2009 National Ethnic Media Awards Winners

Arts, Sports & Entertainment (English)

Winner

"The Rise of Street Literature"
Almah LaVon Rice, ColorLines

Runner Up

"Smashing Comeback"
Emily Driscoll, Little India

Honorable Mention

"High Rollers"
Kai Ma, KoreAm Journal

Arts, Sports & Entertainment (English)

Winner: Almah LaVon Rice, "The Rise of Street Literature," ColorLines (Oakland, California)

Street literature has become a huge favorite for a younger generation of blacks. It's the bestselling genre in black bookstores as well as at barbershops, beauty salons and sidewalk kiosks. Major publishers like Simon and Schuster have also created urban-fiction divisions. But it's also controversial with its unabashed luxury brand fetish, explicit sex and violence and raw profanities. Almah LaVon Rice wanted to explore that tension. Street lit, also called ghetto lit and gangsta lit, is responsible for a surge in black readership, but is it literacy by any means necessary?

"The central question animating my story is who gets to hold the lantern of racial representation," says Rice. "Street lit writers, according to some, don't deserve the spotlight due to the often poor quality of their writing — not to mention the stereotypical portrayals of urban grit. Others argue that street lit has romanced an entire generation of readers back to the printed page — and that reading, period, is praiseworthy." Even if it is books with names like "Pimp," "Trick Baby," and "Dopefiend."

Her story also addresses the loss of "literary African-American voices; street lit and the allure of the subversive among black youth; and glamorization versus exploration within the genre."

Through her story, Rice provides her readers a forum to discuss what the role of street literature in our society is, and how it affects the next generation in the black community. Rice wonders, "Is what-will-white-people-think informing the critiques of street lit at all? Setting aside the issue of 'literary quality,' can we discuss how much we fear honest, raw portrayals of our lives, our families, and our communities will be used against us in a racist, classist society?"

Rice lives in Baltimore where she is a poet, a creativity coach and communications consultant for ONE DC, an organization devoted to racial and economic equity in Washington D.C.


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Testimonials

About NAM's First National Ethic Media Awards
Washington, D.C., 2006

Hillary Rodham Clinton

I want to congratulate the honorees who are receiving the equivalent of the “Pulitzer Prize.” Every generation brings so many voices to the debate. Ethnic media represent the way the new Washington needs to connect to the new America.

Len Downie, Executive Editor, Washington Post

I was very pleased that I could be at the awards ceremony. New America Media is a very significant journalistic organization and you are doing important work.

Michael Jack, VP of Diversity, NBC Network

Congratulations for pulling off such a successful event. It is not easy to do anything for the first time, but you managed to do just that. The well deserving recipients truly appreciated the acknowledgement.

Brant Houston, Executive Director, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc.

Thanks for including us in this great project.

Lorena Hernandez, Bay Area Director of Communications, Comcast

Congratulations on the successful National Ethnic Media Events in DC!

Juliet K. Choi, National Partnership Development Senior Associate, American Red Cross

Congratulations on a beautiful inaugural Ethnic Media Awards – and kudos for getting Senator Clinton to show!

Julie H. Sun, Corporate Relations and Housing Outreach Manager, Freddie Mac

We were very happy to be engaged.

Pat Lawson Muse, Anchor, NBC4

Congratulations for pulling off such a successful event. Many of the stories that generated awards were so moving. The well de- serving recipients truly appreciated the acknowledgement.

Anna Lefer, U.S. Programs Program Officer, Open Society Institute

Congratulations on a hugely successful awards ceremony. After scanning the crowd of journalists and executives from ethnic and mainstream media, elected officials, international dignitaries and diplomats, and DC insiders, it is quite clear that NAM is a part of the political fabric down in DC.

Pam Larson, Executive Vice President, National Academy of Social Insurance

Being part of NAM’s gathering and associated events was a true honor and thrill for us! . . . You’ve got a real eye for the future -- and for making a better “present” for many people, too!

Ellen Hume, Senior Research Fellow, UMASS Boston

Congratulations to everyone. Our delegation just met here at UMASS Boston to recount how inspiring the NAM awards and work- shops were. Everyone is glowing.

Jon Funabiki, former deputy director of the Media, Arts and Culture with Ford Foundation

New America Media truly has changed the nation by bringing the power of ethnic news media into focus and making people take notice. NAM has changed the course of history.