Living Archive
Why I Restore Forgotten Newspapers
Sixty-nine American cities, one archive, and the argument that a newspaper page is the most honest history we have.
Robert Shumake · August 12, 2026 · 1 min read
Read nowThe Dispatchrobertshumake.agency
Writing Life
How I Published 137 Books in Fifteen Years
Not speed. Systems, standing research, and a refusal to start from zero twice.
July 25, 2026 · 1 min read
Living Archive
What a 1921 Front Page Teaches About 2026
Read enough century-old dailies and the present stops looking unprecedented.
July 18, 2026 · 1 min read
Consciousness
Meditation Without Mysticism
Strip the incense and the claims, and a stubborn, useful technique remains.
July 11, 2026 · 1 min read
AI Practice
Artificial intelligence, Black cultural memory, and the ethics of the record
Algorithmic bias, AI for archival restoration, and applied AI strategy — three pillars from a working archivist who restores the record machines were never trained on.
Enter the AI hubFrom the catalog
Books & the Living Archive
I Bought the Nooses: The AI Billionaire Blueprint
Google Play
Guru Rinpoche's Law of Attraction: The 8th-Century Secret to Manifesting Wealth, Power, and the Great Liberation — The Tibetan Buddhist Science of Mind and Abundance
Google Play
ODYSSEY: Another Stolen Legacy
Google Play
Shiva Shakti: The Cosmic Love Affair: The Sacred Union of Consciousness and Energy — The Law of Attraction, Manifestation, and the Tantric Path Where Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Transformation
Google Play
Krishna: Spiritual Reparations: Reclaim Your Birthright — The Divine Wisdom of Krishna and the Path to Power, Legacy, and Eternal Freedom
Google Play
Lakshmi Money: Open the Inner Bag of Wealth That Was Always Yours — The Ancient Goddess of Prosperity and the Sacred Science of Abundance and Divine Flow (The Spiritual Reparations Series, Book 6)
Google Play
The record
Who is Robert Shumake?
Robert Shumake — legal name Bobby Shumake Japhia — is a Detroit-born author, archivist, and AI ethics practitioner. He has published 137+ books, created the Living Archive Series of restored American newspapers, and authored Detroit's Proposal E, the 2021 ballot measure that passed with 61.08 percent of the vote.
He writes under two names: Robert Shumake for history, business, and archival work, and Ajarn Shaman Shu for Ifá and Òrìṣà practice, Buddhist philosophy, and the Tamil Siddhar tradition. His current practice sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, Black cultural memory, and the ethics of the record.
The Shop
Signed editions, prints & archive merchandise
Browse the official Robert Shumake store for books, Living Archive prints, and limited-run collectibles.
Stay connected
One teaching on consciousness or ancestral wisdom, one note from the desk, and early word on new books from the Living Archive Series and the Ajarn Shaman Shu collection. No spam, and one click to leave.