"The Rise of Street Literature," published in the May/June 2008 issue of "ColorLines Magazine" won a 2009 National Ethnic Media Award in the Arts, Sports and Entertainment Category. The National Ethnic Media Awards are presented by New America Media, a multi-channel news and communications agency serving ethnic news organizations in the U.S. and overseas. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has equated the National Ethnic Media Award to the Pulitzer Prize: "I want to congratulate the honorees who are receiving the equivalent of the ‘Pulitzer Prize.’ … Ethnic media represent the way the new Washington needs to connect to the new America." In ‘The Rise of Street Literature," Almah LaVon Rice looks at the growing popularity of urban-fiction and a younger generation of Blacks. You can read "The Rise of Street Literature" on ColorLines.com. Illustration by Gia-Bao Tran