???????????????????????????? Writer's Mobilize to Address the Negative Images

To address the widely held negative images and misconceptions of African-Americans as seen as??current news? in the national media, a? group of? Black authors, including prize-winning and best selling ones, have teamed up to create The New Image Writer's Bus Tour.? It kicks off October 12^th, at the Four Point Sheraton Hotel in Culver City and?marks the first in a series of tours that will span a five-month period of crisscrossing the state of California.

?

The authors, via their books, aim to play a role in dispelling the overpowering national negative view of the Black culture created by those external to the race as well as by members of the race. The authors will conduct book readings, signings, and introduce a new kind of protagonist that the world rarely sees in the media? (loving parents, friends, attorneys, successful businessmen and women, and corporate CEOs).? These are fully drawn, three-dimensional characters whose stories are positive, even if flawed.

?

When asked why Tucker started the tour, she indicated that the catalyst was the recent negative comments aimed at African Americans.? She says, ?The widely held misconceptions of African-Americans were inflamed?by prominent white talk show hosts, Bill O?Reilly, Glenn Beck and Don Imus.? After dining at the famed Sylvia?s soul food restaurant in Harlem, apparently astonished at the ?courteous? manners of Black patrons, O?Reilly commented to National Public Radio's Juan Williams, "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who [was] screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea! [It] was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense that people were sitting there?and there wasn't any kind of craziness at all."? On the other hand, Beck referred to not having a lot of African-American friends, partly because he?s afraid he would say something that somebody would take the wrong way. Imus referred to the Rutgers University African-American women?s basketball players as ?Nappy headed hoes.??

?

Tucker acknowledges that, ?It?s not enough to complain about the negative perceptions.?? If we truly want to see change, we?ll have to, one-by-one, start taking responsibility for promoting our own positive images.?? We want to make it plain to the world?Black, White, Brown and Asian, that we will no longer sit back and accept the negative images without fighting for equal positive-image time.?? Tucker is not only disenchanted by whites who?talk negative?about the race, but any group, including African Americans.? ?Our culture is?rich in entertainment, sports, inventions, education,?and black-owned businesses, and it deserves to be shown in a positive light for future generations.

?

The New Image Writers Bus Tour includes the following 10 authors: Essence best-selling legal fiction author, Pamela Samuels-Young (In Firm Pursuit, Every Reasonable Doubt); Corlis Martin (Love From the Heart of Corlis - poetry); Mary Wilridge (Build That Woman Up!); Sheila Spencer (Chicken Soup for the African American Woman?s Soul?a poem, These Precious Hands); Anjuelle Floyd (Keeper of Secrets); Staci Robinson (Interceptions); Charles Chatman (Voices of South Central ? a collection of poetry) and Martha Tucker (The Mayor?s Wife Wore Sapphires).

?

All events are free and open to the public.

?

Tour Dates & Locations

Friday, October 12th:.

8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

1)???? Four Points Sheraton Hotel (Culver City)? 8 a.m.?10 a.m. (launch)

?

2)????? Spa 313 ? Total Body Retreat (Inglewood) 11 a.m.?12 p.m.

?

3)???? Inglewood library (Inglewood) 1 p.m.?2 p.m.

?

4)???? Crenshaw Mall-Crown Books (Los Angeles) 3 p.m.?5 p.m.

?

5)???? Smiley's Bookstore (Carson) 5:30 p.m.?7:30 p.m.

?

?

Saturday, October 13th:

?9 a.m.-7 p.m. Cameron Literacy Book Fair, Howard Hughes Center - Lower Courtyard

?1 p.m.-5 p.m., Fox Hills Mall ? Borders Express

?

Sunday, October 14th^{??????? :}

?11a.m.-7 p.m. Cameron Literacy Book Fair, Howard Hughes Center - Lower Courtyard

?1 p.m.-5 p.m. Fox Hill Mall - Borders Express

?

Further Tour Dates TBA

?

For future tour dates of The New Image Writer?s Bus Tour, please contact Martha Tucker at: writelink3@yahoo.com, and/or visit Urbanclassicbooks.com.??

?

Come on out and wish the authors well.

Martha "Marti" Tucker?