Category: Books

Review of Kadir Nelson’s I Have A Dream: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1/12/2017

AUTHOR: Rachel Dangermond

I never tire of hearing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s historic speech, I Have A Dream, and was pleased to see Kadir Nelson included a CD and the full transcript of the speech with his picture book, I Have A Dream. Nelson has delivered to us a sumptious visual rendition of what Dr. King said in 1961. Each illustration that accompanies an excerpt from the speech is a gorgeous interpretation of Dr. King’s words.

The intense close up illustration of a Black hand holding a white hand with Dr. King’s words: “With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day,” moved me to tears. Throughout the book, the combination of the gorgeous illustrations coupled with the powerful words of Dr. King is very stirring. The illustrations are bold, the words are bold, and together they are powerful.

I read the book to my seven-year-old son, and at the end, he said, “We need to be free! What [Dr. King] said doesn’t get old. And the pictures of the kids with kids is awesome.” I agree, this speech never gets old and Nelson’s illustrations are true art from the heart. I look forward to pulling this book down from our bookshelf to read over and over.

The New Orleans Blended Books Club will host a Martin Luther King Storytelling Hour and Book Sale on Saturday, January 14th from 3:00pm to 4:00pm at Stella Jones Gallery. LOOK HERE for additional details, and please visit www.stellajonesgallery.com.

RACHEL DANGERMOND is the author of the forthcoming book, The Elephant In The Playground, a memoir about a Sephardic mom raising a Black son in New Orleans. She is a facilitator with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu's Welcome Table, a race reconciliation initiative that began in 2013. She is also a trained mediator and participates with the Department of Justice on community policing topics.

Rachel is the founder of Transracial Parenting a wheelhouse of writing, speaking, and workshops helping to advance the conversation of race particularly as it relates to parenting. For more information visit www.transracialparenting.com and follow Transracial Parenting on Facebook.

"There's an alligator in audubon park" - BOOK REVIEW

10/23/2016

A Cute Story About A Real Fact.

This will be the fifth time I have read this book slowly, and the third time by myself. "THERE'S AN ALLIGATOR IN AUDUBON PARK" is a delightful story for children and for those like me who know the true story behind this children’s book.

GINA MINOR ALLEN gives us a quick peek of a normal day in Audubon Park when it's discovered that there is an alligator in the park. Rumors and tales quickly fly among interesting characters who want to catch the said alligator for reasons ranging from reward money to using it for stew! The characters are beautifully illustrated, each with their own look that is unique to them alone while fitting in with the overall look. The lines are funny and quick to read in a sing-song way. And the story from beginning to end keeps kids enraptured for their first and second time reading. I should know I read the book to my siblings who demanded encore readings of the book. While not a long read, this story gives a quick boost to the imagination of young and old about something that did happen in my home city. It’s wonderful for those who wish to keep a funny bit of history as well as people who like to give children quirky books. This is a great story that only leaves you wanting in one thing, this wish for more!

Book illustrations courtesy Gina Minor Allen.

"There's An Alligator in Audubon Park" is available now at Community Book Center. The New Orleans Blended Books Club will host a reading and book signing event with author/illustrator, Gina Minor Allen at 2:00pm on Saturday, December 10th at Community Book Center. LOOK HERE for additional details or visit www.ginaminorallen.com.

BRANDON BIGARD is an actress, activist, a Baby Doll, writer, spoken word artist, and a native of New Orleans. She has been a youth advocate for over a decade being in may groups, including the Blended Book Club. A consultant that specializes in creating youth, color, and gender friendly/ appropriate climates, she claims to just be a lover of creating and created worlds.

Bitch magazine's review of MIXED COMPANY

7/9/2015

Mixed Company is a New Orleans Loving Festival Publication.

New Orleans Literary Journal "Mixed Company" Collects Black Perspectives on Art and Fiction
by Soleil Ho

Many writers have tried to put words to the New Orleans experience. This has netted us a diverse pool of work that spans from the plays of Tennessee Williams to the writings of activist Alice Dunbar Nelson. The latest notable addition to this vivid legacy is Mixed Company, an ongoing small-press fiction anthology edited and compiled by writers Jeri Hilt and Kristina Kay Robinson.

Every detail of Mixed Company, whose first issue was published this past March, is carefully chosen in order to emphasize its central mission: to bring to the forefront the artistic work of New Orleanian women of color, “to assert undeniably that WE REMAIN.” In a literary moment when the political ramifications of visibility and representation are clearer than ever, Mixed Company reminds us of what exactly is at stake when we talk about the poisonous and limiting effect of white supremacist patriarchy on our ability to share and read each other’s stories. MORE >>>

Posted originally by BitchMagazine.Org on July 8, 2015
Order MIXED COMPANY on our Shop Page.

BEHIND THE WHITE PICKET FENCE Power and Privilege in a Multiethnic Neighborhood

11/11/2014

1 Comment

The link between residential segregation and racial inequality is well established, so it would seem that greater equality would prevail in integrated neighborhoods. But as Sarah Mayorga-Gallo argues, multiethnic and mixed-income neighborhoods still harbor the signs of continued, systemic racial inequalities. Drawing on deep ethnographic and other innovative research from "Creekridge Park," a pseudonymous urban community in Durham, North Carolina, Mayorga-Gallo demonstrates that the proximity of white, African American, and Latino neighbors does not ensure equity; rather, proximity and equity are in fact subject to structural-level processes of stratification. Behind the White Picket Fence shows how contemporary understandings of diversity are not necessarily rooted in equity or justice but instead can reinforce white homeowners' race and class privilege; ultimately, good intentions and a desire for diversity alone do not challenge structural racial, social, and economic disparities. This book makes a compelling case for how power and privilege are reproduced in daily interactions and calls on readers to question commonsense understandings of space and inequality in order to better understand how race functions in multiethnic America.
Read An Excerpt and MORE >>>
Source: racismreview.com. #loving festival

1 Comment

The New Orleans Loving Festival is a Multiracial Community Celebration & Film Festival that challenges racism through outreach and education. The "Loving Festival" is an initiative of Charitable Film Network.

Contributors:

JW Bottletree
Rachel Dangermond
Elizabeth Underwood

Review of Kadir Nelson’s I Have A Dream: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"There's an alligator in audubon park" - BOOK REVIEW

Bitch magazine's review of MIXED COMPANY

BEHIND THE WHITE PICKET FENCE Power and Privilege in a Multiethnic Neighborhood

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