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This editorial introduces a series of articles on woman and poetry in the March 2006 issue of Black Issues Book Review. The poetry offering includes an annual expanded section of poetry reviews. The periodical's mission is to bring everything by black authors and about black culture to our readers.

This editorial provides an overview of Black History Month offerings of the January/February 2006 issues of the Black Issues Book Review. The focus for the year is on slavery. A list of some of the nonfiction books on the subject is also provided. Among other offerings is Nia Ngina Meeks's Bibliomane on the historic ties between African and Native American people.

This article ntroduces a series of articles on books for African Americans, including the works of author Gordon Parks.

This article focuses on the goal of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in the U.S. to rescue and reconstruct the history of people of African descent. Significance of the Schomburg Center; Educational programs offered at Schomburg; Areas of focus of the Schomburg Center.

Presents an obituary for lawyer Johnnie Cochran.

Comments on the change in the logo design of the magazine "Black Issues Book Review." Purpose for the logo redesign; Description of the book industry in the U.S.; Information on the BookExpo 2005.

Introduces a series of articles on African American poets and poetry.

Focuses on the significance of Black History Month in the digital age. Growth in the availability of books pertaining to the culture of African Americans; Contribution of Carter G. Woodson to the tradition.

This section introduces a series of articles which deals with collective economics and African American culture.

This article comments on the alarm expressed by some Afro-American readers, dedicated publishing professionals and retailers that new books in the rising genre of urban or hip-hop literature are far outselling classic African American literature by writers like Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. This new street fiction has been criticized for being sensational—obsessed with thug life, street sensibilities, crime, sex and drama—and the writing has even been described as illiterate. At the 2004 BookExpo America in Chicago, Illinois, Victoria M. Stringer, who self-published "Let That Be the Reason," a novel she wrote while serving a prison term, told the audience at a panel sponsored by the African American Booksellers Conference about how reading was her lifeline during the years she was in jail. Stringer's Triple Crown Publications is now one of the fastest-growing imprints for urban or street fiction, and it will publish 40 titles this year. And she herself has just signed a contract with Simon & Schuster's Atria to publish her next novel. Stringer represents a new generation of writers committed to the search for their own authentic voices, and readers will eventually be the richer for it. Every genre displays a different level of accomplishment among its authors. In street fiction, a few writers are genuinely gifted storytellers. That said, almost all writers fine-tune their writing skills with each new book they write. Examining a writer's growth from book to book is an important task of any book review. Perhaps the new readers who are first introduced to the pleasures of books through hip-hop literature or erotic fiction will discover these books are a portal to works across a much broader literary spectrum.

The article provides information on matters concerning the growth in African-American books, including the National Black Arts Festival and the Harlem Book Fair.

The article recounts the life experiences of the author, an African American man who was born, raised and educated in Bay Minette, Alabama. He started school in 1948 in segregated Bay Minette. His first year was spent at Pine Grove Grammar School, a two-room building that held 20 students. He had no idea that at the time his used textbooks were castoffs and that their science and athletic equipment represented the hand-me downs from white schools in the district. Those conditions did not hinder significant numbers of African American students from continuing on to success. Alabama A&M, a historically African American near Huntsville, Alabama, was eventually to play a critical role in his life. Armed with his baccalaureate degree from Alabama A&M in 1964, he began a career that has taken him from the private sector to government and on to entrepreneurship but he has almost always worked in education-related endeavors. The author shared his life experiences to put the time in perspective. While Brown V. Board of Education was a precedent-setting decision and is viewed as a turning point in U.S. social history, the real change took place on many fronts, hard won by many people.

Pays tribute to Afro-American author Toni Morrison. Career as book editor; Description of her works; Accomplishments and awards received by Morrison.