When I began working on my memoir, CONFESSIONS OF A SLOT MACHINE QUEEN, there was almost no material anywhere about casino gambling and the Black Community. In fact, my book is currently the only work published by a black woman that describes the experience of becoming addicted to slot machine gambling, the preferred form of gambling for women all over the globe.
Now, a group of students at the University of Pennsylvania’s Program on Documentaries and the Law, under the direction of Professor Regina Austin, has created an important and revealing documentary about what casino gambling is doing to black communities in Pennsylvania. It’s titled “Jackpot: The Legal and Social Implications of Gambling in the Black Community.”
Among the people interviewed is Dr. Deborah Haskins, one of only a very few African American psychologists specializing in gambling addictions among African Americans. The Reverend Jesse Brown, a local Philadelphia minister and community activist was also interviewed.
I hope other ministers will speak out about the negative effects casino gambling is having on the black community and take a stand against this encroachment of casinos into every nook and cranny of our country.
I thank the young men who produced and directed this very important documentary: Nathaniel Koonce, Wendell Holland, Andrew Pinkston, and Jerome Jordan. I am especially grateful for the important work Professor Regina Austin is doing as director of the Penn Program on Documentaries and the Law.
Sandra Adell, Author, CONFESSIONS OF A SLOT MACHINE QUEEN: A MEMOIR
It looks like you are no longer maintaining this blog – unfortunate for me. However, I am thankful for all that I have found reading through your posts. We have much in common. I shall purchase your book and hope for guidance. Thank you for sharing!!
Comment by d k — September 23, 2011 @ 12:00 p09 |
Thank you for your message. In fact, I am continuing to write. I took some time off to start work on another book, an academic book that has nothing to do with gambling (it’s about theater), and I have been traveling quite a bit these past few months. I am back to writing on this blog now.
Sandy Adell
Comment by Sandy Adell — September 25, 2011 @ 12:00 p09 |