The Best Black & African-American Books of 2013

2013 was a phenomenal year in literature for Black/African-American authors as well as the readers who love them. From a thirtysomething Chicagoan who re-defined the art of the 'rant' in her first book of essays (Samantha Irby's Meaty) to a respected non-fiction author trying her hand for the first time at a novel (Rebecca Walker's Ade: A Love … Continue reading The Best Black & African-American Books of 2013 →

Charmed Life

One day I'd love to write a book just about all the authors I have met or know: who, when, where, why and what it was like to see them in person or what it meant to me at the times. I'd share it with my children and grandchildren, part love letters, part historical retrospective.... Gwendolyn … Continue reading Charmed Life →

Well-Served

Lee Daniels' The Butler is the culmination of what blacks in Hollywood, from its Golden Age unto its present, expected our contested involvement in the movies could, should and would be. And it is the reason why not only African-American people, but all people, will pay for the movies. It has been nearly two decades since I saw … Continue reading Well-Served →

Let’s Pretend: Rest in Peace Trayvon Benjamin Martin

**Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was the son of Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. He was a junior at Dr. Michael M. Krop High School. He lived with his mother and older brother in Miami Gardens, Florida. On February 26, 2012, the late Trayvon Martin returned from the store to … Continue reading Let’s Pretend: Rest in Peace Trayvon Benjamin Martin →

Good Black Stuff…

I am so excited and overwhelmed with the fabulous things Black American people are doing in the arts now. Everywhere I turn, there's something new to be proud of. A picture can be worth a thousand words. Not sure if I have to credit any of these photos. Forgot where I got them from...but don't worry … Continue reading Good Black Stuff… →

Bush Mamas: A Black Film Gives Birth to Sociohorror

Professor, Writer and Director Haile Gerima’s 1975 student thesis film Bush Mama premiered on the independent and student film circuit a year before I was born. I was born in the small-town Midwest: Kankakee, Illinois, a town most people have not heard of and can barely pronounce when they do. Once I was born, I … Continue reading Bush Mamas: A Black Film Gives Birth to Sociohorror →

Patriarchy Gone Awry: The White Exploitation in The SnowTown Murders

On the one hand, The Snowtown Murders is an unquestionably brilliant depiction of a provincial environment of chain smoke and gray pallor that I recognize very well--whereby the simple offerings of eggs, bacon, toast, sausages and coffee can cement the beginning of a kinship stronger than many blood relatives... But on the other hand, the absolutely unnecessary (and true crime) atrocities against human beings that The Snowtown Murders depicts is satisfactorily unfamiliar to anything I have ever known in my life.