Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Modern Black History Books

7 Modern Black History Books That Should Be Required Reading
by Joshunda Victoria Sanders

Book blogs and publishers have started recommending Black History Month titles, but those titles tend to be imprint/publishing-house specific. There's nothing wrong with that, but it means that some titles might escape your notice. I love big books, but I especially adore giant books about black history, which I read for fun. So, there will be at least one other list like this before February is out. But for now...

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
This is one of my favorite books from the past 20 years. I can't recommend it enough. Ta-Nehisi Coates agrees. As a work of superior journalism, it has few peers. You've certainly heard about the Great Migration before and maybe your grandparents or parents told you all you need to know. But the narrative power and style of Isabel Wilkerson as applied to more than 1,000 interviews is educational and inspirational nonetheless. Here's my Q&A with her from 2010 ahead of her appearance at the Texas Book Festival.

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
There were some big questions that remained unanswered in Marable's book, but it's still an incredible biography. I'm sad that he didn't live to see its publication. My 2011 Q&A with Zaheer Ali.

Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol by Nell Irvin Painter
This was worth reading to find out more about the woman beyond her "Ain't I a Woman" speech. Not only did she bare her breasts in public in the context of this speech, since her audience was treating her like she was a man, but she was also a shrewd marketer of her image. The photograph we associate most with her says beneath it, "I sell the shadow to support the substance."

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton
This is one of my favorite biographies in the past decade, in addition to Alice Walker: A Life and Wrapped in Rainbows, the biography of Zora Neale Hurston by Valerie Boyd. Catherine Clinton writes about Tubman not just as the Moses of her people, but also as a woman who was married multiple times, including once when she was past retirement age, and adopted many children with her last husband.

At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle McGuire
I was profoundly moved by reading this thorough history of black women like Rosa Parks and learning a fuller history of how sexual assault was used against them (us) in the racist South. It was jarring and well-researched. In comparison to most black history lessons and stories, it was far more nuanced.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
There isn't a black person in American who is unaffected by the prison industrial complex and mass incarceration of black men and women in our country. Michelle Alexander's important book shows just how bleak modern incarceration is and how racism impacts not just prisoners and ex-convicts but society at large.

Disintegration by Eugene Robinson
A lot has been made of the post-racial nature of America - are we or aren't we? Eugene Robinson doesn't answer that, and for good reason - instead he looks at how black America has become so diffuse that its impact from decades past, mainly during America's segregated era, has disintegrated along class and geographical lines.
Source: jvictoriawrites

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Is This Volkswagen Super Bowl Commercial Racist?

Controversy is brewing over this Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial featuring Jamaican accents. Do you find this commercial funny or racist?

Monday, January 28, 2013

A Pep Talk from Kid President to You

We all need a little encouragement every now and then. Kid President, knowing this, has put together a video you can play each morning as you wake up or to share with your friend who needs a kick in the right direction. Take a moment and spread some encouragement. "It's everybody's duty to give the world a reason to dance." Also, by popular demand, we present the: NOT COOL, ROBERT FROST

t-shirt: http://www.cafepress.com/kidpresident

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Free E-Books Download

Click on book title for access. Please note free status changes without notice. Double check the buy button before purchase. Enjoy!

Pink Range

As Sorai Madison enjoys the privileges of a life of luxury, just beneath the surface a secret is brewing. Just completing her PhD in Psychology at the age of 31 she is enjoying life in Harlem, NYC. She has a great job, amazing condo, beautiful life, and a huge sense of accomplishment. She has two loving parents, a caring best friend (Lea), and new man (Marcus) who came into her life two years ago. Sorai's older brother Twain is her main concern in life. After years of trying to talk him out of his life of hustling she has given up and accepted him for who he is. But unbeknownst to Sorai her new man is actually a FED who is in her life as an undercover agent trying to build a case against her brother Twain. Many people in Sorai’s life are not who they seem to be, experience her journey to uncovering who’s who…….

Soul Sisters

Soul Sisters is an urban fantasy novel about African-American twin sisters Ani and Dana who have a rather unique secret: one sister is human while the other is a vampire. While the sisters have lived peacefully with each other for many years one fateful night will change both their lives forever. When a drunken man tries to attack Dana (the human sister) Ani (the vampire sister) protects her sister with all of her ferocious power.

However, when the vampire’s leader Donovan finds out about the public display he calls for the sisters to be assassinated for disobedience. Ani and Dana now are in for the fight of their lives to protect each other as well as the lives of their dedicated friends who have joined them on their mission for survival. If Dana and Ani can make it through this time of uncertainty, Ani can take her new place as vampire queen. Soul Sisters is expected to be a trilogy; The book also features a multicultural cast of characters that brings a new edge of chic to the vampire world.

Simply Amazing

Cannon Arrington has pushed aside a social life to dedicate his time to medical school, extracurricular activities, and helping others … that is, until he lays his eyes on the angelic face of Yasmine Dubose. For Cannon, meeting her was a breath of fresh air. Something about the bubbly, sexy teacher makes him realize he needs to stop and smell the roses.

Yasmine has had a crush on Cannon since high school, but he’d never noticed the nerdy freshman. Now she’s blossomed into a woman who’s full of life. She knows Cannon’s drive for success is important to him, but she fears he’ll become even more of a workaholic than her father, who died when she was a child.

Will Cannon settle down and learn how to balance his career and love life, or will he lose the simply amazing woman who has stolen his heart?

Homecoming

Can one weekend change your life ? Just ask best friends Aston, Tisha and Denise.

The three friends have seemingly perfect lives; since graduating from college ten years earlier, each girl has gone on to become accomplished in her own right. However, when the girls reunite for Homecoming at their alma mater, Porter University, for a "Let your hair down, they can live without us" weekend, events begin to reveal that the ladies' lives may not be as perfect as they initially seemed.

Baby girl Tisha, waking up from a long, seductive nap in the land of denial, is beginning to see her fairytale marriage for what it is...and isn't. Fiery Denise is tired, stressed and can't figure out how to commit to motherhood, marriage and her career at the same time. And level-headed Aston feels that something is not quite right in her fast-paced life but has no idea how or what to fix.

Mix in old beaus, untold secrets, a jealous husband, a batch of mojitos and a whirlwind weekend of fun and partying changes into an event that forces the friends to face their individual dilemmas and make difficult decisions which change them forever.

Over a drama-filled four day period, the girls begin to embark on the empowering transformation from young ladies to grown women and learn the true meaning of success, friendship and love.

This first installment of the "Homecoming" trilogy is followed by "Measure of A Man", currently available, which continues the story from the perspective of the male characters in the novel.

Wednesday's Child

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

Wednesday's Child 1/23: Meet Cyntora

Meet Cyntora, a young woman with big dreams. If you're interested in adopting Cyntora or any of our Wednesday's Children, contact the NYC Children's Services Parent Recruitment Hotline at 212-676-WISH.

2013's Six Best New Shows

By JARETT WIESELMAN

Graceland, USA

USA is known -- and celebrated -- for their "Blue Skies" shows, but with the network's second series from Jeff Eastin (he previously created White Collar), the skies have gotten a little cloudy and the darker drama that emerges is a refreshing change of pace, while still being totally on-brand for USA.

Starring Aaron Tveit (hot off Les Miserables) and Daniel Sunjata (just plain hot), Graceland tells the recently declassified true story of a beach-side mansion that is transformed into housing for a diverse group of undercover agents from The DEA, The FBI and U.S. Customs. Watching these officers work and live together while collaborating on cases and grocery lists makes for excellent drama, while the charismatic cast dazzles, proving USA is the most consistent network when it comes to cultivating chemistry.
Graceland premieres this summer.
Read more http://www.etonline.com/tv/129169_6_Best_New_Shows_of_2013/index.html

LUV starring Common and Michael Rainey Jr. is a coming of age story worth seeing. Woody at the tender age of eleven gets a crash course in becoming a man when he spends the day with his ex-convict uncle whom he idolizes. Also starring in LUV: Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Charles Dutton, Megan Good, and Lonette McKee. It's playing now so check your local listings.

Author Bernice McWilliams

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