Troy

LOL @Pioneer1! There were plenty of shrimps in the gumbo man! I actually took this shot to text to people back up north. My people are from the "deep" south brother, trust they get down in the kitchen and I can cook too ;-) in fact before the kids got grown, moved out, and I split with their momma, I did all the cooking.

“At Hakim’s Bookstore in West Philadelphia, there are signs of life for what is believed to be the oldest black-owned bookstore in the country. Only a couple of years ago, the store was near death’s door.” Read the rest of Valerie Russ’ article at The Philadelphia Daily News. #readingblack Yvonne Blake took over Hakim’s Bookstore (Photos credit: Geneva Heffername)

@harry brown, thanks! I'm in Shreveport with family. My aunt is a great cook. She server up some gumbo last night that was off the chain.

I did not get to the edits now I'm traveling spending time with fam in the deep south, but I have them and will get to them. Thank again, so much for the feedback.

@Kalexander2, say man send me you bio a headshot and the isbn of any previous books you written I'll create a page on aalbc.com if you like.

Well if all it takes is another season of Game of Thrones to keep you kick in then I hope they push it back until 2050. That seems so crazy that we have to wait till 2019 to see what happens with that series. You better hope the actor who plays Jon Snow does not get caught up in some sexual abuse scandal before then Merry Christmas everyone

Precisely another tactic they all use is abandoning software especially operating systems and hardware. I took all of my CDs and burned them into Itunes on my PC and synced that library with a 160 Ipod which I've had now over 10 years. A couple of years ago my primary computer a desktop crashed. No problem all of my music as well as new purchases from Itunes was on my Ipod--thousands of songs, home videos, movies, pods casts, a ton of stuff. Well a purchased a new laptop and installed Itunes. Do you know Apple would not allow me to import my library to my computer!? They flat out will not provide you with software, help, or even a clue how to do it!? All of my shit was trapped on a 10 year old IPod that uses a miniature hard drive as the storage medium so you know the device's days were numbered along with all of my precious family videos digitized from VHS tapes. Just this week I found some software I had to pay $40 for, but it will take files from anywhere what and put them anywhere. I can download a movie from netflix and import it into my itunes library. It seems software like this would be illegal but Apple's nonexistent solutions creates opportunities for smart people. After I figured everything out on my own Apples support team told me I can now store my library in the cloud. My library will cost $3 a month to store in "the cloud." I said no. They also told me I could pay for a streaming music service they had I told Apple to "fuck -off." At least that is what I said in my head. I simply declined. I will never by another freaking thing from Apple. Microsoft is particularly bad with this. I have another laptop that uses Visita. The lap top works perfectly but there is no migration path from Vista to their newer operating systems. I have to rebuild the computer and buy new software for it to use any of their new software. A brand new laptop is cheaper--which plays right into their hands.

@Kalexander2, what did I say about Coates that Angela Davis would disagree with? Keep in mind and I made not attempt to assess Coates himself, just that Black media had nothing to do with his meteoric rise to fame and fortune. I just saw Davis speak a few weeks ago. She strikes me as a great woman. A few year ago a shot a shot video at the NAtional Black Writers Conference (I used a small digital camera and was a some distance, but it came out alright).

@Kalexander2, you replied less than an hour after I posted--that is very responsive! Even if you took a few days it would be cool. No one expects an immediate response. Hey, are you in the Middle East? I'm joking, but you say it a lot, so much it makes me wonder why you do it.... The suggestion that money influence the NY Times review process would not surprise me. Anything that important is always gamed. I would not put too much faith in HuffPo either. I know more than one writer who took money from an advertiser for a mention in an article, and the "advertisement" was treated as if it were pure journalism. The same goes for Amazon reviews. Many authors will provide incentives for favorable reviews on Amazon. All of this is why booksellers, trusted reviewers, and coverage by Black media is so important. But again, these things are sorely lacking in the Black community. This makes it much more difficult for readers to learn about the books they will enjoy the most. This is what I mean by reaching the reader. The writer should not be the entity most responsible for the selling their own books, indeed most are poorly suited for this task. Those authors who are best (or most aggressive) don't always have the best books. Can you see Toni Morrison going into a beauty parlor selling her books or standing behind a table at some obscure book fair trying to sell Beloved? A Ta-Nehisi Coates would still be an obscure writer were it not for The Atlantic. Sadly, I don't think Black people could provide a platform for a Coates or Morrison to rise to prominence. It is what we call the white cosign which enabled their fantastic level of success and prominence. Sure the Black properties that remain promote these writers, but gain they had not impact on their success. The white co-sign is rarely given to African-American who are not from Africa/Caribbean, gay, mixed race (look at the NY Times list with that lense). The impotence of the Black community to determine which books and writers are is something I would like help change. I also agree that it absolutely starts with us. Amazon damn sure ain't gonna do it.

@Kalexander2, for the sake of clarity please define 'universal Black guidelines.' I don't think any publisher--even the big five are against Black male and female writers who produce exceptional material that SELLs. The operative word being "sells." They just don't put much effort into developing these writers and helping these books sell. This is natural given the makeup of the organizations and demographics of this nation. So I agree with the idea of producing a dozen or so Black novels and marketing the hell out of them to ensure they become bestsellers. This is something that is long overdue. Unfortunately, there is one one bestsellers list that really to matters to people--and it ain't one that a Black person compiles. The NYT list that I published is one of the most popular pages on the site and got a lot of attention on social media. I've previously published a list with many of the same titles in fact my most critically acclaimed books is better the The NY Times list (of notable book written by Black writers) because AALBC.com's list identifies more books and is heavily weighted by books that Black folks have celebrated, but it did not get the same level of engagement on social media. Of course I appreciate the Time is FAR more well known than AALBC, but if the biggest and baddest site on the web slinging Black books can't command the same attention by Black readers as the NY Times then I'm not sure what Black folks can do to produce, market, and sell a dozen bestsellers. What I do know is that we have to reach readers directly. Increasingly our access to people is controlled by others. Social command so much of our online attention. We have, effectively no traditional media (that covers Black books), even AALBC.com is at the mercy of Google. Maybe the E Lynn Harris tactic of going to salon and selling books out the back of a trunk is something that wee need to go back to doing.... Of course I'm down to try--I'm all in as far as Black writers and books are concerned, but it will not be easy and we more people and resources to make it happen. #readingblack

Just copy the line of code to your website or Blog to embed the map of Black owned bookstores to your website or blog. This map is automatically updated too. <iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1bmEDQVy0eYrwQiQQuf5386tMqwU" width="640" height="480"></iframe>

"...predictably ludicrous, considering the source of this idea..."

It is a good idea. But the people would have to do it.I can provide a facility, but people have to use it. I simply don't have the resources to manage it. Now if someone else steps up I'm willing to help. Non-black feedback is what people seek because it is non-black validation that is desired and what we value so much. I've been plowing through the NYT most notable books looking for the black writers. I've done the last decade so far. See if you can draw any conclusions about the authors that were selected.

@Pioneer1, yes that might work, but lets consider solutions that are within the realm of possibility. 25% of students do need to drop out, we loose that many through attrition. I read a stat that more than 50% of students in New York City's, public schools do not graduate in 6 years. Besides you don't need all those folks. It seems the Bonner Bros in Atlanta have created a model that can be replicated. Why can;t other cities do what they have done? I dunno maybe they make all their money with the trade show and less with hair care (I don't know anything about their business). There used to be a store in Harlem called Carol's Daughter I believe it started in Brooklyn by a sister Essence Magazine covered them and the next thing you know they were in major departments stores. If memory serves, they sold out. The store in Harlem is closed. I shopped there each Xmas. The problem with the store was that it was very expensive. This is why the Koreans clean out clocks in Harlem, they have the lowest prices. The strategy is the same one Amazon uses. Money trumps race every day of the week. So unless we beat or at least become price competitive we stand little chance. This is the same battle we (booksellers) have with Amazon. Since Black booksellers will never be propped up by Wall Street to sell books at a loss like Amazon, we have to provide a service Amazon does not provide to earn the reader's business. It think this is something we can do for books. It can be done for hair care too.

@TSegal, I'm not sure how I missed this post. I just created an account and have uploaded a video: http://www.afroblock.com/social/user/aalbc I have also added this to the list of Black owned websites that I track: https://aalbc.com/top_black_websites/top_black_sites_list.php#Afro+Block

Thanks @richardmurray, the more people we have thinking along these lines the better. Our think must change before our behavior changes for our collective benefit

@Delano, I missed you mentioning The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. That has to be one of my all-time favorite books: https://aalbc.com/books/bookinfo.php I actually bought several copies of it to give away I still have one in my office wrapped up just to give to someone who I think may need/enjoy it.

Yes they're absolutely are reasons black folks don't corner the market on black hair care products. The real question is, what are we prepared to do about it? To date that appears to be very little.

@Pioneer1, everything you wrote in your last post illustrates my point about the absurdity of race. I understand you can't see that, but I have nothing to add that would make the case stronger.

Obama is fione, from a woman's perspective, I believe because of his power, intelligence, and how they perceive his personality. Obviously, he is it average looking guy not ugly or strikingly handsome. I do however think after seeing Hillary fail to command the female vote, that women simply prefer men to lead.

Thanks Wendy. Funny my daughter felt the music was corny :-) All my short video you did not think that showing the book on the stand and then showing a graphic of the book was not enough? (BTW, I forgot to acknowledge receipt of the additional edits I'll get to them tomorrow)

Okay I get it now. Thanks Mel @Mel Hopkins. @Kalexander2, welcome to the forum man!

@Mel Hopkins yeah I figured I'd answered my own question once I researched the book. This question probably should be a different conversations but there seems to be a thin line between being reckless and fearless. I'm the "I'll try anything once" kind of guy. Maybe I've lucky so far bungee jumping, skydiving, and the thousands of somersaults I've done have never hurt me :-) I dunno... You see, speaking from personal experience I quit a good paying job 10 years ago to run AALBC.com full and have been struggling ever since, but I have not stopped enjoying what I do despite the struggle (shoot maybe because of it ). I know people that work jobs they hate for the money or security. I have never done that. I'm not sure I'm capable of doing it. I do disagree with the author (Robert Greene), he said a number of times everyone has fear. I do believe there are people who have no fear, or the have so little of it they may as well have none. I believe I have met a couple of truly fearless people.

Hey Mel. I just adeed the 50th Law to the site. What was it about the book that struck you?

Hey @Kalexander2, thanks for that thoughtful post. You may be right about Black folks, in general pursuing, material wealth. But this is the American culture. Our peculiar brand of capitalism is dependent upon this. But from my vantage point, I find it difficult to see it that way. Most of the people I surround myself don't operate that way. Nobody I know, who sells books, does it to get rich. So I appreciate I may be in a bubble. I feel more people are starting to realize that the practice of acquiring of more and newer things is simply unfulfilling. I don't know who said this first, but you can never get enough of what you don't need. It seems to me people are becoming more interested in expanding their minds, than getting the newest iphone. But again that could be because I surround myself by readers...