The Hollywood Reporter | January 22, 2022

Author of a new book on how to be a modern-day abolitionist, the L.A. native talks about how far-right attacks on her finances last year were attempts to "get me killed," how her stance on activism has shifted and the projects she has planned under her overall deal with Warner Bros.

There are few people in Los Angeles who straddle the worlds of political activism, Hollywood and art the way Patrisse Cullors does. A co-founder of Black Lives Matter — the movement that arose following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in 2013, after he killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin a year earlier — she went on to write a best-selling 2018 memoir, When They Call You a Terrorist, in 2018. “That was the height of when Black Lives Matter was being called a terrorist organization,” she says. Cullors also became a writer on the Freeform show Good Trouble that led to an overall deal with Warner Bros. TV Group in late 2020. That same year, Cullors — through her work as an artist, she has presented performance pieces at the Broad and Hammer museums — co-opened an art gallery, Crenshaw Dairy Mart, in a former convenience store in Inglewood.

Follow the link above to learn more.

Grub Street | January 21, 2022

Over the course of his 28-year-long career the chef, cookbook author, and former opera singer Alexander Smalls has opened a string of Manhattan restaurants, starting with Café Beulah in 1994, that served what he called Southern-revival cooking. In 2013, he debuted the Cecil and a revamped Minton’s, the historic mid-century jazz club. (He is no longer involved in either.) Now, he’s busy with his most ambitious project: a string of African food halls called Alkebulan, including one in Harlem. For Smalls, hosting is what it’s all about. “That’s all a boy wants is a dinner party,” he says. “The rest of it, it’s a lot to go through just to host some people for dinner. But hey, we all have our ways to get there.”

Follow the link above to learn more.

Dear Culture Podcast | January 20, 2021

Dear Culture, What does it mean to be an abolitionist? This week on the Dear Culture Podcast our hosts, Gerren Keith Gaynor and Shana Pinnock talk with Artist, Abolitionist and Black Lives Matter Co-Founder, Patrisse Cullors about her new book, An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and The World.

Follow the link above to learn more.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Stitcher

W Magazine | January 20, 2021

In 2019, the activist, artist, and author Patrisse Cullors wrote an article for the Harvard Law Review that fused abolitionist history and theory with her own abolition practice. As a cofounder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation with years of experience working alongside at-risk youth, fighting for prison reform, and participating in social movements around the world, Cullors had plenty to say on the subject. But it was the first time the 39-year-old put on paper a step-by-step breakdown outlining the way she integrated abolition into her daily life. “I thought about what I would have wanted to see as a young abolitionist,” Cullors tells me on a recent phone call from her native Los Angeles. “I would’ve wanted to read someone say, These are the things that make abolition possible. So I said, Let me tell you how I do it.”

That article was the bones for what became Cullors’s latest book, An Abolitionist's Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World. Out January 25, the handbook is just that: a text that can be revisited as reference material for how to inject abolitionist theories into your life. Although An Abolitionist's Handbook contains instructions on how to enact Black liberation and the liberation of underserved communities; how to fight imperialism, white supremacy, and colonialism, and details on dismantling the prison industrial system and other harmful structures, it’s also imbued with stories from Cullors’s upbringing as a young Black woman in the United States, her experiences in the Black Lives Matter movement, and the lessons she’s learned along the way. Additionally, Cullors ends each chapter of the book by spotlighting other activists and associates who have inspired the way she approaches abolition today.

Follow the link above to learn more.

Black Girl Nerds | January 19, 2021

Activists are too often romanticized as infallible beings who are naturally courageous as they take on grandiose missions. However, just like others — maybe even more than others — they are vulnerable and need to practice mindfulness, introspection, healing, forgiveness, and joy. They are human. They aim to build a better world while simultaneously becoming better people.

Advocating for a new world is draining work, yet can also be liberatory if the right tools are used. Fortunately, activist and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Patrisse Cullors has crafted the framework for activists to create an abolitionist future in her book An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World.

Follow the link above to learn more.

Bust | January 18, 2021

L.A.-based author, educator, and activist Patrisse Cullors co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013, and her 2018 memoir, When They Call You a Terrorist, was a huge bestseller. Now, her new book, An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World, is poised to once again inspire readers to fight for a better future. Here, she shares how she gets her revolutionary words out into the world.

Follow the link above to learn more.

Publishers Weekly | January 18, 2022

Cullors (When They Call You a Terrorist), a cofounder of the Black Lives Matter movement, delivers an accessible if diffuse guide to “abolitionist practice.” According to Cullors, abolition “centers on getting rid of prisons, jails, police, courts and surveillance,” but also includes the fight for improved water quality in cities and a more equal distribution of streaming revenue for musicians (“If there is any part of your life where you are trying to get free, it connects to abolitionist practice”). She draws on her personal life and activist experiences to offer advice on how to have “courageous conversations” about difficult subjects, and how to “imagin[e] beyond the status quo” of “white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.”

Follow the link above to learn more.

The Ringer | January 17, 2021

Bakari Sellers welcomes author of An Abolitionist’s Handbook and cofounder of the Black Lives Matter movement Patrisse Cullors to discuss progress, or lack thereof, since the movement’s inception (6:00), the importance of 911 alternatives during a mental health crisis (14:35), and actionable ways to reform the U.S. prison system (18:37).

Follow the link above to learn more.

Texas Library Association | January 11, 2022

The purpose of the Texas Topaz Reading List is to provide children, teens, and adults with recommended nonfiction titles that stimulate reading for pleasure and personal learning. It is intended for recreational reading and is not designed to support any particular curriculum. Due to the diversity in age range and topics, Texas librarians should consider titles on this list in accordance with their own local collection development policies.

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History (Young Adult Edition) by Jeff Chang & Dave “Davey D” Cook (Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing, 2021)
A music and social history for hip-hop fans who are interested in understanding the origin of the genre and influence on American culture and politics.

Follow the link above to learn more.

Harpers Bazaar | January 6, 2022

The daughter of parents who lived through and marched in the Civil Rights Movement, Stephanie Stokes Oliver was raised on the legacy of fashion as a gateway to a brighter political future.

The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, has an historic past as the site of the 1965 Bloody Sunday march for voting rights. What’s little known, though, is for years before that, after it opened in 1940, the town’s teenagers saw it as just another scenic background for prom pics and photo shoots on sunny Sundays. My mother, Josephine, around 16 at that time, was one of those who with her friends posed after church at the bridge.

Among our family’s treasured possessions is a fuzzy black-and-white 8-by-10 photo, taken, mounted, and signed by her own cousin Frank, just 20 days younger than she, as the budding photographer. Josephine is wearing a dark suit dress with white zigzag piping. Totally accessorized, she has on white gloves, is holding a flat envelope purse, and is wearing a turban that lends a sophistication beyond her young age. There are additional photos of that day with two other teenagers styling and smiling in a decades-old photo album.

Follow the link above to learn more

Food and Wine | January 4, 2022

Dubai's Alkebulan Dining Hall features 11 regional restaurants — and plans are underway to bring the concept to more cities around the globe.

"As a kid, I was told if I loved what I did, I'd never have a job," acclaimed chef, James Beard Award-winning cookbook author, and entrepreneur Alexander Smalls told Food & Wine recently. "I've never had a job. I've been able to create work for myself by following my passion and understanding the mission of my passion. And this is how we got here, if you will."

The "here" he's referring to is the grand opening of Alkebulan, the first dining hall in the world that showcases and celebrates African food. It opened in Dubai last fall as part of the pandemic-delayed Expo Dubai 2020, and it's also the realization of a vision that Smalls has focused on for well over a decade. "I've had five restaurants, starting with The Cecil in Harlem, all of which have been about the food of the African diaspora," he explained. "About six or seven years ago, I set out to create a destination that would tell the story of African food on five continents [and tell] how through slavery, Africans changed the global culinary conversation."

Follow the link above to learn more.

Forbes | January 4, 2022

Only days into the new year, two major cities are slated to get even more delicious.

Harlem-based Chef Alexander Small, the James Beard award-winning visionary of The Cecil and its sister restaurant Minton's, is opening the world's first African food hall, Alkebulan.

Small, a former opera singer turned culinary activist, debuted the concept at Expo 2020 Dubai in October 2021. Following an extremely positive global reception, Alkebulan will remain permanent in Dubai, with expansions in both Harlem and London.

Alkebulan, which is the oldest name for Africa, is envisioned as a cultural and culinary movement that celebrates the untapped cuisine of the African continent. Smalls curated the Alkebulan location in Dubai to offer elevent African chef-led concepts showcasing the diverse cuisines that Africa has to offer, from gourmet dishes and street bites to fusion fare. Local art and live music also amps up the cultural immersion at the food hall.

Follow the link above to learn more.

Glamour | January 2, 2021

This will be a year of spectacular books. The best books of 2022—that is, the most anticipated new book releases of the year ahead—are stunners. There are nonfiction books and novels about cults, female friendships, family ties, and future civilizations. Books that will make you laugh until the mascara drips down your face. Chilling thrillers and thrilling memoirs. Romantic books that will have you downloading dating apps again. There'’s no reason to ask, “What book should I read?” for a full year.

An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World by Patrisse Cullors (January 25)

Any decent non-Black person who thinks about about American slavery imagines—hopes—insists to themselves—that they would have been on the side of the abolitionists. Contemporary abolition usually refers to abolishing the legalized slavery of the prison system, and sometimes to abolishing the police. If that sounds like going too far, it could be time to read up on why many of the great activists of our day are abolitionists. If we’re serious about real change, and not just Black squares, we’re going to need a handbook. Patrisse Cullors, one of the original cofounders of the Black Lives Matter movement, teaches how to build an activism practice from a place of compassion and love.

Follow the link above to learn more.

Publishers Weekly | December 31, 2021

DEAL OF THE WEEK

Shatner to ‘Boldly Go’ with Atria

William Shatner sold an essay collection, titled Boldly Go, to Atria. The book, which is set for fall 2022, was preempted by Peter Borland, in a world rights agreement, from Victoria Sanders, who has an eponymous shingle. Atria said the collection, written with TV writer/producer Joshua Brandon (who’s worked on, among other shows, CBS’s Friend Me), sees the author examining “key events from his 90 years of life, using them as a springboard to reflect on the interconnectivity of all things, our fragile bond with nature, and the joy that comes from always being open to learning something new.”

Follow the link above to learn more.

Bookreporter | December 20, 2021

Recently we asked our reviewers to provide us with a list of some of their favorite books from 2021. Included is a mix of fiction and nonfiction titles, all published for the first time this year. Take a moment to read these varied lists of titles and see if you agree with any of their selections! Please note that due to personal and professional commitments, some reviewers were not able to participate in this feature.

Kate Ayers has picked THE STRANGER IN THE MIRROR by Liv Constantine as one of her picks.

Follow the link above to learn more.

New York Public Library | November 29, 2021

Our expert librarians selected the year's best books for kids, teens, and adults. Check out these outstanding titles.

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History (Young Adult Edition)
By Jeff Chang & Dave "Davey D" Cook

A comprehensive history of hip-hop from its origins in the Bronx to its current status as one of the biggest cultural phenomena in American history.

Follow the link above to learn more.

CBS Saturday Morning | November 20, 2021

The Dish: Alexander Smalls on music career, becoming a restaurateur

Watch the video here.

USA Today | September 24, 2021

Mine is not an easy story to tell. I have been crying for days as I've watched history repeat itself at the border. I try to process emotions that are as complex as my identity – Haitian, Black, immigrant, woman, mother, daughter.

Throughout my childhood, my mother repeated the narrative of our journey from Haiti to America countless times: how her father vanished, presumed murdered by the Duvalier regime; how my father maneuvered to sponsor our visas and scraped together money for our plane tickets; how my mother made the journey to a foreign country where she knew no one with two toddlers in tow. We weren’t fleeing political persecution, although our country was rife with that plague. But our plight was still dire. We were pleading for a reprieve from poverty, for relief from hunger and hopelessness.

And we had immigrated to the United States the “right way,” as American politicians and immigration agents insist. They flippantly refer to the arduous and excruciating “alien” registration process with no understanding of its deliberately invincible obstacles. The route to legal immigration is barricaded by stacks of complex and undecipherable application forms atop impossible-to-find documentation to prove our existence. It is mired with the condescension of U.S. Embassy examiners, the irrepressible disdain of racist officials and the insult of rejection. After many failed attempts at seeking entry via normal channels, after being turned away from the golden gates by doing things the “right way,” my people risk their lives on more dangerous routes to America.

Follow the link above to learn more.