Incumbent Mayor of Savannah, Georgia (USA) Edna B. Jackson . (photo courtesy of Diva Magazine). Journalist Patricia C. Stumb, in a 1999 Connect Savannah news magazine story titled “Peace, love & blessings…,” wrote of how I “found worldly consciousness in the heart of [my] hometown.” Her observation was surprisingly precise because during that period while living in Savannah, Georgia, I had indeed become more aware of my hometown on the global scale of things. I had also become more cognizant of myself as an author whose influences and inspirations tended often to derive from regions far beyond it. However, expanded consciousness or not, there was no such thing as overlooking the profound thematic shift that occurred in the city’s history when Floyd Adams became its first African-American mayor in 1996. That event prompted the composition of these lines: By way of an African wind a letter came today. It was not scribbled over Hallmark fantasies or popcultur

Virginia Davis and Martina Correia, mother and sister of Troy Anthony Davis, walk with supporters toward courtroom in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah Talks Troy Anthony Davis No. 10: New hearing continues today

Savannah Talks Troy Anthony Davis No. 8: Date Set for Evidentiary Hearing Posted using ShareThis

“There is nothing new in the world except the history we do not know,” said former President Harry S. Truman. Those words resonated with powerful significance April 3, 2009, when Mrs. Naomi King and Dr. Babs Onabanjo debuted in Savannah a preview of the film, A.D. King, Brother to the Dreamer, Behold the Dream. The screenings, sponsored by the Savannah Coastal Southern Christian Leadership Conference, were held at the Telfair Museum Jepson Center for the Arts and the Lake Mayer Community Center on the eve of the forty-first anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, assassination. Whereas Americans generally--and appropriately so—associate the name King with the more famous slain civil rights leader and his widow Coretta Scott King, many are not aware that his brother Rev. Alfred Daniel (A.D.) Williams King also lost his life during the Civil Rights Movement. Although there is some debate over the exact circumstances of A.D. King’s death, one of the most moving moments in the film is fo

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

Currently on a ten percent off sale for the summer at a variety of locations, ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love, recently joined the line-up of books featured on the G.R.I.T.S. Online Reading Club for the month of July 2008. A showcase of award-winning art by Luther E. Vann, whose work is currently on exhibit at the Jepson Center in Savannah, Georgia, and writings by well-known author Aberjhani, ELEMENTAL has become one of the most acclaimed gift books on the market since its release in May. The weekly newsmagazine Connect Savannah described ELEMENTAL as, “a beautiful book…the reproductions of the paintings are outstanding. The poems were inspired by the paintings, and make perfect companions for the reproductions… a real delight and was definitely worth the wait.” Art critic, author, and collector Ja A. Jahannes called it “A wondrously amazing book.” In addition to ELEMENTAL, other titles featured on G.RI.T.S. include: Say You’re One of Them, by Uwem Kapan; When a Man Loves

Savannah, Ga., USA––The young adult novel, Blood Kin A Savannah Story , written by Robert T.S. Mickles and featuring a foreword by Aberjhani, debuted at number four on ESSENCE Magazine’s Best Seller Book List for paperback fiction in the March 2008 “Hollywood Issue” of the publication. A taxi driver and native of Savannah , Georgia , Mickles said his surprise best-selling novel is based on stories passed down to him by, “My grandmother, Beulah Tremble. She was born not too long after slavery ended in the United States and her parents had actually been slaves. She lived to be 100 years old and at the time when she passed on to me the stories that had been passed on to her, I really had no idea what a powerful legacy they would turn out to be.” The novel takes place during the Civil War and tells the story of two best friends, one black and one white, who d