Troy

Hey @Bill, thanks for commenting here. There are is one hard fact which makes your suggestion very, very difficult to implement: No other online bookseller can compete with Amazon on the things that are most important to customers price, speed of delivery, and trust. Indeed, it is impossible to do it. I'll also go a step further and say this is even more true for the Black independent online booksellers. This is why there are so few of us selling books, independent of Amazon, and making very much money doing it. What is worse the VAST majority of publishers and authors who direct people to Amazon don't even bother to use an affiliate code!? Increasingly, authors areusing Amazon as their primary website. This is probably worse than using Facebook as one's primary web presence because at least Facebook allows hyperlinks to external websites (for now) and Amazon does not. This too hurts us more than it helps in the long run. I say this as someone that has been selling books on the web since 1997. Amazon owns the Black book ecosystem, to our detriment, and it is our own fault. The question is what do we do about it? Hi @Elva D. Green, well if that newsletter you publish your article in has enough of the right readers it may help. What we really need is a critical mass of folks with a platform to hammer into the public what the impact of Amazon means to Black-owned businesses and what this means to readers of Black literature. But most people are really too involved in their own struggles to be concerned about Amazon's impact on the Black book ecosystem, particularly if Amazon is giving them discounts on books and free, same day, delivery. I'm sorry to read about your experience with that one bookseller. Ignoring his rudeness (there is not excuse for that); his reaction is not terribly surprising. Look at it from a book seller's perspective; in the last 15 years or so there has been an explosion in the number of self-published books. Booksellers have been inundated requests to stock these books. We simply can not afford to waste time vetting products that will not likely sell. These books are often poorly edited, have no advertising budget, no publicity support, have not been critically reviewed, and written by obscure writers without a platform or much knowledge of the publishing industry. So the authors of these books are often left with no choice but to sell their books themselves using Amazon as their primary platform. Again this usually does not result in the sale of many books, because the reach is too small and there is a ton of competition. Now Amazon, who is the publisher of a large percentage of these books, makes money no matter what, for their revenue is transaction based--quality is incidental. So today, your only perceived option is Amazon. It shouldn't be, it does not have to be, but sadly this is the situation we are in for now.

Learn more about Elva and her book here: http://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Elva+Diane+Green

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Guest The Black Board, do you have any idea how what you just posted comes across? You've implied that this is a white owned website, which shows a complete lack of knowledge about this website, a complete disrespect for the platform, or both. I'm all for supporting Black-owned platforms, but you are not going get far with the approach you've taken here. Even if this was a white-owned website, what makes you think your approach would attract the Black people already using the forum? Fortunately, there is more than enough room on the WWW for many Black owned discussion forums. I will give you an additional piece of advice. If you want to be taken seriously by people who know anything about the web; register your domain name for longer than 1 year. If would reflect a minimal level of commitment.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AFRICAN AMERICAN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION NAMES MOONLIGHT THE TOP FILM OF HISTORIC 2016 QUEEN SUGAR NAMED THE TOP TV SHOW Denzel Washington, Ruth Negga, Mahershala Ali and Viola Davis Receive Acting Wins from the Nation’s Premiere Black Critics Group Ava DuVernay's 13th and Beyonce's Lemonade also take key honors AWARDS GALA WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE TAGLYAN COMPLEX IN LOS ANGELES FEBRUARY 9th AT 9PM ET/ 6 PM PT Los Angeles, CA (December 13, 2016) – Movies, documentaries and TV shows about the black experience were in abundance in 2016 making it a truly historic year in terms of the number of movies, documentaries and TV shows released and number of blacks represented in front and behind the camera. “Our members had a plethora of outstanding movies, documentaries and TV shows to choose from this year," says AAFCA Co-founder Shawn Edwards. "It was an exceptional year in terms of the quantity and quality of films about the black experience. And while this by no means solves the diversity issue in the film industry it was definitely refreshing to have such a wide-range of exceptional work to choose from to honor and celebrate with our approval." There were several movies released this year that are considered masterpieces. However, it was "Moonlight" that dominated this year’s voting for the 8th AAFCA Awards. The independent film which chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami completely resonated with the majority of the members of the association. The A24 Pictures film earned multiple awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Ensemble and Best Supporting Actor. Awards were also given to singer Janelle Monae for Breakout Performance. She delivered star-making performances this year in both "Moonlight" and "Hidden Figures." The top acting honors went to Denzel Washington and Ruth Negga for their roles in Fences and Loving. AAFCA will hold its 8th annual awards ceremony on Thursday, February 9, 2017 at the Taglyan Complex in Hollywood, CA. "2016 provided our membership with many great films to choose from,” says AAFCA President and Co-founder, Gil Robertson. "Every movie and TV show on our Top 10 Lists could have easily been number one. The number of incredible performances by black actors and actresses added to a very competitive field of performances and represents a step towards inclusion that our membership warmly embraces. We look forward to what 2017 has in store." The following is a complete list of 2016 AAFCA Awards winners. FILM BEST PICTURE: MOONLIGHT – (A24) BEST DIRECTOR: BARRY JENKINS, MOONLIGHT – (A24) BEST ACTOR: DENZEL WASHINGTON, FENCES– (Paramount) BEST ACTRESS: RUTH NEGA, LOVING – (Focus Features) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: MAHERSHALA ALI, MOONLIGHT – (A24) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: VIOLA DAVIS, FENCES (Paramount) BEST ENSEMBLE: THE Cast of HIDDEN FIGURES (20TH Century Fox) BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE 2017 – Janelle Monae for MOONLIGHT AND HIDDEN FIGURES BEST INDEPENDENT FILM: “MOONLIGHT” (A24) BEST ANIMATION FILM; ZOOTOPIA (Disney) BEST SONG – “VICTORY” from HIDDEN FIGURES (20th Century Fox) BEST DOCUMENTARY – 13 (Netflix) BEST FOREIGN FILM – TANNA (Lightyear Entertainment) BEST SCREENPLAY – AUGUST WILSON, FENCES – (Paramount) TV BEST TV SHOW (Drama) – QUEEN SUGAR – OWN BEST TV SHOW (Comedy) – ATLANTA – FX BEST TV SHOW (CABLE/NEW MEDIA – UNDERGROUND – WGN BEST TV SHOW (Special/Limited Series) – LEMONADE – HBO AAFCA Top Ten Films of 2016 are as follows in order of distinction: 1. MOONLIGHT – A24 2. FENCES – Paramount 3. HIDDEN FIGURES – 20th Century Fox 4. LION – The Weinstein Company 5. LALA LAND – Lionsgate 6. BIRTH OF A NATION – Fox Searchlight 7. LOVING – Focus Features 8. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA – Roadside Attraction/Amazon Studios 9. HELL OR HIGH WATER – Lionsgate/CBS Films 10. QUEEN OF KATWE – Walt Disney Pictures/ESPN Films AAFCA Top Ten TV shows of 2016 are as follows in order of distinction: 1. QUEEN SUGAR – OWN 2. UNDERGROUND – WGN 3. ATLANTA - FX 4. INSECURE - HBO 5. LUKE CAGE – NETFLIX 6. THIS IS US – NBC 7. BLACKISH – ABC 8. THE GET DOWN – NETFLIX 9. WESTWORLD – HBO 10. SURVIVOR’S REMORSE - STARZ As previously announced, AAFCA’s Special Achievement Honors, presented by Morgan Stanley, will presented on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the California Yacht Club. This year’s honorees include director, Anthony Hemingway; producer/director, Lee Daniels and animator, Floyd Norman. Chicago Tribune film critic, Michael Phillips will receive the organization’s Roger Ebert Award and Fox Animation President, Vanessa Morrison will receive the Ashley Boone Award. About AAFCA The African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) is the premiere organization of African-American film media professionals. Founded in 2003, AAFCA’s members represent a geographically diverse cross-section of media covering the cinematic arts. The organization honors excellence in cinema by creating awareness for films with universal appeal to black communities, while emphasizing film about the black experience and those produced written, directed and starring performers of African descent. The association actively reviews the quality and standard of black talent, content and media coverage. AAFCA also supports the development of future black film critics and filmmakers. CONTACT: Jeaunine Askew 323-878-2399 | info@aafca.com

Hey @Bill, thanks for commenting here. There are is one hard fact which makes your suggestion impossible to implement No other online bookseller can compete with Amazon on the things that are most important to customers, price, speed of delivery, and trust. Indeed, it is impossible to do it. I'll also go a step further and say this is even more true for the Black independent online booksellers. This is why there are so few of us selling books, independent of Amazon, and making very much money doing it. What is worse the VAST majority of publishers and authors who direct people to Amazon don't even bother to use an affiliate code. Increasingly authors are using Amazon as their primary website. This is probably worse than using Facebook as one's primary web presence because at least Facebook allows hyperlinks to external websites (for now) and Amazon does not. I say this as someone that has been selling books on the web since 1997. Amazon, to our detriment, owns the Black book ecosystem, and it is our own fault. The question is what do we do about it?

We are already an oligarchy, that ship has sailed.

I have not yet read the Diop 's collection of Essays. But I have just ordered it and I will. Yes, the African Renaissance extends to all forms of arts, culture, and commerce. In my mind, it speaks to our agency.

The Trump election was indeed about color—green. Perhaps now people will see this election wasn't about race. This election, like all of the others, was about power and money. Wealth inequality will continue to grow. The Trumps of the country will get richer and we'll all get an upgraded iPhones that we struggle to pay for driving for Uber, delivering groceries for Google or delivering books for Amazon, in this exploitative "gig" economy. Now that Trump is dissing his own supporters by appointing more Goldman Sachs bazillionaires. Trump even hired that guy, Steve Mnuchin, who stole homes from elderly people who took out reverse mortgages (I didn't even know you could lose your home with a reverse mortgage). Sure, Donald worked to appeal to racists, xenophobes, and other simple people. But, he will not build a wall, he will not stop jobs from leaving, he won't even go after Hillary. All he will do is enrich himself. Maybe now, that Trump has made it plain that he is 'bout stakin' mad loot, people will put away their petty differences and do something substantive about improving this country for the majority of its people. Then again, the prospect that a climate change denier as the President may render all of this handwringing over Trump's win moot, because the planet may be rendered incapable of supporting human life.

Xeon, I've been to Japan, China, and a few countries in Africa. The Japanese run Japan, The Chinese run China, but sadly, Europeans still run Africa. This is a very significant difference and perhaps explains why those Asians you mentioned believe they are superior to whites folks. While we show little indication that we even value our own lives... Closer to home in our own communities they own the property, the business, and run our schools. They control our media. Great masses of our people seem to be possessed by handheld devices controlled by corporations who are literally making billions of dollars feeding them nonsense 24/7. Nah, the source of much of our difficulty is indeed pretty simple. What has proven intractable are solutions.

Very good Cynique, I did not take it as a game, a challenge of sorts. I guess I was in a bad mood and wary of potential spammers or people with ulterior motives--probably the effect of being the target of so much hate this year... Here is my submission: Black American: Artifical construct used by oppressors against brown people.

Harry, I can't get bent out of shape about white folks wanting to have a white Santa. What is amazing is that a Saint has been contorted into a symbol of consumerism and we all fall in line to the point where we actually care whether his is portrayed a white or Black.

What is so magical about 8 words? Besides, wouldn't it be easier to just make your point?

Hosted by Nicole Dennis-Benn and Jason Reynolds Date: Friday, December 16, 2016 Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Location: Chaiwali (274 Lenox Ave., at 124 St, in New York City) Free and open to the public (Think Black Pack Party to kick off the Holiday Season!) RSVP Email: amistad30rsvp@harpercollins.com Host Committee: Lisa Lucas, Mitchell Jackson, Clarence Reynolds, Linda Villarosa, D Watkins, A. Van Jordan, Willie Perdomo , Terrance Hayes, Tracy Sherod, Angela Flournoy, Chris Jackson, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, and Todd Hunter In Honor of Brook Stephenson

Guest, I agree 100%. I'd even take it further and say we need to identify as Humans and behave as if we are all in the same tribe. But that is a tall order, just like trying to get all Americans to behave as if we are all on the same team. We can't even get people in the same community (west/south sides of Chicago) to work together long enough to stop shooting each other. Some of us can even get our own families to cooperate with each other How are we gonna get the majority of American to work together--even if it is against such a serious threat?

I know Chris I read your articles on your experiences with Amazon, so it made reading the report much more compelling. Chris, in the unlikely case that consumers do in fact wake up, there is nothing that they can do. Unless the government steps in and breaks up the company, the way they did with AT&T and Standard Oil nothing will change and we will continue to be at the mercy of Amazon I'm about to float the idea of boycotting Amazon in an effort to revive the Black Book Ecosystem. Honestly, I don't expect much support for the idea, because today the short-term benefits that individuals enjoy always override the long term benefits of our people. For example, Amazon has sent me a check every month for 15 years for commissions earned on the books I sell. I'm a member of Prime and like the benefit of being able to get books the next day without paying for shipping and while most of the book I buy are not discounted; they are not available in stores and are still less expensive than buying directly from the publisher or author. Today, if I sell books directly people will choose to transact with Amazon--even if they discovered the book on this site. Now imagine if the book was not available from Amazon, I could still earn a commission by generating the sale on behalf of the publisher and the publisher would make more money on the sale. Today I suspect the reader would simply not buy the book if it were not available via Amazon. So the boycott would must include readers as well. We would also need Black owned media (what is left of it) to get on board to help publicize the effort and help people understand why it is important. But since people consume news via Facebook and Bezos (Amazon CEO) owns the Washington Post, it will be hard for this effort to get the sustained traction (on the order of years) it will need to succeed. I would be willing to make the sacrifice because I know I would benefit much more in the long term. But without enough support those benefits will never manifest any of the folks who choose to Boycott would just be sacrificing themselves for no reason.

I agree. but the only distinction I would make is rather than say Republicans, I would say oligarchs simply because there are some very decent people who are republicans and who are under the same boot we are under. They just disagree with the tactics to improve the country. The notion that all republicans agree with the likes of a Trump or are all white racists just feeds into the hands of the Trumps and the other who exploit the country to enrich themselves

Of course, what you describe Pioneer is the mentality of the colonized people. They adopt the attitudes of the imperialist. They don't have to groom Asians, Blacks or anyone else our conditioning makes this automatic.

Many people do quit the game--they have no choice. They can't afford a college education assuming that their primary education even prepared them for one. there is no vocation training in high school, so many blue collar jobs are out of reach and low-level jobs are being replaced by robots and other forms of automation. Even "underground" opportunities are increasingly limited as corporations and governments aggressively move in on drugs (legalized marijuana) and gambling. Sex trades will be the next opportunity. We are simply fodder for the prison industrial complex. We have to take control of out own destinies, but as that research report I posted on Amazon mentions; the creation of new business is decreasing as it becomes more difficult for entrepreneurs to compete with legalized monopolies. We have to make a conscious decision to support our own, otherwise we will be increasingly at the mercy of some corporation, the way the Black Book Ecosystem is dependent upon Amazon today. Right now I see little evidence that we are willing to make the sacrifices required to support our own.

"...when they go low we go high." In the streets, that advice does not work very well. Like "just say no," it sounds good, but in practice 'fighting fire with fire' is often the optimal strategy

Hey Mzuri good to see your contribution! While I agree with the spirit of your statement, your logic breaks down; if Hillary lost because she sucks as a human being, how would you explain Trump's win? Cynique, you realize your statement "... ridiculous the bloated, mop head, orange-skinned clown...the egocentric loose cannon lecher who has surrounded himself with white nationalists, religious zealots, incompetent campaign contributors and suck-up former rivals, the petulant Russian lover..." is the very definition of ad hominem attack. I think we can all agree both Hillary and Trump are liars, willing to say whatever they think will get them what they want power and money. Even though Hillary's lies resonated with more people, Trump won the election. We will really see, in 4 years, what the people think. Hopefully the democrats can come up with a suitable alternative....

Congrats! Just added the events to our events calendar.

@Pioneer1, there is no scenario in which conditions in this country improves for Black people that I would consider it a "lose" proposition--even if those improvements come from a Trump administration.

I too was making a comment, not a declaration or a prophecy. I doubted he become president--but never, for a second, had i ruled it out. As I moved around the country I saw that he had a lot of support outside the major cities. In any case, I don't think it is a laughing matter, but to each his own...

@Xeon, why do you say Welsing was a "joke?"