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Without divulging too much about my personal life it was not my wife's looks that first attracted me to her. If I went on looks I would have gone for a petite brown skinned woman, which was basically all I dates. I was attracted to her because she is easy going, smart, athletic, down-to-earth, friendly, funny, generous and caring. Now I will admit over the years she has maintained both her appearance and physique, relative to her peers, but that is a fortunate bonus, not something I considered when marrying her. Of course I'll agree that there are different standards of beauty, but it also sounds like you are suggesting that our girl Leslie is objectively ugly. Again, for all the points I mentioned Leslie could be considered very beautiful. Indeed I suspect her wealth has raised her profile among potential mates Image the brother who was willing to look past Leslie's exterior and see the funny, driven, goal oriented women destined for wealth and fame. The'y be sitting pretty right about now huh? Shoot maybe if she had a loving Brother at home she'd be less likely to play the role she plays now... I'm not about to debate a point premised on equating bullets with insults. Besides I did not say nothing shouldn't be done--Trolls must be stopped. I'm saying she better learn not to take what folks say personally, otherwise she is in store for a world of hurt.

@TroyWell,from pictures of your light-skinned, attractive wife, we have to wonder whether her looks initially attracted you before you came to recognize her inner beauty, which presumably would've inspired you to marry her even if she looked liked Leslie. And, tall slim, blue-eyed blonds are not the only standard of beauty in this country. Dark eyed, golden skinned brunettes with voluptuous figures are regarded as desirable, too; just ask Kanye West. Statuesque, dark-skinned women with a regal bearing and exotic features are also considered "stunning". "Cuteness" knows no race or ethnicity. It is found in all women possessing a universal symmetry known as the golden triangle, wherein the facial features in a round face are arranged in a certain way that involve large, slighted-slanted wide-set eyes, curvaceous lips and a button nose. It's easy to advise people to ignore the slings and arrows hurled at them on a public forum, but it's kinda like telling someone to ignore bullets fired at them on the street. The injuries afflicted should be addressed, whether with first aid or retaliation. Let's get real! Civility is losing its place in this country and is becoming equated with political correctness, which is why Donald Trump has so many supporters. The word "utopia" is a name given to a perfect, ideal society; the opposite of this is "dystopia" which is what America has degenerated into and is why Trump may very well become the next POTUS.

I get what you're saying and while on the surface it seems simple that because they don't own it they don't have "real" power; you forget that the moment Black women remove their voice from Twitter it becomes an almost all white platform with the reach to 100 million people. I've always said that empowerment happens on many branches and it has to happen where we are and where we aren't. Some people march, some people raise their kids, these are both acts of empowerment of the group. Black women on Twitter bring balance, or attempt to, when other voices are speaking against Blacks. Now the obvious argument is that you don't have to bring balance if you aren't there in the first place because you wouldn't even know about the things that happen... but isn't that a bit naive and simple? If Black women build their own Black twitter and it becomes haven where Blacks debate and discuss issues, it becomes like this message board. Like minded people share and build and more than likely those people are already conscious and they still don't reach the people who aren't interested. Does it empower them? Yes. Does it create the opportunity to expand and reach other cultures? Probably, but the idea that they aren't powerful because they don't own the platform is almost laughable. By this analysis no one will ever be powerful because no one is really self sufficient. We all work in the constructs of society. Troy AALBC exists because some hosting service grants you space. You own it, but you aren't powerful by your own definition because at any time that hosting service can get rid of you. Now if you owned your fiber optics and ran Cat5 wires for Ethernet and bought your server you will still be buying data from somewhere. There is always someone above you. I get what you both are saying, but Issa and Awesome both have reached more people than they would have every been able to reach in their lives. That's powerful. Is it ownership? It is. Do I like the fact that we have to use other platforms to raise awareness about what we do? No. I hate it. It sucks and it is frustrating, but in order to establish something you have to be where the people are because the people simply aren't educated enough to be where they can do the most good. I built an entire video series on what this topic is basically about.

Facebook continues to dominate, but are they a long term strategy? I've found less is more with social media.

Thanks again Chris. Were there any surprises, from your perspective in what I shared?

Yeah I'm 5' 7" so I'd rule her out on that basis. But I freely admit this is shallow on my part. I've been brainwashed to believe women should not be substantially taller than their male partners. But again this is my loss... Fortunately there are plenty of taller brothers, and short Brothers far deeper than I, for Leslie to choose from.

Leslie looks nice when she dresses up. It doesn't matter what I think, however. I'm not a man - which I presume is what she's trying to attract. She's 6 ft tall without heels, and I think her height may discourage men shorter than her as much as anything.

I remember some very many years ago, when I worked in Harlem, Grant and I used to chat from time to time, because we are friends. One day he told me an amazing story about what he discovered about grandfather, Leonard Harper. He said that when he was researching about him, It was like finding a vast hidden treasure about black showmanship. The passion for finding more and more about his grandfather grew. He realized for the first time, that his grandfather was one of the greatest entertainer's in Harlem and the world. As the story about his grandfather unfolded, it became clear and evident that he was a leader, pioneer and centerpiece of the " Harlem Renaissance " . It only seemed natural for Dr. Grant Harper Reid to share his personal family treasure chest for the world to enjoy, in his incredible book that he wrote and entitled " Rhythm for Sale " . This book is share genius, as he tells the truth and nothing but the truth. By his grandfathers hand and spirit, he was handed down, entrusted and greatly blessed with a proud heritage of a generations worth of wealth, of ambition, talent and leadership. According to his grandson Grant, he lived for one purpose, and one purpose alone, and that was to please his beloved audiences. In befitting a Great Harlemite, a street was renamed in his Grandfather's honor at 132nd Street and Seventh Avenue. The street is renamed " Leonard Harper Way " . I had the privilege and the distinct honor to be invited by Grant to the street renaming ceremony, unvailing and reception. It was my pleasure to be in the presence of a wonderful family, friends, dignitaries, celebrities and the press. After the unvailing, Grant hosted a reception at " Lorraines Place " where everyone had a ball. In essence, the culmination of this book made the street renaming possible. As we were enjoying some fried chicken, we all shared a toast to " Leonard Harper Way " . Colin Wade

Well @Pioneer1, that is actually the way I feel about the subject, but I need to hear the arguments, To me Black women claiming power because they use Twitter a lot is analogous to the slave who gets to work in the big house. They defend the master and his property as if it was their own, because they derive some marginal benefits not afforded to the field Negroes. Can you image white women running around proclaiming the "power" they have as a result of using a Black owned social media platform? @Cynique, the tradeoff you've described is not "free." Time has value that is why Jack Dorsey is a billionaire and many of the users of Twitter are struggling to pay their cell phone bill. The time you spend here is valuable to AALBC.com. That value serves readers and authors in more ways than you know, and certainly in more way that Twitter ever will. If everyone reading and posting on these discussion forums stopped today. AALBC.com would be hurt and my ability to promote Black books and culture would be diminished. If all of these people then choose to spend their time on Twitter, then Twitter is enriched. But in return for using Twitter we would get more of the stuff that makes Twitter successfull like the sharing of Leslie Jones gorilla jokes... and Black culture is marginalized even further. The reality is that the so called power Black women are exerting on Twitter comes at the expense of the time they could be spending on and uplifting Black owned sites. Do you see what I mean? In fact, from a technology perspective, this forum provides more functionality than Twitter. Leslie can post her pictures and videos here from her smart phone. Plus she would not have to worry about trolls because I ban them; and she would be directly supporting AALBC.com and Black authors. So while everybody begs people to follow them on Twitter; I have to help people understand why linking to AALBC.com is helpful, and in their own self interest.

It's too bad that the double standard comes into play here. Because loud burly black men are not subjected to as much scrutiny or criticism as bodacious black women, and while black women are expected to be demure ladies, nobody calls out black dudes for not being more gentlemanly. Leslie seems like a decent enough person, and she is entitled to comport herself any way she chooses. But she should be aware that in this cruel world her type will be a magnet for insults and rejection. As much as people like to prate that beauty is only skin deep, it's still what initially attracts men, and the standards of beauty in this country are more westernized than African. Some black females, however, do need to step back and take a look at themselves. i was nonplussed when my 11-year old great-grandson said that at his school, the black guys all like the Hispanic girls cuz the black ones are too loud and ghetto and - "ugly" What a shame. I heard this once before from my 19-year old grandson. Another grandson dated a Hispanic girl for a couple of years and after they broke up he found himself a sista who is an attractive, polished professional black woman, and she considered herself the lucky one to have found a catch like him. Go figure. The black race is really mixed up - in more ways than one And the beat goes on; like a jungle drum.

Troy said: because power comes from ownership, and Black women don't own Twitter 'nuff said. End of conversation.

It's really about trade-offs. Twitter profits from black traffic, but black posters are provided a forum that is free. It costs them nothing, while providing them with a vast audience for their views and promotions. All they're spending is their time. But, yes, it would be great if black women could create their own social media brand which would create jobs for other blacks..

Excellent responses! Exploiting Twitter to reach an audience is fine; owning Twitter is power. Why don't Black women start a new platform? They could reap the financial rewards of their efforts, create jobs for other Black people, and help promote the business of even more Black Entrepreneurs. Of course this has not happened, because Black women do not have the power to do this. They are only as powerful as the owners of Twitter allow them to be. Do you see the distinction I'm making? You see, Black women serve because of the largess of Twitter. Twitter could pull the plug on them tomorrow, but since Twitter Inc. is making so much money on the free labor Black women provide, there is no incentive for Twitter to do it; at least not today. There is also no incentive for Twitter to even hire a significant number of Black women. The company's employees are overwhelmingly white men--especially at the upper levels. But I'm sure no one is surprised by this... White men benefiting from the free labor of Black women, is this what "power" looks like to you? Also lets not confuse the popularity or success of a few Black women with power. In fact in video above Issa Rae, an internet sensation in her own right, asks if brands are aware of the force Black woman are, and Luvvie replies, "I hope they are." The answer should be obvious. They don't know because their names are not on the checks those brands are writing. I have my own opinion about Leslie Jones, but that is definitely worth a separate conversation.

Power is also about influence, and influence doesn't have to involve ownership. Power can be taking advantage of what is offered for public consumption and using it for your own purposes. There is power in numbers and owners are only as powerful as users and consumers make them, which is why invoking a boycott can be a form of power. Power is more than just a word; it's a dynamic. And of course in comes in degrees IMO Leslie Jones, is a SNL member who recently made her debut in the female re-make of "Ghost Busters". She also appears in a commercial for AllState, and is a former stand-up comedienne, whose alter ego was a loud, overbearing black woman which is also the type she usually plays on SNL The fact that she is tall, dark and husky, wears her hair in a spiky natural and is given to threatening scowls, has offended a certain segment of black women who don't like what they consider her stereotypical way of representing them. Anyway, after "Ghost Busters" came out, she was blitzed with a barrage of hateful racist insults via social media "courtesy" of white movie goers, which she admits hurt and demoralized her. When she took to twitter and answered her critics, a certain amount of power accrued to her and she was suddenly popping up on TV shows, stating her case to sympathetic hosts. No, she probably didn't defuse the hate but she took proud ownership of who and what she is and cashed in on a popular outlet to squash her detractors, earning widespread results in the process. In the old days, people used to stand on platforms to vent their grievances and sell their wares. They may not have owned the platforms but they made good use of them.