Troy

Ok, I'll buy that argument, but only to a point. Because in reality it is not either or but a combination. Now NY City has is home to over 2 million Black people. Someone making $30K would have to spend ALL of that salary to have a decent place to live. Throw in a 2nd person and a couple of kids and you are living in POVERTY--I don't care how frugal you are. If you double that by sending the 2nd parent to work you are better off but not not twice as better; cause now you're in a different tax bracket and qualify for less aid, have the additional expense of child care, commuting, etc, you see my point. But using your logic every Black person living in NY City, making under 30 grand a year ,needs to go to someplace to live like Mississippi. Of course the devil is in the details and this is much easy to say that to do. First you need car outside major cities and second you need a job. The last time I looked job prospects in many of these lower cost of living locales were not looking too bright especially for brown folks. Also people are sacrificing now. There are millions of people who will never travel abroad (the majority of American's have not even bothered to get a passport), stay in a fancy hotel, or even eat a fine restaurant. Their kids are at the mercy of the shitty public schools. The best part of the day may be watching TV or goofing around on social media with a beer or a joint... Man you are I are smart and have decent educations, plus you have the added benefit of being fiscally responsible, but the vast majority of folks in this country will never know what it means to make more than $100k a year or even have the capacity to enjoy Toni Morrison's Beloved. Shoot I wish less people had smart phones. They are not used as tools to enlighten they are used by corporation to generate revenue. People spend the majority of time using facebook. Some folks are--even folks of modest means are spending well over $100 every month to a damn smart phone and "upgrading" them every year or two. And don't get me started on computers in the public schools. Man I'm beginning to rant, but this is serious stuff and it pisses me off to see us in this condition What more do we need? Man I don't even know where to begin. Maybe I just need to spend more time in FL... I did not get to go this summer.

To one of the finest intellectuals I know. Happy Birthday!

Hi Patricia and Missy if you create an account (upper right hand side of the page) you won't have to posts as "guests" and say who you are each time you reply. Patricia, a webring was basically group of sites linking one to another is such a way that a reader could visit each site by clicking on a link to go to the next website, and the next ,and ultimately return to the first site in the virtual ring of website; hence the name. At any rate, it was a 90's solution. We could probably come up with some better ideas. Here are a few of my own: ------------- 1 - Free Banner Advertising I was thinking about having each blog create a banner ad which would display an advertisement for each blog. The ad could be placed on web website every time the website's page is loaded a different banner for a website could appear. Of course some Blogs are more suitable for banner advertisements than others, but that is a detail that can be worked out it people are interested in the idea. Some Blogs only have a few inbound links. This idea would create 195 more, which would raise everyone's profile. In would perform better than a paid ad--because it could be done at no cost to the participants. ------------- 2 - Share and Comment Another idea that comes to mind is the we could all commit to commenting or sharing infor a direct Blog or a regular basis, monthly weekly or even daily. Some of us are on social media everyday, why not invest in our own properties. The idea is not to force people to comment just to be commenting, but to find an article that truly interests you share it with other likely to appreciate it and make a comment. ------------ 3 - Aggregated Feed I was thinking about creating an aggregated feed of everyone's Blog, publishing it on Huria, and making it available to others. Maybe the feed could be segmented by category so that readers can customize what the read. This could actually be monetized, converted into a mobile ap, and more. ----------- These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. The first two could be done tomorrow. The effectiveness of each is really dependent upon participation--the more the better. Two sites working together can help we each--imagine if it were 100 or even 200. In some of these scenarios the larger, more established Blogs, will not benefit has much and the smaller newer blogs--but they will benefit. I mention this because often the larger blogs/websites (I include my own in this category), are reluctant to participant in these activities. The general feeling, as expressed to me, is that the larger sites have worked hard to get where they are and that the smaller websites will just benefit without putting the work in. I understand this sentiment. But I also understand that it is highly inefficient (unprofitable) for each and every website to have to learn everything on their own or pay a corporation. This only impoverishes indie Black Blogs, which weakens Black voices on the web. It also takes resources away from creating great content and redirects that energy into things like social media marketing, which for a content provider just cannibalizes your site's content and enriches whatever social media platform you are using Finally, if there is indeed enough interest to pursue these collaborative efforts. I'm happy to create a secret group here where we can honestly flesh out ideas and strategies. I think the effort will be worth it--when is investing in yourself not?

Editor's Note: I just created a forum called: Bloggers Helping Bloggers: http://aalbc.it/bloggershelpingbloggers To continue the sharing of ideas over the long term. The goal of the Blogging database on Huria Search is to help readers discover a Blog they will enjoy. I just emailed all of the bloggers (well 127 out of 195) in the database to solicit ideas on ways we can collaborate and provide mutual support and improve of Blog's readership, revenue, or any factor we deem to be an important measure of success. If you are a Blogger and did not get my message you may read it here. If you would like to add your Blog to our database you may enter it here: http://www.huria.org/blogs/addnewblogform.html So, how can bloggers support each other? Let us know by replying.

Agreed, but I don't make a distinction between Hollywood and their tools (the rappers themselves).

Chris the reason why aren't we doing better, "with so much more available to us", is simple, we don't have much more available. There is the illusion that we have more available, but the data tell a completely different story. Plus, don't for one second think that kids are loved less today than in Cynique's time or before. Most parents love their children. They may be ill suited to raise them properly, and must navigate a hostile environment, but the problem is not a lack of love. Man the game is rigged. Perhaps in a much more profound way than it was in Cynique's day. Do you realize that our parents generation could, with a high school diploma earn enough with a single salary to raise a family. Today two college educated parents with two jobs struggle to do the same thing--especially in our larger cities like New York. Do you know that college in our parents day was relatively inexpensive or even free--and the quality of the education was better! Do you know that kids who manage to go to college often come out with crippling debt and that a private school education is $200K or more?! I know you know we lock up more Black men and women today as a percentage of our population than ever before! Police are killing us at a rate higher than all than any period after slavery. Chris, I would not be so convinced that we have so much at our disposal than Cyniques generation. I would argue than things are far worse today. Bringing back granny into the home will not change a thing. Cynique, would you have preferred to raise your family in 2015?

I'm glad and honored Cynique still shares her words and wisdom on this site. Chris I guess it is my technical self that feels nothing is simple and that the world is complex. Raising a family, maintaining this website, navigating this world in such a way that one's life is fulfilling are all complex endeavors. Sure there are aspects that one can not control, there are even factors we are unaware of, but all of this adds to the complexity. Is ending racism simple Chris? If so, what is the simple solution? I know West works at the grassroots level. I also know he often speaks for free. As Ish Reed suggested, West indeed be out because he is not making white folks happy, by embracing Minister Farrakhan, criticizing President Obama and the like. In the old days they assassinated you today they just marginalize you.. Check out Michelle Alexander's review in the Aug. 17, 2015 New York Times Book Review I had to read “Between the World and Me” twice before I was able to decide whether Coates actually did what I expected and hoped he would. He did not. Maybe that’s a good thing. It seems Michelle is effectively saying Coates Between the World and Me is no The Fire Next Time; stopping short of saying he is no Baldwin.

Kam just reviewed the New N.W.A. flick he gave it ★★☆☆ As I was publishing the review I discovered a ton of interviews where Easy-E was dissing Dr. Dre calling him gay and a cross dresser. Easy-E also said Ice Cube was a fake gangster. There was a lot of publically shared animosity going both ways. I even saw a clip of Suge Knight, on Jimmy Kimmel no less, joking about how to kill someone by injecting them with AIDS infected blood (Easy died of AIDS). The whole thing was a deadly mess... Suge, Biggie, Easy, Tupac and on.... I'm not sure if any of this is depicted in the film, but given the recent interviews I've seen of Ice Cube praising Easy-E, I'd bet the controversy has been played down. And given how people today view movies as if they were documentaries, it looks like there will be ample opportunity for some revisionist history as it concerns the negative impact of Gansta Rap. I will definitely check out the flick when I can stream it at home. Truth be told, NWA were my boys, back in the day, I still listen to the straight outta compton music to this day. Folks like to say NAS's Illmatic is the best rap rap album. In my book straight outta compton was far better. Maybe it is generational thing, maybe an anger thing, but the cats from the CPT, really spoke to me.

Cynique, I'd be willing to bet that you and Toni would get along quite well. Most book blurbs are not taken this seriously, especially by anyone who has written one. However, the market places a great value on a high profile cosign. A Toni Morrison surely recognizes the impact of her words can have on a prospective author's career. It is not like Toni goes around willy-nilly, calling every halfway decent writer the next Jimmy Baldwin. I have to believe she understood the power of what she wrote. This makes her blurb a big deal, and worth taking seriously. The book I posted above is really very fascinating and will lead me to read other books on the subject of philosophy. It was published in the late 1990's; at the time there were only three tenured Black female philosophy professors in the U.S.. Two of them are interviewed in this book.

Wow. It is fascinating to learn how one is perceived and how radically different that can sometimes differ from one's intent. Here I thought I was encouraging someone to be more direct and open about what they were trying ask and it was perceived as sarcasm. It simply never occurred to me that anyone with full access to the web could not find the meaning of any word. I was unfamiliar with both words, and actually looked them up yesterday. I did not take the time to post the definitions yesterday because, again, I assumed the anyone could easily find these definitions. At the risk of further irritating Janice, I normally would not provide definition of words here. That never was the purpose of this forum or any other discussion forum I can think of. Now if you want to discuss Eric's treatment of symphorophilia or autonepiophilia, in his novel, that would be interesting. A conversation about the practice of autonepiophilia might be fun too autonepiophilia: Paraphilic condition in which sexuoerotic arousal is dependent on impersonating a baby in diapers and being treated as a baby .(from http://www.sex-lexis.com/) symphorophilia

Hi Janice (welcome to the forums) given your ability to post here, I presume you could have also looked up the words to learn their definitions. Is there something else you really want to say? "Eye brow raised" (stealing a line from Thumper). At any rate, Dickey (pardon the pun) must have dreamed up some really freaky stuff to have those two words appear on the same page One Night is actually a Power List Bestselling book, debuting at #7 on the hardcover fiction list.

If you are into history I think you find this book fascinating. It tells the story of one HBCU's struggle to survive. Somehow Amazon is selling the book for $17.61 (it lists for $30) which is a steal for this impressive volume* I just discovered that Nnamdi Azikiwe (Nigeria's first president), attended went to Storer college An American Phoenix: A History of Storer College from Slavery to Desegregation 1865-1955 In the first book-length study of Storer College, Dawne Raines Burke tells the story of the historically black institution from its Reconstruction origins to its demise in 1955. Established by Northern Baptists in the abolitionist flashpoint of Harpers Ferry, Storer was the first college open to African Americans in West Virginia, and it played a central role in regional and national history. In addition to educating generations of students of all races, genders, and creeds, Storer served as the second meeting place (and the first on U.S. soil) for the Niagara Movement, a precursor to the NAACP. An American Phoenix provides a comprehensive and extensively illustrated history of this historically black college, bringing to life not just the institution but many of the individuals who taught or were educated there. It fills a significant gap in our knowledge of African American history and the struggle for rights in West Virginia and the wider world. -------------------- * looking below the surface: Amazon appears to be selling the book at an apparent loss to get more prime members. Amazon's practice of selling products at such low prices (effectively dumping) has concentrated a great deal of power in Amazon hands and has contributed to the decimation of indie stores. So while I recommend the book, if you have the wherewithal to buy it from an indie store consider it. Given the price differential (essentially paying more than double with shipping and sales tax), I appreciate than may be asking too much. If you do buy it from Amazon, at least this website will earn a commission.

I started reading this book recently, African-American Philosophers: 17 Conversations, it made me think about another conversation on this discussion forum, “Who's filled the intellectual void after James Baldwin?,” which I initiated in reaction to the Toni Morrison blurb of Ta-Nehisi Coates new book, the Power List Best seller, Between the World an Me ; “I’ve been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died…clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates.” While this is a bold statement I did not initially take it seriously, as authors typically exaggerate when endorsing another author's book. But given that it was Toni Morrison making the statement, some folks, most notably, Cornel West, took issue with the statement; going overboard, in my opinion, in his reaction. If it were a more obscure author making the same statement, I'd be willing to bet Cornel would have overlooked it. I've become more concerned with the idea that Baldwin's passing left an "intellectual void" for the past 30 years. There are a great many Black intellectuals which is one of the reason I've started reading African-American Philosophers. The book was published in 1998 among the philosophers interviewed include Anita L. Allen, Robert E. Birt, Bernard R. Boxhill, Joyce Mitchell Cook, Angela Y. Davis, Lewis R. Gordon, Leonard Harris, Joy Ann James, Tommy L. Lott, Hoard McGary, Jr., Michele M. Moody-Adams, Albert Mosley, Lucius T. Outlaw, Jr., Adrian M. S. Piper, Laurence Thomas, Cornell West, and Naomi Zack. With the exception of Davis and West, I'd imagine most of these thinkers are unknown to the general population. "intellectual void"...Puhleese!

We have not written the press release or started to promote the list yet, so you are getting the list first! There are a wide variety of titles on our list of 40 of the most popular books read by African Americans over the last few months. Check out all of these titles, I've pulled together videos, reviews and more. Looking below the surface: Here is a list of the conglomerates publishing the most popular books we are reading (This view is not shared on the menu of the powerlist website). As I continue to collect data an interesting story emerges. For example, more than 2/3's of the most popular books read by African American readers are published by just 3 conglomerates! The top company publishing the books we read is based in Germany. Another, in the top three, also owns Fox News; any surprise which book is at the top of that list? Does this matter?

I think a film about Public Enemy could be as commercially successful as one about N.W.A., but of course white folks in charge will choose to perpetuate all the negative Black stereotype they can find. I think it is all they know how to do... maybe it is all they want to do.

Chris, my friend, the devil is always in the details. Life is never simple. Racism in America may be about power but most racists here are actually ignorant and powerless. In fact, it is our collective unwillingness to understand these complexities that prevents us from fixing many of our problems, including the issue of race. Of course West has a profit motive--and he should-- but it would be naive to suggest that is his only motive. West, like you and I could be doing a great many other things to make more money, but only shallow, greedy people are motivated solely by money. I do not think West is that shallow. Sure if West sees perspectives like his as being important, and his perspective is being shut out by the power that be I understand his reaction. Cynique, it does not take too much bending over backwards to support West, I've seen him in action too many times when there were no cameras around. The man strikes me as genuinely interested in improving the position of all poor people. I will not dismiss West's contributions for single bizarre Facebook post. I think there is a big difference between my support of West and blind support of Obama. I have been highly critical of West's treatment of Coates. Obama sycophants behave as if Obama is beyond critique. But let me flip the question to you Cynique; Do you (or anyone out there) believe, as Morrison suggests the Ta-Nehisi Coates is the only brother with the capacity to fill the "intellectual void" left by Baldwin's passing almost 30 years ago? To even take seriously that there was an intellectual void since Baldwin passed is absurd on it's face. But again, since we do not control our narrative the voices of people Dr. Yosef “Dr. Ben” Ben-Jochannan, Dr. John Henrik Clarke and Dr. Ivan Van Sertima who were very much alive and kicking when Baldwin passed have been relegated to obscurity. It is not just West's voice being marginalized. It is anyone's voice that is for the people.

NEWS from the LIBRARY of CONGRESS August 5, 2015 Press contact: Gayle Osterberg, (202) 707-0020; gosterberg@loc.gov Public contact: Center for the Book (202) 707-5221; cfbook@loc.gov Spanish version of the press release: www.loc.gov/today/pr/2015/15-138.html New International Pavilion at the Library of Congress 2015 National Book Festival Features Celebrated Writers From Throughout Latin America Best-selling Latin American fiction writers from numerous countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina, will be featured in the new International Pavilion at the Library of Congress National Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Programs in this pavilion will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and will straddle a number of subjects, from world religions to the best of Latin America’s fiction and poetry, and will end with fascinating, true stories from the Amazon jungle. The festival runs from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. (doors open at 9 a.m.). The International Pavilion will open with a program featuring three contributing editors of the new “Norton Anthology of World Religions,” a comprehensive, two-volume work described by The New York Times as “a landmark documentary history.” The work focuses on Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Jack Miles, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author as well as the leading editor of the anthology, will moderate a conversation between Islam scholar Jane McAuliffe and Buddhism and Daoism scholar Donald S. Lopez Jr. At 11:50 a.m., the pavilion will present several Latin American fiction writers. Homero Aridjis, Mexico’s greatest living poet, will talk about his country’s rich literary traditions. A panel of four writers—including Mexican novelists Álvaro Enrigue (“Sudden Death,” Muerte subita) and Cristina Rivera Garza (“No One Will See Me Cry,” Nadie me vera llorar) together with Chile’s Alejandro Zambra (“Bonsai”) and María José Navia (Instrucciones para ser feliz)—will discuss trends in contemporary Latin American fiction. Moderating the discussion will be the director of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Georgetown University, Gwen Kirkpatrick. There will be five solo presentations. Peru’s Santiago Roncagliolo, winner of the prestigious Alfaguara Prize for his novel “Red April” (Abril rojo), will talk about his highly successful novels about fear as well as his latest collection of black-humor stories, “Hi, This is Conchita.” Chile’s prizewinning Alejandro Zambra will reappear to talk about his novels “Bonsai” (made into a feature film in 2011) and “My Documents,” as well as short stories published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review and Harper’s. Valeria Luiselli, Mexican author of the internationally acclaimed novel “Faces in the Crowd,” which won a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, will speak of a writing career that has spanned Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States. Argentine novelist Andrés Neuman—winner of Spain’s coveted Herralde Prize and finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for “Traveler of the Century”—will talk about his fiction, poetry and cultural commentary. (Neuman, Zambra and Roncagliolo were all selected by Granta magazine as among the 22 Best Young Spanish-Language Novelists.) Closing out the fiction programs in this pavilion is Colombia’s renowned Juan Gabriel Vásquez, who won the IMPAC Dublin Award for “The Sound of Things Falling.” Apart from his novels, Vásquez is also known as a columnist, cultural critic and translator of John Hersey, Victor Hugo and E.M. Forster. His latest novel is “The Informants.” The International Pavilion will close with a special segment called Amazon Stories, featuring renowned British historian, explorer and past president of the Royal Geographic Society, John Hemming, who is best known for his magisterial “The Conquest of the Incas” and “Tree of Rivers: The Story of the Amazon.” Hemming will talk about his latest book, “Naturalists in Paradise: Wallace, Bates and Spruce in the Amazon.” He will be followed by a multimedia presentation and conversation between ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin (“Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice”) and David Good, the American son of a Yanomami tribeswoman, who will recount their travels and adventures among the peoples of the South American rainforest. The National Book Festival (www.loc.gov/bookfest) is funded by private donors and corporate sponsors who share the Library’s commitment to reading and literacy. Since 2010, National Book Festival Board Co-Chairman David M. Rubenstein has been the festival’s lead benefactor and has pledged funding for the festival for five more years. Charter Sponsors include AARP, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Washington Post and Wells Fargo; Patron sponsor, the National Endowment for the Arts; Contributor-level sponsors C-SPAN2’s Book TV, Jacqueline B. Mars, The Junior League of Washington, National Geographic, Scholastic Inc. and WAMU 88.5 FM; and, in the Friends category, the Marshall B. Coyne Foundation Inc., the Cultural Institute of the Embassy of Mexico in the United States, The Embassy of Peru in the United States of America, Georgetown University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, The Hay-Adams, the Inter-American Development Bank, The Jefferson Hotel, Susan Carmel Lehrman, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute with support from board chair Roger A. Strauch, the Mensa Education & Research Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, NPR, Small Press Expo and Split This Rock. Those interested in supporting the National Book Festival can contact the Library at devofc@loc.gov. Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress (www.loc.gov) is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions. ### Rep. James Clyburn at the 2014 National Book Festival:

Well I agree 100% with you on the fact that the Internet will change. Now whether that change will be positive is a matter of opinion. In the short term, I do not think it will be positive for the majority of people. If recent history is any indicator, a handful of people, who are likely already wealthy, will benefit fantastically, and the vast majority of us will be shorted--in many cases blindly. But one can always hope. I'm all-in and can not give up.

Chris, perhaps Mosley is right (at least based upon my paraphrasing of what he said). But I think it is actually more complex than that. I think Reed's advice to West above is more indicative of the problem that frustrates West; "You denounce Farrakhan and they'll let you back in." Listen no one reasonable, Morrison's blurb aside, would suggest Coates is the equivalent of Baldwin. Indeed no one would even suggest that Coates is West's intellectual peer. However since we control nothing the folks in power can appoint anyone they like. They have anointed Ta-Nehisi Coates. I think this, fundamentally is what West takes issue with. Sure, West has been further marginalized as a result and because of this, it is easy to say this is the only reason for his reaction. I think this is a mistake, because the man has decades of demonstrated commitment to the Black community. It is hard to read West's Race Matters and assume his reaction is that simple. West was one of the few progressive Black men or prominence to critically critique the Obama administration. Black people vilified West for that saying he was jealous. Again it is not that simple. If we allow voices like West to be shut out, who then will speak honestly to Black peoples concerns? Al Sharpton, President Obama, who? I completely disagree, on several levels, with West's approach regarding Coates, but I can not attribute his reaction to simple jealousy alone. Again it is not that simple. Of course those in control of the media would be happy to have us believe such a simplistic rational it serves their agenda and we are simple enough to buy it. Cynique given that way West is portrayed in the media, I could very easily see why you might say he is no different than Donald Trump, but again I've seen him in action far too many times to draw the same conclusion

Here West elaborated on his critique of Ta-Nehisi's latest book and his being dubbed the next Baldwin. ---------------- "My response to Brother Ta-Nehisi's new book should not be misunderstood. I simply tried to honestly evaluate the book at the level of Truth, Goodness and Beauty. Since I believe there will never be another Baldwin -- just as there will never be another Coltrane, Morrison, Du Bois, Simone [as in Nina], Robeson or Rakim -- the coronation of Coates as our Baldwin is wrong. His immense talents and gifts lie elsewhere and lead to different priorities. He indeed tells crucial truths about the vicious legacy of white supremacy as plunder on a visceral level, yet he fails to focus on our collective fightback, social movements or political hope. Even his fine essays downplay people's insurgency and resistance. The full truth of white supremacy must include our historic struggles against it. His critical comments in his essays about the respectability politics or paternalistic speeches of the black president in power (absent in his book) do not constitute a critique of the presidency -- pro-Wall Street policy as capitalist wealth inequality, drone policy as U.S. war crimes, massive surveillance as violation of rights, or defense of ugly Israeli occupation as immoral domination. For example, none of the black or white neo-liberals who coronate Coates say that 500 Palestinian babies killed by U.S. supported Israeli forces in 50 days or U.S. drones killing over 200 babies are crimes against humanity. Yet they cry crocodile tears when black folk are murdered by U.S. police. Unlike Baldwin, Coates gives them this hypocritical way out -- with no cost to pay, risk to take, or threat to their privilege because of his political silence on these issues. I love Coates' obsession with Baldwin's beautiful prose, and Coates does have beautiful moments too. Baldwin's beauty is profoundly soulful, wise and eager to inspire others. Coates' beauty is deliberately nerdy, smart and draws attention to itself. Hence, Coates' obsession with beauty weakens the Baldwin-like truths of resistance to be told or the Baldwin-like goodness tied to social hope. Like a Blues man or Jazz woman, Baldwin offers his whole blood-drenched and tear-soaked soul in words and sounds to an incomplete world, whereas Coates offers his well-crafted words with a sad spectatorial self to a doomed world. In this Age of Ferguson, we indeed need different voices, yet the most needful voices should be Baldwin-like all the way down and all the way LIVE!" --Dr. Cornel West, July 20 at 6:00 a.m. --------------- Of course it still irks me that Cornel's camp posts this stuff on Facebook. The very idea that they would continue to enrich the plutocracy is completely incongruous with his mission. I mean West could post these things here and enrich an AALBC.com. But I guess the thinking is that more people will read it on Facebook. The tools of the oligarchy will never serve us... Another Brother surprisingly active on Facebook, Ishmael Reed, shared the following in reaction: "black opinion in the east is owned by billionaires conde nast (the new yorker), right winger and ALEC supporter Brian Roberts (msnbc) and and chris hughes (the new republic) they set the trends and a large part of black intelligentsia sheepishly go along with the trends that they set.your problems began before this controversy. you denounce farrakhan and they'll let you back in." --Ishmael Reed, July 20 at 6:29 p.m. Why is it lost on Brothers, like Reed, that posting his opinion (one I strongly agree with) on Facebook actually makes the condition he described worse? Image if I had to visit the Chicago Defender's website or the Amsterdam News website to read his reaction. Again I guess the thinking is no one would engage him there. I know the quote from West is from three weeks ago, but I was think about his comments and decided to go see if he had anything to add. This past weekend I was in St Louis and got to hear Walter Mosley speak. Mosley mentioned West's reaction to Coates and essentially said that West was jealous that the younger Coates was getting attention that he felt he deserved. Now I think Mosley is a brilliant man, but his explanation of West's reaction seemed far too simplistic. Besides, West is only 62 years old!

Sure Black books got very little light historically and don;t get much now currently. The difference today, I think, is that word of mouth is far less effective. For example, online word of mouth is corralled into corporate controlled filter bubbles on Facebook or Amazon primarily. For example, I don't use Goodreads, because links to external sites are generally precluded, which focuses participation on an single site, to the exclusion of all others, creating a classic filter bubble. In the offline world, with the virtual elimination of Black book platforms including, book stores, less coverage in magazines, newspapers, etc, the conversation about Black book is constricted as well. Amazon will not, has not made this better. Sure some individuals can benefit, but collectively we remain underserved. Sure AALBC.com's will continue to exisit, but we will struggle; mere survival will be our gauge of success. But we can still hope for a miracle.

Hi Shaniqka, congrats on your new book, and thanks for sharing information about it here. Do you have a website? If so, post the URL (I looked but could not find one). I also noticed a video of you on Amazon, but I could not find a version on a place where it may be embedded here. Consider creating a youtube account and uploading your video there. I also noticed your Amazon link did not have an affiliate code applied. Alternatively, you may use this link http://aalbc.it/myheartsaysthis to send people to Amazon, which embeds AALBC.com's affiliate code; not only does this generate commissions, any sales count toward AALBC.com bestsellers list, one of the most popular pages on the website. Plus it is a cleaner looking URL :-) Check out this article, "5 Things Writers Must Do to Survive Online" for more info.

True there are plenty of Black writers in the genre, but if they get no promotion or exposure how do we learn about them? The lack of coverage is that same as if they never wrote the stories in the first place. Yeah it would be nice to fantasize about "Black owned film or television or online streaming services" making a difference, but I'm not holding my breath. Only the most massive of corporations Amazon, Netflix, seem to be able to pull off both the production and distribution of films. A Black owned Netflix however would be a great material for a sci-fi story, in an alternate university of course, were that scenario would be remotely plausible. Now I learned about N.K. Jemisin through you, via Amazon (who owns Goodreads), and this sees to be the direction of things, at least as far as the Black Book ecosystem is concerned; Amazon owns it. There may be are other good Black writers interviewed on Goodreads, but I will never know because I don't like using the Goodreads site.

thanks for sharing information about this author. I was previously unfamiliar with her work. I recently listened to another author speak about how sci-fiction is dominated by white male sensibilities. They cited Stars Wars as not being just white male but blond haired, blue eyed white male. Apparently James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader, was not even listed in the credits.

Hi James, it is good you've posted your request here on our forum. You've already gotten some good advise from another published author. Your posting here also allows to me to reply to your inquiry (I saw your email), and potentially any other writers with the same requests, so I'm also more willing to respond here than I would via email. AALBC.com does not publish books authors (at least not yet). I've worked hard to make the services we do provide easy to find on our website. Our Frequently Asked Questions or About Us page are the most obvious places to learn more about the services we provide and how to take advantage of the website. As a result, I generally ignore emails which make any variation of the request, "I just wrote a book and I'd like your help getting it published." There are several reasons I ignore these emails, but the primary one is, if the person making the request did not take a couple of minutes to research our company and learn about the services we provide, then I don't feel obliged to take a few minutes to respond. That said, we do provide a variety of resources for authors, particularly authors interested in connecting with readers of African American literature. This forum is one example, also check out our Writers Resources page for many more resources. The best advice I can give an author looking to get published by a publisher, or to self-publish, is to study both the craft and business of writing. If you lack connections you can build them, over time, by networking; attend conferences, workshops, book events, and participate in on-online forums like this. You'll meet like minded people, potentially folks who will help connect you with the right professionals to get your book published. You wrote you lack "resources." I'm not sure what that means exactly, but if you mean money. Who better save or raise some money, if you want to self-publish your book. For example, if can not afford not to have your book edited or a professional design its cover--don't waste your time--you'll be competing against others you have taken these steps, and you will not fare well. These are just two areas self-published authors cut corners to save money and it is a mistake. Also, not allocating money to promote your book is big mistake too. No one will buy your book if they don't know it exists. Getting the word out about your book will take money; advertising, travel, conference fees, marketing materials, etc. Even if you are published by a major publishing house, you'll need money for promotion. The subject of your book is topical; Rhoden's Forty Million Dollar Slaves immediately comes to mind, a fictionalized account might be a very interesting read. Good luck with our work!