Troy

Cynique, do you have stories to tell from your parents? It is likely your parents lived through both world wars, the great depression, women being given the right to vote, and very likely knew, personally, people who were formerly enslaved I wonder what they would think of the world today...

African American political and social "success;" Man I think the jury is still out on that one--what would be the point of Black lives matters? Slavery did not end because of marches or speeches--nt even Twitter would have ended SLavery. Iit ended after 2% of the U.S. Population lost there lives. Enslaved Africans and mulattoes greatly outnumber the white minority. In other words they gained independence by using their bigger club. George Washington and his boys were far from criminals and peasants in the sense that you've described them. Again they too took there independence through bloodshed. All of these changes were executed through force (usually violence). It is the only language humanity seemed to understand and react to.

I met Carla at the Go On Girl! book club conference a couple of years ago. Here she shared with me her thoughs on the importance of literacy.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize yesterday. The Man Booker Prize was established in 1969. The winner receives £50,000 as well as the £2,500 awarded to each of the shortlisted authors. Both the winner and the shortlisted authors are guaranteed a worldwide readership plus an increase in book sales. Learn More Last year Marlon James won for his critically acclaimed novel, A Brief History Of Seven Killings: A Novel

Hi Darlene, please share you website's URL.

The arc of justice is indeed long, but whether it bends toward justice depends on your perspective. For example, I doubt any of the indigenous people, the few left, of North America, South America, or Tanzania would agree. It has been centuries since Europeans began pillaging Africa; how many more centuries must pass until that arc bends toward justice for those people? I'm also not confident change (positive or otherwise) somes from below. Generally, change is initiated by those with, or supported by those, with the biggest club. I'm happy to consider any contradictory examples.

Hi Cynique, Of course I'm one of those people that really enjoy reading these retrospectives. In fact, if you don't mind, I'll create a separate page for this article (linked from your AALBC.com page). I'm also planning (I know finally), to publish a book next year called the The Best of AALBC.com. I would like to use this piece there too. I often think about how much things have changed in the last 25 years. I teach a web design class and I'm often struck, as I lecture, how much technology has advanced in that brief period. I really can't image how things have changed in the time scale you've described. But, it is interesting that much of what you described from your youth in terms of the creature comforts of home life are things that I recall. In south life seemed even more spartan. One of my aunts had an outhouse into the late 60's. I believe the changes are accelerating as time progresses. For example, our family only changed our home telephone once my entire childhood, upgrading from a rotary to a push button model. Today many families "upgrade" all their portable phones every couple of years. Dishwashers, washing machines, computers, and more have saved us all a lot of physical energy and given us a lot more time. It is not clear to me that society is any better with the extra time and energy. It seems like the additional time and energy we have is wasted. Can you imagine the media of your day using any of their resources to spread "news" based upon children joking about Althea Gibson's hair? It is almost a cliche to say, we have access to more information, but are less wise, less knowledgeable. What do you think?

I Trina there were a couple of typos in my first point that made it confusing (beat me up later @Cynique). So the book cover is just a girls photo? The Theatre Communications Group like to use photo, not text as book covers too. Please post your book's ISBN's that will help me identify them as well.

Are you kidding! Please post it--absolutely! I love reading your writing.

I hear you Cynique Are your folks telling you that things are getting better? Is there cause of immediate optimism? What are they saying? The situation will indeed play itself out, but not in the sense I think you mean. You see I don't believe that the conditions that currently exist were created on their own, by pure chance. Great neighborhoods are not created by luck or happenstance, its take work and planning. The same is true for bad neighborhoods. I tend to believe Chicago's south side is being set up to be "rebooted" the way Harlem, the U Street Corridor in NW DC, and other, formerly, chocolate communities have been. Things will get so bad in Chicago people will beg to have folks locked up. Actually, I thought the reboot of Chicago's south side was started when they famously demolished those Taylor projects. Where did those people go? Some folks in Harlem projects are paranoid they will loose their homes for fear the City will turn the projects over to private management companies who will impose "market rate" rents. Sadly their are no affordable housing alternatives for people in New York City. There are many families who have occupied (been trapped really), in the projects for 3 and 4 generations! The South Side of Chicago will definitely get better, but I doubt many of the current residents will be the beneficiaries of that improvement...

Dr. Sandra Jowers-Barber, assistant professor of history at the University of the District of Columbia interviews Sylvia Y. Cyrus, Executive Director of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History was founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1915 in response to the lack of information on the accomplishments of African Americans. Dr. Woodson, who died in 1950, didn't start his formal education until he was 20 years old. From that late academic beginning he went on to become the second African American to earn a PhD from Harvard University. He established Negro History Week in 1926 and 50 years later in 1976 the week that week became a month-long celebration that today is supported nationally and internationally. Sylvia Cyrus discusses the significance and on-going importance of the Association. AALBC.com will make sure that all of the titles published as part of the partnership of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and Black Classic Press.

AALBC.com is working with Black Classic Press (BCP) to help promote and sell these books as well as all of BCP's titles. If a visitor sees a book published by BCP on AALBC.com they will be given the option to purchase the book directly from BCP. Books like The MIseducation of the Negro, a 22 time AALBC.com bestselling book, already sells well here but there are still many people unaware of the title and the additional focus will benefit many readers. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), which was started by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1915, is dedicated to continuing Woodson's work. ASALH’s mission is to "create and disseminate knowledge about Black History, to be, in short, the nexus between the Ivory Tower and the global public. They labor in the service of Blacks and all humanity." It is also worth noting that there are many different entities, and individuals, publishing The Miseducation of the Negro, as the title is in the public domain. However BCP's partnership with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) will ensure that you are getting the best reprint, with the highest fidelity. However the most important reason for purchasing Woodson's books that have been published by BCP is that your purchases will directly support Carter G. Woodson's organization. I've actually replaced all the other version of Woodson's books, published by other entities, in favor of the BCP/ASALH's reprints. I'm telling you, the Black Book Ecosystem is growing stronger!

From time to time I run ads on this website that have nothing to do with books, but are services that I actually use and have no problem endorsing. Of course I never link to a corporate site without getting something in return. In this case the people I refer get a meaningful discount. In the case of Uber, this can cover a entire ride. In the case of Google Express, it can mean a few free boxes of cereal from Costco. But the real benefit, from my perspective is that I earn an additional referral fees for anyone I get to sign up. Plus those that I sign up can get the same benefits I do when they, in turn, get others to try these services. This can translate into real money, indeed many websites' business models are founded on this approach. Of course getting people to sign up for just Uber or Google Express is not a long term business strategy (think pyramid scheme or MLM), because you have a finite number of potential clients, they can sold by anyone, and they can only sign up once. As a result, these activities have limited periods of viability for making money. But there are, I'm sure, a few people left out there who have still not tried Uber or Google Express. I think the coupon is worth giving Uber and Google Express a try--even if you can't be bothered trying to refer anyone else.

Gun ownership definitely does not explain the problem, it is how a small number of folks in Chicago tend to use them (gun do shoot people, people do). Sure if you took everyone's gun away there would be no more shootings. Outlawing guns would stop the gun violence, but business has seen to it the the manufacture and sale of guns will continue unabated. It is not a reluctance to touch on the subject it is just one of the many issues we (or I) have not had time to mention. I'm not sure why you say I'm not aware of measure taking place at the grassroots level. I probably know as much as you do about these efforts if not more. I know local Chicago activists, but they will tell you themselves their activities are not producing the desired outcomes. No one suggested that all of the murder victims were Black, but that is really beside the point, for we know too many of them are Black. Again I said many times this is not a Black problem, but a cultural one, and one that disproportionately impacts poor Black people. I don't mean to suggest that nobody cares. Of course people care. All of us obviously care. The lack of caring is by those in charge, with the power to do something. So no, guns will not be taken off the streets of Chicago because the lives of all those Black victims lives, means less to people that the right to own a gun.

Cynique if the leaders you talk about care, they have a odd way of showing it, given the current situation. As an outsider looking in, I think one could make a strong argument that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is part of the problem. Pioneer I agree with most of what you wrote, but I part ways with you on the vaccinations (but that is a whole 'nother conversation). The problems in these communities are self perpetuating. The positive Black men you talk about usually leave the environment for the obvious quality of life issues with no desire to ever return. Those left behind were raised on music that glorifies violence and the mistreatment of women. They were targeted at an early age by marketers selling them shitty processed, sugary foods, tobacco, and alcohol. So if bullets don't get you diabetes will. We haven't even gotten into corporate takeover of prisons and schools... and this is just the beginning of how business attack our communities. Don't let me get started on all that Twitter has done for us The problems are profound, but not intractable. It will however have to get worse before it gets better.

Cynique, I'll give you an example. When I was a kid, the government literally introduced drugs into the Black community. Black folks became addicted. What was the government reaction? Lock both the low level dealers and the users up for decades or longer with new 3 strike laws. Today white folk here in NY City are ODing left and right. The government's response: decriminalize drug laws, arm police with drugs to police to prevent death from overdose, implement programs to treat the addiction, and launch a media campaign to turn public's perception of drugs addicts from criminals to be reviled, to victims of a disease in need of compassion and help Black people in Chicago's South side know no one cares about them; not the business community, not the government, not even the religious organizations (right @harry brown). If they were treated like people we would not have these conditions. That sound like hyperbole, but it is the reality. When you see it first hand it is obvious. Another example, we know high levels of lead causes brain damage. The idea that a government would poison (or ignore) a water system that serves the Black community shows at best a complete disregard for the people drinking the water. Usually these people are Black, but they always poor. The solutions are simple Cynique. It just starts with treating people with respect and dignity; something Black folks never really enjoyed in the US. Black folks who move to white communities can benefit from the proximity to white folks, while Black folks without the resources to escape the inner city ghettos catch hell. Image getting whacked while pushing a baby in a stroller down the street or while sitting in you home. This is crazy, but it is accepted as the norm....

The categories for our Bestsellers Lists include Fiction, Nonfiction, Children's Books, and Poetry. Unfortunately we did not sell enough poetry to fill the category for this period. Historically, poetry books have sold strongly on this site. Certainly one of the reasons poetry book sales are down is, despite 1000's of pages of content related to poetry, there is simply a lot less engagement on the site connected to poetry. I have not published a poetry book reviews in sometime, the poetry forum is not active, and while poets never really took ads out on AALBC.com, ad sales to poets is probably at an all-time low. This is too bad, because 2016 may be an all-time high for page views on AALBC.com. The only exception is poetry book for children (which I categorize under "Children's Books"); there are book in the series "Poetry for Young People," the book covering Langston Hughes' work sold well enough to make our bestsellers list. Novels on Go On Girl! Book Club's reading list are also prominent on our bestsellers list. Commissions AALBC.com earns from sales of books on Go On Girl!'s reading list are contributed to their scholarship fund, so they have been instrumental in driving sales for those books through AALBC.com. Similarly Brown Girls Books, dominates the fiction list with several bestselling titles due largely to direct support of AALBC.com. Readers, publishers, and authors all win in this scenario--reminiscent of the early days of the web. Prospects for the Black Book Ecosystem are promising!

...more than NYC and LA combined. This is beyond tragic, virtually no one in Chicagoland is untouched by this horror. We live in a culture where we spend more time talking about some gymnast's hair style than things like this, which truly matter. There is nothing in our culture positioned to do anything about this, not "Southside Obama," "I am somebody Jackson," or even The Nation. This is not unprecedented, Chicago's murder rate has been worse. NYC had many years where they topped 2,000 murders. Sure our population is much larger than Chicago's but not that much larger. NYC's solution was to just lock everyone one up. They have all these other theories like "Broken Window," but at the end of the day they put a lot of people away for a long time, guilt or innocence was often not even a consideration. We know how to fix these problems without locking negros up and throwing away the key. No one will make the investment or commitment--not even Black people...

“When brothers say, ‘Let me be the man,’ he’s exposing that he isn’t one.” Thanks VL, I'll have to use this one.

@Trina Jordan, I agree with VL. While I've never written a novel myself I do consider myself an authority on books in the digital space I've been an active user of Amazon since it was invented. There are three main issues here (and I write this for your sake as well as other authors who may also be reading this). It is looks like there were some issues loading your book(s) information in Amazon. Surely the images of the cute little girl alone is not the book cover. How many books do you actually have is it three? You should share the information about your book's description here. There are a lot of reasons for this, but paramount among them is that few people will actually follow the links--save folks a step and describe the book, they can always go your site for more information Speaking of sites, get your own website. Amazon should not be your primary web presence, and if you are going to send people to Amazon--please use an affiliate code. Read this article point #3 to learn how and why: http://aalbc.com/blog/index.php/2013/07/28/5-things-writers-must-do/

I'm still months away from pricing, but I'm thinking the pricing would be a function of budget and goals of the individual clients. Lets talk. I'll follow up after the holiday.

@VL Towler man you articulated that better than I ever could and I agree 100% This is why I struggle to get those in my sphere of influence, the Black book ecosystem, to work together in the manner you described. Slowly I see it happening, if not for anything else--out of necessity.

AALBC.com is curently testing a service where I provide online markting services to authors. The idea is that AALBC.com would work with authors and publishers to help them market and promote ther books on the web. This would of course include promotion on AALBC.com's platform, but it would also include the use of social media, Amazon, Google adsense, and other Black owned websites. This service is an attempt to evaluate and maximize the effectiveness of various online options to give the client the best bang for the buck on the web. @CDBurns, this is the answer to the question you posed several months ago on the Bloggers helping Bloggers forum on what service I can provide, beyond the 30 day and out type of banner ad placing.

AALBC.com is continuing to expand. We are just a few months away from providing book printing services. I'm excited about this because this is one of the final pieces needed to becoming a full service publisher. The other great thing is that I'm working with an established Black owned printer who is producing a quality products at competitive prices. I'm setting up the website now (which is slowing up the AALBC.com upgrade, but it is worth the effort). I also plan on publishing great books that agents can't find publishers for, I'm about a year away from this, but there's some great potential here that I can't wait to begin working on.

Perfect--all the information about the book as well as a link back to your website. If you get a chance I'd encourage you to change the title of the post from "Book Review Request" to something more descriptive and interesting like, "CHANGE OF HEART, a powerful new novel examines the damage done to families." This will not only help with search engine optimization (helping your information appear in queries on this website and and Google), but it will also potentially pique the interest of potential readers who visit this website I've encouraged authors to post information about their books here, rather than emailing me their book review requests. The primarily reason for this is; not only will I definitely read the request, but other potential readers will see it as well. Posting information about the book also imposes a self-selection filter that I find helpful--if an author can't be bothered to share information about their own book on this website, I can't be bothered to pay a book reviewer to review their book. Of course an authors savvy enough to post information about their book here will also be more likely to have their own website and share information about their book's review on AALBC.com after it is published. All of this matters from the perspective of the publisher of the book review. Thanks for sharing information about your book here @NRM.