Troy

The 2014 NAACP Image Award Winners and Nominees for Literature were perhaps the best crop of books ever nominated. For years we used to complain about the poor quality of the nominees for these awards. Now that the book are good there is no one around to talk about how this list has imporved :-)

This video shows highlights of the African American Pavilion at Book Expo America from 2006. BEA is the country's largest trade show for the publishing industry. The African American Pavilion is no longer part of Book Expo. I exhibited in the Pavilion in 2006. Heather Covington wrote quite a bit about the Pavilion that year. You will see coverage of Black Issue Book Review Magazine, where Ken Smikle, then the new owner, announced a merger with Target Market News. Black Issues Book Review stopped publishing the following year. Faye Childs, CEO of BlackBoard Multi Media Entertainment, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the African American Pavilion. In 1991, Childs created a list of top best selling books by African American authors called the Blackboard Bestsellers. This is the list that Essence picked up, then discontinued. Our, one-year-old Power List is an effort to keep a national bestsellers list going. Childs also announced the publication of the BlackBoard National Provider (The BNP), the first African American daily newspaper. I have no clue if any issues were ever published beyond what was show that day. Wendy Williams blew up. Terrie Williams expanded on her efforts to raise awareness of mental illness in the Black community. Cheryl and Wade Hudson continue to promote children's literature and literacy, at this point, for over 25 years. The Hudsons really deserve more recognition for their work, particularly since the number of children's books by and about people of color, published in the U.S., has been on the decline for the last few years. George Fraser continues to fight for Black empowerment. Relentless Aaron, was busy setting the standard for slinging books back then. I actually owe the Brother a call. Max Rodriguez still runs the Harlem Book Fair, 2014 marking its 16th year. Like everything else, it has changed too. I was still growing AALBC.com back in 2006 it was several years before the site's peak (in terms of traffic). I still had a full time job back then--please don't ask me how I did it. I think I just slept a lot less. I also had a lot more money back then too, which of course help. It was in many ways an easier and more exciting time for the Black book world. A lot has changed since those 8 years. Today I more time trying to figure out how to get out from under using social media and exploit our own resources, than I do creating content. I won't bore you with another Google/Facebook rant While today's environment is much more challenging, there are many more potential and new opportunities. Troy Johnson (Founder, AALBC.com), Ken Smikle (Publisher, BIBR), William E. Cox (Founder and Publisher Emeritus, BIBR), Angela P. Dodson (Executive Editor, BIBR), Tony Rose (CEO, Amber Books), Wade Hudson (President Just Us Books), Clarence V. Reynolds (Managing Editor, BIBR) The following was written by Tony Rose co-founder of The African American Pavilion at BookExpo in March of 2014: THE ORIGINAL MISSION STATEMENT AND HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PAVILION AT BOOKEXPO AMERICA AND AMBER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.'S AFRICAN AMERICAN PAVILION AT BEA. - 2004-2013 The African American Pavilion at BookExpo America was founded in 2004 by Tony Rose, Publisher/CEO, Amber Communications Group, Inc.; Niani Colom, Associate Publisher, Genesis Press; and Adrienne Ingrum, Associate Publisher of Black Issues Book Review. THE MISSION STATEMENT: African American Publishers and Writers bring African American stories to our community and the world. despite obstacles and resistance, our publishing partnerships with authors and book retailers set African American Culture at the forefront of the book publishing industry. The exhibit spaces will showcase African American books, authors, products, and publishers. There will be great opportunities to learn, share, educate, sell and network making African American books a vital, visable, part of the over 115 + years of the BookExpo America/American Booksellers Association. BEA is a showcase for the book publishing industry. As one of the largest book trade exhibits in the world, BEA provides Independent African American book publishers, self-publishers, authors, black interest imprints at major publishing houses, distributors, literary agents, publicists, librarians and bookstore owners with exposure to more then tens of thousands of book buyers and book sellers from across the globe. Prior to the existence of the African American Pavilion at BookExpo America, almost every genre of books, except those by African Americans had provided a unified exhibit presence at the BEA, we decided to fill that void. The first ever African American Pavilion at BookExpo America, began in 2004 as a coordinated effort by Amber Communications Group, Inc., Genesis Press and Black Issues Book Review. The mission was to make the leading industry event for book publishers a more cost effective and efficient way to present and sell African American titles. The pavilion has had many success stories provided through licensing, sales, distribution and business opportunities. A three booth pavilion quickly became a consorted effort of hundreds of exhibitors, over the years, to showcase the African American culture of book publishing. Our companies are independently owned and operated. We generate millions of dollars in book sales and fuel one of the fastest growing categories in the book publishing world The African American Pavilion stands for more than just a united face of exhibitors, it is the voice and power of African American Book Publishing.

Sankofa was a top selling DVD for 2013 I'm sorry I missed this post. I was previously unfamiliar with Halie Gerima's work. Here is interviewed by UCLA Film & Television Archive Director Jan-Christopher Horak after a screening of his film TEZA (2008).

Yes this should help reduce the number of folks locked up and the length of their sentences. Black folks will be happy until crimes, fueled by illegal drug use and activity, begin to increase in our neighborhoods again.

Richard I don't know what the title should be, I just know the trailer turned me off from having any interest in seeing the film. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Drugs are increasingly becoming a scourge on upper-middle class white neighborhoods. Of course these children will not be sent to jail at the same rates Black children are. Indeed, much of the conversation now has now switched to treatment and prevention and an elimination of the harsh minimum sentencing lawws now that white kids are doing drugs like Heroine and Crystal Meth at greater rates than Black kids,

Here is a 2005 article from Black Enterprise about Hue-man Bookstore. Hue-Man came to life in August 2002, when Rita Ewing, 39, Celeste Johnson, 35, and Clara Villarosa decided to open a bookstore dedicated to African American authors. Ewing, ex-wife of former New York Knick Patrick Ewing, established a partnership with Johnson, wife of NBA star Larry Johnson. Armed with an M.B.A. and 22 years of experience running a computer firm, Allen became a full partner in 2004 and today handles Hue-Man’s day-to-day operations. In 2004, the company brought in $1.2 million in revenues, and expects the same amount for 2005. Little did they know at the time that they were building what would become one of the largest African American bookstores in the country, in one of the largest African American communities nationwide. At the grand opening on Aug. 1, 2002, rapper Jay-Z, singer Stevie Wonder, and actor Wesley Snipes attended, with poet Maya Angelou providing a special dedication. Interestingly, I was not invited to attend the opening celebration. I lived walking distance from the store, and was prominent in the Black book community. Still, I was excited about the opening. I planned to do a lot of collaborating with store. That collaboration never happened. It was a lost opportunity not just for the store but for the Harlem community. Others I knew simply ignored the store, feeling, understandably, slighted. The store's opening attended by celebrities to the exclusion of many local community book people rubbed me the wrong way, and was reflective of the attitude of the store and explains why so many felt as Nah'Sun described, ""

I stumbled across this conversation looking for something else. I have a long conversation with Clara Vilarosa recently (in 2014). The Hue-man story would make a fascinating documentary. The rise and fall of Hue-man is almost a perfect mirror of Black folks relationship with books and publishing. Ultimately Clara left Hue-man and Marva Allen took over Hue-man Bookstore's operations. Here is her side of the Hue-man bookstore, in Harlem story. Our most profound problem in publishing is lack of ownership. We own almost nothing -- not even the stores to sell our own books!

Chris one correction to your point about who profits from uploading a musician's music to Google's YouTube: Sure the person who uploads the video makes money but Google makes the lion's share from that video upload, as well as the millions of others that were uploaded in the same fashion. THAT is why Google facilitates--no encourages the pirating. But people don't care as long as they are getting the free music. No one thinks it through. Gregory Porter remains obscure and P Diddy is almost a billionaire. Yeah I was like, "Damn! What else is Chris doing and why is he being so low key about it?" Of course I was into the lyrics. Again it was the question the initiated my post. Was that Chris Brown in the video? I see there are other artists creating these lyrics like this but for a multitude of reasons they never reach a large audience. I guess your story is just one many examples Chris. Cynique, I asked OhSoCoy to comment here and to ask her pals to do the same. She eagerly agreed. I can see now that OhSoCoy even created an account. But obviously she has not commented. I don't know why. As a side bar, I'm growing tired of asking people to comment here. It is another one of those chores that contributes to making running this site less fun. The crazy thing is that commenting here was one way authors made a name for themselves -- this discussion board is still read by influential people. People like Kola Boof recognized and exploited this fact to the max. Other authors benefited without knowing. For example, during the national Black Writers Conference a Brother who has been industry for decades expressed concern about our very own CDBurns opening a bookstore. The person never commented here but the comment made was indeed noticed by a prominent figure in the industry. I still plan to mention this conversation in the eNewsletter I just don't know the angle yet. Of course the conversation would have been more interesting if one or more of the young artists in the video contributed.

Kam just reviewed this film. He gave it 4 stars. I'm sure it is a OK documentary, on some level, for most folks. But the trailer simply made me nauseous. In the trailer a young white woman, one of the subjects of the film, just got on my nerves. I'm sure I will not watch the film.

BookTV aired all of the panels from the National Black Writers Conference. You may find the videos here: http://aalbc.it/booktvnbwc

Another interesting book on Race: The Myth of Race/The Reality of Racism: Critical Essays by Mahmoud El-Kati

Another interesting book on Race: The Myth of Race/The Reality of Racism: Critical Essays by Mahmoud El-Kati

Read this article for some background “Come hell or high water, Tribes will exist.” – Steve Cannon The Friends of Steve Cannon: A Evening of Poetry and Jazz In Celebration of A Gathering of the Tribes & An Incredible Man A National Poetry / Jazz Appreciation Month Benefit for A Gathering of the Tribes Hosted by Mariposa, Frank Perez & Sheila Maldonado Featuring: Jesus-Papoleto Melendez, Melanie M. Goodreaux-Fielder,Stephanie Agosto, Dusty Rhodes, Ron Kolm, Danny Shot, Tsaurah Litzky, Bonafide Rojas, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Patricia Spears Jones, Paul Beatty, Eve Packer, David Henderson,Bob Holman, Sophie Malleret, Bonny Finberg, Howard Pflanzer, John Farris, Willie Perdomo, Anyssa Kim, Jill Rapaport, Thaddeus Rutkowski and others Wed, April 23, 2014 @ The Nuyorican Poets Cafe 236 E. 3rd St. (Pedro Pietri Way) Bet Aves. B & C http://www.nuyorican.org/ Doors open 5:30pm Show 6pm – 9pm ADMISSION: $20 at the door / $15 in Advance, Students & Seniors $10

Cynique, in reaction to your interest in hearing what the younger generation thinks I've asked OhSoCoy to join the conversation and invite some of the other poets in the video to do so as well I agree it would be interesting to read their perspective as well. Obviously Chris I agree with your assessment on the type of conversations that happen on Facebook. I would also add the issue of who owns the platforms where our conversations take place. It makes a difference on many levels. I just purchased Robert Glasper's Black Radio Again I could have downloaded the album from a bunch of sources. I don't really understand how Google (youtube) can get away with posting the entire album, making it freely available to anyone who wants it. Of course, they are not alone in pirating music, but it seems to me a major corporation would ensure they don't do this. I guess Google figures it is better to make money off the music (But if I have to look at the guy twirling that pizza again I'm gonna kill someone). Perhaps Blue Note Records (Glasper's record company) don't mind their music being freely available. Free publicity, sort of like the radio. When I was a kid I used to wait for a song to be played on the radio so that I could record it on my tape recorder. I guess technology just make it easier to do the same thing today. It would be interesting to see how folks like Glasper make money. I purchased the album (the music files) from iTunes for $5.99. In 2014 you almost feel like a sucker since, seemingly, most people just download the music for free.

@Cave (love the name btw). I completely agree with your point: "As far as Jazz, is less of a marginalization as it is access , distribution channels, education, and of course cultural changes" But man your description of the lack of access is the very definition of marginalization. For example, I simply was not exposed to jazz until I was in college. No one listened to it at home, none of my peers listened to it or talked about it, I did not hear it on the radio (did I say I grew up in Harlem?). I was still discovering the music well into my 40's. I clearly remember the first time I heard Nina Simone's I was at a Jazz Festival in Amsterdam and they were playing Feeling Good I was like wow-- who is that?! later after discovering I Put a Spell on You, MIssissippi Goddamn, etc , etc. I was just floored I could live a lifetime in the U.S. and not be exposed to Nina Simone. It sound strange to say this but Jazz in the U.S.is marginalized as well as poetry. Literacy is being marginalized right before my eyes. Would anyone here classify the video that kicked off this conversation as hip-hop?

Highlights from the As The Pages Turn Book Club's Literary Luncheon Fundraiser held Saturday June 28, 2014, at the Chateau of Spain Restaurant, in Newark NJ. As The Pages Turn Book Club of Newark Literary Luncheon Fundraiser Saturday June 28, 2014, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Donation $30 Chateau of Spain Restaurant 11 Franklin Street Newark, NJ 07102 Confirmed Authors include: 2014 NAACP Image Award Winning Author Pamela Samuels Young (Keynote), RM Johnson, Eva Tremains, Sadeqa Johnson, William Frederick Cooper, Pat G'Orge-Walker & Al Saadiq Banks Plus AALBC.com's Founder, Troy Johnson, will be there too! A day filled with great authors, food, fun, raffles & vendors Contact Kelly 973-985-6845 or Tahitia 862-371-7779 for tickets or email the club at asthepagesturnbookclub@comcast.net www.asthepagesturnbookclub.com Discover more great events in our Events Section

Hi Chiya, I followed the link and honestly the content on the facebook page looks spammy. By that I mean I start getting never when I read copy like, "$3,859.19/day" or "Automatic $500 a Day from FREE Traffic!" Now I have to admit it is executed quite well in fact the way you linked to Youtube with the "videos?sub_confirmation=1" on the URL is a slick way to boost subscribers, a technique I may use :-) The other issue is that there is no content on the facebook page you have to click shortened URL to actually see what you are selling. The shortened URL hides the domain of the destination website which makes me doubly nervous.

Hi Philip, Leonce is a friend of the site and I often recommend his books. We reviewed both Bourbon Street and I Dreamt I Was in Heaven - The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang. Regarding donating to your cause. I did not donate because for a couple of reasons. One reason was described quite well by Chris. I also took the time to look at your campaign, your website and social media. The other reason is that I have limited resources and can't financially many projects of people I know and whose projects I believe in. This is not to say that your project is unworthy of support in my eyes. It also does not mean that I don't and can't support you in non-financial ways. Also don't take Chris' advise lightly or discount my offer--both are just as valuable as a financial contribution, if you chose to take advantage of them. Running a magazine like Black Issues Book Review is just plain hard and does not generate a lot of money. That is why it has not been replaced. Finally, BIBR was not the only game in town. There are other magazines reviewing Black books. One that I happen to support financially is Mosaic Literary Magazine. The Magazine is run by a not-for profit organization called the Literary Freedom Project which is run by Ron Kavanaugh. This magazine was in print before BIBR and is still being printed today. I suggest you read the masthead of BIBR and contact the people that used to run the magazine and write for it. Virtually all of them are still in the industry and may be easily found online. If you wanted to do something really interesting you could write about BIBR and why it folded. It would also given you some additional insight into what it takes to run a publication like.

A Backpack Journalist's View of Teaching for Change's Busboys and Poets Bookstore If you have never been to Busboys (several locations in the DC Metro area), it is well worth checking out.

Dude take your time we are not going anywhere and I've been in the dark about good new music so long another week or month or two will make little difference. (for Cynique)

Hey Philip, critical reviews of Black books are sorely needed. The loss of Black Issues Book Review was a big deal in my book. If you read anything I've written over the last few years you know that I consider the loss of BIBR just one of a great number of losses adversely impacting the Black book ecosystem. Keep us posted on your progress. Once you start publishing I would be glad to share information about your publication. What have you read lately that you really like? In fact if you post your your opinion, in a paragraph or two, about a recently published or soon to be released book. I'd be glad to share it in my eNewsletter and use that as an opportunity to mention your kick starter campaign.

Hey Chris if you get a sec answer Cynique question, "Are there examples of hip hop music other than rap, - renditions that will be distinguisable from R&B?" It is an interesting question. I know terms like R&B don't mean very much as they are purely marketing terms, but I would be hard pressed to describe some form of music that did not include rapping as hip-hop. Conversely I would image any form of music that did not including rapping could very easily be called something else. Looking forward to your list Chris. The last thing I brought was Gregory Porter and that was some time ago so I'm looking forward to hearing some good contemporary music. Kalamu ya Salaam and his son used to do an interesting Blog called Breath of Life. Each week they would write about new music, old music and a cover: http://www.kalamu.com/bol/ it was discontinued over a year ago Cynique, I would have never guessed that is why you used emoticons so liberally. While I know people have perceived you as hostile in the past, that is more a reflection of them than you. I would rather you risk being taken seriously than too lightly. Seriousness should not be confused with hostility either I guess I grew up online during an era when "hostility" was more frequently dished out. People were less likely to mince words. Today people would find that offensive.

Funny Chris I just requested a Playlist on another conversation. I'm sure Cynique, myself and many others will appreciate the list.

Chris you should cobble together some music recommendations (actually you recommended enough to go with already) that I could publish in the website--maybe I can even pay you something or barter in return. I of course would doll it up with buy links album covers etc, etc.