Its known in the United States for publishing a lot of fiction. So i think it is a good counterbalance. [inaudible] so just picking it up and moving it over, i still have the same staff and books in the same boss. So it was a minimally traumatic as a bio can be. Host imer it is the publisher basic books, you can look for some of their titles this fall, this, this is a book tv on cspan2. [inaudible] thank you for being here, i want to thank market he said it we began collaborating maybe 20 years ago when we were each 12 years old. When i was doing the National Black writers conference in max join me, he is a good friend, my mentor, john oliver cofounded the conference with me, used to talk about longdistance runners. He would say, you could make a sprint but who is the guy who can go all the way . And and max is a longdistance runner. He is a visionary, he is remains focused on his goals. And as he said this is the 18th time he is doing this book festival and has plans for many other events as he has described. So i want to, im going to name my topic and my topic is, literature by black writers who are the readers, who are the readers of literature by black writers . Want to start with a disclaimer. I was speaking to max and i said you know, i do not want this to be called black literature, who are the readers. In that difference is important to me and i want to tell you why. It is because i do not buy into the theory that there is a genre called black literature. I believe there is only well written literature about the written literature and we can debate what is well written and whats not so well written at another time. But for genres of literature there categories like romance, history, tragedy, satire, etc. , and as far as i know, black writers write books that include all of those genres. Black writers those genres. Black writers write books that are history, tragedy, comedy, satire, et cetera. The argument that because the writers are black and because their topics are generally about the black experience, one could just say that constitutes a genre called black literature. I believe this kind of thinking leads us down a rabbit hole to which there is no exit whereas the perniciously dangerous exit. Indeed, such thinking impacts directly on the question of, what of, what it means to be human. Let me clarify. Black writers are night a special brand of human beings. And the what they write about are not a special brand of human beings. They are all simply and wonderfully human. So to speak directly to my topic, why do so many assume that books by black writers are of interest to only black readers . Take any major bookstore in youll see what i mean. You will see their special sections for books that are africanamerican interest and then there other sections in the bookstore that are categorized according to their subjects or according to their authors. Recently i went into these big bookstores and you can guess which one and right in front of the store was two huge tables labeled africanamerican interest. I saw books by some major black writers, including one books by marlon james who won last years book award. The store was crowded but the only people around those tables were africanamerican interest, were black people. What if one assumes that let me say right away as a disclaimer that i believe bookstores think doing something right. They think theyre doing something good by creating sections based on the race of the writer, in this case black writers. They believe they are providing a special place for black writers so that those who may be interested in books by black writers who they assume would only be readers can find these books conveniently. Let me also say that publishers target and this is dangerous, publishers publishers target their marketing and distribution dollars to black readers for the very same reason. But heres the problem, bookstores and publishers do this because their assumptions are based on their concept of the world and their concept of the word is based on the word in which they live where they really have occasion to interact with black readers. The fact is, is, the Publishing Industry is a white industry. 79 of the overall Publishing Industry is white. By that i mean, the publishers, the editors, the agents, the publicists, the book reviewers, the distributors, the booksellers. 79 is white. That our Publishers Weekly statistics that came out in march of this year. What is more dangerous is that 82 of the Editorial Department in the Editorial Department decide which books are going to be published and which distributed, 82 of the Editorial Department in this country are white. In a recent book, the art museums and the age of black power, the writers present a similar observation about art museums, where there are few africanamerican curators or even white curators have knowledge of art by black artists. The result is he says is that art by people of color is often shown in marginal spaces, as im saying about the bookstores, one person exhibition are the preferred method of showing the work of minority artists. As they provide curators away to avoid engaging with the problems of complicated, interlocking histories. Is that what the Publishing Industry and some readers feel . Do they fear that books by black writers force right leaders to engage with problems of americas complicated interlocking histories of its treatment of black americans . New research has revealed the slavery in america was not limited to the south and there is a new book out, i dont have the name right at the top of my head, and it shows that new england puritans had slaves and there is a direct link between the prophet of slavery and the emergence of northern cities including new york city. This is tough information to digest. In my memoir, not for everyday use i tell about a colleague of mine his father came to america from Eastern Europe when he was a young adults, maybe 20 or so. My colleague argued that the father professed was unrelated to americas treatment of its black citizens. Neither he nor his family members were in america during slavery times he says nor in jim court time or during the civil rights movement. Then i reminded my friends of how the father managed to accumulate close to 1 million for his children. You see, two decades ago my friends father and my next were both looking to purchase a house in long island with a view of the water. My ex was shown a house on long beach road. Beach was the operative word the realtor used to persuade my expert in the realtor did not include that it was a long way to the beach. He took my friend to a house in a canal, my friend father cannot afford the beach but he took him to a house that basic canal. Both my ex and my friends father pay 34000 for their houses along time ago. They sold their house is not too long ago. My ex got 174,000 for his house, my friends father got close to 1 million. The history of american racism has long tentacles. Giving economic advantage, even to recent white immigrants who benefit from racism even if they themselves were not there during those periods. So, the books by black writers not only engage white readers for the consequences of americas interlocking history of its treatment of black americans, they also provide a mirror in which we can all recognize humanity. Like all writers black writers focus on the specifics because they know that by drilling down on the specific subject they will arrive at the truth about our human conditions. Whether its a love, loose love, what if its hope or despair. Black writers write these topics the more often than not they explore these topics through the facets of the human condition, through characters were black. So heres the challenge to me, the challenge of predominately white Publishing Industry is to accept that proof. That means that the industry can market books by black writers not by books that appeal only to black readers but rather has books that have universal appeal that give us a window to the challenges that all human beings face. How to overcome despair, how to be a most loving cells. And so i have very little time so im going to go almost to the end. I think much of the claim, im going to go a little bit before that there is a norwegian writer that everyone is reading. He was trying to make sense he made a powerful statement. He said the most powerful human forces are to be found in the meeting of the face and the gays. Only there to we exist for one another. In the gaze of another we become and in our own case of others it is there to that we be destroyed. Being unseen is devastating and so is not seen. I think much of the blame for the recent racial tensions we experience today is because we live and experience life in silos. There are laws that make segregation illegal yet our neighborhoods are segregated, our children go to school both public and private we worship in places that are segregated, our social venues are so segregated. And you can say none of this is intentional, because they witnessed the consequences, how is it that only now White America seems to realize what black parents have no rages, that there black sons can die simply for driving or being black in the wrong place at the wrong time. Books by black writers, about black give us access to the experiences to the black experiences and the black world. Books by black writers allow us to assess this space engage of black people. Books by black writers give all peoples of the world the chance to see themselves in facing gaze of others. Books by black writers allow us to see our common humanity and break down barriers that separate us. I was struck by the can fusion, the conclusion that it comes to and his remarkable book, between the the world and me. He does not exonerate Rogue Police Officers who kill innocent young men