Troy

“I continue to be much more concerned when it comes to our security with the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattanˮ

Some good news in the Black book world! By the way, ALL of the books Patrik mentions are excellent!

Statistically Facebook, social media in general are majority female. All of the most passionate and aggressive uses I know are women. There is plenty of data to support this. Sure people say things on social media they would never say in person. Often emboldened by hiding behind behind an alias or an avatar, or simply shielded from an in-person reaction. Well Cynique I'm glad that Facebook has not completely driven you away from these discussion forums. While I may disagree with you occasionally I recognize we are different people and therefore MUST disagree from time to time. But you never seem to take if personally the way SO MANY people do--online or off.

A review of David Covin's novel, Prodigal (Blue Nile Press, June 6, 2014) Written by Chauncey Ridley David Covin’s Prodigal is a well-tuned engine of richly resonant, polysemous form firing on all cylinders: a hip, ripping thriller set in the mean streets of Chicago’s Southside and the meaner, grittier streets of an urban Brazilian favela, a moving historical allegory of African prodigals stranded in North and South America by the transatlantic slave trade, and an inspiring chronicle of moral growth anagogically crowned by the homeward trajectory of the prodigal axé or life force of Brazilian Candomblé and its pantheon of orixas. The opening two-thirds of the novel flash back and forth between James Henderson’s criminal career in Chicago and the parallel story of his rebirth as Zhamess, found washed up on a beach in the Bay of All Saints, Salvador, Brazil by a street gang of thieving, scavenging boys from the favela, Liberdade, calling themselves the Wolf Pack. With no passport, no money, no memory of his passage and no idea of where he is, lacking even a phrase book for translation between English and Portuguese, James relives in reverse the trauma of African slaves’ delivery, as helpless cargo, onto the alien shores of the Americas: although his landfall is greeted not by bondage but by the indefatigable Wolf Pack who, despite their own parentless poverty, feed and shelter him in the dangerous favela until his spiritual training begins at the tereiro, sanctuary of Salvador’s Candomblé congregation. Obtuse yet protean, James in Chicago is a complex anti-hero capable of anything, hence, very compelling. For the intrepid Brown Bombers—his Chicago street gang while still in high school—the stresses of fight, flight, and crime are relentless. After dropping out of high school, his tireless work ethic and good looks fuel his meteoric success as a small time racketeer. Amoral yet sentimental, salacious yet artistic, by twenty five he is rich, running for his life from more powerful and murderously efficient racketeers, and grateful to surrender his entire bankroll to stowaway aboard a cargo ship going anywhere, only to be pitched overboard to drift with the incoming tide off Salvador, without a pause in the ship’s course further south. That opening two-thirds of the novel is fast-paced with riveting action scenes, and it rewards rereading for its subtly interwoven foreshadowings of the novel’s spiritual outcome. The final third of the novel is more contemplative. The current of narrative slows yet deepens and widens as James/Zhamess penetrates the closed worlds of the favela and Brazilian Candomblé, learns the history of the transatlantic slave trade which he never learned in Chicago schools, and rediscovers his lost identity as the prodigal son of Yemenja, orixa of rivers and the “Ocean sea:” whereupon, he commits himself to the itinerant mission of bearing witness, throughout the shores of the Atlantic, to the homecoming of Candomblé to Dahomey, to his own homecoming, and to the redemptive life force suffusing all descendents of the African slave diaspora. The novel’s epiphany illuminates not only that pan-Atlantic axé or life force but also North and South American prodigals’ widely varying degrees of awareness. At one extreme of awareness is James in Chicago. Before his transformation, he is even more oblivious of his exile than the Wolf Pack of the favela and no less a product of his sordid, urban, North American environment than Bigger Thomas of Richard Wright’s Native Son. At the opposite extreme, the priests and priestesses of Brazilian Candomblé yearn homeward to Dahomey, having prepared for generations to return and be recognized as offspring of Yoruba theology. Hence, the necessary first leg of James’s Atlantic odyssey is from Chicago to Salvador, where he transforms into Zhamess in preparation for his enlightened voyage home to Africa, not to stay, but to reclaim his heritage and highest purpose. There is nothing at all self-abnegating about Zhamess’s spiritual enlightenment. Transcendent, not as God is transcendent, but by virtue of his final commitment to the enlightenment of all prodigals, he remains a muscular, vigorous individual: “. . . . Exu - opened the gateway - and brought me through – into this world. “I don’t remember a thing about the gateway. . .. “. . . [Yet,] I know the gateway in a way the iawos [Candomblé initiates] do not. When the orixas step into this world through the iawos, it is the orixa’ who is here –who speaks, who dances – not the iawo. But with me . . .. I – have come through the gate – and I act in the world.” (Prodigal 249) If Zhamess is an aspect of the Candomblé Word made flesh, then Covin’s Prodigal is its printed, sacred text. Unique, immersive, action-packed, morally redemptive and spiritually uplifting, it merits wide distribution and serious critical attention. ___________________ Also read a review written by AALBC.com's Robert Fleming

Chris I agree with both of you points.. I'm going to add Cynique's analysis of social media to the eNewsletter I'm writing right now. I agree it is an explanation that is sourced from wisdom an experience. When I was a kid my mom spent hours standing in the hallway or on the phone gossiping. One thing I learned was that men who "gossiped" or watched soap operas were considered punks. Even to this day I can't bring myself to watch more than one episode of Scandal--it is just a glorified soap opera (plus watching the powerful sister lose her mind over a married white boy is a complete turn off). Yeah I know that is old school and guys can now gossip, wear two earnings, arch their eyebrows, sit at the hairdresser a getting a fancy do, wear colorful shoes, watch Scandal, whatever.... I just was not raised that way. I would however disagree with one aspect of your assessment of social media Cynique There is accountability. Indeed quite a lot of real world drama is caused by someone posting the wrong photo or writing the wrong thing. Indeed the repercussions are often exaggerated as information spreads much more quickly and is virtually impossible to remove once it is out. Jobs have been lose and marriages have ended over Facebook. Indeed, "Two-thirds of the lawyers surveyed said that Facebook was the "primary source" of evidence in divorce proceedings,"

Requesting Your Support of the Twelfth National Black Writers Conference and Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Center for Black Literature Dear Friends and Colleagues: As you are aware, we are actively promoting the Twelfth National Black Writers Conference: Reconstructing the Master Narrative. This year marks a significant year for the Conference for we are also celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Center for Black Literature at the Conference and we are hosting a special program that pays tribute to and celebrates the writer and Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. I am writing with the hope that you will support our Conference by attending and by strongly encouraging your students to attend. You may Register Now for the Conference Our conference honorees include Maryse Condé whose historical novels represent the experiences of people throughout the African diaspora; Walter Mosley who has produced texts across many genres including crime fiction, speculative fiction, mystery and politics; poet, journalist, and biographer, Quincy Troupe whose expansive body of poems, essays and biographies vividly capture the American experience ; Nobel prize laureate poet and playwright Derek Walcott whose powerful poetry reflects the complexity of the Caribbean experience and poet, artist and institution builder Margaret Burroughs, co-founder of theDuSable Museum in Chicago, an institution developed to preserve and interpret the experiences and achievements of people of African descent. We will acknowledge their accomplishments and contributions at our Awards Program which is free and open to the public on Saturday evening, March 29, 2014 at 6:00 pm. We pride ourselves on the fact that our conference is a public gathering of writers, artists, students, professors and the general public. CSPAN will be covering most of the programming on Saturday and Sunday and we encourage you to attend the panels on “Race, Power and Politics,” “Maintaining Cultural Legacies,” “Shifting Identities in Africa and the African Diaspora,” “Reconstructing Historical Narratives,” “Saving Ourselves, Saving Our Communities,” and “The State of Publishing. You can also network with writers and lovers of literature and participate in our “talkshops” on the craft of writing. Our Poetry Café, which is free, will be at the Central Brooklyn Public Library from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and will feature Jessica Care Moore, Tony Medina, Edward Mabrey and emerging writers. You can also view the literary films sponsored by African Voices/Reel Sisters; and attend the concert on Friday night featuring pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs and recording artists and poets Dasan Ahanu, Tai Allen, and Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets. We are also very excited to host a special evening on Friday, March 28 with Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. For this historic program, poet and playwright Derek Walcott will be joined by the Trinidad-born poet Mervyn Taylor and St. Lucian poet and producer Adrian Augier to participate in a program titled “The Search for Self in Caribbean Literature: Past, Present, and Future.” The conversation will focus on Walcott’s writing life and explore the themes of identity, memory, belonging and spirituality in his work and in Caribbean literature. The program will take place at 6:30 p.m., on the campus of Medgar Evers College, 1650 Bedford Ave.; the donation for this program is $10.00. You may register here. I would also like you to support the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Center for Black Literature which will be held at 7:00 pm on Saturday evening, March 29, 2014. This is a fundraiser for the Center and if you cannot attend, please make a contribution. Tickets for the fundraiser are $100. You may make reservations online. This will be a festive evening for writers and supporters of the Center. We will also honor former Councilman Al Vann and pay tribute to the late Congressman Major Owens and to the late writer, activist and poet Amiri Baraka. Thank you for supporting our Conference and Center and for participating in this historic event at Medgar Evers College. I have also attached a press release for the Conference. Sincerely, Brenda M. Greene, Ph.D. NBWC Director, 2014

This past weekend I added an event in which the work of Black, lesbian, feminist, mother, warrior, poet Audrey Lorde was celebrated by Angela Davis. The celebration also included a tribute to Esther Copper Jackson, a clip of which is shown below: Copper was the co-founder of the magazine Freedomways: A Quarterly Review of the Freedom Movement and served as the magazine's managing editor for the 25 years the magazine was published (1961 until 1985). Freedomways was an influential quarterly magazine that featured the the writings of Kwame Nkrumah, John Henrik Clarke, W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr., Paul Robeson, Alice Walker, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin and many more. The magazine also featured the art of Jacob Laurence, Romare Beardon, Elizabeth Catlett, and others. While the magazine is referenced on AALBC.com a few times I was unfamiliar with it and was anxious to share the information with others. After running a few queries online I discovered to my surprise that Dr. John Hernik Clarke was prominently involved with the magazine from the start serving as the editor for the better part of two decades. I was very surprised Clarke's involvement with Freedomways was never mentioned that evening, I then discovered an interview Dr. Todd Burroughs did with Dr. Clarke in 1992 about his involvement with Freedomways. In it Dr Clarke say Freedonways was responsible for his becoming blind!

OK Chris. There was one interesting post on Facebook regarding this book. This is an excerpt. The kinda of thing that used to be posted here, back in the date :-) The published documentation contained herein was obtained from the Carnegie Institute of Learning, presently known as "The Carnegie Institute of Technology." The following is a partial of the slave ships owned by Jews: 'Abigail' by Aaron Lopez. Moses Levy and Jacob Franks. 'Crown' by Isaac Levy and Nathan Simpson. 'Nassau'by Moses Levy. 'Four Sisters' by Moses Levy. 'Anne & Eliza' by Justus Bosch and John Abrams. 'Prudent Betty' by Henry Cruger and Jacob Phoenix. 'Hester' by Mordecai and David Gomez. 'Elizabeth' by David and Mordecai Gomez. 'Antigua' by Nathan Marston and Abram Lyell. 'Betsy'by Wm. DeWoolf. 'PoUy'by James DeWoolf. 'White Horse' by Jan de Sweevts. 'Expedition' by John and Jacob Rosevelt. 'Charlotte' by Moses and Sam Levy and Jacob Franks. 'Caracoa' by Moses and Sam Levy. Slave-runners, also owned by Jews were the 'La Fortuna', the 'Hannah', the 'Sally', and the 'Venue'. Some of the Jews of Newport and Charleston who were engaged in the distillery or slavery trade, or both, were: Isaac Gomez, Hayman Levy, Jacob Malhado, Naphtaly Myers, David Hart, Joseph Jacobs, Moses Ben Franks, Moses Gomez, Isaac Dias, Benjamin Levy, David Jeshuvum, Jacob Pinto, Jacob Turk, Daniel Gomez, James Lucana, Jan de Sweevts, Felix (cha-cha) de Souza (known as the 'Prince of Slavers' and second only to Aaron Lopez), Simeon Potter, Isaac Elizer, Jacob Rod, Jacol) Itodrigues Rivera, Haym Isaac Carregal, Abraham Touro, Moses Hays, Moses Lopez, Judah Touro, Abrtham Mendes and Abraham All. Of some 600 ships leaving the port of Newport, more than 300 were engaged in the slave trade. A typical cargo of one ship, 'La Fortuna', was 217 slaves which cost about $4,300 and sold for $41,438.00. Only about 10% of the slave ship captains were Jews, not wanting to subject themselves to the rigors of the 6-month journey. They preferred to stay at home and continue their distillery operations which continued to supply rum and whiskey to the Indians for many years at a very great profit. REFERENCES DOCUMENTATION Elizabeth Donnan, 4 Vols. Documents Illustrative of the History of the Slave Trade to America, Washington, D.C., 1930-1935. "Carnegie Institute of Technology," Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Adventures of an African Slaver, by Malcolm Cowley, 1928. Published by Albert and Charles Bori, New York. The Story of the Jews in Newport, by Rabbi Morris A. Gutstein. The Jew Discovem America, by Cthmar Krainz. The International Jew, by Henry Ford. The Plot Against the Church, by Maurice Pinay. Protocol for World Conquest, 1956, by The Central Conference of American Rabbis. Behind Communism, by Frank L. Britton

CD which book will you promote? I would like to read if. I would also like to help you with the marketing strategy -- at least the online component. Maybe put a few heads a few heads together to think about a strategy that leverages what we can do collectively. Hit me up troy@aalbc.com

Yeah CD, many writers, including the most successful, write to a formula. They do parts two, three four, and then we also have to content with all the copy cats. The entire romance genre is formula driven. This is just how the industry works -- especially for us. The problem with all this sequels and copy cats is that it crowds out creativity and diversity. So when the first sista-girl novel hit we had to deal with several years of that. When street-lit started poppin' we had to deal with years of it almost to the exclusion of everything else. Again white folks have much more variety coming our of mainstream publishing. Sure self-published authors publish a variety of titles, but it is almost impossible for these books to find an audience as very few of them have any real money for advertising or promotion. Foreign born Black writers seems to be big right about now. They cross over more readily than Black American writers and are reviewed more frequently. Here is another comment about this book (sort of) "We were not aware this was just a money making venture, we love and read books and have book clubs of our own of which we buy all together from one source. If you want to make money and also black writers, send out a few FB posts highlighting recommendations for Book Clubs." Funny people have no problem if Facebook makes money. I'm also not sure why this person believe I don't share information about books that would be appropriate for book clubs.

LOL! I know, I know, no one want to read that stuff. Honestly I'm tried of trying to explain it and will probably eventually go back to focusing on myself -- besides it is the American anyway. Though I will share another Also, are you following the recent discovery in cosmology? Described as the greatest scientific discover... ever! Discover of the Higgs Boson pales in comparison.

http://aalbc.com/tc/index.php?/topic/2587-plug-in-to-this/?p=10802. I've been spending quite a bit of time, energy and even money trying to promote other business that promote and uplift Black people. This has been an UPHILL battle. Remarkably I've gotten more resistance than support. If I can't make anymore progress than I have in 2014. I think I will just join the fray; tell everyone to visit me on Facebook and start promoting books like, Why Every Black Woman Should Marry a Jewish Man. I post books information on Facebook almost daily. It takes a few seconds and brings a handful of people to the site, so I do it. Of course, all of positive stuff generates very little interest. But as soon as I start sharing information about something dumb, like this book (just my opinion), people start sharing, making comments and even questioning my commitment to Black folks. The cash register is ringing! Of course Facebook knows a winner, they see what up and prompted me to buy an advertisement to spread the "good news" more widely. My Why Every Black Woman Should Marry a Jewish Man post was performing better that 95% of all my other posts! It is SO much easier to promote this stuff. Sometimes I ask my self why don't I stop struggling and promote the stuff people ACTUALLY want to engage. People love controversy, they love negativity, they love scandal, they love stupidity, mix in a celebrity or two and you have a profitable business. I'm not just saying this--I have 17 years worth of data to support it. Sorry this had nothing to do with Jewish men scooping up the sistas. But I will leave you with one quote from Facebook: "The only people responsible for the disrespect of black men, is black men. Pants sagging, video game playing, 5 baby mama having, 40 drinking thugs. No thanks, duvorced [sic] my black husband in 2003, exclusively been w white men since and they treat me like a Queen." You go girl! Peace, Troy

I caught these ladies at a local library on Wednesday

Del, I presume you mean a new relationship. I was not aware that you were out of your other relationship. In any event, I'm sure it is all good. Congratulations.

Wow! I'm sure it will be an interesting read Cynique--better than the first. Funny though I don't have a clue what you are talking about regarding the people or the shows. I have heard of Steve Harvey, of course, but I have never seen his show. I have seen Maury's show (I think) wasn't;t he the one doing that paternity tests: "(fill in the name) you are the father!" That that was a long time ago. Is he still on?

Del! I trust all is well. I wish Feynman was alive today to to see what he could come up with knowing what we know about particle physics.

EPIC 5-HOUR CIVIL WAR SERIES SHINES NEW LIGHT ON CRUCIAL WESTERN THEATER & ROLE OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND GIVES POWERFUL INSIGHTS ON AMERICA AS A NATION—THEN AND NOW Narrated By Elizabeth McGovern, Featuring Top Historians & Rare Access to Original Battlegrounds for Authentic Cinematic Recreations New Series Premieres Nationally on Public Television Beginning April 2014 NASHVILLE, TN [March, 2014] – Civil War: The Untold Story is a visually stunning and absorbing new 5-hour documentary series that breaks new ground by examining the war through the lens of the Western Theater - battles in the strategic lands between the Appalachians and Mississippi River. Narrated by Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey) the series premieres nationally on public television stations beginning in April 2014 (check local listings). Rather than revisit the oft-told stories of the battles of Bull Run, Antietam and Gettysburg in the eastern states of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, this gripping and comprehensive new series instead tells the stories of Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Atlanta, and other battles in lands then known as “the West.” Many historians believe that the Western Theater was where the war was won – and lost. In addition to the epic battles, Civil War: The Untold Story provides new insights into the relatively unknown roles African Americans played in the conflict – from enslaved to emancipated to soldier. Filmed in a sweeping cinematic style, Civil War: The Untold Story painstakingly recreates the battles of the Western Theater in a thoroughly authentic manner. Many scenes were filmed on the very grounds where these epic battles were fought, which add to the sheer magnitude of history felt throughout the films. The series also uses state-of-the-art 2D and 3D graphics, fascinating archival imagery, and incisive expert commentary by Civil War historians and scholars. Timed to coincide with the 150-year anniversary of the pivotal “Campaign for Atlanta,” the series also chronicles the presidential campaign of 1864 in which Abraham Lincoln was nearly defeated. In many ways, Civil War: The Untold Story can be considered a prequel to Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.” Within the story of the Western Theater, the series highlights the causes of war, the home front, the politics of war, and the impact of war on Southern civilians and women. The authenticity of uniforms, voiceovers and scenery, makes it seemingly impossible to distinguish this modern adaptation from the actual war so many years ago. Civil War: The Untold Story is produced for public television by Great Divide Pictures, which, in addition to numerous cable television documentaries, has created more than 25 films shown in National Parks Visitor Centers around the country. The series is sponsored by Nashville Public Television and will be distributed to public television stations nationally by American Public Television (APT). “The film is not just about who we were then. It's about who we are now," said producer Chris Wheeler. “In a nation arguably as divided today as we were 150 years ago, Civil War: The Untold Story is a compelling, relevant program that we believe will strike a powerful chord with Americans today.” Interspersed are compelling on-camera interviews with some of America’s top Civil War historians – including Allen Guelzo, Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College; Peter Carmichael, Robert C. Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies at Gettysburg College; Amy Murrell Taylor, Associate Professor of History at the University of Kentucky; and Stacy Allen, the Chief Historian at Shiloh National Military Park. Episode 1 – Bloody Shiloh With the 1860 election of anti-slavery candidate Abraham Lincoln, thirteen states from the South secede and form the Confederate States of America. Union military leaders, along with Lincoln himself, realize that ending the rebellion rests on controlling the Mississippi River. In February 1862, Union forces, led by an obscure general named Ulysses S. Grant, establish a foothold in southern Tennessee near a simple log structure known as “Shiloh Church.” On April 6, 1862, a Confederate force of over 40-thousand, led by General Albert Sidney Johnston, launch a surprise attack on Grant. The fighting in the hellish terrain surrounding Shiloh is some of the most brutal of the entire war. By day’s end, victory is in sight for the attacking Confederates. But Johnston has been struck in the leg by a bullet, and bleeds to death in 20 minutes. The death of Johnston is a harbinger of a great change that will soon sweep over “Bloody Shiloh.” Episode 2 – A Beacon of Hope In the disaster at Shiloh, Union General Ulysses S. Grant sees victory. On the night of April 6, 1862, Grant’s beleaguered army along the Tennessee River is reinforced. The next morning, Grant’s counterattack leads to victory. The defeated Confederate force of 40-thousand retreats south to Corinth, Mississippi. At Shiloh, the Confederates lose arguably their best opportunity to change the outcome of the war. The shocking combined casualties of 24-thousand men is more than in all the wars fought to that date in the United States. Many of the nearly 4 million slaves across the South see the war as an opportunity to seize their own destiny. Thousands of escaping slaves, dubbed ‘contrabands’, seek refuge with Union forces advancing into the South. At Corinth, Mississippi, the Union army sets up a ‘contraband camp.’ The former slaves begin building a community that includes a school, hospital, and church. As thousands of slaves flee northward, the question asked all over America is this: are they still slaves or are they now free? In a cottage overlooking Washington DC, Abraham Lincoln begins drafting a “proclamation” whose message will boldly answer that question. Episode 3 – River of Death Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation does not only free slaves in the rebelling states. It changes the war from one of reunification, to one of ending slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation also gives African Americans freedom to fight. By war’s end, some 200,000 will enlist. In truth, Lincoln’s proclamation is an empty promise without the power of the United States Army to enforce it. In 1863, Ulysses S. Grant begins a campaign to take Vicksburg, Mississippi, a Confederate citadel overlooking a strategic section of the lower Mississippi River. In May, Grant begins laying siege to the city of 4500. Mary Loughborough is one of the many terrified civilians who have dug caves into the hillsides for protection. Clutching her 2-year old daughter, Mary “endeavored by constant prayer to prepare myself for the sudden death I was almost certain awaited me.” On July 4, 1863 – the day after Pickett’s disastrous charge at Gettysburg – the Confederates surrender Vicksburg to Grant. With the Mississippi River now under Union control, the campaign moves eastward to Chattanooga, Tennessee, a rail center that Lincoln considers to be as important as the Confederate capital of Richmond. Eight miles south, along the Chickamauga - a creek the Cherokee call “the river of death” - Union and Confederate forces clash in what will become the biggest battle of the Western Theater. Episode 4 – Death Knell of the Confederacy September 19, 1863. The first day of the Battle of Chickamauga ends in a bloody draw. On the next day, the battle is determined by one of the biggest blunders of the Civil War. Miscommunication, confusion, and fatigue with Union General William Rosecrans and his generals have left a gap in the Union line more than a quarter mile wide. James Longstreet’s force of 11,000 from the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, pour through the gap and split the Union army in two. Rosecrans and his beaten army escape to Chattanooga. Chickamauga’s combined casualties of 34,000 are only topped by the carnage at Gettysburg. In October, Rosecrans is replaced by U.S. Grant, who immediately plans an offensive. In November 1863, Grant routes the Confederate stronghold just outside Chattanooga. As they escape southward into Georgia, a Confederate officer calls the devastating defeat: “the death knell of the Confederacy.” Episode 5 – With Malice Toward None In the spring of 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman’s force of 100-thousand men marches from Chattanooga toward Atlanta, Georgia, the industrial hub of the Deep South. Twenty miles north of Atlanta, Sherman’s army is soundly defeated at Kennesaw Mountain. Sherman’s defeat combined with Grant’s stalemate in Virginia, enrages a Northern electorate already weary of war. The presidential election is in November, and Abraham Lincoln’s chances for a second term are dwindling by the day. The Democrats nominate George McClellan. The party’s platform calls for a negotiated peace with the Confederacy in which slaveholders will be allowed to keep their property. If McClellan is elected, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation will almost certainly be struck down. Though victorious at Kennesaw Mountain, the outnumbered Confederate Army falls back to a defensive position at Atlanta. After 6 weeks of bloody conflicts around Atlanta, Sherman wires Washington: “Atlanta is ours and fairly won.” For the first time in the war, many in the North now believe victory can be achieved. Eight weeks later, the president defeats McClellan in a landslide. After the election, Sherman begins his March to the Sea. The largely unopposed march across Georgia to Savannah is a psychological blow to the Confederacy, and a stunning conclusion to the Western Theater. About Great Divide Pictures: The series is produced and directed by Chris Wheeler of Great Divide Pictures (greatdividepictures.com). For more than 20 years, Great Divide has been producing award-winning historical documentaries including: How the West Was Lost, Our Time in Hell: the Korean War, and Godspeed, John Glenn which was narrated by Walter Cronkite. Additionally, Great Divide has recently produced Visitor Center films for more than 25 National Parks, including Shiloh National Military Park, Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Military Park, and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. About American Public Television (APT) has been a leading distributor of high-quality, top-rated programming to America’s public television stations since 1961. In 2010, APT distributed nearly half of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles. Among its 300 new program titles per year are prominent documentaries, news and current affairs programs, dramatic series, how-to programs, children’s series and classic movies, including For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots, A Ripple of Hope, Rick Steves' Europe, Newsline, Globe Trekker, Simply Ming, America's Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Lidia's Italy, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, Murdoch Mysteries, Doc Martin, Rosemary & Thyme, The Rat Pack: Live and Swingin’, Johnny Mathis: Wonderful, Wonderful! and John Denver: The Wildlife Concert. APT also licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service. In 2006, APT launched Create® – the TV channel featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming. APT is also a partner in the WORLD™ channel expansion project including its web presence at WORLDcompass.org. For more information about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org. For more information on Create, visit CreateTV.com. About Nashville Public Television: Nashville Public Television, Nashville’s PBS station, is available free and over-the-air to nearly 2.4 million people throughout the Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky viewing area, through its main NPT and secondary NPT2 channels, and to anyone in the world through its stable of NPT Digital services, including wnpt.org, YouTube and the PBS video app. The mission of NPT is to provide, through the power of traditional television and interactive digital communications, high quality educational, cultural and civic experiences that address issues and concerns of the people of the Nashville region, and which thereby help improve the lives of those we serve.

Here is a link to Keoni's book: http://aalbc.it/triumpbook

It looks like Amazon is raising the price of their prime service to $99, but it is still available for $79 for a year. Click this link for a 30 Day Free Trial (This is an affiliate link I get $2 if you do the free trail). I don't personally recommend things unless I use it or actually support it. I have been a prime member for a few years. On one hand I complain that Amazon is essentially the only place left where you can buy a Black book and on the other hand I suggest, and use, a service that feasts the beast exacerbating the problem. A hypocrite, I know. Fighting the Amazon's, Googles, and Facebooks of the worlds is a uphill, thankless, and frustrating battle. The old line, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em is just so much easier. That said, Amazon Prime provides me with two main benefits; (1) free shipping. Now Amazon does not always have the best prices for a given product, but few offer free shipping which is a big deal if you make a lot of purchases online; and (2) The free streaming movies is something I use quite a bit. You also get a bunch of free Kindle titles But I have actually never taken advantage of this feature after years of review, I'm see now that I prefer Physical books.

Really! Did you actually get to meet your grandfather? I just find it so fascinating that a person could enslave their child. The was one story related above when a former slave described how he was treated much better than his other siblings, also children of the salve holder, because he looked white, he was still enslaved, but he was a house negro has opposed to being forced to work the field. Cynique, I ran a search for your Granfather: Elijah Donaldson Merrill That was the only result.

The Twelfth National Black Writers Conference I know I'm preaching to the choir when I say this is one of this nation's premier events. They have hosted two of the three of the Black Nobel Laureates. Wole Soyinka of Nigeria, the first black person to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1986) Derek Walcott of Saint Lucia won the Nobel in 1992 and will be honored and will attend the 2014 conference and participate in several events. Toni Morrison, the only Black woman to win a Nobel Prize in 1993. She attended and was honored by the Center for Black literature in 2012

This is just powerful. If you have not seen this or read these stories check it out now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnQqSlWHHgQ Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives is a riveting compilation of more than forty narratives drawn from interviews with former slaves conducted in the 1930s by the government's Works Progress Administration. This book is an adaptation of HBO's documentary special for 2003 (the video above). From slave auctions to emancipation, the narratives trace the extraordinary experiences of lives spent in slavery.

Cynique when you spoke about Neil Degrass Tyson in it made me think of Richard Feynman. He is just a fascinating dude.

That first paragraph was cute. Wikipedia is effectively Google or rather Wikipedia is Google's biotch. You probably would have enjoyed this film: PARTICLE FEVER. I saw it in the theater on Friday. It was more heavily weighted on the Human interest aspect of the experimentalists and theorists. I was hoping it would explain more of the science. In the end it was pretty interesting. One thing I did notice My wife and I were the only Black people in the theater and there were no Black folks in the film

Mzuri, glad to see your name pop up! Thanks for the kind words :-)