< Back Artists’ Book Shop to Host 50th Anniversary and Book Fair August 21, 2026 at 6:46:33 AM A New York City artists’ bookshop will host the 20th anniversary of its Art Book Fair this September, as a venue to showcase rare books and independent publishers. Printed Matter, the nonprofit independent arts bookstore , is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. “Fifty years ago Printed Matter emerged from a moment of radical rethinking about what art can be, and how we experience it,” the bookshop’s CEO Lesley Martin wrote in a statement. “We have always championed the belief that creative experimentation and direct encounters with art are critically important — that art can be passed hand to hand and person to person, and that publications by artists are a powerful instrument to this end.” In 1975, a group of artists decided they wanted to build a different kind of publishing and distribution system for art books. “Printed Matter coalesced around the idea that there was a growing need for an organization that championed artists who made books that ‘weren’t art in the conventional sense,’” the organization wrote in a press release for the event. “Fifty years on, Printed Matter continues that work. Its current home — a two-level bookstore and office [in New York] — houses 15,000 books by artists, zines, and periodicals, as well as out-of-print titles and historical ephemera.” At the book fair, a wide range of publishers both independent and institutional will showcase rare, historic works, contemporary galleries and nonprofit art spaces, and a “thriving community of zine publishers” with an “experimental spirit,” as well as a series of book launches, lectures, performances, and exhibitions. “With artists’ voices — and the organizations that support them — increasingly under threat, we need Printed Matter now more than ever,” Martin wrote in the statement. Arts and publishing voices have been threatened by the current political climate in the United States. A number of leftist zines, for example, were recently used to sentence protestors to decades in prison . “It's incredibly chilling that recent events confirm that we are seeing increased pressure on and punishment of individuals exercising their most basic, fundamental First Amendment rights,” Martin told Printed Word Reviews . “For the past fifty years, Printed Matter has been synonymous with the support of artists' voices in publication form; an inherently independent, democratic artform. We are committed to the distribution, understanding, and appreciation of artists’ books; and to the support of artists using the printed page to express their individual identities, opinions, and creative explorations. The resulting books can be political, challenging, anti-establishment, or simply, radically beautiful in their experimentation of what’s possible with the book form in artists’ hands.” Martin wrote that the Art Book fair will serve as a “critical point of exchange and sustenance for the international artists’ book community” to help facilitate discussions around politics and freedom of expression. The fair will run from September 24 through September 27 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Reported by Jules Roscoe Share this article Copy link LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest

Book review of Foresight by Craig Ford . ISBN: 978-1922751461 < Back Foresight Craig Ford Teen Cyber Unicorns Share this review: Copy link Facebook LinkedIn X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest A talented young hacker, Samantha "Foresight" Erkhart, navigates the dangerous world of cybercrime and unexpected alliances as she battles a crime syndicate and a mysterious hacker known as Shadow, all while grappling with her own identity and the shadows of her past. The book is a cyber-adventure that delves into themes of identity, justice, and the blurred lines between right and wrong. Presented in a quick-paced, suspenseful style, it is ideal for young adults and tech enthusiasts who enjoy stories about hacking, cyber warfare, and moral dilemmas. The story is set in contemporary Australia, primarily in urban environments and cyberspace, where the protagonist navigates both physical and digital landscapes. Previous Next

< Back For Racial Healing: #4 One-To-One July 26, 2026 at 5:53:07 AM I sat in a largely white congregation listening to a Black preacher exhort whites to become more personally involved in the Black struggle to achieve equality in all aspects of American life. To emphasize his point, the preacher implored, “So, you don’t know any Blacks? Then, get to know some. So, you don’t have any Black friends? Get some.” The frustration shown by the Black preacher mirrored my own deep concern that this nation has relied on the belief that institutional changes among public and private organizations can carry the primary responsibility for solving our country’s racial crisis. Partially out of a desire to have someone or something else address the problem or out of a desire to defer this immense issue, we whites have, as individuals, routinely acquiesced to suppose institutions would somehow do the hard work. I had a friend in the 1960s who joined a then newly created department in a major financial institution with the role, promulgated at the time, to bring racially germane perspectives to that institution’s decision-making process at every level. The institution is still around in name since that representation was made, more than sixty years ago, but the impact of the institution over the intervening period on racial healing has been consistently invisible. In effect, most institutions have established their own discrete silos, protecting their own institutional longevity, but by doing so, have routinely extended the tentacles, in various ways, of white racial privilege and advantage. We’ve relied on institutions far too long. Racial healing is personal; we know that. It is left up to individuals, to Black and white relationships to make good on the expectation that racism can be defeated. We will not move meaningfully and nationally to a fuller, racial healing until there is a much broader and more accepted expansion of one-to-one, Black-white friendships, relationships, and allyships , all of which derive directly from authentic passion . Yet, there are a significant number of questions that need to be answered before many, more Americans (especially whites) can believe that one-to-one, Black to white relationships are an effective tool for racial healing. For example, what would cause whites to adopt Black-white racial healing and allyship? Pure authentic passion being a principal incentive, associated inspiration may also be the promise of and desire for something better. Why would Blacks join? I think Blacks, based on relevant conversations I have had with a meaningful number, realize that whites, more often than not, need help to get on the good and true road. But as discussed elsewhere, Black participation doesn’t come willy nilly. There would and should be conditions in most cases, and rightly so. Rather, in connection with a one-to-one, racial healing protocol, whites should be willing to acknowledge the travesties of the past, generally and specifically if they apply. In addition, whites should be willing to accept a commitment that is part of authentic passion – that is, over the course and in the context of a Black-white relationship, the white partner would take to heart an obligation to understand, empathize, reconcile, love, and co-inhere. I found that Black folks are more inclined to participate immediately in Black-white relationships and allyships. White folks are more reluctant, fearful of various, awkward admission, and they often carry much evidence of filiopietism. We whites should have the ability to tell the truth and then move right on into one-to-one, Black-white protocol. As part of this protocol, both Blacks and whites will be exchanging profoundly personal aspects of their lives that allow each to react with authentic passion traits. It is best for both parties to understand the underlying, individual tendencies and motivations. While group dynamics can provide considerable support in an appropriate set of conditions, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Gamblers Anonymous, the goals are different with racial healing: broad-based racial disclosure and freedom inside a pluralistic, societal context. The two parties involved with the development of racial allyship ultimately will become a team against outside powers that foster racist behavior; a necessary and quite personal intensity will be needed to confront and overcome those pressures through a weft of very close, if not secret, even confidential, personal disclosures and resolutions. A group environment and multiple contributors tend to disperse and dissipate this requisite closeness and intensity. Individual support by a partner is a key ingredient, and frank and personal revelations become more accessible via a one-to-one context; a two-way confessional and self-illuminating paradigm is a preferred construct for free and unencumbered dialogue between individuals engaged in Black-white relationships and allyships. I have learned that white participants in this recommended construct often discern more from the recollection of racial-freeing or earlier, racist-enhancing experiences in a one-to-one approach than these participants had previously discovered about themselves. Whites should acknowledge the fact that authentic passion, which brings a person to this one-to-one, Black to white protocol, should cause a person, such as a white partner, to go deeper and be more fundamental than filiopietism would ever allow. This one-to-one racial healing is not an abstract act. It may seem to begin that way, but it is purely individually driven, a determined exercise to acknowledge that caring exceeds the act of postponing, deflecting, seeking more time – indeed, adoption of the protocol is recognition that the time has finally come. Later, in this series of “For Racial Healing”, there will be installments about my own Black-white relationships with both Dr. James H. Cone , recognized father of Black Liberation Theology, and with Sheila Walker. Those installments will focus on what can go right and wrong depending on one’s attitude when highly emotional, but also, highly insightful moments happen inside a one-to-one, Black-white relationship and allyship. For one thing, whites typically do not realize how we carry automatic responses to Black lives and to the Black-white, personal dynamic, especially to the expression of direct honesty by a Black partner. These unconscious and unexpected white responses to many Black initiatives in a relationship can frequently flummox whites. I can surely speak to this realization, especially in the case of my relationship with Dr. Cone. Indeed, whites may give themselves way too much credit in projecting “good will” reactions to Black honesty. If white, be prepared to be surprised that you may have not so subtle, but unconscious (sometimes, defensive) reactions to Black explanations and honest, direct challenges, which are, of course, enormously important in the one-to-one, Black-white dialogue concerning the Black experience in America. Moreover, this surprise is not temporary; upon reflection, whites may end up asking themselves: how did I react that way and what did I mean when those words slipped out of my mouth in defense? We have covered numerous points related to a one-to-one, Black to white approach for racial healing. What we haven’t done and must do is to state explicitly that a monumental message of the one-to-one protocol consists of its ability to neutralize the often-repeated assumption that the racial movement and protests have to be, by and large, Black in nature and relevance. History will judge whites harshly for an assumption that Blacks alone had the incentive to gain racial healing. In fact, whether they believe it or not, whites are simply less human and less sacred if they are not intimately and individually integrated into the quest for Black liberation and racial healing more generally. To find out more about J. Chester Johnson, author of this "For Racial Healing" series, please visit his website, https://jchesterjohnson.com/ or read his previous installment: https://www.printedwordreviews.com/articles/for-racial-healing-3-allyship By J. Chester Johnson Share this article Copy link LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest

< Back J. Chester Johnson's "For Racial Healing" Series Celebrates its First Anniversary July 29, 2026 at 3:43:22 AM Renowned poet, essayist, and historian J. Chester Johnson celebrates the first anniversary of his influential serialization, For Racial Healing , marking a year of steady, transformative dialogue aimed at bridging America’s deep-seated racial divides through personal accountability and direct human connection. The serialization grew out of Johnson’s extensive work surrounding his acclaimed book, Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and A Story of Reconciliation . In Damaged Heritage , Johnson—a descendant of a perpetrator of the 1919 Elaine Race Massacre in Arkansas—chronicles his journey toward racial healing alongside Sheila L. Walker, a descendant of the massacre's Black victims. Their unexpected seven-year partnership and profound personal friendship laid the groundwork for Johnson’s ongoing mission to offer practical, human-centered pathways toward racial healing. Over the past year, the For Racial Healing series has addressed the limitations of abstract theory and superficial institutional statements, arguing instead that real healing must be forged in individual, close-knit relationships. Throughout the series, Johnson has tackled complex themes, including: The Power of Personal Agency: Moving past ideological debates to focus on concrete, one-on-one relationships, allies, and genuine cross-racial friendships. Confronting Historical Erasure: Unpacking how systemic denial and white resistance allow racial division to persist across generations. A Call for Accountability: Directly addressing the reality that American racial tension is fundamentally rooted in white supremacy and historical subjugation, requiring active ownership rather than passive agreement. "True racial healing cannot be achieved through generic corporate utterances or detached academic theories; it must happen in the granular, often close, challenging space of personal human relationships," Johnson noted while reflecting on the serialization's impact. Over the last 12 months, the series has resonated broadly with readers, educators, and community leaders seeking a practical roadmap beyond polarization. By grounding historical reckoning in personal accountability, Johnson's writings continue to inspire audiences across the country to dismantle systemic division starting in their own communities. As the “For Racial Healing” series enters its second year, it remains a vital catalyst for those committed to moving past painful histories toward authentic, lasting unity. To celebrate the anniversary of the serialization, Johnson put out a thank you to his audience. You can read the full thank you letter here: https://mailchi.mp/bc1ad841beb0/update-from-j-chester-johnson-21035841?e=01d68d71d2 About J. Chester Johnson J. Chester Johnson is a poet, essayist, and translator. He served as one of two poets on the drafting committee for the retranslated Psalms in the Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer and is the author of numerous collections of poetry and non-fiction, including Damaged Heritage . His ongoing work focuses on racial justice, historic preservation, and literary arts. Reported by Printed Word Reviews Share this article Copy link LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest

< Back BOOM! Studios Resurrects Hellraiser Comic Franchise to Celebrate 40-Year Lore September 17, 2026 at 9:46:35 AM Earlier this year, BOOM! Studios , a comic book and graphic novel publisher under Penguin Random House, re-acquired the publishing rights to Clive Barker ’s iconic Hellraiser . Marvel’s Epic Comics imprint originally held the license from 1989 to 1994, with BOOM! taking over for a previous run from 2011 to 2015. And in 2026, marking the franchise’s four-decade legacy as a hellish horror classic, BOOM! is kicking off a bold new publishing era. The expansion features two brand-new series set to launch next year, both delving deeper into the unhinged, sadomasochistic universe of Pinhead and his extra-dimensional, soul-torturer Cenobite Order. Written by Mike Costa with art by Jan Bazaldua , the first upcoming series, Hellraiser: Hellbound Hearts (launching January 2027) continues the core saga. The story follows the Harrowers as they face off against Pinhead himself, comprising nothing more than a ragtag group of survivors carrying the physical and emotional scars from past encounters with the gruesome Cenobites. Reflecting on the interconnected mythos required to re-energize the comic, Costa noted , “You really have to dig deep into some awful stuff to do this franchise justice.” The second series to be released, Hellraiser: New Parables (launching April 2027), is written by New York Times -bestselling author Sarah Gailey ( Eat the Rich , The Echo Wife ) with artwork by Savanna Mayer . The story picks up in the fallout of Hellraiser: The Return of the Priest #1 , when Pinhead and his New Monastic Order of the Gash find themselves on thin ice with the ancient Council in Leviathan. The Council has taken notice of Pinhead’s new scions, Quiver and Sublux, and their unauthorized devotion to suffering. However, with the mysterious Engineer granting the Order his blessing, the Council steps in to investigate. Through the rejuvenated BOOM!-Barker partnership, the acclaimed author envisions “wild new projects” crafted by “radical visions” to expand the Hellraiser comic continuum. “There are a lot of doors waiting to be opened, and worlds of weird fantasy and horror waiting on the other side,” he further emphasized. BOOM!’s Deputy Publisher Bryce Carlson echoed Barker’s excitement: “We had a hell of a run when we first published Hellraiser comics back in 2011...We’re reopening the Lament Configuration 15 years later and unleashing hell once again for all the incredibly patient fans out there.” Additional Hellraiser releases and campaigns are already well underway, with BOOM! ensuring readers can look forward to: Hellraiser: Resurrections : Launching in September 2026, this five-week, one-shot event releases new individual comics that expand the core universe. Hellraiser Omnibus Vol. 1 : Set for release on November 24, 2026, this 500-page collection featuring work by Clive Barker, Christopher Monfette , and others is the ideal centerpiece for all fans. Leviathan’s Vault Campaign : A Kickstarter initiative designed to crowdfund first-ever deluxe hardcover editions of BOOM!’s entire out-of-print 2011 comic run. Direct online retail listings for single issues will be available soon. In the meantime, readers can request to add Hellraiser: Hellbound Hearts and Hellraiser: New Parables to their pull lists at local comic shops—setting the stage for a new chapter where, as Gailey succinctly puts it , “...We are going to make something truly wretched.” Printed Word Reviews / Reported by Jessica Shih Share this article Copy link LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest

Book review of A. Nonny Mouse: Magical Moon Mouse Finds Merry Christmas by Doreen Lindahl, Illustrated by Dave Carlson . ISBN: < Back Take me back to https://www.childrensbookwormaward.com/ A. Nonny Mouse: Magical Moon Mouse Finds Merry Christmas Doreen Lindahl, Illustrated by Dave Carlson Childrens Dynotech Publishing Share this review: Copy link Facebook LinkedIn X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest When a whimsical moon mouse named A. Nonny embarks on a journey to Earth to find a MERRY CHRISTMAS in a box for his friend's birthday, he discovers that the true magic of Christmas lies in love and selflessness. "A. Nonny Mouse" is a whimsical and heartwarming tale that blends fantasy and adventure with the genuine spirit of Christmas. Ideal for young readers and families, this book transports audiences between the Moon and Earth during the festive holiday season, offering a magical story infused with valuable moral lessons.The narrative introduces A. Nonny, a moon mouse feeling left out without a moonball. Granted magical powers by a Fairy Moon Mouse, A. Nonny initially uses his abilities to show off, creating friction with friends like B. Infa. A challenge from G. Teeny—to bring a "MERRY CHRISTMAS in a box" without magic—sends A. Nonny on an extraordinary journey to Earth. Here, he learns about Christmas traditions from two children, Bob and Trina. Through a frightening encounter with a cat and his interactions with the children, A. Nonny discovers that a "MERRY CHRISTMAS" is a heart full of love, something that cannot be boxed.His selflessness, demonstrated by using his last wish to gift Bob and Trina presents, leaves him stranded on Earth. However, this act prompts the Fairy Moon Mouse to bring him back to the Moon. The story culminates in A. Nonny's warm return, a reconciliation with B. Infa, and a celebration emphasizing love, friendship, and selflessness, beautifully symbolized by the Star of Hope. This tale is a perfect read for families, reminding us all of the true meaning of the Christmas season. Previous Next

Book review of Against All Odds by Richard A. Danzig . ISBN: 979-8251841657 < Back Against All Odds Richard A. Danzig Legal Thriller, habeas corpus, medical ethics, online cheating, organized crime Independently published Share this review: Copy link Facebook LinkedIn X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest When a principled lawyer defending a detained Lebanese doctor and a grieving family are swept into a web of government abuse, criminal conspiracy, and personal loss, he must fight corrupt power in court and in the streets to save the people he loves and reclaim his own faith in justice. In “Against All Odds,” Richard A. Danzig delivers a sprawling, multi-layered tapestry of contemporary American life that is as much a searing indictment of systemic failure as it is a quiet study of personal resilience. This fourth installment of the Chance Cormac series is Danzig’s most ambitious work to date, trading the traditional courtroom procedural for a gritty, global exploration of justice, grief, and the limits of the law. The novel opens with a protagonist we barely recognize. Chance Cormac, once a man of steady legal conviction, begins the story in a state of spiritual and professional withdrawal. His journey back into the fray sparked by the abduction of Lyla Abda, a brilliant Lebanese pediatrician, is not a triumphant return, but a descent into a bureaucratic hellscape. Danzig’s depiction of Lyla’s detention is visceral and unapologetic. From the Louisiana “black site” where she is stripped of her hijab and her dignity, to the brutal conditions of a Salvadoran labor prison, the author uses Lyla’s plight to challenge the reader’s comfort. When Chance finally snaps, striking an ICE officer in a moment of righteous, if self-destructive, fury, it marks the end of his belief in “the system” and the beginning of his role as a renegade for the truth. What sets “Against All Odds” apart from standard legal thrillers is its triple-narrative structure. Danzig deftly balances three distinct, yet tonally resonant, plotlines. First, Lyla’s deportation to El Salvador serves as the novel’s moral anchor, highlighting the terrifying ease with which a legal resident can be “disappeared” under the guise of national security. Second, the story of twelve-year-old Melody provides the book’s emotional heartbeat. Her struggle with her father’s terminal cancer, coupled with a devastating incident of sexual assault and cyberbullying, offers a heartbreaking look at the vulnerability of youth in the digital age. Lastly, in a sharp pivot to high-stakes action, Danzig introduces a plot involving Justice Holmes, defense lawyer Frank Fogarty, and the 14K triad. This thread featuring esports fraud, money laundering, and a daring SEAL-style rescue mission provides the adrenaline that keeps the narrative moving at a clip. The central thesis of the novel is the distinction between legality and justice. Chance wins Lyla’s habeas case in court, yet she is still spirited away to a foreign prison. The law fails her. It is only through public exposure and Chance’s own blood literally, as he survives a shooting during a public demonstration that any semblance of peace is achieved. The resolution is notably bittersweet. There are no clean “happily ever afters.” Lyla is free but exiled; James is lost to cancer; and Chance, scarred and disillusioned, chooses a nomadic pilgrimage over a return to his old life. “Against All Odds” is a packed, demanding, and ultimately rewarding read. Danzig writes with the precision of a lawyer and the empathy of a father, successfully weaving together disparate themes of geopolitics and private grief. While some readers might find the sheer number of subplots, from the torture of Justice’s dog, Tort, to the intricacies of the 14K triad, to be overwhelming, they serve a greater purpose: illustrating a world where danger and beauty coexist in equal measure. For fans of Michael Connelly and Scott Turow who prefer their thrillers with a heavy dose of social realism. Previous Next

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< Back Singapore's ReadSG Campaign Turns Reading Into Real Rewards September 16, 2026 at 7:48:15 PM It has been said through generations that knowledge and information are a form of currency, socially and mentally. Now, a new national campaign in Singapore is looking to turn that metaphorical reward into reality. ReadSG launched on September 6, just in time for National Reading Month, under Singapore's National Library Board (NLB) and its chief, Melissa Tam. A local book market with artist and reading activities helped kick off the program, bringing together creatives and book lovers to showcase the power and beauty of reading. The program will run over a five-year span to help build the country's reading habits after a 2024 NLB study found that while "89% of adult respondents read more than once a week, only 28% read books." Tam believes that reading is similar to a muscle; it gives people the ability to increase their focus, mental capacity, and imagination if exercised regularly. The gamification aspect also helps keep readers engaged and eager to track their sessions, but it also makes others wonder if the trade-off is enough. The program operates on a two-part system of digital coins that can eventually turn into real dollars. With just 15 minutes a day, a Singaporean citizen can earn twenty digital coins in their account. Once they reach 1,000 coins, they can cash out and turn them into one Singapore dollar, about 0.80 cents if converted into U.S. currency. This means the program requires about 50 reading sessions to reach that goal of one dollar. Coins are earned by tracking reading sessions, but users can only log one session per day, a safeguard against dishonesty and abuse of the system. Tam believes the program will serve as a model for young children, who are able to see those around them rewarded for reading daily, especially amid technological advancements that have become woven into more aspects of everyday life than ever before. It is designed to directly combat the "doomscrolling" trap that many have discovered can turn into hours on end. In a July NLB press release, Tam stated that “Through ReadSG, we hope that Singaporeans will embrace reading as a joyful lifelong habit, one that will nurture curious minds, deep thinkers and informed citizens.” The NLB believes the way to build up a national reading culture is to move away from skimmable content and move back to the long-form, but also stays committed to change. If needed, through continuous research and development, the program could shift every year according to what is working and what other new studies may find. Proving that reading to them is not a linear activity and should remain flexible and loose to sustain citizens' interest. Printed Word Reviews / Reported by Mali Ayala Share this article Copy link LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest

< Back For Racial Healing: #9 ‘American White Women at Crossroads’ September 27, 2026 at 5:30:00 AM Unless otherwise noted, when I refer to “racism”, “white racism”, “white racist”, and similar terms without elaboration, I intend for white women to be included within the particular concept. However, there is evidence, relying on the preceding #8 installment of this “For Racial Healing” series, that white men have a greater bias against Blacks than white women, who are not subject to the same evolutionary stresses that have, according to the University of Michigan study, existed for white men. At the same time, white women would have felt considerable pressures to be subservient to the protectors (in-group males). We certainly know history demonstrates that white women have felt for generations and centuries the dominance (and presumed, for most of that time, male superiority) of white men in marriage and various areas of endeavor, such as politics, religion, business, education, arts, etc., even though we’ve witnessed a legitimate correction to this strict dominance in recent years with white women having made measurable inroads into the white man’s reign. I have had discussions with women on this subject, and the strongest argument for white women’s actions in support – even in limited ways – of certain civil rights initiatives, when white men, as a group, opposed with considerable vigor those very same initiatives in places, during the early stages of the modern civil rights movement of the 1950s, like Montgomery, Alabama and Little Rock, Arkansas, consists of the theory that white women could empathize directly with an oppressed segment of the population, such as Blacks, since white women had endured, for many centuries, much gender oppression from white males. Now back to that discussion on racial healing in a church on the upper eastside of Manhattan, an occasion which only women attended, except for one other white man and me. The women conducted themselves in a way suggesting that the absence of men for a racial healing session had been a normal occurrence. And why shouldn’t it be normal? In 2020, one of my nonfiction books was published that dealt with a race- related event, and over two years, I gave more than 80 presentations on that book to organizations across the country (mainly via internet). For much of that time, I spoke principally to audiences of women – Black and white. Not all the time, but for much of the time. Moreover, any follow-up to one of my lectures at a later date was usually initiated by a woman, not a man. There were white women who wished to re-establish relations with Black, childhood friends, for those relations had been severed by institutional forces through a school’s social milieu or racial policies or by familial forces through parents, grandparents, etc. Then, there were other women who wished to talk further about what could be done to reduce the impacts of filiopietism; these were the most emotionally and intensely draining as numerous white women routinely admitted their personal complicity in familial racism against Blacks. Worship of the past and ancestors had embedded itself in many of these women who would then adhere to the practices that made filiopietism, from their viewpoint, mostly impossible to break, as they articulated the pressures they felt over the years that had developed from family practice. But now, they wondered how they could have allowed themselves to be manipulated that long ago so thoroughly and often, even over great, physical distances, and they routinely then asked the valid question: what could they do to unwind the power and effects of filiopietism? I had no comfortable answer for those women in those circumstances. Could they change their behavior codified so long ago? How many individual friendships and family relationships would have to be broken? And yet, those women were the persons to understand the power of authentic passion and the solution of one-to-one allyships that were available if they leaped to grasp it. Looking back over time, I have no idea how many took the leap. Of course, there has been more than enough Black racial prejudice among white women to give attention to the various forms through which this bias toward Blacks has been sufficiently demonstrated. Much material and commentary show that white women share in white racism. What I’m also saying, though, is that a white women’s version of bias has, in many cases, shown itself to be different and less severe, intense, and certainly less brutal than white men’s applications. When we look back to the beginning of the modern civil rights movement in the 1950s with its mission being Black liberation and equality, the first three crucial events to come to mind that served as catalysts for stimulating civil rights actions, starting the middle of the 1950s, are Emmett Till’s mutilation and murder, which happened in August, 1955, followed four months later by the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott that ended after a year, to be succeeded in nine months thereafter by the first phase of the Little Rock Central High School desegregation crises. The role that Carolyn Bryant performed in the mutilation and murder of Emmett Till, together with her representations in the subsequent, local trial, suggests a culpability and participation that depart dramatically from more positive contributions by white women in Montgomery and Little Rock, which we will cover shortly. Carolyn Bryant’s place in the Emmett Till narrative has been confusing and complicated from start to finish. Toward the end of her own life, she apparently voiced misgivings about her own recall of true events surrounding the particulars, without witnesses, of the Emmett Till-Carolyn Bryant conversation and encounter in the grocery store that preceded and incentivized Till’s mutilation and murder. Indeed, Carolyn Bryant confessed a number of years ago to the historian, Timothy Tyson, that an important piece of the Till story had been untrue about which she had lied for generations and decades. If that part of her earlier story were untrue, what other portions can we believe to be true, at least as told by Carolyn Bryant about what really happened between Emmett Till and her? Nonetheless, the Carolyn Bryant problem does not alter that which we have discovered about certain white women’s attitudes and efforts in both Montgomery, Alabama and Little Rock, Arkansas during the crucial 1950s. The genuine, public roles of various white women are made quite clear in both the Montgomery and Little Rock instances. For example, we do know, according to Taylor Branch’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Parting The Waters, that at the start of the Montgomery bus boycott, “Of the few people who bothered to write the Advertiser (prominent Montgomery, Alabama newspaper) at first, most were white women who saw it as a justifiable demand for simple, decent treatment.” The boycott, which started on December 5, 1955, ended slightly more than a year later on December 20, 1956. Since the local business and governmental community, controlled by white men, refused to relent to initial, but less expansive demands by the Black population as those requests grew and developed over the period of the boycott, Montgomery white men tended to become more entrenched with more aggression being pursued against Blacks, especially against several of the boycott leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr. While the actions in the context of the boycott by a number of white women in Montgomery, Alabama during the mid-1950s clearly were not equivalent to “going to the barricades”, they were, at the same time, not reflective of the much less sympathetic and harsher reactions to the bus boycott then being expressed by large numbers of white men in Montgomery, up and down the social and economic spectrum. Notwithstanding the combative acts by white men, the bus boycott in Montgomery continued uninterrupted month after month. At one point, Mayor W. A. Gayle voiced his frustration at the lack of Black capitulation, lashing out at white women in town, saying publicly that if the white women in Montgomery would cease picking up Black women in the morning at predetermined locations and returning them back home in the afternoon, the bus boycott could then be broken. At the time, there were also reports of white women in cars picking up Black women as they walked to or from work and driving them to their destinations. Even though these were modest steps by a number of white women in Montgomery, lending support to Black efforts, they were certainly a far cry from the aggression and violence being perpetrated by many white men in the city against Blacks at that time. Although their deeds came late during the two-year crisis period, white women were even more engaged in Little Rock for helping to resolve politically and institutionally the issues associated with the integration of Central High School that led to a major federal-state confrontation. Through a series of legal decisions in the federal court system, including numerous applications and judicial clarifications, Little Rock, Arkansas was chosen – rather, more specifically – Little Rock Central High School was chosen to be compelled to integrate in accordance with a gradual integration plan, drawn up by the local Superintendent of Schools, a white man. Little Rock Central seemed like a logical choice for the initial, major, urban school in the South to be integrated in accordance with the Brown decision. After all, in the midst of the trauma and violence that accompanied the Montgomery bus boycott, the City of Little Rock had integrated its bus system in April, 1956 without much difficulty. King referenced on occasion this Little Rock experience during the Montgomery maelstrom. In the fall of 1958, less than two weeks before the election that led to closure of high schools in Little Rock, a white women’s organization with the name, the Women’s Emergency Committee (“WEC”), was formed to solicit support for open schools. Consisting of the wives of many of the white male business leaders of Little Rock, WEC members had access to influential, local levers of power that few organizations could match. It has also been suggested that members of WEC may have even withheld sex to persuade their husbands to see WEC’s point of view. Their efforts fell short in the election that closed the high schools, but WEC’s strength and tactics improved over the following months, so that when segregationists’ members of the school board voted not to employ teachers or administrators whom these board members believed supported integration, WEC, together with a number of local businessmen, established STOP (Stop This Outrageous Purge) and worked to recall the three segregationist board members. With WEC’s considerable assistance, STOP won the recall election with the addition of three moderate members, breaking control of the Little Rock School Board by the staunch, segregationist Governor. The Little Rock public high schools were then reopened in August, 1959, but not at the level of integration that Black leadership in the city had wanted. Moreover, one would have wished for WEC to be an integrated women’s group, but alas, it wasn’t, so we must temper our optimism about the basic, non-racist tendencies of these white women. This installment has shown that there can be a difference between white women and white men in attitude and intensity toward Black liberation and racial healing. It is clear that there have been instances where white women have assisted Black initiatives to achieve Black goals. That particular role by a meaningful portion of white women was illustrated in both the Montgomery bus boycott and the Little Rock Central High School crisis. This is not to say that white women can’t be serious racists. I’ve witnessed the reality of women racists, including those within my own family. However, there is reason to think many white women are inclined to acknowledge and deal with racism, both generally and personally, including a willingness to work with anti-racism programs and goals that lead to adjusted, racial behavior. As we consider steps regarding the proposed protocol for racial healing, it is important to keep in mind distinctions affecting white prejudice between white women and white men. My comments underscore the point that the prejudice of white men will need to be addressed in a somewhat different, more concentrated manner that would include acknowledgment of white men’s distinguishable prejudice toward Blacks. American white women have not been in positions, generally speaking, as opposed to white men, even to apply a more fulsome and longer-term empathetic response to Black-white racial healing. While the times are changing, there has not been enough breadth to open wider the avenues for much more visible encouragement from American white women, who have therefore been at crossroads with their prospects for a more generous intent toward Blacks. Even though racism against Blacks certainly exists among American white women, we do not know what the results could possibly be for Black-white racial healing if the crossroads were somehow transformed into a clearer and cleaner path. Next Time: “Those We Abuse, We Loathe.” by J. Chester Johnson Share this article Copy link LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest

< Back For Racial Healing #2: 'Authentic Passion' July 15, 2026 at 5:42:03 AM The concept of authentic passion has occupied a prominent, if not a uniquely crucial place in my writings and oral presentations on racial healing. What exactly is it? We can’t go much further into racial healing without understanding its core meaning or meanings, as consequential in the discussion. I’ll try to arrive at authentic passion by pointing out the various ways that its core and related meanings have been identified over time – actually, over centuries. We are far from the first to recognize that little can be done beneficially without its application. We will use a method of defining the concept by looking at its whole cloth over time for its meaning. Simply put, we start with one word that relays an access to the whole, and that word is “love”. But there is an abundance of ways that, for centuries, the application of love has been defined and discussed in the context of relatedness and interconnectedness. Most recently in my last distribution, ‘To Begin With’, I described Martin Luther King’s reference in terms of racial healing emanating from “the weapon of love”, and how love has the ability to drive out hate. At the same time, Soren Kierkegaard emphasizes a different term, but employs the concept always in the currency of the time as King undoubtedly also had in mind; in this spirit, Kierkegaard wrote, “Whatever one generation learns from another, no generation learns the genuinely human from a previous one. . .no generation has learned how to love from another. . .this genuinely human quality is passion.” In other words, love is always expressed and exercised, certainly in the concept of racial healing, by not relying on the past. Personal love and its manifestation through curative action have to be current. The Greeks long ago held the notion of “agape love”, a love that seeks the well-being of others. Indeed, over millennia, agape love has often been perceived as a model for how humans should love one another – again, for the currency of any particular time. The British theologian, Charles Williams, characterized his vision of relatedness between persons in present time, whenever that occurs, as “co-inherence”, stressing that individuals are not isolated but depend on each other for their own well-being. As a devout Christian, Williams stressed the words of Jesus from John 14: “. . .you are in me, and I am in you.” Martin Buber, the Jewish theologian, put it this way: “True beings are lived in the present; the life of objects is lived in the past. . .Love is responsibility of an I for a You.” The world has also become aware of this concept of essential interrelatedness being expressed through many voices in South Africa, including, if not especially, the Nobel Prize winner, Desmond Tutu, praising the idea of Ubuntu, meaning that a person’s humanity consists of one’s relationship to others, which is achieved through mutual support, respect, and acknowledgement of “I am because we are”. It is not coincidental that the quotes, set forth above, are, grammatically speaking, in the present tense. I believe there is an ultimate significance and relevance to that realization, illustrating the importance of currency in fostering relatedness and interconnectedness. Indeed, the term I have chosen to communicate this reality – and the obligation that goes along with it – is authentic passion. With this choice, I meant for there to be an inference for action, for human passion is always expressed through action – action in the present tense, action in the present sense. It has been shown, however, that authentic passion, a natural propensity to love, to demonstrate love by whites for our Black brothers and sisters can unfortunately be replaced instead with filiopietism and damaged heritage, as discussed in the last distribution, ‘To Begin With. . .’ commentary, through aggressive and repetitive proselytization and relentless concentration of prejudice and racial rejection by whites of Blacks and various others. Nonetheless, wherever authentic passion is adopted, it is much deeper than custom, tradition, skin color, etc. It is more fundamental, individualistic, and instinctual as it wills and works the connection between human beings of all colors to understand, empathize, heal, love, and co-inhere. I am a great believer in adherence to authentic passion as a catalyst for anti-racism; I should also say that Sheila Walker and I came to rely heavily on expressions of authentic passion as a compelling agent for our own mutual, racial healing. When whites adopt authentic passion by accepting the prospect for new friendships and attitudes, enriched personal freedoms and perspectives, and many more racial possibilities, it is just not probable for authentic passion to be consistent with the past. Of course, there are those who will continue to dreamily romanticize a kind of mythical adoration for previous ideas and historical moments and fanfare, which lead to non-communication with prevailing reality, but that behavior is a denial of or counterpoint to love, not of the kind of personal commitment that I have discussed and that results in the present taking control of one’s life and mission. We can never predict when the light of authentic passion will break through the pernicious fog of resistance to help bring racial healing to places that have endured some of the worst parts of racial tyranny. For example, the grandson of the principal architect of apartheid in South Africa has become one of its outspoken critics and has argued persuasively against it and its residual tentacles. In addition, he has written movingly about the important role that Ubuntu can play for South Africa in achieving Black-white relatedness and mutual support and respect. For a more personal view, I could not have predicted the following, affirmative example and encounter I ascribe to authentic passion for a change in attitude and perspective. Toward the end of the late September, 2019 weekend ceremonies, surrounding the dedication of the Elaine Massacre Memorial in Phillips County, Arkansas, a white friend, someone I got to know in recent decades, someone with whom I enjoyed spending time even though he had not adopted my ideas about either Black liberation matters or the features that lead to Black-white racial healing, came to me, grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me squarely in the eye, and offered an amazingly empathetic insight. Instantly, I knew, and he knew I knew that what he had said was something beyond the particular words he chose to describe that insight that night; rather, he was actually saying he had received a moment of epiphany about race, Black-white racial healing, and the broader love and adjusted understandings that go into such a moment. It was not a decision by him at all, but a moment of acceptance of something fundamentally different from the hours, days, months, and years he had previously known. The present then deflected the visions and wonts of a more racially biased past. We’re familiar with the end result of letting the filiopietistic-damaged heritage axis flourish, but we cannot permit that axis to continue unaddressed. In truth, we know that filiopietism and damaged heritage in racial matters make authentic passion absolutely necessary, which allows whites to be truly human; for authentic passion is that attribute we whites are able to access in order to make much greater progress as individuals in Black-white relations. If a generation fails to address its own and inherited shortcomings in race relations and racial healing, then the generation has forced those failures forward into the future. Unfortunately, we have followed that course repeatedly as whites have regularly chosen a pattern of allowing the past to determine our present and future racially, foisting the racially unhealed and malevolent ghosts onto innocence once again. To find out more about J. Chester Johnson, author of this "For Racial Healing" series, please visit his website, https://jchesterjohnson.com/ By J. Chester Johnson Share this article Copy link LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest

< Back IPG Bolsters Comic and Graphic Novel Roster with Five New Publisher Partnerships May 11, 2026 at 6:22:28 PM Independent Publishers Group (IPG) has officially expanded its sales and distribution reach, announcing the addition of five dynamic independent publishers to its programs effective June 2026. This latest expansion signals a significant push into the comic book, graphic novel, and socially conscious storytelling markets. As the first organization established to market independent presses to the book trade, IPG continues its mission of providing boutique publishers with the scale and infrastructure of a major house. The new additions are: Antarctic Press, A Wave Blue World, Comicsburgh, Comicker Press, and Cosmic Lion, which all bring a diverse array of visual storytelling and fan-favorite intellectual properties to IPG’s portfolio. Leading the new cohort is Antarctic Press, https://antarctic-press.myshopify.com/ , in the comic world since 1984. Founded by brothers Ben and Joe Dunn, the publisher has a "creator-first" philosophy. Their catalog includes the long-running “Ninja High School” and the “Warrior Nun Areala,” the latter of which gained mainstream prominence through a two-season Netflix adaptation. Joining them is A Wave Blue World , https://www.awbw.com/ , a publisher that has garnered accolades including GLAAD Media and Ringo Awards. Their focus on socially conscious anthologies and graphic novels aligns with the growing market demand for diverse, high-quality creative voices. The expansion also highlights regional and specialized talent. Comicsburgh , https://www.comicsburgh.com/ , a Pittsburgh-based collective, joins IPG with a unique mission. Established in 2021, the group focuses on both the artistic and educational aspects of comic creation, fostering a community of aspiring creators. Comicker Press, https://www.comickerpress.com/ , returns to the spotlight following a 2023 re-brand. Specializing in a blend of humor, drama, and imaginative children’s books, Comicker is doubling down on its commitment to platforming diverse voices as it seeks to reach new global audiences through IPG’s distribution network. Rounding out the list is Cosmic Lion , https://cosmiclionproductions.com/ , the brainchild of writer and artist Eli Schwab. What began as a zine project a decade ago has evolved into a prolific house with over 50 titles. Known for its eclectic "every kind for every mind" approach, Cosmic Lion offers everything from niche magazines to sprawling creator-owned epics. Since its acquisition by Chicago Review Press in 1987, IPG has remained a cornerstone of the indie publishing world. By integrating these five publishers into its distribution pipeline, IPG provides them with access to traditional book trade channels, digital printing services, and e-book distribution. Reported by Printed Word Reviews Share this article Copy link LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Pinterest