Troy

Richard, as we speak I'm in the process of redesigning AALBC.com. It will take me many months of effort, and will be a much improved website, but there is nothing on my drawing board that will be fundamentally transformative, or earth-shatteringly different, about what I'm doing on the website. I think the most powerful thing I can do is to actually get Black writers to take advantage of the platform. It sounds so fundamentally basic, but authors underutilize this website. Thumper's corner is a great place to showcase one's work, but too few authors recognize this. Even those that do post info about their books don't do so ineffectively. Here is an example from today you can see the difference between what the author posted and what I posted on their behalf. This took all of 5 minutes and you just can't post anything close to this on social media. So if I can get authors to just take advantage of the website, that would be the most transformative thing I can do :-) Richard do you have any ideas on how to more effectively deliver positive content? So far all of the ideas I see coming from large corporations are not doing the job. Indeed their solutions seems to be not to bother trying--at least as it related to Black folks

Akia, please don't worry about offending anyone. Feel free to express your opinions and what you believe. That is one of the purposes of this forum. Of course there will be folks who will disagree with you and what you believe to be true, so by the same token you can't be offended when that happens. In fact sometimes you can learn from it. As far as Black women and their hair. I think Black women spend far too much time, energy and money on hair. I actually believe if is a form of exploitation, because as Chris (CDBurns) mentioned we do not benefit financially from this. I was talking to may wife yesterday and she was telling me about all of the African-American owned beauty salons that have gone out of business in Harlem. Some Black men have fallen into the hair trap as well--sitting in a beauty parlor getting their hair processed, braided, dyed--sheesh! Today I shave my head. I used to hate going to the barbershop. It just seemed like a big waste of time. I know Brothers who spend an hour or two in a barbershop every week,k just to get their hair cut. I used to go one a month, which is really pushing it. Now I shave my head every 5 days or so, saving a ton of money and time. But I have never been one of those brothers fixated on my hair, or clothing. I don't even wear jewelry. So I know I'm not typical and my opinion about hair, in general, is in the minority. I watched the first few minutes of the video and the subjects bores me. I'm not interested in the subject at all. Again I know I'm in the minority. I spoke at a Blogger conference earlier in the year, it seemed like 75% of the blogger (virtually all women), blogged about hair, or fashion....yawn

Akia, I (and maybe others here on this forum) can answer some specific questions. Creating a successful website depends on what you have to work with. Do you have; (1) a lot of free time, and energy; (2) financial resources; (3) technical expertise, and; (3) the ability to write well? You'll need at least two of those things to get started.

Yeah I see where Herbert “Rap” Dixon, was an outfielder with the Negro Baseball League... Glad you enjoyed the events Akia.

Well you might be right, Chris but many people feel, and I'm in this camp, that Lee's site popularity (and by contrast this site's much less popularity), is more a reflection of oppression than a contributor to it. Lee says his first site was a porn site. Mine was a site to help people learn about computers and the web. Lee gets awards from BET. BET has not covered me since they became white owned.Lee has become very wealthy. I have to teach on the side to make ends meet.Clearly our people place a much higher value on what Lee does than what I do. But why is this true? I think part of the reason is that we still suffer the effects of a couple hundred years of enslavement, followed by a century of legalized oppression followed by another 50 years hyper-incineration, forced into impoverished ghettos, subjected to inferior education, etc. It is a small wonder why we are not more dysfunctional that we already are. For example, today I watched the car cam video of that sister pulled over in the texas; ignoring the fact that the video was edited, I completely understand the woman's frustration. Sure she made matters worse by giving the cop grief, and no she did not deserve to be treating the way she was, but we literally live in a country where Black people can end up dead for failing to signal a lane change! Worse still, BET, the socalled "Black Twitter", music companies, and many of our other most popular websites reinforce all of this... So while I appreciate 50's and Meth's anger, it is like a drug dealer complaining when some drug addict smashed the car windows to steal quarters from the ash tray--this is the environment they help facilitate--facilitate, but not create. We know drugs were deliberately dumped into the Black community by the government. We know the government helped create the ghettos most of us live in. So while a 50 Cent havesome culpability we can't blame 50 for creating the environment, which elevates him to such a status that he is on talk shows, stars in movies and has become very wealthy, anymore than we cam Blame Lee for taking advantage of our dysfunction for a payday. If it were not them it would be someone else. I guess we need to create an environment where the demand for drugs and celebrity gossip is much less than the things that might feed us intellectually and spiritually.

Hey Del, yeah it seems pretty clear Bill did some very shiesty things with women, using his celebrity and drugs to take advantage of them. My position that the social media fueled media exaggerated the claims, and were sloppy with the facts, making Bill seem more guilty than he was. I still would not be so quick to throw an inportant brother (any Brother) under the bus because of media acussations. My suspicion that these allegations, coming to light now, after 40, 30, 20 years is no coincidence. But it does not seem likely this will ever be proven, bcause this poition is relatively extreme--admittedly fringe consipricary theory type stuff. But I would not put anything past very powerful people. On a related topic. Dr. West who, I have come to admire, really disappointed me by trashing Ta-Nehesi Coates. The statement I found on his facebook page which I have copied here, really forces me to rethink my opinion of Dr. West. But, honestkly it will take more than one crazy statement to obilerate a life time of service.

Cynique, we really do need the voices of the past, for perspective. Your self-described "2-cents" is priceless. One day I will have the resources to encapsulate your wisdom in such a way that more people can benefit from it. "People like what they like" is a point I'd like to explore. I agree people like what they like, but they can only like something they know about. Even if they are aware of something it may take some effort on their part before they can begin to appreciate it. Imagine someone who would potentially gain a lifetime of enjoyment from the card game Bridge, but they were never exposed to the game and only learned to play War. Sure they'll have fun playing War but how much deeper and fun would their card playing experience be if they learned to play Bridge. Our ignorance of what is available is constraining our experience. Corporations are not interested in providing us with depth--that cost more money to create But I will take it a step further, the very nature of the way the web works make us believe anything more profound that War is a waste of time. If you introduce Bridge to a War player, they won't even be interested in learning the more difficult game. They have become so arrogant in their ignorance that the refuse to believe that the extra effort required to learn the game of Bridge is worth their energy. Corporations have figured out that people prefer (find it easier) to look at pictures and videos, so words are diminished in favor of these visuals--so this is what we get. But how much less are we learning as a result? How much less rich is are our experiences? I find Twitter boring because it is, by necessity, shallow. However this shallowness has become the very nature of the web,. We have been conditioned to believe that no one wants to or will invest the energy required to write, or even read, something longer than a few words. A picture is worth 1,000 words right? Corporations in an effort to maximize revenue drive this mantra particularly as it pertains to content targeted to Black people. White people have the same pressure, but they enjoy a more diverse set of websites that speak to and reflect their culture and images. Black people have whatever white folks find most profitable to provide. Sadly the most profitable Black owned websites have follow the same lead. Yesterday a new contributor to the forums, Gabe stated on the conversation "The 10 Best Damn Black Websites Period!" I just posted a new conversation about this website here.

I just refreshed my list of the top Black Owned Websites, a list I maintain on huria.org. In another conversation on this forum, a visitor wrote that the number one website, currently Worldstarhiphop.com,"...is for the children." In reality, the website is designed for adults, and is currently the #1 Black owned website. I rank websites based upon Alexa rankings, an admittedly imperfect metric, but is all I have and is better than nothing. Worldstarhiphop.com is essentially a gossip site that posts embrassing vidoes of celebtrities, public brawls and the like. The founder Lee "Q" O'Denat, the founder of Worldstarhiphop.com. WSHH has been voted the "top hip hop and urban culture website" by BET four years in a row (see 2012 winners). Obviously BET has no interest in giving awards to book sites LOL! In the video below Lee speaks about his rise to prominence. Method Man says he hates Worldstarhiphop and Bossip. Which are two of the top 5 Black owned websites. You can't get better promotion than this. Hey Meth, why don't you publically diss AALBC.com a drive some traffic my way too :-) I agree with Method man. I don't believe because people happen to be famous that it is cool to put all their personal business in the street. Gossiping formerly the purview of stay at home moms has become a multibillion dollar industry. And gossip is seemingly the only way Black folks can make money on the web. 50 Cent expresses his anger with Lee "Q" O'Denat. While I was aware of the website, learning about it when I complied my list of the top websites, I was not unaware of the founder Lee "Q" O'Denat. Given that he is a extremely successful website owner, a Black man, and from the same city as I am, you would think we'd know each other. We don't. I fact, I don't know very many other Black webmasters. Sadly, I work in effective isolation learning everything on my own... but I digress. Lee's worldstarhiphop.com is no different, really, than MediaTakeOut, Madam Noire, Bossip, or BET all of which are in the top 10 on my list. I initially compiled the list to see, among other things, what type of content the top white owned sites, that targeted Black people, produced. Of course celebrity scandal ranks way at the top. Interestingly, the most successful Black owned websites produce the same type of content. White folks may bring cocaine into the the Black community, but we are the ones selling it to each other. In the words of Method Man's own group, the Wu-Tang Clan, C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me). While he may hate worldstarhiphop.com and Wendy Williams, I'm certain he understands them.

Despite debuting with mixed reviews, Go Set a Watchman brakes records by selling 1.1 million copies in less than two weeks. From the publisher From Harper Lee comes a landmark new novel set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird. Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—"Scout"—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one's own conscience. Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor, and effortless precision—a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context, and new meaning to an American classic. Troy's note: Here is the promotional video for the book. The most interesting part to me is the b-roll of the manufacturing process. You can even buy the The Harper Lee Collection: To Kill a Mockingbird + Go Set a Watchman (Dual Slipcased Edition) Hardcover – Deckle Edge.

Yo, whats new man? Did you go to the Harlem Book fair on Saturday?

Now Still a Pygmy this sounds like a very interesting story. I've embedded the video linked above below and provided a direct link to the book on amazon (with affiliate code applied): http://aalbc.it/stillapygmy This book will be in my next eNewsletter :-)

I'd encourage all authors to use affiliate links when sending readers to Amazon. Read this article, 5 Things Writers Must Do To Survive Online to learn why. Not to pick on this particular author, because she is becoming more typical; apparently she does not have a website, and is sending people to Facebook instead. I believe this does more to help Facebook than it does to help her efforts. The author is sending people to Amazon directly, again, rather than her own website. But even worse she is sending them to Amazon without even taking advantage of the affiliate program. LeTressa, if you ever come back to this website, here is a cleaner link you can use to send people to Amazon: http://aalbc.it/daughtercrynomore Someone should be getting a cut of that sale--while Amazon is still offering commissions. If you use the link I provided AALBC.com will earn the commission. Thanks for sharing information about you book here--I give you a big up for that :-). But you can provide much more information. I've added your book cover. This does not have tpo be the drive-by type of post one does on social media. We are actually here to learn about good books and to support writers. :-)

Brother Yao, thanks for coming here from Facebook. I really do dislike engaging on Facebook simply because it cannibalizing my efforts here and those of others who run indie content sites. You've been a soldier in this fight longer than most; I appreciate your support and wisdom. Interestingly the conversation was launched by Ishmael Reed. Despite his rhetoric on the platform he too has fallen into the trap that is Facebook. All of Ishmael Reed's terrific contributions, which I could never afford to purchase, are freely given to Facebook! Reed's contributions and many other like his concentrate power with Facebook which of course makes them richer and more effective at killing their competition--and all other websites are Facebook's competition. In exactly the same way the Huffington Post got many of our brilliant writers to write for free, in exchange for the priveledge of being on the Huffington Post, making Ariana millions while sites like AALBC.com had to PAY for the same writers. Today Black writers all say friend me on Facebook and follow me to Twitter. Facebook get tons of FREE promotions many writers barely mention their own websites. Increasingly many don't even have a website. Do you think Ismael Reed would ever write, "check me out on AALBC.com?" He knows this site. Image if an Ishmael Reed only posted here, instead of Facebook. What would happen? Would his contribtions fuel AALBC.com efforts and allow me to continue to do an even better job of selling an dprmoting Reed's work? Would it help the Black book ecosystem as a whole? I think Black writers, in their own self interest, should stop giving Facebook free content. OK lets assume content distribution is the alternative to the bookstore. I don't agree with the premise because I don't think they are mutually exclusive (it is not an either or proposition, white folks have both). The problem with using Facebook as a content distribution platform is that we do not control what or how that content is distributed. I've observed over the years, as an active Facebook user, that while my "fans" have quadrupled, my engagement has gone way down --even with promoted (paid posts). Basically Facebook has created a platform that costs increasingly more to get to reach people. As far as engaging with actual readers it is far less effective than a simple newsletter. I appreciate you asking what you can do to drive more traffic here. Well by posting here you've already done that Brother--thanks! If you initiated and joined in our conversations occasionally, and encouraged other to do so. I could not ask for more.

Kwame, you are right below I added a link an excerpt to the article your referenced from The Atlantic which is worth reading in its entirety. When asked about policy for African Americans, the president has said, "I'm not the president of black America. I'm the president of all America." An examination of the Obama administration's policy record toward black people clearly bears this out. An examination of the Obama administration's rhetoric, as directed at black people, tells us something different. Yesterday, the president addressed Morehouse College's graduating class, and said this: This clearly is a message that only a particular president can offer. Perhaps not the "president of black America," but certainly a president who sees holding African Americans to a standard of individual responsibility as part of his job. This is not a role Barack Obama undertakes with other communities. Taking the full measure of the Obama presidency thus far, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that this White House has one way of addressing the social ills that afflict black people—and particularly black youth—and another way of addressing everyone else. I would have a hard time imagining the president telling the women of Barnard that "there's no longer room for any excuses"—as though they were in the business of making them. Barack Obama is, indeed, the president of "all America," but he also is singularly the scold of "black America."

Kwame, thanks for sharing your sentiments.

Claudia Alexander, was the NASA scientist who oversaw the dramatic conclusion of the space agency's long-lived Galileo mission to Jupiter and managed the United States' role in the international comet-chasing Rosetta project, which recently landed a spacecraft on a comet moving through space at more 84,000 mph, died July 11 at Methodist Hospital of Southern California in Arcadia. She was 56. (see LA Times story). Claudia also authored several children's books. "She wasn't famous, although she spoke often to the public and was eloquent and impassioned whenever she did so. She was highly respected by basically everyone who met her, as far as I can tell. She was an extraordinary talent, a committed scientist and but most of all this warm and generous and intellectually curious and energetic person who greeted everyone with a big smile and always had time to talk about whatever you were up to, even as she was busy doing super important things like, oh, running the Galileo mission at its spectacular finale, or being in charge of the U.S. contribution to the Rosetta mission (yes the one that just landed on the comet, the orbiter part anyway). And apparently she was in the first 20 African Americans to graduate with a PhD in an astronomy/physics related field too. It is a shattering loss. I'm not posting this to seek personal sympathy but instead to remind you all -- especially this week as a spacecraft flies past Pluto -- that exploration is a human endeavor and it lives and dies by the people who put their life's work into it, people who largely remain invisible but who leave an indelible mark on our understanding of the universe regardless. And people whose stories will be lost if we don't tell them." -Janet A. Vertesi, Asst. Prof. of Sociology at Princeton University. (More) Question: What advice would you give to someone who wants to take the same career path as you? Claudia Alexander: When deciding on your career you should be aware of the balance of work, personal satisfaction and financial rewards. In the early days of my career I would compare notes with an attorney friend of mine, and I found that each of us were working the same long hours, but she was making about three times as much money as me! Loving your work can sometimes be as important as how much money you make. As a woman it is really tough to make the balance of family time and science work successfully. You have to decide if you want to spend most of your time working at the expense of family time! Having the right partner is an important part of deciding on that balance. Read the full Q&A More on Claudia Alexander, from the Black Community

Well Malcolm and Martin came from and worked within Black organizations. West and Dyson came from Academia, which never served Black people. Sharpton and Jackson, while they have their own organizations, those organizations are dependent upon and serve at the largess of white folks. Coates as was Baldwin are writers, not organizers. The reason Malcolm and Martin were so effective is besides being eloquent speakers, they came from Black independent organizations who worked more to help Black people, rather than enriching themselves. We don't have those types of organizations any more.

I'm beginning to wonder what percentage of the Black community are aware of this, or have read the article the "The Case for Reparations." I teach a class of adult learners this morning and I will ask them. I get the impression that less people are aware of this than we might assume, because we talk about it so much. The other thing about the video is that 75% of the people in Contract Buyers League, ultimately lost their homes. Still many were able to keep them and get legitimate mortgages as a result of the effort. I doubt anyone today would take that kind of risk, knowing the odds. It is always "safer" to keep quiet, don't ask any questions, and do what you are told.

I just read an article "Cornel West Delivers Blistering Takedown of Ta-Nehisi Coates—Michael Eric Dyson Responds" in The Observer which referenced this Facebook post (shared below) which was apparently made by Cornel West. However you feel about West's comments that fact the Facebook (and other major media) will use this to enrich themselves irks me. The very idea that a Cornel West and all of the intellectuals and so called intellectuals who chose to comment and feed into this frenzy irks me to no end --shesh. To Ta-Nehisi's credit he has stayed out of (and above) this social media crap. Further despite Morrison's compliment, Coates, himself, has never elevated himself to the level of James Baldwin. West's assessment of Coates, in my opinion, is unduly, unnecessarily, inaccurately harsh. Paul Coates who I just wrote about above was a Black Panther. This is the sensibility under which Ta-Nehisi was raised. I think West knows this, or he should. I do know West is keenly aware of Coates profound article "The Case for Reparations." West can't reasonably describe anyone with the intellect, sensibility, and desire to write the "The Case for Reparations" in the manner he has. My initial reason was that West's Facebook account was hacked. If anytime is to be taken from West critique it is that fact that we do indeed live in an "...age of superficial spectacle..." and we do "...we all hunger for the literary genius and political engagement of Baldwin." All of this can be true without tearing down Ta-Nehisi. I also get why Dr West might be frustrated. If you consider the example I initially described; whose genesis is grounded in the fact that a successful and important book about the challenges of the Black community, completely ignored the web's largest and oldest website dedicated to Black books. So while books like this are produced the likes of an AALBC.com continues to struggle, and the Black book community, as a whole continues downward spiral. Books are a great start, as the educate and inform, but something much more profound needs to change. All of the arguing on Facebook simply enriches Facebook, while Black owned properties are collapsing. West message of a need for a people's movement was completely lost, by the white noise he generated. ------------------------------- By Cornel West In Defense of James Baldwin – Why Toni Morrison (a literary genius) is Wrong about Ta-Nehisi Coates. "Baldwin was a great writer of profound courage who spoke truth to power. Coates is a clever wordsmith with journalistic talent who avoids any critique of the Black president in power. Baldwin’s painful self-examination led to collective action and a focus on social movements. He reveled in the examples of Medgar, Martin, Malcolm, Fannie Lou Hamer and Angela Davis. Coates’s fear-driven self-absorption leads to individual escape and flight to safety – he is cowardly silent on the marvelous new militancy in Ferguson, Baltimore, New York, Oakland, Cleveland and other places. Coates can grow and mature, but without an analysis of capitalist wealth inequality, gender domination, homophobic degradation, Imperial occupation (all concrete forms of plunder) and collective fightback (not just personal struggle) Coates will remain a mere darling of White and Black Neo-liberals, paralyzed by their Obama worship and hence a distraction from the necessary courage and vision we need in our catastrophic times. How I wish the prophetic work of serious intellectuals like Robin DG Kelley, Imani Perry, Gerald Horne, Eddie Glaude commanded the attention the corporate media gives Coates. But in our age of superficial spectacle, even the great Morrison is seduced by the linguistic glitz and political silences of Coates as we all hunger for the literary genius and political engagement of Baldwin. As in jazz, we must teach our youth that immature imitation is suicide and premature elevation is death. Brother Coates continue to lift your gifted voice to your precious son and all of us, just beware of the white noise and become connected to the people’s movements!"

This video was posted on the Atlantic's website as part of Ta-Nehisi Coates's cover story, "The Case for Reparations." While I shared and read this 16 thousand word article, I missed the attached video. I missed the video because I printed the article a read it offline. After using a program to strip out all the images and ads; the article was still 24 pages long. I just don't like reading articles this long on a screen--consider me old school (I know I'm not alone). I don't think I was the only one to missed the video. The version The Atlantic posted on YouTube was only viewed 1,900 times and it was posted last May, this is a remarkably small number of views given the prominence of this article. So just in case you missed the video, I've shared it belong. If you somehow missed the reading the article, "The Case for Reparations" (consider it required reading) you may follow this link." When Clyde Ross, Mattie Lewis, and Ethel Weatherspoon settled in the West-side neighborhood of North Lawndale, they hoped to achieve the American dream of owning a home. At the time, however, federal policies known as redlining prevented blacks from getting real mortgages, forcing them to buy from real-estate speculators "on contract." The contracts, homeowners soon discovered, turned out to be a scam. In this short documentary, Ross, Lewis, Weatherspoon, and a community organizer named Jack Macnamara recount the story of how they formed the Contract Buyers League and fought back. With the millions of people, who lost their homes during the last home mortgage crisis, caused by predatory lending, which disproportionately effected Black people; nothing was done. The most recent housing collapse was NO DIFFERENT, that what we see depicted so poignantly in the video above. What was different, however, was the fact we did nothing about it in the most recent episode. In fact, we were being robbed blind without even knowing about it. Of course the subsequent Federal Government bailout, using our money, rescued the criminals when their ponzi scheme collapsed. Still today most of use are none the wiser.

I consider Paul Coates, Ta-Nehisi's father a mentor. He really is a deep, conscious, and passionate Brother, who influences many by example. I was speaking to him yesterday, asking for some help on an unrelated issue, and naturally the conversation turned to Ta-Nehisi and his phenomenal success. I thought about this post. Actually, I regretted sharing my feelings here, and almost deleted the post after I made it, but I decided not to remove because the reality is; it often is between me and the world, or at least it feels like it is. I mean think about it, here we have a book like this and Black book platforms (at least AALBC.com) is not on the leading edge in the promotion or marketing... well you see me point. I expressed my frustration with Paul, who of course completely understood where I was coming from and actually took some responsibility for it. While I was frustrated with an entire system which results in the exclusion of an AALBC.com in the promotion/marketing of this book, Paul actually took on personal responsibility (did I say he was a great man). At any rate, he gave me additional insight in the process which helped me understand why these things happen and he said he would call the publisher and see that I'm contacted when the big promotional push starts in the fall. While it feels like it is me against the world, it never really was. If there were no one in my corner AALBC.com would have failed long ago.

Obviously, this is just another way to attract Prime subscribers. Who is going to see this film in theaters when it will be available online in a few weeks. Spike gets paid and Amazon gets more Prime subscribers no matter how bad the film is. We, the easy marks, get stuck holding the bag. Funny of all the Spike Lee films the NY Times slammed, the 2015 film Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, which did about $5 at the box office, was left overlooked, as it was by everyone else. I guess as Hollywood continues to focus all of its money on movies derived from comic books, serious filmmaking for the large screen will increasingly become a thing of the past. Needless to say Black filmmakers will be hurt the most.

Lisax please post information about your book. Describe it or explain readers here be interested in it.

In the wake of all of this Black readers, authors, and business professionals have suffered the most from all of this. The adverse impact is hard to see unless you look at the situation collectively, because individual successes cloud the picture. In my almost 20 years in the Black book business here is what I've observed: Black people will buy the lowest cost book. Sure there are a few exceptional, conscious consumers who see the bigger picture, but they are exceedingly rare. We will watch Black owned bookstores, even Black owned websites, disappear to save a few bucks. All the while failing to realize by not investing in these Black owned business you relinquish control to folks who don't give a damn about you other than your money. But more importantly control over our very culture is handed over the these very same folks. I have plenty of anecdotes. Here is one from the National Book Club Conference a few years ago: A couple of sisters proudly told me how they did not buy books from the bookseller at the conference (who also owned an indie brick and mortar store), because they were able to buy the books more cheaply at the BarnesandNoble down the street! This is what I mean by individual success. The readers saved some money but the cost is one less Black bookstore. The bookseller was Brownstone Books which had two stores in Brooklyn, NY. Brownstone Books closed a few years ago (I never even told the owner that story). Here on AALBC.com and on my Power LIst website, I have sold books every way possible, but people only buy from Amazon (not even B&N). I'd be willing to bet, though I don't have actually data to support it, that better than 75% of all books Black people buy, that was written by a Black person, was purchased on Amazon. I say this because B&N and the white independents carry very few Black titles (a Target will probably carry more). Since we don't have very many Black owned independent stores, and many of those remaining to carry don't a large inventory of new books, our options are limited. Amazon is literally the only place most Black people can go to buy a book written by a Black author. Of course not every Black reader is active online, where do these readers go to buy a new book written by a Black author? I won't even address the issue of how quality books are discovered today, given our collective unwillingness to support the platforms that cover Black books. AALBC.com is very fortunate, but certainly not immune. The depressed Black book ecosystem does not allow AALBC.com to publish as many book reviews as I would like. Indeed where else (serious question) does one read critical reviews of new Black books? Black writers have been be so cut off from traditional publishing everything Amazon offers is welcome relief to these writers. There will be a never ending supply of authors for Amazon to publish. This is particularly true when Amazon is willing to publish anything whether regardless of quality or commercial viability--they still make money on the process, not unlike a vanity press. This is a success of the individual author. But the cost to the reader is a sea of books uncurated and impossible to sort through to find the ones worth reading --despite Amazon's biased reader reviews and algorithms. Unfortunately individual success are what make this entire situation impossible to change from the consumer or writer's side. So approaching the Justice Department seems like the best tactic. But given the likelihood the Justice Department has been brought off, this tactic seems doomed to failure as demonstrated by Apple's efforts. The only real option would be for the big 5 to cut off the direct supply of books to Amazon. But given these are all publically traded companies, the financial hit is one they will not be willing to take. So we can look forward to watching Amazon exert increased influence over publishing, and COMPLETELY control over the Black book world.