An enduring legacy spanning nearly three decades can see change, but for AALBC.com’s book club, the mission remains: to provide an online space for readers to explore and celebrate both emerging and established Black writers. This year, the award-winning website relaunched its book club, with the third iteration, Black Don’t Crack…Book Spines, revitalizing the hub long known for platforming books about African Americans and people of African descent.
In an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, multi-award-winning literary activist Troy Johnson, founder and president of AALBC.com, believes book clubs are more relevant than ever.
“Providing platforms for humans to engage with each other is going to become increasingly important,” Johnson tells So Booking Cool. “Book clubs with real people talking to each other —I can’t see that ever losing out in a competition with AI. We need people who are willing to participate and strongly advocate for themselves as human beings. Clubs and organizations will become increasingly important in the upcoming years.”
Johnson founded AALBC.com in October 1997. The Harlem native grew up poring over encyclopedias and recalls his excitement when he discovered author Ezra Jack Keat’s The Snowy Day at about four years old. Johnson was captivated because a Black boy was on the cover. By the time he reached high school, however, his love for reading waned. It wasn’t until he earned two graduate degrees from New York University’s Stern School of Business and Polytechnic University (now NYU Tandon School of Engineering), respectively, that he rediscovered his love for reading and the community around it, transporting him to his early childhood.
The site’s first book club, Coffee Will Make You Black, launched a year after the website was created. It was moderated by a man known by the alias Thumper, who initially contacted Johnson after disagreeing with an opinion posted on the message board about James Earl Hardy’s B-Boy Blues. Johnson encouraged Thumper to join the discussion. He quickly became a popular member on the message board, so much so that Johnson offered him his own space on the website. Thumper pitched a book club for the platform and moderated it for nearly a decade.
Early members of the club connected using tools like chat rooms, dial-up internet, phone lines, and platforms like CompuServe. Discussions sometimes involved relaying questions and answers between participants and authors through a combination of phone and web chats.
The book club later entered a new phase in 2018 under moderator Tony Lindsay, one of AALBC.com’s bestselling authors, before going on hiatus.
Now, the relaunch is being led by Eryka Parker, an award-winning book editor and coach whose love of reading began in childhood. Like Thumper, Parker encouraged Johnson to revive the book club. “I’m excited by Eryka’s participation and, you know, breathing life into now the Black [Don’t Crack] book club,” says Johnson.
Parker previously participated in book clubs hosted by her mother and went on to lead her own as an adult. The Ohio native also coined the name Black Don’t Crack…Book Spines, drawing on a popular phrase in the Black community.
“I created the title because ‘Black don’t crack’ has been a staple saying in the community,” Parker shares after a light laugh. “It’s one of those things that we’ve always said because it’s true. I said, ‘This is going to be a recognizable statement and declaration for Black people and people from the African diaspora that come over to the United States.’ But then, ‘book spines,’ because if you’re an avid reader, you don’t like your book’s spine cracked. You try to keep your book as pristine as you can, even while you’re reading it.”
People Person by Candice Carty-Williams kicked off the book club’s relaunch, followed by Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot. This month’s pick is Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell, set for March 29, and April 26th’s The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb.
“At its heart, this book club is about creating community through our love of reading and intentional conversation,” Parker says. “It’s where literature becomes a mirror, a catalyst, and a bridge for connection.”
The Black Don’t Crack…Spines book club meets monthly on Zoom and runs for an hour. It is open to ages 18 and up. While the answers may seem obvious, Johnson and Parker share tips for those looking to participate:
- Come with an open mind.
- Be respectful.
- Lurk.
They also have a general list of guidelines on their website, which includes members having their cameras on at least for the first meeting.
Johnson expounds on the “lurk” advice, “What I mean is if you haven’t read the book, don’t be dissuaded from coming on and listening. You may learn something. You may be encouraged to read a book you hadn’t considered before by just listening to the conversation.”
For more information, visit AALBC’s website.