“It has always been a struggle for the relatively few African Americans in corporate America who do exist, and it is made all the more difficult because we tend to operate in isolation. We are nearly always alone, with no one to fall back on… as we deal daily with an unending stream of slights […]
Books
A space for local and national arts and entertainment stories, with an emphasis on stories pertaining to African and African Americans.
Posted inBooks
‘We Were Eight Years in Power’ — a call for vigilance against history repeating itself
“For so much of American history, the fact of Black people is a problem… The demonstrable truth has been evaded in favor of a more comforting story… [But America is] a country trying to skip out on a bill, trying to stave off a terrible accounting… It’s clear to me that the common theory of […]
Posted inArts + Culture
‘My Grandmother’s Hands,’ an enlightening how-to approach to heal racial trauma
“For the past three decades, we’ve earnestly tried to address White-body supremacy in America with reason, principle and ideas — using dialogue, forums, discussions, education and mental training. But the widespread destruction of Black bodies continues. And some of the ugliest destruction originates with the police. Why is there such a chasm between our well-intentioned […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Roxane Battle shares insight into living a joyful life
Roxane Battle, the KARE-11 television journalism legend is, of course, a household name. She’s been featured in Ebony, Working Mother, Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press. She’s also been a keynote speaker for the Girl Scouts, Team Women Minnesota, and the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, in addition to being a contributor to mariashriver.com. What’s not common knowledge is the veteran’s […]
Posted inArts + Culture
New author gives ‘pretty powerful’ advice
“Pretty powerful is the understanding that, as women, we have the duality of both ‘pretty’ and ‘substance’ that can (and should) be maximized to achieve any success we set our minds to… While there are significant challenges along the way… we have incredible choice around how we utilize our appearance, coupled with our substance… This […]
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
New book champions marginalized players behind the ‘Minneapolis Sound’
Were Ralph J. Gleason alive and still running Rolling Stone magazine with such integrity it was called the “New York Times of rock,” journalist Andrea Swensson’s tenacious grit at championing underexposed artists in Got to Be Something There: The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound (University of Minnesota Press) would be a perfect fit. Swensson (AS) recently […]
Posted inArts + Culture, Books
Silent no more: Local author gives voice to pain of Black mothers
“Being a Superwoman every day, 24/7 is not realistic. Being strong is being able to ask for help. If you don’t, you might not be here [much longer]” said Jasmine Boudah M.Ed (pronounced bow-duh) a teacher by trade, parent advocate at Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, doula, and now a published author. Boudah’s first book, Mothering Through Pain and […]
Posted inBooks
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Regarding Megan Marie’
One can read all the stats on record about Black women and suicide without receiving the benefit that comes with Regarding Megan Marie: Conquering Depression & Acquiring the Skill of Happiness – Surviving Suicide (One Dragonfly Publishing). Megan Bussen’s exhaustively detailed, first-hand account of how she came to grips with mental illness goes beyond numbers and charts to put […]
Posted inArts + Culture
‘In Search of the Sandman’ awakens local author’s creative vision
It was a long time in the making, but the fruition has been sweet for South Minneapolis native Timi Bliss, who published her first book in April of 2017. What began years ago as a bedtime tale created for mother-daughter bonding moments has blossomed into In Search of the Sandman, a children’s story about a […]
Posted inArts + Culture
‘In Search of…’ is top-shelf summer reading
Kyle S. Taylor is, so to speak, an author’s author. Fellow writers can easily appreciate his skill of making the hard job of creating engaging fiction look easy. He brandishes a firm grasp of fundamentals like eye-friendly word-flow, solid character construction, compelling immediacy, and imagery that paints a perfectly clear picture. For good measure, Taylor […]
Posted inArts + Culture
BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea’
Two recent Twin Cities news stories — the trial of former St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez and verdict in the fatal shooting Philando Castile, and the family of Jamar Clark suing Minneapolis Police Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze — highlight what has become all too commonplace here and across the country: African American lives selectively […]
Posted inArts + Culture
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Avoid Prepare Defend’ armed with common sense strategies
Ulrich Faircloth’s Avoid Prepare Defend: 25 Essential Tips on How to Stay Safe From Crime (Self Defense Bros.) is, you might say, profound in its simplicity. He states the obvious and cites common sense, smart ideas when it comes the subject of personal safety. After all, in the matter of preserving life and limb, what’s […]
Posted inBooks
BOOK REVIEW: ‘This Is Where I Am’
Zack Caligiuri’s This Is Where I Am (University of Minnesota Press, $17.95) comes from a gifted author and would’ve worked with competent editing and a publishing house acting with integrity. Regrettably, this valuable volume suffers a disjointed rendering and worse, sensationalized publicity peddling a bill of goods: hawking the book as a prison memoir — […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Local fire captain shares his long road to authorship
North Minneapolis resident Cavis Adams is a full-time fire captain for the City of Minneapolis Fire and Rescue. He’s also a new author, having published the book Granddaddy last November. “I’ve always wanted to be a writer,” said Adams, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the University of Minnesota, and freelances as […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars perform concert for Books for Africa
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars performed live at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall, 6 W. 6th Street in St. Paul on February 10 to help raise funds so Books For Africa (BFA) can ship 22,000 school books to Sierra Leone in West Africa. Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars was formed in 1997 in the Kalia […]
Posted inArts + Culture
BOOK REVIEW: Coretta Scott King memoir, an engrossing and inspiring read
Coretta Scott King’s My Life, My Love, My Legacy is a fascinating historical document, chronicling her personal journey through professional trials, tribulations and, thankfully, triumphs. Highly visible supporting Dr. King, she nonetheless recalls that in 1957, as her husband grew internationally famous, thanks to making the cover of Time, “I had many questions and I was seeking direction about […]
Posted inNews
Papa Lemon history series draws from local author’s family
Twin Cities authors have done well to provide children such fare as Anthony Peyton Porter’s Jump at de Sun biography of Zora Neale Hurston, M. Ann Machen Pritchard‘s Phil the Pill and Friends, and Linda and Nneka Onyilofor’s My Brother Adam. These offerings, educational and entertaining, empower by encouraging, indeed nurturing a sense of self-worth. […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Author and political pundit Marc Lamont Hill laments war on America’s vulnerable
Marc Lamont Hill is one of America’s leading intellectual voices. He is currently the host of BET News and VH1 Live, as well as a political contributor on CNN. Marc has received prestigious awards, and holds a Ph.D. with distinction from the University of Pennsylvania and currently serves on the faculty of Morehouse College as […]
Posted inBooks
Local author aims to uplift and empower with children’s books
The book Esther Bean the Queen of Self Esteem (B.E.A.N. Enterprises LLC) illuminates issues of self-esteem which is of invaluable importance to girls. After all, eventual self-worth begins at childhood. Accordingly, Black women historically have had the core of their existence the matter of sustaining a strong self-image. In her books, author Jacqueline Norwood-Hall, a […]
Posted inArts + Culture
Obama’s legacy: Are we better off? Dr. Malveaux weighs in
A tip of the chapeau to Dr. Malveaux! Dr. Julianne Malveaux has long been recognized for her progressive and insightful observations. She is a labor economist, noted author, and colorful commentator. Her contributions to the public dialogue on issues such as race, culture, gender and their economic impacts are shaping public opinion in 21st Century […]