Troy

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.

Sometimes lines from books just strike you. I'm been posting interesting lines from books (well this is only my second time doing it. Continuing to tweak what I share on social media. This quote is from the true story, Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy B. Tyson I shared an interesting video on the book's page, of Tyson giving a talk about racism in the south. He is a historian and provides an interesting perspective, but he is literally preaching to the choir. The folks who need to hear his message I'm sure are not listening. Perhaps use of the word "nigger" in my post will attract the attention of people who could most benefit from his words.

“Growing titties takes focus.” So goes the opening line of Terris McMahan Grimes' bestselling Novel, Smelling Herself: Listen to Terris read the first chapter:

Today on a whim I decided to see how much effort it would take to compile a list of all the Black writers to win a Pulitzer Prizes in the book-related categories. My list even includes the awards for drama, since all of the plays are available in book form. Since they have been giving the award away for a century, I figured this effort would take considerable effort to complete. Sadly, it took a few minutes—a slight exaggeration—but far less effort than I expected because the list so short. It took over 70 years for the to award to be given to more than a handful of Black writers. It is possible I may have missed a few. If anyone notices any omissions please let me know. I also included Lin-Manuel Miranda, but I don't actually know if he self-describes as "Black," or of "African descent." At any rate, the books that have won at all worth checking out. Although Manning Marable's book got a lot of hate from some critics. You just can't go around writing about Malcolm X's sexual relationship with some a white dude and not expect some blow back...

Poets and Writers Article by Elizabeth Nunez, "Widening the Path: The Importance of Publishing Black Writers " "Many black writers have not been as fortunate. It was not a renaissance after all, that booming interest in books by black writers in the 1990s. It was a passing fad, like last season’s fashionable style in clothes, replaceable when publishers, their eyes on the exotic, “discover” an untapped ethnic group among writers of color." The above quote, from the article, about the rise in the popularity of Black books during the 1990s being a “fad” was interesting. I guess given how short-lived the so-called renaissance was, the term is appropriate. But if the surge in the popularity of Black literature in the 90's was merely a fad, perhaps the Harlem Renaissance was fad for all the same reasons. The only true renaissance in Black literature, can not be dependent upon white largess, otherwise what we get are passing fads.

Fiction by Black Writers: Who are the Readers? Tuesday, February 21, 6:30 pm The Brooklyn Historical Society 128 Pierrepont St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 718-222-4111 The Brooklyn Historical Society will host a panel discussion on assumptions about the marketability of books by black writers and solutions to increase readership with Essence Magazine book editor Patrik Bass; Vice President, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of new-old Random House imprint One World Chris Jackson; novelist and President of the Authors Guild Roxana Robinson, and Ibrahim Ahmad, senior editor at Akashic Books. The panel will be moderated by Elizabeth Nunez. Click for more information.

A Terrific Bookstore in Tampa's Ybor City, Best Books Rich Treasures they feature New, Used, and Rare Books. I've become friendly with these booksellers over the last couple of years. I found them to be cool people as they always expressed their gratitude in my efforts to help them. On my most recent visit. Gigi, one of the co-owners who is also a genealogist was telling me about her book, Thomas the Melungeon: His Locust Family of Free Persons of Color Civil and Revolutionary War Patriots. As we were discussing the book, it became clear we had relatives in the same region of North Carolina. As budding genealogist myself I happened to have my DNA available and we compared our DNA and found the genetic link--we are kin! Our ability to find the shared ancestry is possible because my maternal grandmother's people were never enslaved. Wilder still, I'm also related to her husband, thought the family ties are less clear because the likely connection is through my paternal ancestor the "Johnson" line was lost due to slavery in the deep south... @Delano, I think this qualifies as magic Family or not, I still would have created this video highlighting the store. If you are in the area, check them out and tell 'em, "Cousin Troy" sent you!

@Delano, sure given that definition of magic--absolutely! I can give you many examples. But closer to home, meeting you is an example. Some might call it serendipity others might say coincidence, still other may say it is if no consequence. But I think it is more than that... My connection with @Mel Hopkins and @Cynique is more of the same. I agree with Cynique in that prayer, meditation and other similar practices are our attempts to realize what you call magic. Unfortunately the dogma of religion and people who exploit spirituality for profit pervert our attempt to connect with the universe. I'm reading a book on native Americans and their closeness with nature... they seem be wiser that those with advanced degrees Sadly corporations have exploited technology that could help bring people closer and turned it into our obsession for their profit.

@Delano are these alligences you see forming for or against Trump?

Discover the best black books coming out February 2017, and more in our January eNewsletter.

Correct! Derek Walcott, Toni Morrison, and Wole Soyinka of St. Lucia, America, and Nigeria respectively were the only Black people to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. I attended the conferences Clarence mentioned in which Morrison and Walcott were honored.

Mel the minimum wage as increased incrementally before many of the Occupy protestors were even born. The link you provided says that NY State will increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2021! This does not seem like a resounding win worth boasting about and that is assuming that you can attribute the change solely to Occupy (the article did not make this assertion). I have protested in the past. We even occupied on an office building on Syracuse University's campus. But I was less of an activist and more of young adult experimenting, learning who I was. Real, substantive change only seems to come by force. America was founded by force, slavery ended by force, Hitler was stopped by force. Power only answers to force. I have little hope that marching will change anything-- unless the changes you are looking for is a few extra bucks phased in over several years.... Right now the powerful are boldly snatching even more power. The republican legislators who the marchers are supposedly influencing were completely impotent as Trump bum-rushed their party. They are useless; marching to influence them is a waste of time--unless some serious financial pressure can be brought to bear.

Humm reminds me I didn't get this book yet ;-)

In the case Mel, my comments are based on what I thinking at the moment. This is both; subject to change, based upon additional information; and subject to critique, which I obviously welcome. In the case, I was thinking about the impact marching as on individuals who support Trump and Trump himself. There is nothing I've seen that is capable of swaying Donald Trump's mind other than money and power, none of which the protestors are offering. Indeed Trump and his people are not above making shit up out of thin air and calling them "alternate facts" that Cynique points out. The idea that the media even entertains these lies is sickening. Does anyone think anything that the marcher will effect Trump in a positive way? I don't and that is my point. Since the Trump supporters can easily tune out the marchers are consume media that completely denounces them as out of touch limousine liberals I don;t see these marches affecting them either. Now @Mel Hopkins I had not considered the impact on legislators. I don't have much hope on this front either. The Occupy Movement did a boat load of protesting and Wall Street is more dominant than ever. I'll look at the research nonetheless. With the benefit of hindsight can anyone point to a single piece of legislation that was impacted Occupy's protracted protesting? Surely we can all describe Wall Street increased influence over government, capped by the election of Trump.

OK maybe you two are right... I've modified my position on this issue.

MLK and the people around him would have been on Twitter trying to figure out how to reach an audience. They would have been rendered mute in today's world; where popularity is determined by corporate entities revenue rather than what nurtures their auduence. Right now the flavor of the day is Black Lives Matters, corporate media can't wrap their stubby little fingers around the concept of more than one activist organization at a time.