My Beautiful Black Twisted Fantasy

October 2017 New Book Release

Now or Never!: Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry’s War to End Slavery 

-Ray Shepard

Here is the riveting dual biography of two little-known but extraordinary men in Civil War history―George E. Stephens and James Henry Gooding. These Union soldiers not only served in the Massachusetts 54th Infantry, the well-known black regiment, but were also war correspondents who published eyewitness reports of the battlefields. Their dispatches told the truth of their lives at camp, their intense training, and the dangers and tragedies on the battlefield. Like the other thousands of black soldiers in the regiment, they not only fought against the Confederacy and the inhumanity of slavery, but also against injustice in their own army. The regiment’s protest against unfair pay resulted in America’s first major civil rights victory―equal pay for African American soldiers. This fresh perspective on the Civil War includes an author’s note, timeline, bibliography, index and source notes. 

October 10, 2017 | Calkins Creek| MG Ages 11 and up | Grades 6 and up |144 Pages | Purchase Here

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How to Find a Fox (2016) 

“Equipped with a camera and determination, a little girl sets out to track down an elusive red fox. But foxes are sneaky, and it proves more difficult than she thought.

Nilah Magruder’s debut picture book charmingly tells the story of what it means to not give up and how sometimes what you’re looking for is closer than you think.”

By  Nilah Magruder 

Get it now here

Nilah Magruder is an award-winning writer, illustrator, and storyboard artist. She has received the inaugural Dwayne McDuffie Award for diversity, in recognition for her web comic M.F.K. In addition to comics, she has illustrated for children’s books, film, and commercial television as well as Disney and DreamWorks.

“I think all Americans need to recognize that, as tragic and horrible as slavery was, as big an economic shadow as it cast, the one thing it didn’t do was strip people of their humanity. And I wish that all of us were as strong as the people that walked down those steps and got on those boats.” - Lonnie Bunch

Director Lonnie Bunch takes CBS’ Scott Pelley on a journey to Mozambique Island to discuss the ruins of the Sao Jose, a ship carrying cargo manifest records of 1,500 iron bars for ballast and more than 400 slaves bound for Brazil.

Read more on 60 Minutes. 

About the Slave Wrecks Project (SWP)

The Slave Wrecks Project (SWP) is a long-term collaboration between six core partners, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), the U.S. National Park Service Submerged Resources Center (NPS SRC) and its Southeast Archaeological Center (NPS SEAC), the George Washington University Capitol Archaeological Institute (GWU CAI), IZIKO Museums of South Africa, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), and Diving With a Purpose (DWP). The project integrates research, training and education in the pursuit of new scholarship on the global slave trade, utilizing the lens of slave shipwrecks as its unique point of entry.

A Former Speechwriter Looks Back On His ‘Hopey, Changey’ Years With Obama

David Litt was 24 years old and just a few years out of college when he landed a job writing speeches for President Barack Obama — an experience he calls “surreal and completely terrifying.”

Though he was initially assigned the speeches no one else wanted to write, Litt eventually became a special assistant to the president and senior presidential speechwriter. His duties included writing jokes for the short comedy routine Obama performed annually at the White House Correspondents Association dinners.

Litt says a lot of those jokes worked because they were coming from the president. “As I re-tell them, I often am reminded of this, because people give me a look like, Really? That was funny? And I’m like, Yeah, you have to hear the president tell it.”

Other speeches led to unintentional political controversy. When Litt wrote Obama a Thanksgiving address that neglected to mention God, conservative media criticized the president for the omission. The blowback taught Litt a valuable lesson. “Your job as a speech writer is not just to write good speeches,” he says. “Your job is to keep in the back of your mind the fact that there’s a whole industry of people trying to take your words out of context — and that’s politics.”

The “Angry Dark Skin Friend”

There’s a common pattern in many forms of black media where there are 2 black female characters who are friends or sisters, one being lighter in skintone, while the other is darker. Even though darkskin and lightskin women form friendships all the time, the way they’re commonly depicted in Black Media is what stands out and perpetuates certain stereotypes:

1. in the film/show/etc, the main character/focus of the 2 is typical the lighter skin woman

2. this makes the darker skin woman the “sidekick”

3. the lighter skin woman is portrayed as prettier, nicer, “classier”, more reserved, and/or overall more likeable and desirable

4. the darker skin woman is portrayed as shady, mean, loud, desperate, abrasive, aggressive, and/or overall less attractive (many would say “ghetto”)

These photos show just a few examples that came to mind…

Coming to America (1988) - The darker skin sister was more desperate for a man, chasing after Prince Akeem, Simi, and even her sister’s ex-fiancé. In the frame of society’s norms, this would be seen as “fast”, “tacky” or lacking in morals, which would therefore, make her less fitting to be a wife.

House Party (1990) - The darker skin friend (AJ Johnson) was the louder, more outgoing friend who was ready to date both Kid & Play, whereas Tisha Campbell’s character was more timid, and ended up being Kid’s “better suited” love interest.

Martin (1992-1997) - Once again, Tisha Campbell is playing the main female character, Gina Waters, and love interest to the main character, Martin Payne. While Gina is depicted as a kinder, classier, professional, “wifey” type, her best friend/assistant Pamela James, played by Tichina Arnold, is depicted as a loud, angry, man-less, berating black woman with “buckshots” and “beedeebees” in her “horse” hair, who was constantly butting heads with Martin.

Proud Family (2001-2005) - Penny, the lighter skin girl, was the main character with Dijonay, the darker skin girl, as the friend/sidekick. Dijonay had a less “traditional” name, as did her many siblings, was portrayed as louder, having more attitude, and was constantly chasing after Sticky, a boy who not only didn’t want her, but preferred the lighter skin friend, Penny.