(IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium) It’s probably a safe bet to say that most families are not sitting around their economically-challenged dinner tables these days discussing celebrations of the Bicentennial of the end of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Pretty much nothing commands our attention spans these days as much as the presidential 2008 election campaign and watching the bouncing ball called Wall Street. And yet in these days when the word “change” can make or break political destiny, it makes sense to pause and acknowledge one of the greatest changes in the history of humanity: It started when Denmark outlawed international slavery in 1802; Great Britain and the United States kept the ball going in 1808. Sweden joined the party in 1813, The Netherlands in 1814, Spain in 1820, and Mexico in 1829. By 1830, where the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was concerned, it was all over but the shouting. Such a huge revolution in a relatively small window––three decades––of historical time...

The notion of rendering service these days is one that most of us generally associate with business enterprises that promise lucrative monetary rewards, or influential political power in exchange for whatever service one might render. Unless affiliated with a religious institution of some kind, it’s rare that we consider service in the manner indicated when the great scholar and humanitarian W.E.B. Du Bois wrote the following: “In the civilized world each serves all, and the binding force is faith and skill, and the skill is bounded only by human possibility and genius, and the faith is faithful even to the untrue.” During this month, September 2008, of the fifth anniversary of the publication of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance, I find myself increasingly grateful for the service my co-author and I were able to provide by rising to the challenge of completing the ground-breaking encyclopedia. Initially, I thought only in terms of the personal honor that came from doing so. Since...

The online literary club, Girls Reading in the South.com, known as G.R.I.T.S.com, has over the past eight years gained a solid reputation as one of the more entertaining and informative literary sites around . Book lovers can get a generous sample of why by tuning in right now as the site’s gracious hostess, Marlive Harris interviews artist Luther E. Vann and author Aberjhani, the creators of ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love at: http://www.thegrits.com/radio The interview is a revealing and sometimes provocative one in which Aberjhani not only discusses the impact of Senator Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential bid on his writings but dedicates a live reading from ELEMENTAL to the historic presidential campaign. In addition, Vann provides a rare glimpse into the creative dynamics and philosophy that drive the creation of his art. Featuring more than 60 color reproductions of acclaimed work by Vann, and including award-winning corresponding essays and poetry by Aberjhani, ELEMENTAL ...

(2005 model for Freedom Tower to replace World Trade Center) Before the hours of insanity and annihilation that changed world history on September 11, 2001, the month of September was noted by members of my family primarily as the birth month for at least a half dozen individuals. It remained, of course, their month after the destruction of New York City’s World Trade Center and the loss of thousands of lives, but the shadow of that event tends to lessen the glow of birthday candles and soften the volume of songs and laughter. Especially for those born on the actual day. Two years later, the greater impact of 9/11 was just beginning to unfold as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars upgraded to levels of mega-mayhem no one could have fully anticipated. At the same time, Facts On File published my Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (with Sandra L. West). That the encyclopedia was my first major book published by a major company added––for me, personally––greater emotional balance to the mo...