Black Book Talk

Last month we interviewed Kelly McWilliams, author of

Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay. She credited her mother's example as

a great influence on her writing.  We interviewed her mother, author

Jewell Parker Rhodes, 15 years ago, so we're delighted to rebroadcast our

2...

Harriet Douglass lives with her historian father on an old plantation in

Louisiana, which they’ve transformed into one of the South's few enslaved

people’s museums. Together, while grieving the recent loss of Harriet’s

mother, they run tours that help keep the memory of ...

Bern has been called to authenticate the long-lost musical masterpiece of

Frederic Delaney, lauded by some as the most prolific composer since

Beethoven.  Bern believes he knows everything about Delaney-- the man and

his music.  But, he soon learns otherwise:  That the g...

E. Ethelbert Miller is a writer, poet and literary activist.  His album,

"Black Men Are Precious,"  was a 2023 Grammy Nominee Finalist for Best

Spoken Word Poetry Album.   He is the author of two memoirs and several

books of poetry including The Collected Poems of E. Eth...

We're celebrating contemporary and historic Black women whose lives have

enriched the community and the world.  First time guest, Dr. Carmen P.

Thompson is a historian and author of The Making of American Whiteness: The

Formation of Race in Seventeenth- Century Virginia.  D...

Described by the Los Angeles Times as "a voice for the struggles of Black

women in novels and short stories prized for their folksy wisdom and original

voices," J. California Cooper died last week at 82 years old. The Times

continued with a quote from Pulitzer Prize-winning...

“I wrote Mermaid Kenzie: Protector of the Deeps to help show young (and

older) readers we can all pitch in to protect the beauty of our oceans and

marine life,” said Sherman. After researching environmentalism and seeing

the effects of pollution, Sherman was inspired to com...

COVID-19 ravaged many small businesses, but Third Eye Books, opened in 2019,

weathered the storm.  Hannah discusses the current business climate and how

it affects his and other small bookstores.   He discusses the services this

Southeast Portland literary center offers.  I...

The 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones (2019)  - Banned as part of broad

efforts to stamp out "critical race theory” in schools. 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou (1969)  - 

Challenged frequently and banned, ostensibly for vulgarity and sexually

explicit materi...