Melvin Whitfield Carter, Jr’s memoir, ‘Diesel Heart’ captures how the former wayward hellraiser transitioned to a leader serving his community.
Books
A space for local and national arts and entertainment stories, with an emphasis on stories pertaining to African and African Americans.
Posted inBooks, Bulletin
Local author shows how to ‘change your life in 30 days’
Dr. Verna Price shares her step-by-step approach to creating successful changes in your life.
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
50 years later: ‘Coming of Age in Mississippi’ still speaks to nation’s racial discord
Fifty years later, ‘Coming of Age’ still commands a wide readership.
Posted inArts + Culture, Books, News
Local poet takes national acclaim in stride
Smith, recently named to Forbes’ 2019 30 Under 30 in media list, noted it is often heralded as “raw” and “powerful.”
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
‘Becoming Ms. Burton’ offers lifeline in a sea of injustice
But Burton, a recovering addict and former convict, turned the strength of prevailing against personal adversity into a resource for others to do the same.
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
Ntozake Shange, celebrated author of ‘for colored girls,’ dies at 70
‘R.I.P. Ntozake Shange (#ForColoredGirls) #YouAreBroadwayBlack you will forever be remembered and eternally etched in our minds as The Lady in Orange, a prolific poet, an amazing playwright, and the Black feminist we all aspire to be. Well done,’ a tweet from the Broadway in Black twitter account read.
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
Black writers to take center stage at second annual expo
Toward which end Pittman and Boudah will also host a Writer’s Boot Camp, a 90-minute crash course for fledgling writers. Registered participants will hear from a team of experts about editing, writing and marketing a manuscript, and how to publish.
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
New book captures images of Black life in the 1940s
Those for whom Double Exposure resonates will appreciate, indeed, admire the compelling authenticity by which photographer John F. Glanton captured an unprecedented window, lensing this bygone Twin Cities era.
Posted inArts + Culture, Books, Local & State, News
Children’s book series celebrates spirit of Rondo
The Rondo Book Children’s Book Series is the result of a partnership between In Black Ink, Rondo Avenue Inc. and the Minnesota Humanities Center with funding from the Minnesota Historical Society.
Posted inSports
Former NBA star Vin Baker shares perils of addiction and joy of recovery
Religion, recovering substance abusers often say, is for people afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who’ve already been there. Accordingly, Vin Baker, disgraced Milwaukee Bucks basketball star, courageously redeemed man, qualifies to be as spiritual as they come. God and Starbucks: An NBA Superstar’s Journey Through Addiction and Recovery (Amistad/HarperCollins Publishers, $10.99), co-authored […]
Posted inArts + Culture, Books, Movies
Pan-African graphic novel to get full length animated adaptation
Black Sands, an animated feature film based on the award-winning comic novels of the Black Sands Universe, is on the horizon.
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
REVIEW: ‘All the Women in My Family Sing’
A powerful collection of stories revealing hurt and hope All the Women in My Family Sing: Women Write the World — Essays on Equality, Justice and Freedom (Nothing but The Truth, $16.95) showcases social commentary seldom heard. After all, who listens to females of color outside celebrity Oprah Winfrey or political firebrand Maxine Waters? Edited by Deborah […]
Posted inBooks, Education
Readers are leaders: Buy your children more books
We are our children’s first teachers, and what we teach them makes a difference. According to research by Betty Hart of the University of Kansas and Todd Risley of the University of Alaska, by age three, poor children have an accumulated experience with 30 million fewer words than their wealthier counterparts; a greater percentage of […]
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Mothering Through Pain and Suffering in Silence’
Mothering Through Pain and Suffering in Silence: A Collection of Stories from Survivors (The Haven Publishing), prose and poetry edited by Jasmine Tane’t Boudah, is a true find that will benefit readers regardless of gender. That in and of itself makes this impassioned, eloquently articulate anthology a profoundly rewarding breath of fresh air. The advent […]
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
Black Hollywood legend pens new memoir
Jenifer Lewis shares secrets to Hollywood success in new memoir Jenifer Lewis, affectionately nicknamed “Auntie” in Black Hollywood, recently made a special appearance at the Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. where she shared the trials, tribulations and triumphs of her journey to superstardom, while sending a strong message to millennials to […]
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Policing the Black Man’
You have to believe it’s hard to go wrong with a book enthusiastically endorsed by Toni Morrison, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. or Walter Mosley, never mind all three, and your money’s safe betting on a copy of Policing the Black Man (Pantheon Books). Edited by American University Law Professor Angela J. Davis, eleven incisive essays, including her […]
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
‘The Journey of Little Charlie,’ rich storytelling for all ages
Christopher Paul Curtis has the rare gift of being to effortlessly render a youngster’s reality readily accessible to readers of all ages. He did it beautifully with the multiple award-winning Bud, Not Buddy, about a motherless boy in search of his father. He does it again with The Journey of Little Charlie (Scholastic Press), looking over the shoulder of […]
Posted inBooks
Black authors take center stage at first annual MN Black Authors Expo
Black authors in Minnesota haven’t always had a platform to come together and showcase their work. Well, this is about to change. Authors Jasmine Boudah and De’Vonna Pittman are hosting the first Minnesota Black Authors Expo. The event will be held on Saturday, November 18 at the Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON) on West Broadway […]
Posted inArts + Culture
‘Sights, Sounds, Soul’ offers vivid images of Twin Cities Black history
Sights, Sounds, Soul: The Twin Cities through the Lens of Charles Chamblis (Minnesota Historical Society Press, $25.95) is proof positive that, as the saying goes, anything worth doing is worth doing well, even a coffee table book. Accordingly, this admirably fills the bill, a catalog of richly compelling images chronicling Black Minneapolis and St. Paul circa the 1970s […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Rybak’s ‘Pothole Confidential’ plays it safe
T. Rybak’s Pothole Confidential: My Life as Mayor of Minneapolis(University of Minnesota Press) isn’t exactly a bill of goods but it does bear taking with several grains of salt. As concerns a political memoir, Pothole Confidential generally passes muster — innocuous, fairly interesting and often entertaining. The writing style is fluid, personably engaging and without benefit of an […]