Black Non-Fiction Books of 2009: Best and Worse
2009-12-17
Kam Williams Special To The Skanner
Who even knew that any children of slaves were still alive? A debt of gratitude is owed to Sana Butler for compiling this bittersweet collection of revealing interviews with the offspring of folks freed by the Emancipation Proclamation well over a century ago. What makes this book special is how seamlessly the author contrasts her aging subjects’ fading recollections with her own expectations of them and her intimate reflections about being Black and female in present-day America. Read the complete article
Author Bases Novel on Own Ancestors
2009-12-03
In “Who Will Cry for the Little Girl” author Alexander Lee Barrett follows the life of his own great-great-great-great-great Grandmother, Chaney Rice as she deals with life as a slave on the plantation of one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in Greene County, Alabama Read the complete article
Grace After Midnight: Snoop Pearson of The Wire
2009-12-03
By the time Felicia “Snoop” Pearson was 15, she was serving hard time for a murder she says happened in self-defense. But now, the woman that was born a “three-pound, cross-eyed crack baby in East Baltimore,” is famous for starring as a cold-blooded villain on the critically acclaimed HBO series “The Wire.” Read the complete article
Book Review: Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud
2009-10-29
By Kam Williams, Special To The Skanner News
Everybody knows Cornel West, the public intellectual, the popular Princeton University Professor and best-selling author who has remained dedicated to the plight of the poor and underprivileged over the course of his illustrious career. Yet few know anything about his private life, or about what has inspired him to remain on such a righteous path and in touch with his roots over the years... Read the complete article
New Book Gives ‘The Black-print’ for Improvement
2009-10-29
In author Malik Green’s new book, “The Black-print,” the former crack addict and veteran spells out a way for wealth, prosperity and respect for African Americans. Despite 50 years or what Green skeptically calls progress, the Black community contuse to face a myriad of obstacles... Read the complete article
Book Review: 'Losing Control: Loving a Black Child with Bipolar Disorder'
2009-10-06
Kam Williams Special To the Skanner
It wasn’t long after the birth of her daughter that Dr. Cassandra Joubert noticed that something was wrong. After all, this was her second child, so she naturally compared Maya to her relatively easy-to-raise, 4 year-old son, Josh. Read the complete article
Book Review: 'Renegade: The Making of a President' by Richard Wolffe
2009-07-28
Kam Williams Special To The Skanner
People who were patient enough to wait for a quality opus in the presidential history of Barack Obama will find themselves handsomely rewarded by "Renegade," a recounting of Obama's ascension to the White House by Richard Wolffe, a reporter who was assigned by Newsweek Magazine to cover the 2008 campaign from beginning to end. Read the complete article
Book Review: “Reputations Fade Away” by Dawayne Williams
Riveting memoir of manhood
2009-07-21
Kam Williams, Special to The Skanner
By any yardstick you want to use, Dawayne Williams had a very tough childhood. He and his younger brother were raised in the projects in Washington, DC by a single-mom while his dad (who denied paternity anyway) was in and out of prison for a variety of criminal offenses. Consequently, Dawayne grew up ...
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Rob Spillman to Read from African Writers Anthology July 8
at Powell’s Books Portland
2009-07-21
Tuesday night at Powell’s Books, author and editor Rob Spillman will be reading from the anthology, “Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing.” Spillman will begin the reading and discussion at 7:30 p.m. at the bookstore’s downtown location, 1005 W. Burnside St. on July 8 ... Read the complete article
