Troy

Waterstar the reasons will never be listed. What you will find will be a list of anecdotes and speculation. The subject is apparently unworthy of study... However the economy is probably more of a factor than one might assume. In Harlem the unemployment rate is 50%. Even those that have jobs are not making a lot of money. Despite the numbers of Black folks in Harlem, there may not have been a large enough numbers of potential Black book buyers. The problems Hickson describe are complex and can be viewed differently was from different perspectives. The "water man ice is colder" is a very profound problem. I could write a book about it. Here is an example from a few minutes ago: A Black writer emailed me asking me to "like" articles they published on the HuffingtonPost, imploring me how important it is to get "likes". I almost did it to support the writer. But I decided against it. If HuffPost ever supported AALBC.com in any way I might consider it. If the writer wrote for me for free and promoted it so aggressively I would consider liking the HuffPost articles. I'm not even going to visit the HuffPost site -- let alone "like" the article. It occurred to me to explain to the writer my position but I decided against that too cause I know the person was doing this to promote their work. But when folks bend over backwards to get a HuffPost byline and promote it when they do. All this does is uplift HuffPost -- more so than even the writer. HuffPost has sucked up Black Voices then marginalized it. They have the support of all the major media -- all the benefits that accrue to majority businesses. This is what makes a HuffPost's ice colder than an AALBC.com's. This is an issue across the board.

Hi Cheryl tell us about your book: http://bit.ly/broken-bones

As you can probably guess Cynique I would take no joy in sitting out the next election, though I'm sure I would be able to breeze right through this time compared with 2008. The whole world does not have the problems the US has our problem are not universal they are typically western. These values are unfortunately be exported globally so it seems as if the problem are universal. We have all the resources to fix what is wrong. I'm not saying make it perfect, but if can be a whole lot better than it is -- and in our life time. Universal health care can be made available, throwing Black men into prison for bullshit can stop tomorrow (how about throwing Wall Street criminals in jail for a change?) Quality, free education, including college or vocational training for all can be made available. A more rational tax system can be put into place. Environmental and food safety can be enforced. These are not hard things to do. I'd imagine most people would be interested in having these things too. But it will never happen in the current system - the incentives are all wrong. Politicians only do what is right for themselves often at the expense of everyone else. Few seem willing to compromise their individual wealth and power. Ones principles are open for compromise and are only important to the extent that they leverage additional power. We call this flip-flopping nowadays, if used to just be called lying. People who are principled, speak the truth and sincerely want to make positive change are unelectable. Those who are able to win are the very ones least able to do anything of substance.

This is the best "bang for the buck" position on the AALBC.com website. This adverting unit appears on virtual every AALBC.com webpage. It is also the largest ad available for a book cover AALBC.com. In fact, it is the largest book cover ad I've seen anywhere. Visit: http://aalbc.com/advertise_on_aalbc_book_sponsor.html for more information.

Well said, but I'm not sure the distinctions between the white and Black Christian democrats are all that stark. Sure the descriptions you used fit the prevailing stereotype. Both parties and races play this game with religion speaking as if they are devout Christians just because it sounds good. They are all hypocrites, neither practicing or actually believing in what they preach. Their very behavior reveals this fact. Each party supports a cause or idea in so far as it advances their own political positions. There is no true leadership in this system. The whole thing and the people in it disgust me, seriously.

HEY! I like that the character's name is Troy. You don;t think that he names are a coincidence, do you?

Cynqiue for the sake of argument; you think Black Democrats, in contrast to Republicans, are able to separate their religious beliefs from their civic ones? As far as Democrats treatment of women Hillary should have cleaned Barack's clock in the democratic primary. And the democrats did a pretty thorough job portraying Palin as a complete idiot, indeed they seemed to take a perverse pleasure in doing so. I'm a registered democrat ONLY because I wanted to vote for Barack in the democratic primary here in NY. Before that I was a registered independent. The independents typically support Nobody.

Without looking at wikipedia (not that I think wikipedia is the definitive authority on every subject). Here is my guess: stars = number of states 13 stripes = number of original colonies red = blood shed for independence blue = the sky over the new land white = the color of the people who took over the land

Well Cynique, I'm going to vote for your candidate, Nobody. Nobody is also not influenced by powerful monied interests that actually control our government for their own selfish ends. Nobody will actually overtly support Black people because we have been overtly oppressed for hundreds of years by this nation. Nobody will not have robots flying into other countries killing innocent people... I appreciate that my voting for Nobody will anger a of of Black people who hold the holier than thou attitude that if you don't vote you somehow sully the memory of those that died to give you the right. Please! Black people failing to vote is the LEAST of our problems. Besides I'm accustomed to doing a lot of things many Black people don't do. I live in a firmly Obama district/city/state so my vote won't matter one way or the other. But even if I thought my vote would sway the election one way or the other, Nobody will still get me vote.

Hickson, I hear you man. I can see from comments, all over the place, your opinion is shared by many. Here are the comments I left on the PW website: Hickson what do you think of Sisters Uptown Bookstore 1942 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10032

Writergirl, most people I know who hard read Perfect Peace tore through it. It may not be your cup of tea... be sure to let me know what you think when you are done -- start a different conversation though.

I listened to the interview this morning thanks for sharing -- as always. Toni responses were not controversial at all. I'm sure, for example, she is capable of giving answers to questions about the Black church's reaction to same sex marriage rather than going off on some tangent about polygamy.

"The real heroes are, indeed, the trailblazers and innovators and justice seekers who persevere, endeavoring to make a difference in the world, as opposed to achieving fame and accolades." WORD!

Well Cynique I too read more about Zoots suits to help me form a conclusion about their significance in the story. I'm curious too. So while Morrison leaves it up to the reader to divine the significance of the Zoot suited character I think an additional page or two could have saved the reader some unnecessary effort. It is one thing to read up on Zoot Suits for additional insight (as we did), but it is entirely different thing for the reader to HAVE to do it, to have a clue what is going on. I'm sure anyone picking up a Morrison novel does not need to be talked down to, but it I want to solve puzzles I'd pick up the NY Times Crossword. I think Morrison's apparent "obstinacy" comes more from her personality than her age. I don't know Morrison personally, so my assumption is admittedly a leap. However, I would not put the entire blame at Morrison's door step. Indeed most of my complaints belongs with the publisher who released this slim volume and priced it as if it were a full novel. Writegirl, if you read Beloved and it did not make an impression on you, I don't think you are gonna gain any additional insight into Toni's writing style by reading Home. I would go with The Bluest Eye or re-read Beloved. Beloved is a really good book. Black's Perfect Peace was the novel I read just before Home. Everyone raves over this Black latest novel. I enjoyed it, certainly much more than I did Morrisons' Home. Perfect Peace really seems to resonate with women in particular. It is a book I recommend to female readers. I ran into Daniel in Houston a couple of weeks ago and shot this video of him:

Thanks for the bookstore info y'all I made an appeals for information else where but got nothing. Most surprisingly was the lack of response from people in the industry -- even when pressed. I had all of these stores in my database except for Urban Expressions, which I added: http://aalbc.it/uebooks I could not find any information, online, about ownership or how long the store was in business. I'll follow up with a phone call in the near future. Thanks everyone.

Yes I meant "without" Yeah, Joan is rough, but interestingly there is something endearing about her also. I saw a screening of her bio and she spoke afterwards. The few people I mentioned it to looked at me sideways. I'm not sure why, but I always enjoyed Joan's comedy. I was raised in a generation where we were still taught to respect our elders. Unfortunately our culture does not seem to respect or value older people -- unless that older person is acting and looks like someone much younger. So I can understand why you might not want to include your age when describing yourself. To me it is one your strongest characteristics. What I hate to see is an older person who has given up on life -- not interested in learning anything new, unwilling or unable to share from their own experiences. But as I get older I'm coming to the conclusion that old folks like these were always like this, they are just older now.

Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation 1015 Amador Street, P.O. Box 4423 Vallejo, CA 94590 June 30, 2012 PRESS RELEASE The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, President Fredrika Newton (the widow of Huey P. Newton) and foundation executive director, David Hilliard, have selected Emmy award winning independent filmmaker Dante James to produce and direct a feature documentary, tentatively titled Huey P. Newton and the Story of the Black Panther Party. According to David Hilliard a childhood friend of Newton, and a founding member and leader of the Black Panther Party, “This film will tell the story of the Black Panther Party (BPP) from inside the Party through the story of Huey P. Newton. Huey was a brilliant, complex man whose commitment to the humanity and dignity of Black people and all of humanity is well-defined in his books and essays but is little know to the general public.” Hilliard adds, “Dante James is our choice to make this film because his work is engaging and complex and he respects his subjects and the history. “ Producer director Dante James states, “Other films have explored the Black Panther Party from the point of view of fringe and short time members. This film will explore the inner workings and the evolution of the Party. Huey P. Newton’s story as leader and standard-bearer of the Party will be interwoven throughout the film. Intimate interviews, unseen film footage and unheard audio recordings will drive the narrative.” The production team believes the philosophy of the Black Panther Party as defined in its 10-point program addressed the basic needs and desires of the community. The legacy of the Black Panther Party endures today, which is one of the reasons why the corporate mainstream media continue their efforts to distort and disfigure the Party’s’ legacy. But said media will not prevail. The people will! Hilliard states, “We need the publics’ support to tell this story outside of the forces of mainstream media including PBS.” The film will be distributed through independent theater release, video on demand and DVD sales in domestic and international markets. Producer/director Dante James plans to complete the film by the summer of 2013. The producers are seeking investments from independent, private sources and start up funding through Kickstarter, the online financing website. Anyone seeking more information or wanting to support the project can contribute through Kickstarter or by contacting Dante James at djames2015@nc.rr.com or 919-475-9879 and David Hilliard at davidhilliard66@gmail.com or 510-507-3853. Dante James DMD Films, LLC 1612 Timber Wolf Dr. Durham, NC 27713 919-475-9879

See, I was completely unaware of the Zoot Suit riots. That actually strengthens my opinion about that character. While I have heard Morrison express a similar description about interpreting her work as you've described, I do think some interpretations are better than others -- or at least more informed. Your knowledge of the Zoot Suit riots is a perfect example. A younger person who has no clue what a Zoot is would be completely lost. Which brings up another issue, in a longer novel the significance of the Zoot suit could have been brought out, in such a way as to not insult the intelligence of folks like you who know exactly what they are, but at the same time educate people who have know idea what they are. Again the novel's brevity make it impossible to most readers to easily "get it" -- most readers are not 70 something Black American women. I too would give the Home 3 stars (out of 5).

I did not watch the videos but I lived in a suburb of Philly when this happened I checked out the aftermath of the tragic police action a couple of days later it was in 2 words F'ed up. While I would not want Move members as my next door neighbors the reaction by the Philadelphia police department was alarmingly brutal. I honestly can't believe the Major at the time Wilson Goode (a brother) intended for that to be the outcome. But at the same time what would you expect to happen if you fire bomb a neighborhood of wooden homes. Philadelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love" is known as "Killadelphia", boasting one of the highest murder rates in the country. Sad. I'll check the videos off line...

Michael Baisden, author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host, offers a tip on selling one's biography. Jason Claiborne of SLR Magazine and Augustus Publishing with author Erick S. Gray K. Tempest Bradford an author who also runs the Blog "The Angry Black Woman" Monda Raquel Webb http://aalbc.it/mrwebb tells us about her latest collection of short stories, "Red Clay Dirt & Mountains" Tony & Yvonne Rose Founders of Amber Communications Group, Inc. and the African American Pavilion Booth at Book Expo America

All Videos Recorded by AALBC.com (http://aalbc.com) June 5, 2012 at the African American Pavilion at Book Expo America (BEA), New York, NY Kevin Roberts Owner of Azizi Books in Matteson, IL

Imagine a young person with the disadvantages of youth (naivety, inexperience, gullibility) and you have Cynique. It has been said youth is wasted on the young, this is why we age...

You always find book videos. I will watch this one tonight!

Which are your favorite Black owned bookstores? I found a way to sell books which drives sales to an individual independent bookstore. Since I can only use one store at a time I wanted to use a store that I may not be personally familiar with, but does a great job, and can use the additional support. Perhaps you can find a store you like on my bookstore database: http://aalbc.com/writers/bookstores.html

Got it -- thanks. I should have my copy tomorrow.