Ed Morrissey tweeted back to Shapiro: “The secret to success in life: Find someone who loves you as unconditionally and fiercely as the mainstream media loves the Obamas.”

Except they’re not “mainstream” at all. These “objective newspapers” are blatantly leftist partisan rags, as they demonstrate daily.

Shapiro quoted this saccharine passage about the Blessed Michelle: “She is on a journey. Through her stories, experiences, and thoughts, we’re finding the light with her. Lucky us.” Obama’s publishers tweeted out this quote, and then Newman retweeted the publisher like they’re all in the business of selling Michelle Obama.

So the people buying (and paying) Obama are lucky, and so are her pals. Newman added, “The fact that she loves ‘lowbrow TV’ and counts the hilarious but racy Ali Wong among her favorite comedians says the world about who Obama is when she gets together with those friends. Lucky them.”

The first line of Newman’s glittery bootlicking review is, “It’s not easy being Michelle Obama. Fabulous, yes. Easy, no.”

Later, she decries the “explosion of divisiveness” under former President Donald Trump, typically ignoring any introspection about the left-wing media endlessly and divisively smearing conservatives.

Newman complained: “You think it was painful for you to see a reckless crew in the White House? Try being the Obamas, knowing as you toss them the keys that so much of what you had worked for was about to be shredded like a cheap dog toy.”

Just see Newman’s tweets for her partisan background. She’s sharing feminist Hillary Clinton tweeting, “It turns out women enjoy having human rights, and we vote,” and retweeting praise for Pennsylvania Sen.-elect John Fetterman’s social media producer Annie Wu, “the genius who has been embarrassing Dr. Oz online this year. She is incredible and deserves our praise.”

When Barack Obama’s memoir, “A Promised Land,” came out right after the 2020 election, their New York Times book review also was destined to become a sales pitch. The publisher happily and repeatedly regurgitated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “Barack Obama is as fine a writer as they come … (A Promised Land) is nearly always pleasurable to read, sentence by sentence, the prose gorgeous in places, the detail granular and vivid.”

Now consider that just three months ago, Times book reviewer Dwight Garner shredded Jared Kushner’s White House memoir, “Breaking History.” It was “earnest and soulless — Kushner looks like a mannequin, and he writes like one.” Garner sneered in print: “Reading this book reminded me of watching a cat lick a dog’s eye goo.”

When Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump, assembled a motivational book, “Women Who Work,” the Times assigned the review to Jessa Crispin. Crispin wrote: “It reads more like the scrambled Tumblr feed of a demented 12-year-old who just checked out a copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations from the library.”

Crispin tweeted: “The New York Times forced me to read the Ivanka book. Which cleanse is best for toxins in the brain?”

Quoting these reviews does not mean that these books are good. It means that you can’t trust The New York Times to judge for you because their reviews of the Trump books sound more like they’re performing stand-up comedy for a rabidly left-wing readership. You can’t trust their Obama book reviews because they read like a gelatinous trail of happy tears and sputum.

Columnist; Tim Graham

In his book “The Philadelphia Negro” (1899), W.E.B. Du Bois posed the question as to what would happen if white people lost their prejudices overnight. He said that it would make little difference to most blacks. He said: “Some few would be promoted, some few would get new places — the mass would remain as they are” until the younger generation began to “try harder” and the race “lost the omnipresent excuse for failure: prejudice.”

Sowell points out that if historical injustices and persecution were useful explanations of group disadvantage, Jews would be some of the poorest and least-educated people in the world today. Few groups have been victimized down through history as have the Jews. Despite being historical targets of hostility and lethal violence, no one can argue that as a result Jews are the most disadvantaged people.

Jews are not alone in persecution either. The number of overseas Chinese slaughtered by Vietnamese mobs and the number of Armenians slaughtered by mobs in the Ottoman Empire in just one year exceeds the number of black Americans lynched in the history of the U.S. From 1882-1968, 4,743 total lynchings occurred in the United States, of which 3,446 of the victims were black. Sowell concludes this section suggesting that it is dangerous for society to depict outcome differences as evidence or proof of malevolent actions that need to be counterattacked or avenged. Politicians and others who are now calling for reparations to blacks for slavery should take note of Sowell’s argument.

There’s considerable handwringing among educational “experts” about the black/white academic achievement gap. Part of the persistence of that gap can be laid at the feet of educators who replaced what worked with what sounded good. One notable example of success is the achievement of students at the all-black Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., from 1870 to 1955. During that period, Dunbar students frequently outscored white students on achievement tests in the Washington, D.C., area. Sowell, who studied Dunbar and other high-achieving black schools, says, Dunbar “had unsparing standards for both school work and for such behavioral qualities a punctuality and social demeanor. Dunbar’s homework requirements were more than most other public schools. Some Dunbar parents complained to the D.C. Board of Education about the large amount of homework required.”

Dunbar High School was not the only black school with a record of success that would be the envy of today’s public schools. Schools such as Frederick Douglass (Baltimore), Booker T. Washington (Atlanta), PS 91 (Brooklyn), McDonogh 35 (New Orleans) and others operated at a similar level of excellence. By the way, these excelling students weren’t solely members of the black elite; most had parents who were manual laborers, domestic servants, porters and maintenance men.

Observing the historical success of these and other black schools, one wonders about the catchwords of Chief Justice Earl Warren’s statement that separate schools “are inherently unequal.” That vision led to racial integration going from being a means to an end to racial integration becoming an end all by itself. Sowell doesn’t say this, but in my view, integration becoming the goal is what has made diversity and inclusion the end all and be all of today’s educators at many levels.

Dr. Thomas Sowell’s “Discrimination and Disparities” is loaded with pearls of wisdom from which we can all benefit, and as such, this will not be my final discussion of his masterpiece.

Purchase Book; https://www.amazon.com/Discrimination-Disparities-Thomas-Sowell/dp/154164560X

Columnist; Walter E. Williams

I grew up on a farm in northwest Ohio in a very sheltered childhood during the 1950s.  I poured over the World Book encyclopedia in our dining room bookcase- dreaming of lands beyond. In the safety and comfort of home, it was fun to think of faraway places, never considering the challenges involved in going there and more so, living there. My dream to visit Australia peaked during my senior year of high school, but there were no funds and thus no hope. Travel remained a distant wish.

Studying journalism at Ohio University in southern Ohio opened a new vista to me – being on campus and walking around town, meeting all kinds of people, including black people and immigrants for the first time. Falling in love made the world come to me. The professor I eventually married in 1968 led me into a life of travel and adventure – as well as my parent’s rejection and raising biracial children.

I knew nothing of Liberia (or Africa for that matter) when I first visited his tribal village. The only thing I had read concerning Africa was in the 8^th grade at a rural elementary school. In one of the bookcases, I found a book that told the story of a boy in the Congo who rode in a canoe.

Recently married and eager to please my husband, I found myself on a jet airliner in 1972 heading over the Atlantic – soon to be enveloped and adopted by the Mende tribe that would be my new family.  Each day I was faced with sights and sounds unlike anything I ever heard described in books. The capital city of Monrovia seemed civilized enough but even that was an adjustment. Then we went upcountry to his remote village where some small children had never seen a white person.

I was carried in a chief’s hammock over the Kamboi Mountain Range through the high forest. As our traveling party wound its way, we followed a well-worn foot path through trees towering above. At each stream, I scrambled out to nervously walk the log bridge steadied by a Mende hand. The line of people walking ahead of me with bundles on their heads made me feel like Jane in a Tarzan movie. Here’s how it all happened as I remember it:

“As we approached Ben’s father’s village of Vahun, we heard celebratory gunfire. Everyone in our party picked up the pace. Suddenly a large crowd of men enveloped me, shouting with joy. I was rushed and swept along with them to a half-walled gravesite, covered by a corrugated roof, in the center of the village. The air inside was stifling from the afternoon sun, and the men crowded around me. Ben stood over the grave of his ancestor, Ngombu Tejjeh, weeping. I longed to wrap my arms around him, but I couldn’t say or do anything.

Outside, around a hundred people stood reverently watching, yet filled with excitement. It was clear they were enthusiastic to see Ben. A week earlier, word had gone out that the son of Ngombu Tejjeh was coming home after twenty-three years away. The crowd was larger than usual since Mende relatives from Sierra Leone traveled there to see the return of their “native son.”

In rapt silence, every eye was on Ben as he poured a large, expensive bottle of gin on the grave, gently coached in the ritual by his brother Patrick. More tears and ceremony followed. As the elders standing with Ben began to leave, I realized how much his people meant to him—and he to them.”

I loved my husband’s “other culture” viewpoint. He made me see the world in the eyes of a Mende. When we wrote a book together, I recorded his childhood stories in the village. In essence, I learned more about him than I ever did. I have no regrets. He opened a new world to me full of opportunities to stretch my mind and my heart.

Today, I’m 73 and not so adventurous. My husband and I had 40 and a half years of a wonderful marriage before he died nine years ago. I coped with my grief by writing our love story.

Written by Anita Katherine Dennis 

Purchase Book; Beyond Myself: The Farm Girl and the African Chief. (—-

Official website; http://www.anitakdennis.com

Family

While it would be great to think that everyone comes from a family that supportive and encourages them in their goal, this isn’t always the case. It could be because your family member are too focused on their own problems, that they just don’t have the emotional resources to help you with yours. Or that their expectations are wildly different from your own in terms of what you want out of life.

But whatever the reason, what can you do in this situation? Well, it’s a tough one for sure, and it will take some inner strength. You need to be respectful but also clear about your choices. It’s your life after all, and you are the best person to pick a career that will make you happy.

Also, if you find you’re not getting the support that you would like for your blood relatives, remember there are a lot of groups out there that can help. Like churches and organizations, so reach out to them to feel less alone.

Education

Next, it can sometimes be your education that is holding you back. Perhaps you don’t have the level of qualification necessary to get into the field that you want. Or perhaps you want to change careers, and you need to retrain. Or you may even have specific areas that are holding you back like numeracy and speaking English.

What this usually means is that you have to admit your weaker area to yourself and find some way of improving in these. For higher level qualifications and career changes, it may be about going back to school, to night school, or getting some on the job training that will enable you to achieve your goals.

For issues with spoken English, you can find a course online like the one written by AJ Hoge Which you can do in your spare time to boost your knowledge and confidence. Allowing you to feel much more able to pursue your career dreams.

Predjuidice

Another hurdle that you may com across is prejudice. This might be in terms of ethnicity, age, gender, or sexuality. Whichever factor it is, it’s not likely to be an easy situation to deal with. But that doesn’t mean you should give up.

Every career industry needs a trailblazer, the first person of their kind to be successful, and why shouldn’t it be you? Remember most prejudice seems like hate but really it is just fear, and you can make a big difference by changes people’s minds from the inside as well as campaigning on the issues externally.

Staff Writer; Doug Moore

1.    The Slave Ship by Marcus Rediker

This is certainly a rollercoaster read. You may have to hang on to your hats for this one because the writing and story will blow you away. It’s an eye-opening account of what it was like to be enslaved on a ship that had one duty – to carry Africans across the Atlantic in chains.

2.    Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington

In some ways, the full title (which I haven’t given here) will give the book story away. Horrific and appalling, this book gives an insight into the days when African American bodies were used in medical experiments. Without permission and without remorse, medical companies took the bodies and used them to ‘better our knowledge of medicines’.

3.    Assata an Auto Biography by Assata Shakur

When it comes to Black History and movements, names like Malcolm X are always at the forefront of our minds. However, how black women fared in the days of Black oppression is very rarely spoken about on a larger scale. This book is for you if you’re interested in how women coped with oppression on all sides – from whites and their own families.

Whether you’re reading these books because you’re taking a Black History class or you’re just interested in the subject, they’re pure gems to add to your collection. If you’re interested in providing a third party review of cashcrate, you could earn the money to buy all the books that take your fancy.

4.    The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Can you imagine leaving everything you know behind? Is the future brighter or more dangerous? Wilkerson tells the story of the great migration from the South. Her writing is beautiful, inspiring and hopeful. You can take a sneak peek at what’s inside here.

5.    Blues People by Leroi Jones

Who doesn’t love the blues? It’s the kind of music that can reach right down into your soul and take a hold of you for life. Play some blues music and grab yourself a copy of this book to learn all about the effect of this music in Black American History.

The history of Black Americans is sad, shocking and beautiful all at once. If it teaches us anything, it teaches us that hope is hard to kill. You can rise from the ashes of oppression and create a better tomorrow. The fight isn’t entirely over but books like these remind us of how far the world has come and to step out in faith when you believe things should change.

Staff Writer; Rosa Long

You’ve heard of Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), Ida B. Wells, Dr. Dorothy Height, WEB DuBois and Mary McLeod Bethune. But do you know Venture Smith, Mary Bowser, James Forten, Charles Wiggins, Clara Smith, Paul R. Williams, and Jackie Ormes? These are just some of the pathfinders that Tonya Bolden has lifted up in her book, “Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls.” Her book is extraordinary, not only because it features the biographies of relatively unknown and amazing African Americans, but also because she puts their lives in context. Thus, each biography talks about what was happening historically during the subject’s life. She also highlights their contemporaries, expanding the reach of the book and, perhaps, challenging students to do their own research about other notable African Americans.

Tonya Bolden is an award-winning children’s book author, but “Pathfinders” is no children’s book. To be sure it should be ordered in every school library and purchased by many parents. But young people will not be the only ones enhanced by a book that highlights sixteen stellar African Americans, many unknown. Bolden says, “Without denying racism and oppression, I did not want to talk about racism, but about accomplishment.” So she set out to offer a range of occupations for the young people who will read her book. “I wanted to give kids variety,” she told me. “I also wanted to expose them to people who had done something.” Black folks have done amazing things, and Bolden says she wants to encourage young people to “dream big and take chances”.

Her book reflects that, lifting up Richard Potter, a Black magician who traveled the world as a cabin boy before joining a circus, studying with a ventriloquist, and stepping out on his own to be, says Bolden, “the first magician born in the United States to have success in the land of his birth.” Or who would have thought that Sissieretta Jones, the daughter of enslaved people, would have had a successful career as a concert singer? Jones performed at Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall, sung at the White House for President Benjamin Harrison, and completed a European tour. Bolden says she wants young people to “think big.” Well, in spotlighting Sissieretta Jones, she encourages that dream. While the average American earned about $400 a year in Jones’ heyday, her earnings were more than $8000 a year. She was one of the highest paid Black entertainers in the United States.

The richness of Bolden’s book lies in the fact that she does offer occupational variety. There are entertainers, but there are also women near and dear to my heart, women that I’ve written about over the years. One is Dr. Sadie Tanner Mosell Alexander, the first African American woman to receive the Ph.D. in economics, and one of the first three to receive the Ph.D. in a single week in June 1921. Georgiana Rose Simpson earned her Ph.D. in German from the University of Chicago, and Eva Beatrice Dykes earned her Ph.D. in English from Radcliffe (now Harvard). She taught at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., Howard University and Oakwood College (now University) in Huntsville, Alabama.

Another sister Bolden lifts up is Maggie Lena Walker, the first African American woman to form and run a bank, Penny Savings Bank, in Richmond, Virginia. Maggie Lena, cannily merged her bank with others to survive the Great Depression, and the bank thrived until it closed in 2009. As an economist, Maggie Lena Walker and Dr. Sadie Tanner Mosell Alexander resonate with me, but many will also enjoy the lives of architect Paul Williams, combat pilot Eugene Ballard, or filmmaker Oscar Michaeaux. Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, the woman whose accomplishments were highlighted in the movie, “Hidden Figures,” is also featured in Bolden’s book.

What can we learn from these pathfinders? We can appreciate their achievement against all odds. We can appreciate their faith and their contributions. And, most importantly, we can be inspired by their contributions and by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King. “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” The service of these pathfinders should inspire our own drive to achieve, to accomplish and, most importantly, to serve. Tonya Bolden’s book is an absolutely worthy addition to your library!

On Saturday March 18, 2017, to honor those in the books and our communities’ authorless, book parties will be held around the country. To participate or host an event contact – read@theafricanamericanchildrensbookproject.org.

Columnist; Julianne Malveaux

FB Page; http://facebook.com/julianne.malveaux

We’ve been here before. Remember Ronald Reagan, the President who cut school lunches and declared ketchup a vegetable? Remember warmonger George W. Bush? Remember Richard Nixon and his coldness toward Coretta Scott King? Remember history!

Journalist Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds offers us the opportunity to remember history in the Coretta Scott King memoir, “My Life, My Love, My Legacy.” Reynolds took copious notes and made extensive recordings in the decades that she worked and travelled with Coretta Scott King, and she has turned them into a memoir. Completed in 2007, it has taken a decade for the book to be published, largely because of complications with the King estate. But Reynolds chooses not to talk about the complications, instead choosing to talk about the many ways her life was enriched and enhanced by her association with Mrs. King. She also chooses to illuminate the leadership roles that Mrs. King embraced, both while her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was living, and after his death.

The book is a great and inspirational read, especially now, when so many have despaired at the irrational-seeming leadership of Donald Trump. It is a reminder that it took 15 years of persistence to establish the King holiday that we now all take for granted. It is easy to forget that Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) introduced the King holiday legislation in 1968, just days after Dr. King’s assassination. He introduced it again and again, year after year. According to Coretta Scott King, the bill was rejected more than 70 times. But she, and Conyers, persisted in their efforts to create a national holiday. Coretta Scott King met with the reformed segregationist Senator Robert Byrd. She says she would have been “anxious” to meet with a man who filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Bill, but was assured that his views had changed. Indeed, Byrd supported the effort to establish the King holiday, but through a rules change, a two-thirds vote was needed to establish a holiday instead of a simple majority. In 1979, the bill lost by a mere five votes.

Agitation continued after this loss. A petition drive yielded six million signatures. Stevie Wonder released his “Happy Birthday” song that advocated for a King holiday. Senator Jesse Helms opposed the holiday, introducing a 300-page document that detailed King’s “Communist activities.” Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan was so outraged by the document that he threw it to the ground, describing it as a “packet of filth.” On October 19, 1983, the Senate passed King holiday legislation 78-22, following a House vote of 338-90. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law on November 3, 1983, establishing the King holiday on the third Monday of January, beginning in 1986. Of course, some states dragged their feet. Arizona did not acknowledge the holiday until the NFL moved a Super Bowl in protest in 1992. South Carolina waited until 2000 to acknowledge the holiday.

We often see Coretta Scott King as a stoic, dignified lady, and a graceful partner to civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King. This memoir shows her from another perspective, as a leader in her own right, as a dedicated pacifist, as a persistent adherent to principles of nonviolence, as a gritty fighter for her husband’s legacy through the holiday and the establishment of the King Center. We also see her as a mother, and can read her assessment of her children, their strengths and their challenges. While I had the privilege to be in Mrs. King’s company on many occasions, and to speak with her personally and at length more than once, this book adds a depth to my knowledge of her and makes me wish I’d had the opportunity to know the side of her that laughed with Betty Shabazz and Myrlie Evers (I laughed with both of those women, but never Coretta), enjoyed opera, and let her hair down.

As we attempt to develop the “fight back” plan for the outrageousness of the Trump presidency, it is useful to consider the women on whose shoulders we stand – Fannie Lou Hamer, Ida B. Wells, Shirley Chisholm and so many others. And it is useful to remember the grit and grace of Coretta Scott King, the power and passion in her persistence. For me, this book put steel in my spine. The Trump years will be a long four years, but imagine waiting 17 years to establish a King holiday that is now so widely celebrated!

Columnist; Julianne Malveaux

FB Page; http://facebook.com/julianne.malveaux

At Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute (PPGJ), we aim to motivate and inspire young people to better themselves and to make a positive impact on the world. Working with young people of a variety of ages, we realize that our work is never exactly clear-cut. There are, however, definite steps that we can take toward meeting our goals and fulfilling our purpose. First and foremost, we want to donate 1,000 books to children around the world and create opportunities both for learning and for service.

Our current plan is to raise enough funds to cover 1,000 Making a Difference books, which are meant to guide students in the right direction and motivate them to study hard and pursue their educational goals. Starting in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and traveling to several cities, we will wrap up our book tour in Ghana. For those interested in supporting the project, you can contribute to the Generosity Campaign at: https://www.generosity.com/education-fundraising/ppgj-book-project-to-empower-leaders-of-tomorrow/x/13905047

Book Excerpt– Making a Difference: The Story of Miss Freedom Fighter, Esquire

The best part of Grandma’s house was her den full of books. They would spend hours together talking and reading.

“Your name is your destiny,” Grandma had been telling Justice this since the day she was born. She reminded her often that being named Justice came with great responsibility. “To whom much is given, much is accounted for,” Grandma always said.

This book is uniquely created to show children that the power of leadership and social justice is within their reach. Making a Difference: The Story of Miss Freedom Fighter is an exciting story about a young girl named Justice and her journey through her grandmother’s library where she learns about the change-makers of our past from Shirley Chisholm to Charles Hamilton Houston. These unheralded figures give Justice the right motivation to see herself one day making an impact in the world.

Justice discovered that becoming a lawyer would help her make a huge difference in her community and in the world. This is also an extension of the vision of the Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute of creating strong leaders.

About the Organizer

Dr. Artika Tyner (a.k.a. Miss Freedom Fighter, Esquire) is a passionate educator, award-winning author, civil rights attorney, sought after speaker, and advocate for justice who is committed to helping children discover their leadership potential and serve as change agents in the global community. She is the Founder/CEO of Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute.

About Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute

Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute seeks to plant seeds of social change through education, training, and community outreach.

Follow Dr. Tyner-
Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-artika-r-tyner/
Books: The Leader’s Journey, The Lawyer as Leader
Website: http://artikatyner.com/
Twitter: @DrArtikaTyner

Facebook | Linkedin

Maya Beecham, a poet, writer, and published author, could not hold herself back, she says of Ms. Milton’s meals: “Each time I eat a meal by Ms. Milton, it compares to a symphony at its climax with varied elements of just the right amount of diverse ingredients mixed with precision, flair, and love.” She also praised the bestowment of the author’s meal secrets in her book.

Jacklyn also shared in the book, how seven important women helped shaped her life, “My book is a memoir filled with cherished memories, recipes, and I also share how my foremothers inspired and motivated me throughout life’s journey.”

Readers of Family Whispers of Love will discover how soul food has a way of bringing togetherness with family and close friends, and how during such time of togetherness, stories are told, eating takes place, and memories are formed. The book also includes stories, songs, inspirational quotes, scriptures, and recipes that inspire love.

This book was published by Planting People Growing Justice and is now available here. You can also catch snippets and follow Ms. Milton’s updates real-time on Facebook.

About Jacklyn Milton 

Jacklyn Milton is a wife, mother, grandmother, educator, and caterer. Cooking is a labor of love, and her love for cooking is inherited from her foremothers by watching them in the kitchen creating family meals that nourishes the mind, body, and soul. She continues in this legacy by cooking and baking for her family and friends. Her dinner table is always a place of merriment, fulfillment, and abundance.

###

Contact details: Dr. Artika Tyner, dr.artikatyner@gmail.com
Phone number: 651-303-0729
Website: www.artikatyner.com

This latest book differs from his past work, as the focus is directed inward. Living and Loving Out Loud is the story of Dr. West upbringing, coming of age, and personal struggles throughout his life journey. Critically looking at one’s experiences is no easy undertaking, and the manner in which he does is refreshing. Instead of being evasive about his mishaps, he honestly puts forth the events of his life in a tone that is free of self-aggrandizement.

Cornel West describes himself as “a bluesman in the life of the mind, and a jazzman in the world of ideas.” In discussing his love for music, he recounts his personal favorites that range from nearly every genre of 20th century music. Be it Jazz, Blues, or Hip-Hop, West expresses his insight on the inner workings of the genre. It is admirable how he can explain at length the elements of popular music, and see the value in an art form that many intellectuals regard as debased and transitory.

Of particular note, is Dr. West outlook on hip-hop and its origins. He notes “Music education was drastically cut in neighborhood schools. Poor kids couldn’t get their hands on instruments. So self-invented artists—like Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and Kool Herc—invented instruments of their own. In talking about the origin of music he takes into account the reality of the conditions arose from. To paraphrase, this genre of music literally made something out of nothing. A point missed by most pundits and critics of rap music.

Also central to Dr. West life is his belief in God. From his upbringing in the church of his youth, to the time that he taught at Union Theological Seminary right here in Harlem, up to the present day he describes himself as a devout Baptist. It is a large part of his worldview, and the reason he feels able to continue on in life. While many intellectuals may pride themselves on their lack of belief, he grounds himself in his Christian outlook, especially when he speaks of the necessity of dealing with urban and rural poverty.

Living and Loving Out Loud is a worthy read. When learning about the life of an accomplished public figure, there are always lessons to be learned. As someone who is familiar with the work of Dr. West, I must also add that this book is written in a very conversational tone, unlike Democracy Matters for example. Not limited to chronicling his own life, Dr. West also mentions books that were influential in his personal development. If one wanted to, you could compile a bibliography of the materials mentioned, and it would keep you reading for months! However, that is beside the point. More importantly, what one takes away from this book is the idea that as long as we live, whether we be famous or obscure, well off or always for want, we are all works in progress.

Written By Marc W. Polite