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Not only did I like the few Congolese people I've met over the years, I can honestly say that I like most of the Africans that I've met. I'm talking socially, intellectually, and sexually (women). Me and a few brothers I roll with often talk about how feminine most African women tend to be and how attractive we find it. Infact a long time ago I used be friends with a Congolese sister and tried to get something going with her but I was the same age as her....which meant I was too young for her, lol. I got an opportunity to go to Belgium a while back and was suprised at how many Congolese people I saw. They had their own television channels and entire markets with salt-fish and other Congolese products were on the street. It took me to the end of the day to put together that The Congo had been a colony of Belgium. I think more Blacks Americans and Africans should mingle with eachother because we both have things to teach eachother.

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I actually don't remember that much about Richard Wright's career, Troy, because I was in grade school during his rise to fame, and by the time I reached high school, the genre of his books wasn't my cup of tea, so although I started Black Boy, I never finished reading it. Off the top of my head I do remember seeing a movie based on Native Son in which Richard Wright, himself, actually played the leading role. The movie wasn't very well done and was dark and rather depressing. I also recall that Wright became radical in his politics, flirting with Communism before becoming an ex-patriot, moving to Paris. I was never a big fan of his because he seemed so into white women, and what also sticks in mind is reading that he was very dismissive of black female authors, reportedly engaging in a feud with whom I believe was Zora Neale Hurston.

Hello Troy... It's Fanita... Thank you so much for sharing my information. Please don't hesitate to contact me at urbanmoonbooksandmore@gmail.com

Your statement they allow us says it all

Sara OK..... NOW I see why you've been running around here acting goofy about my quotes...LOL. I think Troy brought this to your attention because often you not only quote a person's ENTIRE post, but you also tend to respond to them WITHIN their actual quote which makes it hard for others (and probably the person you're responding to) to understand who said what and follow the conversation. I thought about mentioning it to you a couple times....but hey....it's your style, so it's really not my place to tell you how to express yourself. But in your defense, I will admit that it's hard (for me atleast) to make multiple SEPARATE quotes in one thread. That's why I choose to just quote people in red letters and put my responses below them.

Sara Oh, btw, DuBois abandoned his "Talented Tenth" postulation. I said "similar to" , not "exactly like". A coyote is "similar to" a wolf....but not "exactly like" one. Cynique Come on. If white people have definitively proven their superior intellect, they'll be too smart to share their power with a select number of Blacks. As Troy pointed out White people ALREADY think they're superior intellectually, yet they still allow Blacks to become police officers, mayors, congressmen, go to college, form our own organizations, ect..... What makes you think a confirmation of their beliefs would make THAT big of a difference in how they treat us?

Lol @ the exchange between CD and Sara......... It reminds staff meetings where you see those highly intellectual brothers who pretty much keep their emotions under control but there's always a sista who knows how to make him go "pop". Next thing you know he's cussing and sweating in the forehead....LOL. All Allow me to just go back to my original point. The military offers a lot of benefits to Black youth from backgrounds of poverty who ordinarily would have few chances of improving their condition...that's undeniable regardless of the drawbacks experiences by thousands of vets; however that's not the MAIN reason I support Black people having a significant presence through out all branches and in all levels of the military. The main reason I support it is because this is OUR nation (whether or not we're treated like it is) and it would be wise for us to make sure there's a BLACK PRESENCE in almost all of this nation's institutions to ensure that White supremacy doesn't entrench itself in them. I support more Blacks joining the local police and sheriff's departments, FBI, and other law enforcement agencies for the very same reason. If we're going to live in this nation we should have as strong of an influence as possible in all of it's operations in order to protect ourselves and our interests.

The answer to your question is "no." It's like for those born black, you just have to play the hand you're dealt.

LOL! Actually Chris did bring data into the mix. But i don't think it is personal with me... ah maybe it is, how could it not be? Cynique did you see the 2nd episode of Roots? Kunta escaped to fight with the British? If you read the research I shared you'll see that poor, under educated, Black men disproportionate serve in the military. As discussed it is a perfectly rational decision because options for these brother are very limited. Kunta's options were limited too so he was was anxious to fight for the British, at least until he saw how he and the others were being used. Some left, some stayed and died, and some survived and got their freedom. Is it really so different today?

@TroyI don't know, it just seemed out of character for you to zero in on the military to criticize when there are so many other areas that not only don't offer any opportunities at all for black youth but are havens for the negative aspects of the military. You appeared almost resentful that others would defend enlisting in the service and it seemed like a personal thing. I think it was a good enlightening debate and, in my opinion, was a draw. You held your own and Chris and Xeon did a good job of stating their position. My input was just anecdotal.

Here is a research report that summarizes more formerly some of the points I've raised here written here: Who Joins the Military?: A Look at Race, Class, and Immigration Status, it is 23 pages long. It is an academic research paper so I don't expect most of y'all to read it but it if will give you some insight of where I'm coming from. If anyone wants to discuss it please start another conversation. Chris, I do know that there have been studies about the dangers in other occupations, I'm sure you seen the list that pop up every year saying which occupations are most dangerous. Solider is number 5 or 6 behind construction worker. But to your point (and others) not every person in the service is a "trigger puller," so roles outside of combat may be even safer than working as a teacher in an inner city neighborhood. But I think you understand where I'm coming from. Cynique I'm not sure why you are mystified after reading some of the posts which included statements like; "...I want to make sure AfroAmericans are WELL REPRESENTED inside the military," or "The military is still considered a great opportunity by most observers," or "My service has influenced me to say on many occasions that all kids should serve in some capacity," or "Such valuable and eye-opening experiences can never be overstated nor underestimated!" Now I appreciate I cherry picked lines, but they are completely in line with the sentiments of the complete statements. You say my statements were "awash in an undercurrent of negativity," I think this is more a reflection of your sentiments than of what I actually wrote. To be clear if you find a representative statement that I wrote that was awash in negativity I'll address it or admit that you might be right. Keep in mind that like most Black people I have too have family members that are ex or current military too, some have done very well for themselves others not so. But again my point is that in a country as wealthy as America we have to be able to provide better options, for Black men in particular, than jail, the military, some low wage job, or unemployment (maybe this is one of those statement awash in negativity?). Of course I realize Black men have the option of going to college and go, I also realize that Black people can enter the armed services and do well for themselves. Bu the reality is 17% of Black men actually get college degrees, while 33% can expect to spend some time in jail. Of course many of the incarcerated also have degrees but still the number speak for themselves. It is hard to determine with information I can find quickly if military service has any impact on the above. For example how many men avoided jail as a result of military service and how many men when to college as a result of military service and vice-versa (how many did not go to college or ended up in jail because of military service). Maybe the data has never been collected One last thought, at the risk of being too negative; we have surveys from Pew research which show the majority of Female veterans -- of all colors found the following: women veterans are more critical than their male counterparts of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—fully 63% say the Iraq war was not worth fighting and 54% say Afghanistan has not been worth it (compared with 47% and 39% of male veterans, respectively). Among the general public, by contrast, there are no significant differences by gender in the share who say the post-9/11 wars were not worth fighting. So while my primary focus has been on men, women, Black ones in particular need more support, and not to rain on everyone's parade, but did we even address the overwhelming incidence of rapes in the military?