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Definitely an intellectual and someone I attempt to emulate in my ranting... but I always fall short. Happy Birthday (and I never say HBD to anyone).

You might find it interesting that when I re-read my post, the first thought that came to my mind was that I forgot to acknowledge that the life I described as living could be summed up in one word: "sheltered". I obviously led a sheltered existence, tucked away in a little Chicago suburb where my formative years were insulated by the apathy and naiveness of the 1950s. As time passed, and the protest movement became full blown, instead of taking the dive and getting in the swim, I stood on the bank and watched, and analyzed. I can only attribute this reaction to my core personality which tends to be that of a passive-aggressive individual. So on further consideration, I would not judge my black experience as being typical. Some of the things that were better back in my day were how schools were places where kids actually had a respect for authority and an appreciation for smartness, and teaching the fundamentals was a priority as opposed to elevating test scores. How a sense of shame still existed and a teen aged girl getting pregnant was not celebrated by planning a big shower equivalent to a sweet 16 party or how doing a stint in jail didn't give you "street" credentials. How pop music was romantic and dance-friendly, not the angry, profane accompaniment for booting shakin. How reading books was still a pass time and being a good conversationalist was an asset. And the absence of TV reality shows and their air-head participants. And how important the family unit was and how, indeed, a village raised a child, and beefs were settled with fisticuffs that ended with a handshake and perhaps a friend for life. How people took pride in a job well done and didn't have a problem with giving a day's work for a day's pay, just glad to have a job. How when it came to race relations, black folks voluntarily "stayed in their place" not so much because they were intimidated by white people but because their place was so much more fun and hipper and - better...Then there were the role models and martyred heroes. They were not murdered rappers or offenders with warrants whose resumes have to be sanitized. The police? Well, unfortunately, they have always been hard on Blacks as has the justice system. Most of all, how drugs had not ravaged the hood, and spawned an escalation of crime and violence. What's better nowadays is that the standard of living has improved thanks to the conveniences and technologies of the computerized age. Then there's the breaking down of racial and sexual barriers when it comes to certain fields of employment. I'm trying to think of more things that are better now but, - too much of what comes to mind are superficial things that have not improved the quality of life, just made shallow pursuits more accessible When it comes to politics and racism, the more things changed the more they became the same.

Believe it or not, this is a subject i don't have an opinion about. Some things were better in my early days and some things are better in the twilight of my life. Upon reaching 82, what is interesting to me is the realization that during the time and the places and the years that I have been around, all of the calamitous things that were happening in the country and to black people did not have a great impact on my day to day personal life, which has always been stable. It's like I have been observing the world from the vantage point of a spectator. My detachment is not something I'm proud of, but for some reason whoever was president, whichever war was being fought, whatever shape the economy was in, or whatever racial issue were trending, I was always able to stay under the radar if I so chose, which I often did. Other times my involvement was limited strictly to commentary. Racism never greatly inconvenienced me, possibly because i didn't aim for the sky but led an uncomplicated mid-level existence. The angst of people like Ta-Nehisi Coates strikes me as the breast beating of a black man lamenting because he's not white. One thing I hate about black conservative Republicans is that they are like carbon copies of white people. The things that have shaped my nonchalance undoubtedly include how I've actually never been called a nigger to my face. Any racial discrimination I encountered I blew off because it was always subtle and because I was never particularly interested in integrating with white people, or being where I wasn't wanted just to break racial barriers. I left the boat-rocking to the social activists, who I would encourage with words of approval. Oddly enough white people would reach out to me, almost as if my indifference to them was a challenge.They tended to want to make me an example of how unprejudiced they were. Maybe they perceived my nonchalance as non threatening. Within my own race, my color or anybody else's color was never a big deal to me and the fact that I didn't suck up to white people was something other Blacks seemed to appreciate. I wonder how atypical my black experience is? I have not ruled out the possibility that the way I have dealt with being black is a defense mechanism because I never wanted to give whites the satisfaction of thinking their acceptance mattered to me. But, even as a child, I always felt that racial discrimination was white people's loss not mine.

I am open the brainstorm session as well. Missy from www.virgogirlmedia.com

I think the first and easiest thing is linksharing. Add at least 1 blog to your sidebar on your blog. I'm down to flesh out ideas of course.

http://whatsthe411.com/books-and-authors/bookish/author-sightings/item/694-author-sightings-harlem-book-fair-s-2015-phillis-wheatley-book-awards.html

Troy and I had similar childhoods/young adult hoods. I was a part of the first group of kids that were bussed to all white schools in Memphis. I went to jail/juvi in the same week, lol. Not as a rite of passage, but because of my inability to deal with my own smarts. (confusing I know) Even with all of the things I've gone through, having a gun put to my head and a misfire, being stolen from, to stealing, selling things I had no business selling, I made it out okay. Troy, I will use what Cynique just wrote and say that what she has expressed is why I don't believe in the argument that things are worse. The time she lived through can't be compared to any part of what we are encountering. We have lanes available that were not available. As she said kids respected school and took advantage of the little they had. Today kids don't. I don't buy that it's the system or crappy schools. All a good teacher needs is a willing student and a book. My 20 years of education taught me that. In regard to leaving the big city and coming down south... MAN THERE ARE JOBS EVERYWHERE, people in the south make a very conscious decision to not pursue employment or to not take jobs they consider demeaning. I can only speak for the tri-state area of Memphis, North Mississippi, and West Memphis Arkansas. North Mississippi has one of the fastest growing areas in the country with a lot of jobs. Memphis is the distribution hub. It's the only place I've witnessed a 60 year old woman get 5 jobs in the last 3 months simply trying to figure out where she wants to work in retirement. The jobs she took were young people's jobs primarily and the only reason she didn't keep the job she liked was due to the hours. (This is my mother in law I'm talking about). I'm not saying living in San Diego or New York on 30K is something that can be done, but I lived in San Diego with a wife and a son on 30K. We lived in an apartment, we didn't save much money, and we lived in a gang neighborhood, but we lived okay on one income. Was this because I had the best childhood? No. We simply learned that we couldn't get all of the things we wanted. We sacrificed. Others around us struggled more because they wanted the new car, the trips and the nice things that represented living well. We are obviously looking at things from two different points of view. I don't care about racism and politics. I don't think it stops me as much as I stop myself. I also look at people in poverty as unwilling to adapt and change because I've been so involved in those communities. I can give all the breakdowns in the world, but the best example I can give is my next door neighbor. They are an Asian family who immigrated here. 3 families lived in the same house. They all worked crappy jobs (nails, auto repair, cell phone sales). They all paid the same amount on the mortgage. These three families paid their mortgage off in 3 years from low paying jobs. Two of the families moved out and another family immigrated in. They moved down the street into a foreclosed home. Those three families paid the mortgage on this foreclosed home and paid it off in three years. They moved to a third house and did the same thing with the last immigrated family. In the ten years we've been in Memphis these folks have become owners of three properties. They took a loan against the first house and started their own business. There wasn't a white man, or the system or any of that which prevented them from doing what they did. They cosigned for each other and helped each other and they lived below their means. Black folks can't even live in the same house bro. When I was a kid we had 6 people living in a 2 bedroom apartment in the projects. That would never happen today. We no longer live near each other. The nuclear family and extended family is dead. This takes me right back to where I was when I say, fix the family and many of our problems go away.

+1 that statement!

I am Patricia from www.PatriciaAPatton.com

I am happy to add my brain power to this discussion. I won't vent because you have described the problem well . I'd love to participate in the development of a strategy that does a better job of raising more of us from obscurity. I do not know exactly what a webring is but let's talk.