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When Troy said that, it was a foreshadowing of future events. He knew I'd be locked out of the forum for nearly 2 months....lol. .....man, them Harlem niggaz is somethin' else. They'll set you up to be murked with a big SMILE on their face...lol.

Sounds like a mixed up man with mixed up interests driving him to do what he did. It seems as if "whoever" or "whatever" is driving some of these cats to make their moves heard the chatter from the Black community about how most of the shooters have been White and how we said it's not out business. They heard the Black community say "It's White on White crime and we're staying out of it." So they found some "off white" or "half white" dude and put a battery in his back to go on a mission. When Black folks said he wasn't Black enough and insisted on not claiming him, I guess "they" (whoever "they" is) decided to send a SHO'NUFF Black man on the mission. This latest dude they claimed tried to run up on the White house and got neutralized....there's no mistaking whether HE'S Black or not. Now the question is, is he FBA?

Brother Malik Shabaaz (Malcolm X) is one of my favorite Black intellectuals. He was usually sharp on on point as well as witty with both friends and foes. Neely Fuller Jr. is another favorite of mine. Again, usually on point and sharp....even in his 90s.

The First Chapter celebrates impactful storytelling, featuring Malaika Mutere's Bantu Waltz, where music, identity, and colonial survival intertwine through a powerful, evocative narrative. Bantu Waltz : Nya's Archangel Story by Malaika Mutere Reviewed by MELEvery writer knows: the first chapter is a promise. It’s where you bring your best pen forward. And if done right, that first chapter becomes a map, a mood, and a motive. That’s why I bring to you, The First Chapter, a feature dedicated to honoring the artistry and ambition of Chapter One. Our inaugural entry belongs to Bantu Waltz: Nya’s Archangel’s Story by Malaika Mutere—a novel that doesn’t tiptoe onto the page but dances in with rhythm, rage, and reverence. Mutere’s prose is at once a celebration and a lament, a reminder that the stories we tell about music, memory, and colonial survival are neither linear nor light. They’re layered. Underneath the first chapter’s sun-drenched opening scene—students dancing, families gathering, a new year rising—lurks a tension that is anything but decorative. In a flashback, the protagonist, Nya, shares a memory that recalls British invasion music floating over Kenyan airwaves; the reader is reminded that even joy carries the echo of conquest. It’s not just a song; it’s a symbol. That static hums with identity theft, cultural interruption, and ancestral resistance. And like any song worth listening to twice, this chapter delivers a syncopated truth: music in the wrong hands is deception. But in Mutere’s hands? It’s a key. A call. A coded language meant for the descendants of Bantu lineage—those with the ancient mitochondrial DNA to decipher the message carried in the melody. I read this chapter before Black Music Month slipped away, and I’m glad I did. Because what Bantu Waltz makes clear is that Black music is more than a beat; it’s a genealogy. And sometimes, a first chapter is more than a beginning—it’s a remembrance. So if you’re looking for fiction that blends Soul, Sorrow, and Sound into one artful opening, I recommend Bantu Waltz to readers of Soul/R&B fiction, social anthropology, and cultural memoirs dressed as novels. Because The First Chapter isn’t just a feature. It’s a feeling. Originally posted Art intersects MEL June 30, 2025

The Black man who killed my father while he was trying to prevent a robbery of his uncle store was convicted with life with no expected parole. He is free today and has been for some time, so I suspect there are a lot who are free today. But that crime spree back in the day - sent me fleeing NY so, I'm not mad at that crime bill that saved other Black families who couldn't leave New York. If there were people falsely imprisoned my heart breaks for them and I hope some liberal project got them out. But it wasn't like Black people caught up in that bill were innocent. They left a lot of Black families without fathers, sons, mothers and daughters. In other news, Hi @ProfD ! I hope you are doing well on this Memorial Day!

Mel Yep...lol. I'm curious. Do you remember what year that picture was taken? I'm sure it was before he was incarcerated. Sometimes I like to look at people in pictures and wonder what's on their minds and whether or not they have any idea of their future and what lays ahead for them. When he was sitting there smiling for that picture, I'm sure going through the legal problems he was about to face was one of the furthest things from his mind.

Both of them were and are bad, but it appears that Crack came the closest to almost DESTROYING the Black urban community in a way that Heroin didn't. Heroin has been around for decades...since the 40s atleast....and caused it's problem. But you still had working class functioning Black neighborhoods, numbers running, the prostitutes actually looked decent.....lol. Violence was contained. Crack came along in the early to mid 80s like a bull in a china shop. In just a year or two the decent looking prostitutes and well dressed pimps became replaced with skinny skeleton looking "crack hoes" and the pimps were gone. Violence and automatic weapons appeared right along with it and violence skyrocketed. In Detroit you had "dope dens"....a few designated buildings to shoot up in. When Crack hit, nearly every 4th or 5th building or house became a "crack house".

ProfD Well..... White folks are still in the Congo aren't they? If White folks are still there, why are they surprised that Ebola, HIV, and other diseases are still there? Duhhhh....... As long as White folks are still there, don't be surprised if some NEW diseases that nobody has heard of before "mysteriously" pop up seemingly out of nowhere and have people dropping like flies.

The dope epidemic didn't produce as much violence & murder as the crack epidemic. The War on Drugs was declared when Black folks started getting a lotta money & murder rates skyrocketed across the country. POTUS Bill Clinton's 1994 Crime Bill incarcerated a whole lotta Black folks. That's why there are 2 million people being warehoused in US prisons. More prisoners in the US than every other country combined.😎

Glad to be back. I could actually read the messages, I just couldn't participate without signing in. I started to sign up under another name but thought about all of the history that went into my original handle and decided to wait until I eventually figured out that old email address I used. I happened to read where Troy said he emailed me so I looked for a ping in one of my old emails to find out which one I signed up under.

Not to be out-done, the Ebola virus has resurfaced in the Congo. A couple hundred folks have died. No cure for the current virus. Folks traveling back to America from over there are being quarantined in the 51st state, er, Canada.🤣😎

@Pioneer1...looks like the forum upgrade threw you for a loop.🤣 It actually seems to work better. I can post from any device without getting weird Go Daddy messages.😁 Again...welcome back. Missed your input around here.😎

Mel Yeah, I recall you saying you used to be a stewardess or something of that nature. I also recall something about you meeting.....Bill Cosby???....or some famous Black entertainer on one of the flights.

I love learning too much to focus on just one subject. A dissertation is limiting, and the only subject I know better than communications and marketing, is scheduled passenger airlines. I initially enrolled in GSU to take some classes and then decided to upgrade my journalism experience by incorporating data science.

ProfD .....and if you had talked to more than 3 -one of them would have surely snagged you with a smile and you would have been TRAPPED in Michigan for the forseeable future...lol. These African girls are getting pretty good with their lacefront and wore-jeans game....lol.

More likely just another scare tactic. I'm almost convinced now that if THESE people are actually reporting on it in the media, it's usually not too much of a threat. They usually know more than what they're reporting and already know there's not much too it, so they hype it up to scare the public. It it were a REAL threat, they'd probably keep quiet on it until social media forces their hand and they can no longer hide it from the public. I learned this during the George Floyd riots back in 2020. When it came to minor incidents like a few kids throwing bottles and wrestling with police officers in places like Baltimore and Ferguson Missouri....the media STAYED on the scene showing every detail of people just standing around chanting and yelling and being arrested. But when it came to a full fledged riot/rebellion with building being burned and police being attacked....it took them 2 or 3 hours to even report the first fires being set. Social media had to tell people what was happening.

Welcome back bro.👍🏿 Thought I was gonna have to roll up to Michigan to find your whereabouts.😁 How so you might ask? I would've started by interrogating African women.🤣😎

I believe they dangle carrots to 1) keep the conspiracy theorists occupied & 2) justify spending money on UAP/UFO investigations. The Golden Dome in Israel is an example of that technology in use. The US helped build it. The current administration has talked about spending money to build a Golden Dome here. Nevermind the continental US (CONUS) hasn't been invaded by foreigners since the 1800s. For the military history buffs, Pearl Harbor is not CONUS.😉 The stealth technology US military aircraft has is close to having a force field around it. They can attack without being detected by radar systems.😎

Welcome back! 🙋🏽‍♀️👋🏽 I was in HIST class while Troy was tinkering and missed the upgrade entirely!

ProfD Or maybe he's still trying to climb out of the rubble of the OLD website format that was demolished without warning....lol. Right before everything collapsed, I read something about Troy changing his mind about updating or reformatting the website. Next thing I know, the site vanished and when it re-appeared it required me to use some old email address for over a decade ago to access it again....which took me 2 months to dig up, lol.

So was it my imagination remembering him in drag? Just a garden variety cis-gendered gay dude huh? Going back to the original. @aka Contrarian It seems rather than entertaining the sisters (it is a Black platform) it seems the article was designed to rile them up by rubbing in their faces how intentional Miss Ann has been about beating their time. How are we served by that? If people need diversions from the BS of the day, folks can try reading a book 😉

At @ProfD, that is an interesting reaction? Why do you think they bothered to released that video? So you think the US has force field technology now? It is possible, but sheesh why keep that a secret? You know the Trump administration would do more civilization ending if our aircraft had force fields. 😉