Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in “Non-Fiction”

Chicago Artist Savannah Wood Aims For Engagement, Empowerment With South Side Book Exchange (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2014

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyMplbQkEg0&w=560&h=315]
CHICAGO — If Baltimore native and Chicago transplant Savannah Wood has one regret, it’s that she didn’t take enough time to read all the books she said surrounded her as a youngster.  Though the Chicago-based artist and Rebuild Foundation instructor said she was surrounded by incredible books, she laments that she didn’t stumble upon a book like Richard Wright’s 1940 novel Native Son, which she said she received as part of a book exchange while she was studying abroad in France as a student of the University of Southern California. Reading Native Son, which tells the story of a 20-year-old Chicago man feeling alienated like an expat in his own country, was an experience, she told The Huffington Post, that resonated deeply.  “That was the beginning of my being interested in black literature as a reflection of black life, the positive imagery in black lit,” Wood said in a recent interview. “I want to share that with other people.”
Last week, Wood launched an Indiegogo fundraising campaign for Black Ink Book Exchange, an initiative that will eventually become “not quite a library and not quite a bookstore” focused on works written by and about those from the African Diaspora and located inside the University of Chicago’s Arts Incubator in the city’s Washington Park neighborhood.  Wood told HuffPost she was inspired to launch the pop-up exchange after working with renowned Chicago artist Theaster Gates to create a library focused on the works of black authors for a private client. With the Black Ink Book Exchange, she hopes to take that idea and make it publicly accessible in a way that serves as a focal point for the predominately black neighborhood to engage with the arts. She plans to open the space by spring and, during the summertime, move it to other locations on Chicago’s South Side.
books
“I’m hoping to really activate the space and give people a place they can feel they can take some ownership of,” Wood said. “It’s not just to be looked at, but handled.”
Part of the interactivity Wood is aiming for entails the offering of free creative writing and crafting workshops taught in the space by guest artists. Money donated to the project’s $6,000 fundraising goal will go toward paying the artists a stipend for their services, in addition to purchasing books to supplement donated books, furniture and covering administrative costs.
“You can get hands on and make things here too,” Wood said of what makes the exchange different from a traditional library or bookstore. “I’ve been making things my whole life and I think it’s an empowering skill to have to produce something and put it out into the world.”
Visit the Black Ink Book Exchange’s Indiegogo page for additional information about donating funds or books toward the project.
article by Joseph Erbentraut via huffingtonpost.com

New Children's Biographies of Malcolm X, Josephine Baker Out This Month

By goodblacknews on January 13, 2014

Not Just For Kids: Biographies aimed at children include Abraham Lincoln, Malcolm X, Josephine Baker and Thomas JeffersonIlyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s daughter, has written Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $17.99, ages 6-10), a sentimental book about his early life (sensitively illustrated by A.G. Ford).
Also available for elementary school readers is Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker (Chronicle Books, $17.99, ages 7-10), Patricia Hruby Powell’s scrupulously researched, high-spirited celebration of the color-line-crossing dancer, illustrated by Christian Robinson.

Writing in jazzy, syncopated free verse, Powell, a former dancer, finds the seeds of Baker’s passion in her hardscrabble St. Louis childhood. “I didn’t have any stockings … I danced to keep warm,” Baker explains. The author detects heat too in the frustration and fury fueled by racism, which she compares to hot lava, burning deep in the dancer’s soul and released like steam “in little poofs” when she performs.
Powell’s poetic voice details not only Baker’s rise to stardom, onstage triumphs and offstage heroism but also her disappointments, excesses and her descent into homelessness before a glorious return to the stage and funeral fit for a queen.
Robinson’s richly vibrant, sensually expressive illustrations also capture the dancer’s lithe power and passion. Robinson credits the work of Paul Colin, who created the La Revue Negre posters that propelled Baker to fame in France and beyond, as his primary inspiration. But his palette also evokes Jacob Lawrence’s “Migration Series,” adding emotional weight.
article via latimes.com

Charles Ramsey, Rescuer of Ariel Castro's Captives, Signs Book Deal

By goodblacknews on December 24, 2013

Charles RamsayCharles Ramsey, the Cleveland man credited with rescuing three women from a decade of captivity under Ariel Castro’s roof, has signed a book deal, despite his previous lack of interest in attention and publicity, a publishing company announced Sunday.  Cleveland publishing house Gray & Co. signed the deal for a memoir by Ramsey on Thursday, the publisher said in a statement.
Ramsey, 44, garnered national attention after his unfiltered response to media attention he received for breaking down his next door neighbor’s door to rescue Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Berry’s daughter from a house where they had been imprisoned by their kidnapper for about 10 years.
Ramsey’s unfiltered accounts during television interviews of the day he rescued the women in May were remixed, posted on YouTube and quoted incessantly by Twitter users.  “What you saw on TV doesn’t even begin to tell the story,” Ramsey said.  “Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms,” Ramsey told a reporter shortly after the ordeal.
Randy Nyerges, who has co-written a book with former Cleveland Browns defensive back Hanford Dixon and served as a Senate speechwriter, will coauthor the book with Ramsey.   “Charles says outrageous things, but what a story he has,” Nyerges said, according to Gray and Co.’s announcement.  Ramsey’s resistance to the label of “hero” and refusal of giveaways made Americans even fonder of the man who may have cursed a few too many times while contacting the police about his discovery but acted bravely during the traumatic situation.
Ramsey’s memoir — which is not yet titled — will describe the rescue, the short time Ramsey spent living next door to atrocities he was unaware of and the instant fame that ensued after his heroic actions, Gray and Co.’s release said.  Ramsey is also expected to detail his earlier years, including time he spent in prison, according to Gray and Co.  Ramsey and Nyerges have been collaborating on the book since the beginning of December, and it is slated to be published in spring 2014, which is when a memoir by Knight is also scheduled to be released.
Berry and DeJesus are also set to document their harrowing experiences in a book due out in 2015.
Castro was sentenced Aug. 1 to life plus 1,000 years. He hanged himself inside his cell on Sept. 3.
article by Elisha Fieldstadt via usnews.nbcnews.com

25 Empowering Books for Little Black Girls

By goodblacknews on December 22, 2013

photo black-girl-reading.jpg
From the moment they come into the world, little black girls work just a little bit harder than their peers to construct a healthy sense of self in a society that prizes values and attributes that don’t mirror those they possess. We as their caregivers must help them find the way by offering them as many affirming messages as possible. We can do this with our words and by our example; however, books can also prove to be important points of contact into the souls and spirits of African-American girls. Here is a list of books that promote a positive self-image in younger, black females:

Ages 2-4

Girl of Mine – Jabari Asim

This companion book to Boy of Mine shows a dazzling little girl enjoying playtime in the moon’s soft glow. As daddy cradles his baby girl, she is suddenly whisked away on a fantastical adventure, swinging above lush floral gardens under the golden moonlight. The sweet text, inspired by “Rock-A-Bye Baby,” will whisk little ones off to peaceful slumber.

Lola at the Library – Anna Mcquinn

On Tuesdays, spunky Lola and her mommy go to the library. Come with Lola on her favorite weekly trip in this celebration of books and the people who love them.

I Can Do It Too! – Karen Baicker

This heartwarming story reminds us how satisfying it is to grow up surrounded by love. I Can Do It Too! affirms a little girl’s growing independence as she, too, can begin to do all the things she sees her parents, relatives and neighbors do: pouring juice at breakfast, strumming a guitar, and even riding a bike! The simple cadence of text and direct-to-the-heart art result in a book as warm and generous as its message, providing reading pleasure for toddlers, older siblings, and the grown-ups who love them.

Preschool

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale – John Steptoe

This is the tale of Mufaro’s two daughters, two beautiful girls who react in different ways to the king’s search for a wife – one is aggressive and selfish, the other kind and dignified. The king takes on disguises to learn the true nature of both girls and of course chooses Nyasha, the kind and generous daughter, to be his queen. 

Something Beautiful – Sharon Dennis Wyeth

A little girl longs to see beyond the scary sights on the sidewalk and the angry scribbling in the halls of her building. When her teacher writes the word beautifulon the blackboard, the girl decides to look for something beautiful in her neighborhood. Her neighbors tell her about their own beautiful things.

The Colors of Us – Karen Katz

Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades.

Disney Laces Up to Make Biopic About Legendary Olympian Jesse Owens

By goodblacknews on December 18, 2013
Jesse Owens Movie Disney

Disney is developing a biographical feature film about American track and field hero Jesse Owens, setting up the project with production companies BermanBraun and Netter Films and attaching Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Olympus Has Fallen) to direct.  The untitled film is based on the book Triumph, written ESPN host Jeremy Schaap. David Seidler, who won a screenwriting Oscar for The King’s Speech, is on board to write the screenplay.
Set against the backdrop of  the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Triumph tells the story of how the son of an Alabama sharecropper shattered Adolf Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy by winning a record four gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the 400-meter relay.  Hitler had insisted Jews and Blacks not be allowed to participate in the games, but relented when threatened with a boycott. He shook hands only with the German victors on the first day of competition and then skipped all further medal presentations.
article by Dave McNary via Variety.com

"Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker" Chronicles Parker's Focus, Faith In Music

By goodblacknews on October 21, 2013

Charlie Parker started playing as a boy, when his mother gave him a saxophone to cheer him up after his father left. He went on to spearhead a musical revolution.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Charlie Parker started playing as a boy, when his mother gave him a saxophone to cheer him up after his father left. He went on to spearhead a musical revolution.
Charlie “Bird” Parker was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. In his brief life, Parker created a new sound on the alto saxophone and spearheaded a revolution in harmony and improvisation that pushed popular music from the swing era to bebop and modern jazz.
In Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker, scholar and author Stanley Crouch tells the story of Parker’s early years and his rise to prominence. But Crouch says he didn’t want to tell the same old story of young black musicians overcoming obstacles.
“These guys, they thought about life,” he says. “Oh yes, they thought about being colored, but they also thought about life. And people came to hear you because you played life. It wasn’t because you played, ‘Oh, I’m just a poor colored man over here, just doing some poor colored things. I’m thinking about my poor colored girl and how the white man is not going to let us blah blah.’ That wasn’t what they were playing.”
‘I Put Quite A Bit Of Study Into The Horn’
Crouch’s book opens with a triumphant moment in Parker’s career. It’s February 1942 and the 21-year-old alto player is on the bandstand at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom, performing with the Jay McShann Orchestra for a live radio broadcast. He steps up to solo and Crouch explains what happens next:

Kansas City Lightning
When the band started throwing up stock riffs behind him, Parker sidestepped the familiar shapes, issuing his responses from deep in left field.
… Each chorus was getting hotter; it was clear, from the position of his body and the sound of his horn, that Charlie Parker was not going to give in. All the nights he had worked on it, the flubs, the fumblings, the sore lips, mouth, and tongue, the cramped fingers — they all paid off that afternoon. Suddenly, the man with the headphones was signaling McShann, Don’t stop! Don’t stop! Keep on playing!

In 1980, the late pianist and bandleader Jay McShann described how Parker’s sound grabbed him the first time he heard it.  “One particular night, I happened to be coming through the streets and I heard the sound coming out. And this was a different sound, so I went inside to see who was blowing,” he said. “So I walked up to Charlie after he finished playing and I asked him, I said, ‘Say man,’ I said, ‘where are you from?’ I said, ‘I thought I met most of the musicians around here.’ Well, he says, ‘I’m from Kansas City.’ But he says, ‘I’ve been gone for the last two or three months. Been down to the Ozarks woodshedding.’ “

BOOK REVIEW: Malcolm Gladwell's 'David and Goliath' Champions the Underdog

By goodblacknews on October 6, 2013

Malcolm GladwellWhat if we lived in a world where the weak were really strong, and all of our disadvantages could easily become advantages?  In his new book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, best-selling writer Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers) tells us we’re already living in that kind of world. Even something as debilitating as dyslexia can be an ambitious man’s ticket to success.

“The one trait in a lot of dyslexic people I know is that by the time we got out of college, our ability to deal with failure was very highly developed,” says Gary Cohn, a man of humble origins whose bold decisions take him to the top of the U.S. financial industry. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without my dyslexia.”
Gladwell, a staff writer at the New Yorker, has sold a ton of books explaining seemingly counterintuitive and complex arguments about psychology and the social sciences to a mass audience. In David and Goliath his mission is to show us how our thinking about power, influence and success is often misguided and wrong.  “We have, I think, a very rigid and limited definition of what an advantage is,” Gladwell writes. “When we see the giant, why do we automatically assume the battle is his for the winning?”
As always, Gladwell populates his pages with insights illustrated by one memorable character study and anecdote after another. He can be an efficient and persuasive storyteller, and in this book his cast of “Davids” include French Impressionist painters, undersized basketball players and civil-rights marchers; his “Goliaths” include the French art establishment, basketball traditionalists and segregationist police chiefs.

Maya Angelou To Receive Norman Mailer Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Writing

By goodblacknews on September 30, 2013

mailer prize

NEW YORK — Maya Angelou is receiving another honorary prize for writing.  The Norman Mailer Center and Writers Colony announced Thursday that Angelou will be given a lifetime achievement award at a benefit gala Oct. 17. Earlier this month, the National Book Foundation announced that the 85-year-old Angelou would be given an honorary National Book Award, her first major literary prize.
The Mailer Center will also give a distinguished writing prize to Junot Diaz and an award for the best emerging journalist to the late Michael Hastings. Hastings was killed in an auto accident in June at age 33. He’s best known for a Rolling Stone article that led to the resignation of the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
article via huffingtonpost.com

'Invisible Man' Ban Rescinded by North Carolina School Board After Community Backlash

By goodblacknews on September 26, 2013

"Invisible Man" author Ralph Ellison and his wife, Fanny, at their home in New York in 1972, 20 years after the novel's publication. (Nancy Crampton / Knopf)
“Invisible Man” author Ralph Ellison and his wife, Fanny, at their home in New York in 1972, 20 years after the novel’s publication. (Nancy Crampton / Knopf)

ASHEBORO, N.C. — High school students in Randolph County once again can get “Invisible Man,” Ralph Ellison’s classic 1952 novel of alienation and racial discrimination, at school libraries.  Nine days after the county school board banned the book, it reversed itself at a hastily called special meeting Wednesday night, voting 6 to 1 to return the novel to school bookshelves. Several board members apologized for the ban and said they had been chastened by an outpouring of angry objections from county residents.

The backlash caught board members by surprise. Several said they had been inundated with emails begging them to reconsider. Others conceded that they had acted rashly and should have consulted with the superintendent and rank-and-file teachers in the 16,000-student district, about 85 miles northeast of Charlotte.  Several said the public reaction had opened their eyes to viewpoints they had not considered and broadened their outlook on the importance of all types of literature.
“We may have been hammered on this and we may have made a mistake, but at least we’re big enough to admit it,’’ said board member Gary Cook, who had voted for the ban but reversed himself Wednesday.  The meeting, in a packed boardroom, lasted only 45 minutes. The vote to rescind the ban took a few seconds, with only board member Gary Mason dissenting. He called the book “not appropriate for young teenagers.”
The board’s abrupt reversal came in the middle of the annual Banned Books Week sponsored nationally by the American Library Assn., which celebrates the freedom to read. The association and the Kids’ Right to Read Project wrote the school board condemning the ban and asking that it be reversed.

Best-Selling Slave Memoir "The Bondswoman's Narrative" is Authenticated by South Carolina Professor

By goodblacknews on September 23, 2013

“By Hannah Crafts,” reads this page from the 1850s novel “The Bondwoman’s Narrative.” (The Bondwoman's Narrative, Beineke Library, Yale University)
“By Hannah Crafts,” reads this page from the 1850s novel “The Bondwoman’s Narrative.” (The Bondwoman’s Narrative, Beineke Library, Yale University)

In 2002, a novel thought to be the first written by an African-American woman became a best seller, praised for its dramatic depiction of Southern life in the mid-1850s through the observant eyes of a refined and literate house servant.  But one part of the story remained a tantalizing secret: the author’s identity.
John Wheeler lived on the plantation where Hannah Bond escaped slavery.

That literary mystery may have been solved by a professor of English in South Carolina, who said this week that after years of research, he has discovered the novelist’s name: Hannah Bond, a slave on a North Carolina plantation owned by John Hill Wheeler, is the actual writer of “The Bondwoman’s Narrative,” the book signed by Hannah Crafts.

Beyond simply identifying the author, the professor’s research offers insight into one of the central mysteries of the novel, believed to be semi-autobiographical: how a house slave with limited access to education and books was heavily influenced by the great literature of her time, like “Bleak House” and “Jane Eyre,” and how she managed to pull off a daring escape from servitude, disguised as a man.

The professor, Gregg Hecimovich, the chairman of the English department at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., has uncovered previously unknown details about Bond’s life that have shed light on how the novel was possibly written. The heavy influences of Dickens, for instance, particularly from “Bleak House,” can be explained by Bond’s onetime servitude on a plantation that routinely kept boarders from a nearby girls’ school; the curriculum there required the girls to recite passages of “Bleak House” from memory. Bond, secretly forming her own novel, could have listened while they studied, or spirited away a copy to read.

The research also shows that Bond may have been given a man’s suit by a member of the Wheeler family who was sympathetic to her desire to flee.

Professor Hecimovich, 44, said that he has verified the writer’s identity through wills, diaries, handwritten almanacs and public records. He intends to publish his full findings in a book, tentatively titled “The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts.”

His work has been reviewed by several scholars who vouch for its authenticity, including Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation’s pre-eminent scholars of African-American history. Professor Gates bought the obscure manuscript at auction in 2001.