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Black businesses matter. There is no debate about this. Go to any major Black populated neighborhood and you will not be able to find Black owned businesses. This is because these businesses do not exist. Coincidence? No. This is by design. Since birth, the biggest ambitions our parents generally have for us is to work for someone else and hopefully end up getting a high paying job. We aren't taught to create jobs and thus, create wealth. We can't even rap about that mess in hip hop music. Bet most people don't find it partly odd that most rappers only rap about non-black owned merchandise and how much they want material things that are not created by Black people. That's a sucker move! Black business is important and it's the only way to change the circumstances of Black people in this country. Someday soon, Black people need to wake up and understand that your Black dollars matter. It's so pathetic that even when Black people make a definitive attempt to support Black businesses, they are usually duped to dumping their money right back into white people's hands. As a collective, Black people have to do better and undergo more thorough research. On intellect alone, we lose the game of supporting Black wealth and as of today, group economics in the Black community is laughable at best! We don't have Black hosting solutions so therefore, we are forced to support companies who do not have our best interests in line - even on the web - and end up giving all our money away. Then we turn around and complain about the fact that we are doing just that! When does it stop??? When do we begin to make a little bit of sense?

@Cynique I hear you. But growing up as a Black man in America, I perceive a different reality than you. This could be due to our regions. I am not sure. I have seen Black women cry at the thought of trying to remove weave from their heads. I have seen Black women's hair underneath the weave in the most terrible state that hair could be left in. This doesn't reflect self-love in my humble opinion. They obviously don't love their hair. I have known some Black women all of my life, and have NEVER seen the hair they were born with. This resonates a deep concern in my humble opinion. I have seen Black women take pictures of themselves wearing ridiculously long (white textured) hair and post the pictures on facebook and brag about whether or not they should cut their hair. I don't make excuses for Black people. I love my people and excuses do not solve the root of any of our problems. It only hinders our understanding and therapy of the issues that we faced as an oppressed people. Which leads me to your other point. You said and I quote: "What about Black men?" I say the same thing. What about them? It's apparent that too many of our children are growing up without fathers in their lives. Let me explain how part of this problem is a direct result of our Black women's self-hate. When they choose these deadbeats, do you think they were choosing fathers? Do you believe that they are going around looking for woke Black men to raise their awareness to a higher conscious state? Why do so many Black women end up with deadbeats? Is it because there are NO good Black men left? Already, the fruit of our problems becomes the lack of Black women being able to effectively select empowered Black men. Fact: Most of the Black men who turn out to be deadbeats were raised by Black women. Most of these men had no positive Black men in their lives. Surely, the Black woman is capable of raising Black men, but to face this burden alone has negatively impacted Black culture. I can randomly choose a street to walk down in my city, and see Black women emasculating their Black boys like it's in style. The mere fact that these women become the father and mother figure will be detrimental to our children every single time. It sends confusing messages to our youth. Not all of them because every human being is wired different and every circumstance is unique. But for the most part, we witness the negative impact this has. This impact affects gang affiliation, school grades, behavior, language, sexual activity and in some cases sexual preferences. Throwing weaves in the trash can isn't going to stop all of our problems alone. However, it is a step in the right direction. What we know for certain is that a large number of our Black men are being raised by Black women and have no father figure present. This is VERY destructive. What we see now socially, is proof of the destruction. And what about these Black men who were raised by single Black mothers? Why have so many rejected our Black queens and refuse to date Black women? Could it be that they were emasculated by their own mothers, who was the first Black woman that they loved? The first Black woman that they trusted? The first Black woman who they witnessed try her best to emulate and copy white people - which ironically, Black women have made their own standard of beauty? Now to address how you feel about Afrocentrism. You believe it's dead and has passed. What I believe is that when it truly dies and passes, then so will we! Also, you clearly identify white people as having a dominant culture. Big mistake!

This is where you lost me. I snagged on what seems perfectly natural to you; that being the idea of black women being solely responsible for raising our black women and men of tomorrow. What about black men? Hybrid black women developing their own version of what is natural, are not nearly as much a problem as the abdication of black men in their roles of helping to provide for their children and exemplifying good role models for their sons! Black men who are seduced by the eye candy and status attached to white girlfriends and wives are as big a problem as black women tightening their weaves. When the "brothas" hold up their end, then talk to me about the role of black women. To me, Afrocentrism is an idea whose time has passed. In America, slave descendants have created their own unique culture, much of which has been borrowed and incorporated by the dominant white culture. So whose influencing whom? And women of all color strive for the perfect paragon of womanhood that is just as elusive among Whites and Asians and Hispanics as among Blacks. Who gets plastic surgery, who embraces strict diets, who bleaches their hair and enhances their boobs? And i'm not convinced that black women hate themselves. Many respire with confidence and boldness, not overly-conscious about their weight, perfectly at ease with their perms, smiling and strutting and seducing down at the club. And, yes, many of them are wearing variations of natural styles, coiffures they spend a lot of money and time on to get what can be classified more as a trendy fad than racial pride. In other words how black women present themselves, is really about the individuality they've earned the right to express. It's time for a new scenario relevant to the year 2017. Time to file all of the old self-hate rhetoric away because it 's not applicable in a diverse country where everybody wants to be something more than what they are. People of color are a mixed breed, and it's the men of this species who need to get on board and participate in parenting their progeny to compete in a nation that in the future will be more about class than race. IMO.

@NubianFellow, I agree with your assessment almost completely. The most powerful point you made is that; "we are using the internet in the wrong way." I can go on for hours about how we are using the Internet in the wrong way and why Black oriented websites owned by Black people choke on the dust of the white owned Black oriented sites. It is frustrating to constantly read how Black people over index on our use of Twitter and other social media, without sharing in all the revenue that is generated as a result of our activity. The fact that these corporations hire so few Black people is not a revelation to anyone either. Where are opinions diverge is on the 'benefits" of Facebook. Here too is a subject I can go on and on about, but at the end of the day people love Facebook. I do what I can to use Facebook to my benefit, but I refuse to publish content on the platform or actively engage there, as this activity cannibalizes Black websites' ability to generate revenue. Since so few of us make any real attempt to earn a living from websites, I completely understand why most people don't get it or care. Trying to appeal to Black people based upon what has been lost as far as Black content on the web, or how existing websites (like AALBC.com) are weakened, and the great Black websites that will never launch, because of our slavish devotion to sites like Facebook, fail to resonate with folks, because again we love Facebook so much. Facebook has done a brilliant job addicting and manipulating us to use their platform. Facebook pages out rank many authors own website's in Google searches--deservedly so, because authors spend more time and energy publishing information on Facebook than they do their own websites. Of course they'll argue that no one will visit their website and they are so happy to have Facebook to help them connect with others But these are people, who never knew a world, before Facebook. They also don't know that Facebook is FAR more aggressive than Google has ever been at controlling which posts are seen as to maximize the time people spend on Facebook. At least Google says if you create a great website we'll send people to it. If you want to get people to your website using Facebook you better be ready to send some money. At some point we have to invest in our own if we are going to have anything of value...

@Cynique I feel you queen. And that makes sense - what you just said. However, let's consider the chain that we build, like a slave chain for example... If a Black woman hates her natural hair state, then that means this is something about herself that she hates. So she changes the state. This means that she will never come to accept and love this state - something of which is a part of her. The way god intended for her to be. Now imagine an entire nation of people who feel this way about themselves. Now imagine many nations of women who hate this natural state they are born. Let's delve a little bit further and now imagine just about every Black nation on the planet having a complex with their own natural state. A new social dynamic is created where hardly any Black people on earth embrace their natural state. But these are just our women. The goddesses right? Now imagine most of these women being solely responsible for the development of our new generations. They are raising our Black men and Black women of tomorrow. These will be the warriors responsible for leading us to a better place socially, financially and civilly. They are already raised to not embrace THEIR own natural state. Most Black nations on the planet embrace a form of beauty that is not their own to claim. They are actually appropriating another race and emulating traits that they were never meant to possess. Now let's understand that these are genetically weaker traits that are being embraced. For instance, let's take a flower. Since birth, I raise children to believe that roses are ugly and give detailed explanations of why that is so. Everything that is beautiful, I create reasons as to why they are inferior traits and why that sweet smelling rose is ugly. Indoctrination. All their lives these children will hear why roses are ugly and terrible plants. I have taught them to love and embrace cactuses. Most will form an opinion of how ugly these plants are. They will not want to associate or be around roses. They will embrace cactuses. Which explains the behavior of Black people. We embrace cactuses. A cycle is being created and embedded into our mental state. Research shows that these ideas don't just get passed down mentally, but also genetically. Our ideas, opinions, and beliefs do affect our genetics. So we have to responsibly consider the damage we are doing to ourselves, not just culturally, but on a genetic scale as well. Why should goddesses strive to be trolls? Everyone else from every other culture and race on the planet is taught to love themselves. Black people are the only ones who embrace everyone else and not ourselves. But somehow, we have come to accept that this is perfectly fine. It's not queen. It will never be.

I, for one, hate dread locks. i think they are inauthentic because they are synthetic, and are also serpentine and ugly and whether they smell or not, they look like they do. I'm sure if i expressed this distaste to a man wearing them , he would feel insulted or indifferent. I also hate full grown beards like NBA hoopster James Harden wears. I am a supporter of Colin Kaepernick but i not a big fan of his big Afro. If i were still in the mix, my appreciation for males would lean toward clean-shaven or neatly barbered ones. Does anybody care about this? Hell no. Hair has always been an issue with black folks. Yes, black women are brainwashed by popular standards of beauty. Because they want to be popular. Why wouldn't the female of the species not want to make herself look like what men are salivating for? My only advice to my black sistas is to also cultivate your mind so that when the lights come back on you can bedazzle and amuse your stud with some interesting pillow talk. As to whether or not i would overlook what i consider a bizarre hairstyle on a man if he was brilliant and virile, i would simply say, it's not something i ponder about since it's not a situation that i would encounter at this stage of my life.

The video is ridiculous. Nicki Minaj doesn't even look like Nicki Minaj. Her hair is fake. Her body parts are fake. Her wardrobe looks like a strippers wardrobe and she inspires Black women to emulate her and empowers them to wear weaves. Also, she identifies as a bad bitch. But what does that mean? Because if you look at her style, she shows that being a bad bitch, is dressing like a whore and her job is to turn men's heads by showing all to the public. New age rap music is single handed one of the most destructive forces destroying the Black community. Nicki is no exception. Let's understand exactly how the industry works. Like I said, Nicki Minaj is not even Nicki Minaj.

Troy, I too wish you could make it. I am so excited. Thank you so much for the profile page! You are the best! Enjoy your evening. Bridgette

Troy Most people, even racists, view and treat celebrities as if they are superior to other humans. But this of course has nothing to do with the person. If I'm a white racist and I don't happen to know you are a celebrity you are just another nigger to me... With some White people, infact a LOT of White people.....being a celebrity or just being very successful in general makes White people hate you even WORSE. If you notice, a lot of White people seem to LOVE Black people they CLEARLY feel they're superior to. They love to see homeless Black folks out begging, they'll even give them money and a hug or take a picture of them and put it in a publication for a story. Why? Because it re-enforces the belief that Black people are poor and need their help. Meanwhile they'll hate on the wealthy Black entertainer or athlete and talk about all the money they have or spread rumors about some sex scandal or vice they're involved with. Truth be told...... I believe this is one of the reasons so many athletes find themselves in trouble with the law and in court. You have poorer White police officers and other public officials with less money and fame who are angry and jealous and they make it a point to "go after" wealthy Black entertainers to teach them not to get too "uppity" and forget their status. I used to work with a White dude who would grab the paper every morning and read it aloud just to antagonize his co-workers and one of the things he liked doing is talking about all the money these football players or basketball players were getting. Xeon I could not bring myself to argue with the idea that an artist who is extremely popular should be criticized because their attractiveness makes girls who are less attractive feel bad about themselves It's not the physical attraction of these artists that is the problem, it's the fact that they only seem to find attractive artists who LOOK ALMOST WHITE. You have attractive and unattractive people in every race, but they'll disregard the dark skinned attractive man or woman to promote the one who looks nearly White in order to promote "white beauty" among Black people. That’s like me saying the guys in the NBA or NFL make me feel bad about myself because I do not possess the level of athleticism they do. If your self esteem and feelings of self worth are so low that an entertainer makes you question your own self worth and self-perception of attractiveness –I think that says it all. The sheer absurdity of such thinking is ridiculous. You clearly don't understand SOCIAL ENGINEERING and how it operates. Everything you believe about beauty has been TAUGHT to you.

Ahh, I remember Carmen Jones..... And I still remember her in that black bra and zebra panties. Del, what you said reminds me of that scene in Do The Right Thing when Mookie and Pino were discussing race and when Mookie (Spike Lee's character) asks Pino (the Italian racist) why he's so racist and calls Black people "niggers" when his favorite entertainers are Black like Prince and Magic Johnson.....Pino responds by saying that Prince and other celebrities aren't "niggers", they're "different". I thought that was a brilliant scene by Spike because it illustrates the distorted thinking of a lot of White people who see THEIR FAVORITE Black person as different than the OTHER Black people of society in general that they may see more negatively.

Hate to piss on the praise parade but................ This video is a bit disturbing for a number of reasons: 1. If you notice, why do they have so many WOMEN looking at Nicki's body in a sexual manner? Even the hotel maid takes a look at Nicki and looks like she's getting hot as she whips out her hair. 2. Besides Future, why are the ONLY Black men in the video being chased down and beat up by NON-BLACK police officers? (right around the 2 minute mark) What's up with that? What kind of message is that sending, that Black men who look at a good looking woman must be chased down by the police and beat up? Or when you see Black men being beat up by the police you should just walk by looking sexy like Nicki did as if it's a common everyday thing? What's the message? 3. Finally, it's not the biggest deal but...... Nicki is an attractive woman but she doesn't really represent "Black women" or the way most Black women look. So constantly praising women who look like HER or BEYONCE or AMBER ROSE and talking about how beautiful they are really tells darker skinned Black women with more African features how UNattractive they are. But again, what's up with all the women lusting after Nicki and what's up with the brothers being beat down by non-Black police?

This could be considered an unflattering picture of Viola. But it is an untouched candid photo of her taken taken at some time on some happy occasion of her life. And millions of black women look like this. The idea that dark women shouldn't grin or wear red lipstick resonates with Uncle Tomism. Implicit in this caveat is that black skin should be muted by dull colors so as not to draw attention to it, and this is a form of self-hate. Nowadays black women wear their hair any style or color they want and many are not hesitant about celebrating their lips with bright red lipstick, no matter what their skin color.Welcome to 2017! I, myself, hate dread locks and spiked hair that looks like its owner stuck their finger in an electric socket, but I realize that it's a new day and standards of "beauty" have changed and are in the eye of the beholder. TIME's selection is only racist if black people buy into the idea that black women who look like Viola's picture are someone to be ashamed of and ridiculed. To ignore TIME's blatant slave master gesture is to thwart their contemptuous mischief. At a recent awards show, Viola sported a bright yellow gown and noted that there was a time when she wouldn't wear bright colors because of her dark skin but that she had moved past that negativity and was now proud to finally accept herself as she was and wear whatever color she chose. She was also wearing red lipstick when she said this.