch for bugs the first introduced. Please try it again to make sure the problem persists. Thanks

To answer your two question @Xeon Who profits from Black Death? "Death" taken both figuratively and literally. We can start with the owners of the prison industrial complex, we can talk about all the hyped charter schools that are going to "fix" the problems, I described, the pharmaceutical companies who profit off all the mental problems we suffer from--including our children, I could go on, but I think you see my point, Black misery and death is very profitable.. certainly far more profitable than selling book. The others include everyone other than ourselves. The government is not going to save us--even one headed by a Brother. The schools are not going to save us, we have to save ourselves... that is what I mean. Xeon, you talk about, "violent, hyper-aggressive young males who are toxic by-products of fatherless homes," but you appear to neglect the causes of the "Fatherless homes" and how they were created... Mel, I would not characterize Black men as the weak link, the entire chain is broken. Both men and women will need to repair it. But again we need to recognize that it is our responsibility.

I read this quote in an article I just finished reading, Black-Owned Bookstores: Anchors of the Black Power Movement, by Joshua Clark Davis (January 28, 2017). This quote, and others like it in the article, struck me because the sentiment expressed is the ONLY way these stores were created and endured. If I, for example, were only concerned about making money, I would have wrapped up AALBC.com a long time ago. The tough part about all of this is that we operate in a climate where increasing one's level of consciousness. Is very low on the list of things to do. Success is measured by how much money you amass, how you amass it is largely irrelevant. Exhibit #1: President Trump. Is it any wonder we live in a country where Black owned bookstores (brick and mortar and web based), struggle for survival?

Hey Robyn, email me troy@aalbc.com

The best minds are always open.

Yes @Mel Hopkins my comment, back in May, about Twitter' and Trump was on point wasn't it? But that was an easy call. Yes @Delano, here are my on my comments a full 6 months before the election I doubt Trump will be elected in the general. Doubted but I did not rule it out. Perhaps this was wishful thinking or a consequence of living in a liberal in a liberal bubble If seems likely Trump will win the Republican nomination, upping the level of absurdity reached with the Palin ticket. Correct If America elects Trump as Pres, we will have officially "Jumped the Shark," becoming a caricature of our celebrity obsessed self. The United States has officially Jumped the Shark The POTUS is like the Queen of England, yielding little power beyond ceremonial and doing the bidding of the plutocracy. I disagree with this now that the plutocracy actually hold the office and several of the Cabinet positions A perversely curious part of me actually wants to see Trump win; just to see what will happen. One should be careful what they wish for It is interesting to observe how women are not nearly as slavishly devoted to Hillary as Black folks are to Obama. It was interesting then; now I find both sad and disturbing the majority of women felt it was in their best interest to vote against Hillary and for Trump. Unless Bernie gets the Democratic nod, Trump has a very real chance of becoming president. Who knows

I saw a graph the other day that showed that the murder rate is actually much better than other major cities. I think Chicago would be 14th on the list behind places like Baltimore. The argument being that since the murder rate is higher in those cities that they are actually more dangerous. But Chicago gets the notoriety because of the sheer number of murders--for which they are peerless among American cities (I think). As long as there is profit in Black death, ignorance and misery, nothing will change. As along as we continue to put our faith in others things will only get worse...

My introduction to astrology was through the horoscopes, though I always thought of them as the same thing. I took a course in Astrology and learned how to cast charts. I never got really good at interpreting them, as that does take some study and imagination. As I learned more about astronomy and biology, I find it impossible to believe in horoscopes at all. That is not to say that I'm dismissing the impact of celestial bodies on people, I just don't think this influence can be distilled down to a handful of celestial bodies. Our calendar has never been fixed. going from 10 months to 12--on a whim. It has only been a few hundred years when most of the world even used the same calendar. Of course the universe does not conform to our arbitrary labels since it is constant state of flux, and requires correction periodically. Mel previously mentioned Ophiuchus, illustrating that the astrological signs we commonly follow don't adhere to the actual constellations. Of course there is disagreement on whether there should be a 12, 13, or even 14 astrological signs... That vast majority of the material of our universe (dark matter and dark energy) is currently unknown to us. Perhaps it is unknowable--who knows. I'm all for seeking hight levels of knowledge. Perhaps astrology and religion can provide a path to a more profound understanding of the nature of the universe, but more often they seem to lead more restricted understanding

Here is a new book about Till's murder. The woman responsible for Till's murder said (rough quote from the book), that the boy did nothing that deserve the was he was treated. I have not read far enough into the book to get a sense that she feels guilty at all, just that if happened so long ago that her memory of exactly what happened was not clear, but she did admit that parts of her testimony at the trial were lies.

The guide to literary agents found here https://aalbc.com/writers/ is a popular resource as well.

Does anyone believe that the roles of men and women should be different? Given that Michael suggests that the conversation should be between men, that implies a difference. I suspect that many of the problems we see today particularly with relationships have been created because the culture (In the big coastal cities) imposes the impression that the only difference between men and women are our sex organs. Rather than making us all the same, I think the differences should be explored understood and inform our behavior. Of course, I realized we all lie on a spectrum and everyone is different, but at the same time I think that the differences between the sexes are different enough to warrant a conversation exclusively between men.