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I have had the opportunity to drop into different worlds. Corporate America. Wall Street. European Artists. The artsy fartsy crowd. Bike Messengers. House heads and hip hoppers. I am no aware that i am always fighting to be me and not be subsumed by group think. I see myself as a Black Magickal Philosophical Hippie that can dance. I am not interested in being labelled or categorized. Prejudice is prejudging things fue to lazy thinking. However I am starting to realize don't enagage with non thinkers or close minded people. Pioneer there is a psychopathology in the black community. That exists seperate from White culture. Hell White people cant meet White People standards but berate you fir not living up to it. Early Hollywood was populated and run by Jewish people. Yet you didn't see positive Jewish images. Ralph Lauren with his whole waspy Polo things is really Ralph Lifshitz from the Bronx . Black Slaves brutalized their women. No your comparing us to a monolithic mythology.

Troy that's more like it. Although I woukd prefer to sound high than drunk. To Mel its refreshing to hear a Magickal perspective from a thinker. To Cynique I always enjoy your perspective and clear thought.

IMO, spirituality is really just an abstract version of religion; a personal belief minus the fables. Religion is introduced to people early in their life and while many feel obliged to accept the dogma of their particular denomination, others begin to question their religion because it doesn't give them peace of mind. There is a theory that there is a religious "gene" and not everybody is born with it. But everybody does want something to believe in and while some look outward for this, others look inward. IMO, Religion is for those who'd rather depend on other sources for guidance, while spirituality is recognizing the answers that are right before our eyes if we just listen to our inner voices. ACIM, a new age cult, thinks the "devil" is just a religious version of the "ego". They say the ego harbors the materialism that has an insatiable desire to be fed, it fuels the desire for praise and attention, and keeps altruism in check. The ego is present at birth so life is, indeed, a constant struggle to find a happy medium. The black community is too caught up in religion, a security blanket that got them through slavery. Its way of coping with its ongoing problems is to pray and put things in god's hands. But, as our friend harry brown constantly reminds us, the church and their preachers are part of the problem instead of the solution. Black people still have "soul" but this younger generation has lost its spiritual compass. Replicating themselves with babies, using FaceBook as their stage, a preoccupation with the bling, and a super-sensitivity to being dissed are the consequences of egos gone amok. Unfortunately, neither the ghetto environment of the underclass nor the superficial atmosphere of the black middleclass do much to nurture spirituality. This doesn't bode well for the future. I think spiritual people are the most likely to evolve into altruists and - vice versa.

I recently came across an article on Reddit speaking on the traumas many black Americans face growing up. Many of the points the author made really resonated with me, the disparities in the black communist does a great deal of harm to all of us whether we know it or not. The most interesting part of the article to me was the idea that the majority don't see as human so they assume we commit crimes because we're just prone to it. But whites are seen as humans, because when they commit crimes they are seen as mentally ill. If there any thoughts about this article let me know, I think this is a problem that needs to be discussed in great detail. I haven't found to many other articles talking about these particular issues. In my opinion it's much to short, there are so many more things to explore with this topic.Why Black People Can Never Be ‘Normal’ | Landish

@Delano Thank you...I'm processing all the time. I might have something different next week lol

@Delano, I didn't want to get into this...so glad you did. I had to check myself first to see what was aggravating me about @Troy 's comment... there's so much to unpack that it spills over into the other discussion thread about black's being normal dysfunction et al.... but yes, it is validation of the three stages of woman - "maiden, mother, crone" (remember the Blue Ivy-Beyonce-Miss Tina hologram?) Beyonce's whole career and music has used this Leitmotif... EXCEPT she uses the motherland's symbols instead of the eurocentric version. It traverses the scale of the mythology of ancient Canaanites (north, south central west africa)...it is why some call her practices the illuminati because many don't know our own ancient magical practices ... She is using her whole career as a backdrop to tell the story of the black woman.. It's mythology set to music. hahaha!!!

I'm planning to follow up on this article. Book Issues Book Review published this article 10 years before the NY Times article referenced above, which essentially failed to recognize Black folks. As far as I know nothing like this has been published since. There is no reason to believe that a related article will be published anytime soon--we simply no longer have the platforms. The names mentioned in the article are shown below. I plan to do a "where are they now" follow up to this article. If I had the resources, I would introduce the professionals who have come to the forefront since this article was published 10 years ago. (If anyone has an update on any of the professionals below email me or reply to this post) Malaika Adero – Senior Editor, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster Kwame Alexander – Blackwords, Inc. Publisher, Poet, Playwright, Author and commentator T. B. Boyd, III – President and CEO of the R. H. Boyd Publishing Corporation Marie Brown – Literary Agent Curtis Bunn – Founder National Book Club Conference Jessica Care Moore-Poole – Publisher of Moore Black Press Kassahun Checole – Publisher and Book Distributor, Africa World Press Faith Childs – Literary Agent Faye Childs – Founder Blackboard African American Bestsellers Paul Coates – Publisher of Black Classics Press Wil and Niani Colom – Wil publisher Genesis Press, Niani formed the African American Pavilion at BookExpo of America Dawn Davis – VP and Editorial Director of Amistad/HarperCollins Marlyn Ducksworth – Sr VP and Executive Director of PR at Penguin Putnam Linda Gill – General Manager of African American Literature at Harlequin Enterprises Marita Golden – Founder of the Hurston-Wright Foundation and Awards Rockelle Henderson – Associate Publisher Amistad HarperCollins L. Peggy Hicks – Founder and owner of TriCom Publicity Inc Janet Hill – VP and Executive Editor at Doubleday Cheryl and Wade Hudson – Publishers of Just Us Books Andrew Jackson – President Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) Troy Johnson – Web master and Founder of African American Literature Book Club (AALBC.com) Hoke S. Glover III aka Bro Yao and Simba Sana – Owners Karibu Books Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati – Founder of The Literary Carol Mackey – Editor for Black Expressions Book Club Naomi Long Madgett – Founder Lotus Press Haki Madhubuti – Founder and owner of Third World Press (TWP) Erroll McDonald – VP Executive Editor at Pantheon/Random House Nrichelieu Dennis and Nyema Tubman – Owners Nubian Heritage Linda M. Peavy – Acting Publisher Judson Press Brenda Piper and Carol Rogers – Owners of C&B Books Gwen and Willie Richardson – Founders CushCity.com Emma Rodgers – Co-owner Black Images Book Bazaar Max Rodriguez – Founder QBR: The Black Book Review Tony and Yvonne Rose – Founders and Owners Amber Communications Group Vivan Stephens – Founder of Romance Writers of America and Women Writers of Color Denise Stinson – Publisher and Founder of Walk Worthy Press Vickie M. Stringer – Founder and Publisher of Triple Crown Publications (TCP) Hargis Thomas – Director of Sales and Marketing at Oxford University Press Religious Publishing Clara Villarosa – Coordinator African American Booksellers Conference programs at BookExpo Kelvin Watson – Associate Director of Corporate and Educational Sales at Borders Sybil Wilkes – News Anchor of The Tom Joyner Morning Show Oprah Winfrey – Television Talk Show Host Zane – Author and Publisher Strebor Books Janell Walden Agyeman – Agent Marie Brown Associates Audra Barrett – Literary Agent Manie Barron – Agent The Menza-Barron Agency (R.I.P.) Regina Brooks – Agent Serendipity Marlene Connor – Literary Agent Sha-Shana N.L. Crichton – President of Crichton and Associates Inc Mondella S. Jones – Agent Mondella Jones Literary Agency Lawrence Jordan – Literary Agent John McGregor – Literary Agent Tanya McKinnon – Agent Mary Evans Inc Tracy Sherrod – Literary Agent Mavis Allen – Associate Sr Editor Harlequin Stacey Barney – Editor Kensington Rakia Clark – Assistant Editor Viking/Penguin Cherise Davis – Sr Editor Touchstone/Fireside/Simon & Schuster Anita Diggs – Sr Editor Thunder's Mouth Press Clarence Haynes – Associate Editor Harlem Moon/Doubleday/Random House Glenda Howard – Sr Editor Arabesque/Harlequin Jennifer Hunt – Sr Editor Little Brown and Co/Warner Young Readers Chris Jackson – Sr Editor Crown/Random House Selena James – Editor Pocketbooks/Simon & Schuster Demetria Lucas – Acquiring Associate Editor Kimani Press/Harlequin Kelli Martin – Sr Editor Jump at the Sun/Hyperion/Disney Young Readers Melanie Okadigwe – Book Club Manager for TrollCarnival, Scholastic Inc Jaira Placide – Editor Jump at the Sun/Hyperion/Disney Young Readers Monique Patterson – Editor Harlequin/Arabesque Evette Porter – Editor Harlequin/Arabesque Stacey Powell – Sr Editor Hatherleigh Bridgette Smith – Editor Pocketbooks/Simon & Schuster Karen Thomas – Editorial Director Dafina/Kensington Tynisha Thompson – Editorial Assistant BookSpan Carl Weber – Publisher Urban Books Teri Woods – Publisher Teri Woods Publishing Earl Cox – Owner Earl Cox and Associates / Publisher WritersandPoets.com and Books That Click Tanisha Christie – Publicist Warner Books Linda Duggins – Sr Publicist Warner Books Christine Saunders – Public Relations Manager Harlequin Sanyu Dillon – Director of Marketing Random House Cheryl Rozier – Advertising Director Warner Brigitte Smith – Publishing Manager Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster Learie Cunnngham – CEO Culture Plus Distributors Eric Gift – President A&B Distributors Rosie Milligan – CEO Milligan Books Bro Nati Kamau-Nattaki – Owner African World Books David Reeves – Owner Sellers Books Bob Romanow – Owner Inner City Book Distributions Luther Warner – Manager Lushena Book Distributors Patrik Henry Bass – Book Editor Essence Magazine Calvin Reid – Sr News Editor Publishers Weekly Again, the lack of platforms is why the names of these professionals are not more widely known or celebrated. Even the platforms that remain are seemingly more focused on celebrity than they are wth anything concerning Black books. Recall this article, "Negro in Literature Today," by John A. Williams which appeared in Ebony magazine in 1963. If there is any hope of articles like the ones in Ebony or Black Issues Book Review ever being written again it will have to come from platform interested feeding a people and not solely interested in making money.

I've always maintained that the descendants of slaves created their own unique culture that evolved from the "make-do" existence of their forebears, - a subculture replete with its own music and dance, its own cuisine, even its own language. This is why I've never been into Afro-centrism , adopting African names and dressing in African garb and emulating African customs in a pathetic attempt to establish a pseudo identity, when our authentic selves lie right here in this country. And a lot of "blackisms" have been incorporated into mainstream America. Opportunities certainly exist to capitalize off of this situation. Because the greater society does not adjust to us, out of expediency, many blacks do adopt a double consciousness and are "bi-lingual", presenting a facade that will not provide a reason for rejection in their field of endeavor. Fortunately for many blacks, being themselves is not a big deal anymore because who they are is not that different from the "norm". People of all ethnicities put their best foot forward, at least until they get established. Feeling no need to be accepted is a luxury only some can afford. LOL

@Pioneer1, based upon your opening salvo and subsequent comments I'm not surprised you did not see the film. By admitting it, you've saved me some valuable time.

Do you think the reaction would be different if he was a woman. @Troy Beyonce is a religious icon. She is using a lot of Its references. A fellow Psychic and It's Priestess has posted on this. Notice the whole New Orleans. Oshun