The Disaster Film: A Cultural Phenomenon

 Photo Courtesy: Paramount Pictures 

In 1938, film director, writer and producer, Orson Welles, aired his adaptation of the H.G. Welles’ novel, “War of the Worlds” for the radio program Mercury Theater on Air. The novel centered on an alien invasion that takes place in 19^th century England. The 60 minute program ran without commerci... more

The Return of Street Lit

"Reading literature is important because it expands one's vocabulary, perspective and intellectual capacity. And though some might argue that any reading is better than none, the reader ingests poison when metaphor and imagery are replaced with sex, violence and expletives." — Yolanda Young, USA Today

It’s been said that “reading is fundamental." But with the revival of “Street Lit,” or what some have dubbed “Gangster Lit” it has many people arguing that the books promote sex, drugs, crime and are fundamentally violent.

“Street Lit,” or what is commonly known in the publishing industry as Street Fiction, first received notoriety in the 1970’s with the emergence of works like, “Pimp: The Story of My Life” by Iceberg Pimp a.k.a. Robert Beck, and later with the works of author Donald Goines. Both writers used their personal experiences to inform and provide authenticity to their fictional tales of urban and street culture. Many were set in some of the Un... more

Redemption for Malcolm: A young man’s struggle with identity and the burden of supreme legacy

In February 2008, Giant Magazine journalist Aliya S. King conducted an interview with Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of assassinated Civil Rights leader, Malcolm X. Malcolm Shabazz is known for two things in his life: he’s Malcolm X’s first grandchild and he is responsible for the house fire that killed his grandmother, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X’s widow.

In 1997, I was sitting in Delight Barbershop, a small two manned shop just north of Trade Street in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina, when I learned of Dr. Betty Shabazz’s death. The shop was sca... more