welcome to this edition of "our world with black enterprise." i'm marc lamont hill. she's heating up the pages. our all-access profiles novelist terry mcmillan. plus, blacks and the new media. where do we stand? and we'll wrap things up with a soulful look at gospel singer lolanda adams. that's what's going on in our world, starting now. ♪ >> with six best selling novels behind her and another just released, novelist terry

mcmillan shows no signs of slowing down. i caught up with her at harlem's famous bookstore to discuss her career, new book, and life after divorce. terry mcmillan, always good to see you. thank you so much for joining us today. talk to me a little bit about this new book. it's exciting. you decided to revisit "waiting to exhale" and bringing back to the lives of those four women. what's that like? >> it was like revisiting old friends, even though they weren't real. basically, i just had to get to know them again as real grownups and not as youthful women. >> so many of us remember not so much the book, but the movie and it had this happy ending, people felt rlly good and empowered. now we're returning more to the book style. did you have any struggle about that? >> no, but i wanted to make sure

that people didn't think it was "waiting to exhale 2." a lot of those women that were preoccupied with back then don't seem to move them now. now they're learning how to start their lives over, reinvent themselves, re-evaluate their lives and how far they've come and what's left to do. i don't think 20 years ago they were thinking in those terms, at all. >> one of the things you have is internal validation. you're a best selling author, black people buy your books. do you ever worry about the outside world? do you worry about the nobels and the pulitzers, how much do you think about validation from the industry? >> i know the value of my work, and i've never, thanks to my mother, let anybody define me or what i do or how i do it. i don't think that my work is formulaic, not at all.

so i doubt if i'll ever win a pulitzer. >> don't say that now. >> i really don't care. i don't need a pulitzer or any of that to validate what i do. >> they say you got black people reading again. there was a whole new moment of because of you and "waiting to exhale" and now there's a generation of people wants to be writers. do you take credit for that, first? >> no, i don't really take credit for that, no. but the urban literature, as it's called -- >> i love the quotes right. there >> part of the problem i have with this urban fiction is it's not well written, some of it is poorly edited and some of the stories i think could be compelling if it weren't for them glorifying a lot of the things that we have fought so hard to overcome. i mean, it's really full of a

lot of black hatred as far as i'm concerned. some of it is just embarrassing. i think there's room for it to be a lot more redeeming if they didn't look at this as just a reality. but in terms of what it says about our reality. and i have a problem with that. >> given how hard it is for many strong young writers to get into the game, is it safe to say that the publishing industry is racist? >> probably. but not -- i don't think it's overtly racist. i don't even think that they're aware that they're racist. and i'm probably -- probably because of my own success, i would make that theme somewhat of a contradiction. but there are a lot of young writers out here who can't get book contracts because there are

some writers whose work doesn't sell as many numbers as the publishers anticipated. so therefore it's made it difficult for up and coming authors. >> the one black person that represents the whole crew, one person doesn't make it and no one gets it. >> it's politics in a way, but also economics in that the return isn't as high as the investment. and so you get dropped. >> one of the moments in your life where your life and your issues are on marriage and love and all these things went from the page into -- at least in the book page to the newspaper page was in 2005 when you were -- your divorce was announced. obviously, your husband at the time, jonathan plumber, informed you in december that he was gay and by march you announced you were going to get a divorce. what was that process like? >> well, i'll put it this way, what the public doesn't know is i was in the process of divorcing jonathan before he

came out. that was one of the reasons why he decided to come out. >> so you were getting a divorce and he does -- >> oh, by the way. a lot of people don't know that, but that's really the way it worked. at any rate, my life turned into a circus, because he got this sleazy attorney. who basically thought that because of my reputation and my income that they could extort money from me, and then i called "the enquire," what do you think i'm going to call you? so those portions of messages, they were actually two of them that were played over and over and put into court documents, taken out of context. the reason for my call, they made it seem as though i was calling him every day, stalking him. >> and just spitting out slurs. >> oh, my goodness. i just so resented it. that's the reason i sued him.

afterwa afterwards, it was all over. if i was homophobic, i would say so, i wouldn't lie about it. my life was basically a year and a half, three years of pure hell, and i really resented the fact that it was turned into this public circus just because somebody wanted my money and they didn't get it. >> did it make you each more closed off from the public? >> no. >> so if you were to get married again, would you let the world know who your partner was? happening in relationship. >> not mine, not the next one. i'm marrying the brother from the cialis commercial. >> you don't have time to argue. >> no, i'm old. i'm 59 years old. so this time -- no, we'll be on the back porch in the rocking

chair kicking it. he's not going anywhere, and neither am i. >> terry, always a pleasure and very entertaining to see you and talk to you. thank you so much. >> you're welcome. we go way back. >> way back. up next, the new media craze. is there a place for african-americans? >> i think what's missing more often is perspective that comes from a black voice or comes from a black mind or black sensibilities. my sister's new boyfriend told her that he thinks sundays are just for watching football. believe that? [ thinking ] remain calm. answering incorrectly has... but i just -- [ thinking ] ...consequences. but you're smart, right? you ordered off mcdonald's dollar menu at breakfast. got the premium roast coffee, the savory sausage burrito. everything's so good and just a buck each. you made it happen, so... you got this. he's a jerk. [ thinking ] well-played. mcdonald's dollar menu at breakfast. the simple joy of being smart.

[ominous music playing] girl whispering: there's a monster in my bathtub. [whispering] there's one on the couch. boy whispering: there's a monster on my bed.

announcer: keep innocent things from triggering an asthma attack. please make the monsters go away. announcer: learn how to stop their asthma attacks at noattacks.org. welcome back. many african-americans have responded to the lack of diversity in the main stream media about creating their own

space in the world of new media. here to discuss this is lola oganaki, david wilson, and tv and web personality amanda diva. all of you have been in main stream outlets, whether nbc news, new york times. what is it like to be the raisin in the buttermilk? you can write that one down. what's that like? >> at nbc, i think there is definitely -- they get it a lot more. they understand it much better, that you need to be a little more diverse, particularly in the newsroom. nobody is perfect but there is a good mix and i'm in those big meetings when they're deciding what stories are going out. but i think it's very important, and i think that, you know, look, america is diverse as we've been talking about and i think it's important the newsroom reflects america.

not just our skin but what we think. >> what's also interesting is all of you, in response to the lack of diversity, didn't just complain about it, you found new spaces to offer your vision of the world. how important has it been for this next generation of african-americans to craft new media spaces to articulate their vision? >> i think it's been incredibly important. for so long, only a few were allowed in. now you don't even have to worry about being allowed. you can own your own content and where your own voice. i think it's incredibly liberating. i didn't have that when i was coming up. so that was it. now you can work in those legitimate outlets. i think it's been liberating for a number of young journalists, providing them with an opportunity that they would not have had ten years ago. >> i ask definitely speak to that. for black voices, aol has black

voices, and they directly came to me and said we want you to create a show specifically to reach a demographic that you speak to. there is a lot of representation -- okay, there is not a lot of representation. >> there's more. >> there's more representation on television, but i feel like i don't relate to anybody on television right now. so i wanted to create something that could. >> so with your show "the spark" people are able to see the type of issues you have, but through the internet. >> exactly. >> in this day and age where i think any news junkie gets their news from a variety of sources. i'm going to be honest here, one of the things i find is often "the new york times," you know, msnbc, cnn, a number of them are doing black stories. i think what's missing more

often is perspective. you know, perspective not just on black stories but perspectives on main stream stories that come from a black voice or from a black mind or black sensibilities. these one of the things we strive for every day is to say, look, we don't just cover black news, because as african-americans we don't just need or look for black news, we look for news that affects all of us. but i think we have a different point of view based off of our backgrounds and our experiences being discriminated. all sorts of things that shape that point of view. i think that's often what people are looking for. so i think we confuse black news with black perspective. that's what we offer, i think. >> everybody has a perspective, and as a trained journalist, do you worry about that everyone can tweet and use facebook it that's hard to separate the real writers from the people just doing it on their living room

couch? >> i'm going to paraphrase aaron, he says everyone should have a voice but not everyone should have a microphone. and i completely agree with him. i find it difficult as a journalist, someone who did study, and it is a craft, that there are a number of people out there wearing the journalism badge and they don't know what they're doing. it's not as simple as a typo. that's not just true. you don't know a lead from a kicker, and i'm thinking i can't believe this is being put out there. that said, i do appreciate and i'm glad there are a number of young voices having an opportunity to be heard. if you're waiting to get into "the new york times," it's going to take you a few years to get there. >> there's a long line. >> i just wish more bloggers were dedicated to honing the

craft and not just to the page views. >> everyone can have an opinion, but not everyone has a credible opinion. >> or educated preponderan ed o. >> every week we ask people on the streets. this week we had someone who had a specific question for you. >> our social networking sites taking away from the value of personal relationships? >> that's a great question. >> not just yeah, hell yeah. >> you know, this is the thing that is so interesting about social networks. sometimes it brings people who are close together physically further apart, and people who are further apart closer together. i think that's one of the things. so there's a benefit to it, obviously. it connects people more. i think a lot of folks are finding their news and getting information from social media. i think it is informing people

more, different things going on outside their immediate surround pgs. yeah, i think there's a pro and con to social media. >> i met marc on twitter. >> that's right. >> however, if i'm dating somebody, i do not follow them on twitter. because i don't want to see what you're doing all the time. >> that's a temptation, though, right? you said you were working late. you just tweeted you were at the movies. >> you can't lie anymore, that's for sure. >> i'm analog in a digital age. there is definitely a certain -- it brings people who would not be in the same space together. but if you are -- >> that's it, we have those invisible walls. >> lola, amanlda, david, thank you for being here. >> up next, this singer is using gospel music to help people live better.

>> i want them to know they're so important to their families we don't want to live this life without them.

have you ever considered, i don't know, getting it waxed? waxed? yeah. bro, that's a little weird. i don't know, doesn't seem that weird to me. just keep shaving my back, ok? oh, dude, can i get a bite? what, with my spoon? that's disgusting. [coo coo] [coo] [coo] be free. nice, dad. ["nice, dad" echoing]

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♪ welcome back to "our world with black enterprise." last year, yolanda adams was recognized as the number one gospel artist of the decade. today, she's using the power of wholistic faith to save lives. yolanda adams is our "slice of life." >> lift your hands! >> with the voice of an angel and the character to back it up, yolanda adams is on tour again. but this time, not for her albums but to promote healthy living. >> we know that 40% of african-americans are walking around with high blood pressure and most of them don't even know it. that embodies a lot of my core group, which is the church. and i wanted to make sure that the message was getting out. we have the navartis blood pressure tent where you can get your blood pressure checked

today. >> so she hit the road on a national tour doing health fairs like this one in newark, new jersey. >> very great to have these voices standing up, somebody like a yolanda adams and michelle obama trying to point the finger at personal responsibility, about the simple things we can do to make massive changes in our lives. >> bringing blood pressure screenings is -- i mean, it's integral. it's so important, because a lot of people can't afford to go to a physician, go to a clinic and get it done. >> one highlight of the fair is if larger than lifeblood vessel. inside, people are given information about blood pressure and remedies to control or avoid the disease. >> before i came here today, my blood pressure had always been low and i found out today it's kind of high. so i have to eat in moderation. >> getting regular checkups is important. especially for yolanda.

her mother didn't find out her own condition until it was too late. >> you know what the doctor tol us? he said this is unnecessary. it is so unnecessary because your mom could have had a well-woman exam, a whole bunch of things to instruct her and tell her that something was going on with her. a couple years ago, my mom passed of colon cancer. and she had great insurance. she has wealthy kids. she has, you know, she had everything. but the one thing that stopped her was the fear. she feared that something was wrong, and, you know, i figure i'm one of almost 8 billion people in the world, and if my mom felt that way, what about everybody else's mom? >> it's that question that keeps yolanda inspired to help thousands of people live longer. >> at the end of the day, i want them to know that a healthy bp

means that they have a healthy life. i want them to know that they are so important to their families that we don't want to live this life without them. of course, when their time comes, that's different. but unnecessarily, we don't want that to happen. since i can't hug all of you at the same time, hug your neighbor for me and say oh, that's from yolanda. >> we'll be right back my sister's new boyfriend told her that he thinks sundays are just for watching football. believe that? [ thinking ] remain calm. answering incorrectly has... but i just -- [ thinking ] ...consequences. but you're smart, right? you ordered off mcdonald's dollar menu at breakfast. got the premium roast coffee, the savory sausage burrito. everything's so good and just a buck each. you made it happen, so... you got this. he's a jerk. [ thinking ] well-played. mcdonald's dollar menu at breakfast. the simple joy of being smart.

[ominous music playing] girl whispering: there's a monster in my bathtub. [whispering] there's one on the couch. boy whispering: there's a monster on my bed. announcer: keep innocent things from triggering an asthma attack. please make the monsters go away. announcer: learn how to stop their asthma attacks at noattacks.org.

♪ that's all the time we have for "our world with black enterprise." catch outtakes with my interview with terry mcmillan. i'm marc lamont hill. thanks for watching "our world with black enterprise." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis.