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Cynique, the operative word in your last post was "anecdote." Pioneer has a bad habit of taking his personal experiences and extending them to the broader community, indeed it is the way he sees the world. But this is natural, for anecdotes, especially personal ones, are very powerful. If is a good thing Pioneer is open to being in a place where his world view is rejected by others with different beliefs, experiences, and even facts. I respect him for that. @Pioneer1, you have so profoundly mischaracterized what I believe it would be too strenuous to refute what you wrote. I'll just let my previously expressed words do that. I will say however, that @Cynique and @Mel Hopkins's presence here is a prime example of Black women supporting a Black man. You see they, like you, could easily abandon AALBC.com and engage exclusively on the corporate owned social media platforms. This forum only exists because of folks like you. Now I could very easily complain about all the Black women, writers in particular, who benefit directly (read: financially) from the existence and efforts of AALBC.com, but do nothing to support the website. This of course would feed into your narrative and is actually supported by 20 years of my experience and data. Here's the thing, even though I have experience with supporting hundreds of Black women authors over a 20 year period, my experience is still an anecdote. I have absolutely no problem saying that Black female writers, for the most part do not support the website as much as I think they should (IMHO), but it would be wrong for me to use this experience to say that Black women do not support Black men in general. Do you see my point? Further, I also understand way Black female writers do not support the site as much as they should. Part of the reason is that don't know how to do it and why it matters. I also understand the pull of social media. it is so strong many writers have abandoned their own websites in favor of social media. Many Black women are struggling, like me, and don't really have the resources/time/energy to extend to others beyond themselves or their families. Of course there are some Black women who hate to see a Brother succeed and withhold support because they want an AALBC.com to fail, but these women are so small a factor they are not worth considering. That said, I think the letter was an overreaction and ill conceived. Using their reasoning each chapter could easily craft a letter warning travelers to avoid most of Florida, Chicago, New York City, Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, Philadelphia, the entire state of Mississippi, etc. I've been to Missouri a few times, mostly for conventions, and once for a family reunion. The have nice library and ball park, but again, I have no trouble avoiding the state--especially if a Black institution says it is not safe. Besides who says they are not ready to fight in Missouri? I'll disparage the letter, but I'm not willing to trash the Black male population of a state because I don't have enough information and I won't judge it on one letter from the NAACP.

Break out the violins. Poor ol black men. Puleeze. Your lament about their plight is full of cherry-picked BS. Black women do support worthy black men. Who do you think got Obama elected? Who do you think marched with MLK? Who do you think were in the trenches with the Black Panthers? Who do you think helped found the NAACP in spite of the black men who wanted black women to butt out and stay in in their place? It was a black woman, Ida B Wells, who tirelessly crusaded against the lynching of black men all through the 1920s and 30s. Black women have been supporting worthy black men since slavery, in spite of the male chauvinism that threads the black community. In spite of how so many of male black leaders marry white women once they make it big. Get outta here with all of that whining and finger-pointing. Black woman like nothing better than to get behind a black man who can walk it as well as talk it. Black women are supporting Colin Kaepernick while black men like you are dragging their feet, criticizing a brotha whose methods they don't like. Furthermore, you don't even know whether or not the black people in Missouri are mounting strategies and plans to use the ballot to bring about reform , as opposed to stirring up hornet nests that will incite violence and fail at getting anything done. Singling out Missouri as a racist state and publicizing this, is a strategy in itself. Travel advisories are nothing new and undoubtedly date back to the "green book" a pamphlet put out by a black man beginning around the 1940s, advising black drivers what places to avoid when traveling through the Jim Crow south. Google "green book" for more info. At least Troy knows his dream of black unity via boycotts is a fantasy but you continue to romanticize and dramatize Afro-American men taking up arms against injustice which could be a ticket to genocide. You're expecting brothers to do what nobody else, including white men, in this country are of a mind to do in the year 2017. Bringing down the incompetent buffoon Donald Trump is the one thing that could inspire Americans of all colors and persuasions to stand up and do battle for.

“Uninformed men make unsafe leaders. that is the primal cause for so many errors of judgment in state and national councils. We look upon them not as statesmen but as promoters of petty politics, for out of their deliberations spring no alleviation of the woes of the world. It is from this lack of understanding in leadership that the world suffers most today. We could discriminate between the true and false in our civilization, if we knew more about primitive culture. The way by which the first man climbed must ever be the human way. Racial prejudices are the greatest menace to world progress. Classes clash because the wealth of the world concentrates more and more in the hands of a few.” —Drusilla Dunjee Houston (Read the full excerpt, better yet buy or borrow the book and read the whole thing) Man, we have been singing this song for a long time! Houston's book, was originally published in 1926! However she helps identify and address the causes. I'm going to promote this book for an extended period, because the information is sorely needed. If you agree please read the book and share the information. This is not about selling books to make money—it's about sharing knowledge (You know that really should be obviously to anyone with a passing familiarity with the site; if this site was just about making money, it would have ended years ago).

@Pioneer1 Not sure what you mean about support a black man or black men? What does that even mean? Talk is cheap..and even misguided when talking about going up against a very entrenched system such institutionalized racism ... If the president of the NAACP issues a travel warning for a state he lives in, then I'm going to support him in his observation that this spot ain't safe and there's nothing he can do to keep me safe should I choose to ignore the warning. All I got for him is "Thanks for the heads up". At least he gave a warning. Black men couldn't even keep us safe when it came to some of us being brought over by slave ships and enslaved... Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember the story of "African men saying leave the African women and take us only" I don't even think there were "his and her" slave ships. I think everyone was chained up together in the belly cargo-hold side by side top to bottom.. So please with that "our women" don't support us crap. Now you want black women to run to Missouri with you too? Sarah and n'em didn't bring black men into this world. Black women made that choice. But now it's not enough that black male babies come from our behinds? That we house black babies in our bodies for 10 months, have them suckle our breast for 24 more months and coddle black male babies at the expense of our black girl babies? Now we need to continue supporting black grown azz men in their shenanigans too? Just stop.

We'll see what happens. Amiri Baraka once called Spike Lee an "opportunist." Amiri was an activist. Spike is another story...

Well obviously black men and women are at odds. Each group feels let down by the other one. And anecdotal evidence is offered up as proof of this.. Sistas do tend to support each other, while black men's egos get in the way and they are more interested in advancing their individual cause and are competitive in doing so. I repeat, black women are willing to support a capable and trustworthy black male. Any objectionable behavior on their part is usually the end result of being disappointed after investing their hopes in black men who couldn't make the grade. The conflict between black men and women remains an ongoing situation. And you assume that the black men in Missouri are not "fighting", just because you haven't heard anything about them doing so.You're too busy chiding them for not doing what you think is the best course for something you know nothing about. BTW, how's your "fighting" to resolve the water problem in Flint, Michigan, workin out?

Del Apple- brought thoughts of the apple that allegedely fell on Isaac Newton's head. Weight- brought thoughts of gravity I knew Newton wrote a few books that most Western Scientists praise and still base most of thier logic off of even till today. They call it "Newtonian physics" I'm still not exactly sure what pebbles (or peebles as you keep spelling it....lol) means.

Troy We can accomplish much more by exploiting on our own economic and intellectual capital. But the problem is, the NAACP isn't even advocating THAT. Their only solution is warning Black folks to avoid the state. To run off somewhere and hide. Cynique and Mel I want to thank you two for your perfect illustration of WHY so many Black men are skeptical of standing up and fighting for their community. Not that I necessarily agree with them........... But many Black men refuse to stand up and fight for Black women even when they're told to because they feel most Black women are indifferent and could care less about their efforts. Many Black men don't stand up and fight for Black women because many don't feel Black women are worth fighting for. They don't feel that their efforts would even been appreciated let alone rewarded. Now I personally don't agree with this because I have a core group of sisters who have supported MY efforts over the years, so I know better.....but younger less experienced Black men hear the same type of talk YOU TWO exhibit constantly and they tell me how demoralizing it is and how they'd rather not even get involved in politics or community work. When Cynique chides me about Black men standing up in Missouri and Mel takes on a "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude, those are great examples of the attitude too many Black women take towards Black men who attemp to defend their community. Which is why the community is continually left defenseless. Now just in another thread both of you were heaping praise on some Black man hopping around on one foot with yellow highlights in his hair looking like a gay-as-a-rainbow monkey and talking about how successful HE is. https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/4618-oh-my-nicki-minaj/ But now you're clowning and throwing shade on the idea of Black men who refuse to run and hide but stand up and deal with racism head on. We need BLACK Sarah Palins who are in love with strong Black men and willing to get behind Black men who are actually protecting the community and their families. We need Black women who are CHEER LEADERS for masculine Black men instead of Black women who praise Tupac and the neighborhood criminals. Women are the cheerleaders. Whenever you want a group of men to accomplish something, just hire a group of women to cheer them on and tell them how sexy they are when they do it and you'll see men perform superhuman feats! But it can also work the opposite way. If you want to drag a community down to the level of a beast, just find a way to condition the women of that society to like it that way and the men will do their best competiting with eachother to keep it in that savage condition. I believe the Black community would be FAR more advanced if Black women collectively would take the love and respect that they heap on criminals, clowns, and homosexual Black men.....and concentrate it on Black men who are actually making a difference in our community.

@Del Yes. Past lives or dna (genetic memory) would have the same result.