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@Cynique who knows maybe Nubianfellow has it point. Maybe it's the black woman's hair that is the key to black people's success.. My friends call my family the hair bear bunch because we have very long hair that grows from our roots... (see my profile pic - yep that's mine) So, maybe because we don't have weaves it allows us to communicate with directly to the Universe from which all our blessings flow you know god gave it to us for a reason. ...And it makes us super smart so we don't have ever worry about being in the bottom 20% of those poverty-stricken folks. We don't need weaves, because we love showing off our beautiful locks, because, well who doesn't love our hair. By the way loving your hair, automatically translates into us loving ourselves because hair is the major key.. And, of course we attract men who are not deadbeat dads. Because of our flowing Rapunzel-like locks we attract the men who have the most money, best character and family adhesiveness ... As for the men who feel it's ok to lie down create babies and flee the scene. Well, we all know they got that way because of some weave-wearing black woman - who didn't cheer them on when they did something you know, mediocre.... I just can't.

@TroyDo you mean you don't know any black women who are technically oriented that don't have their own websites? Or do you mean you don't know OF any black women who are technologically-oriented ...If it's the latter I can share with you 3 black women silicon-valley darlings who own/founded/and are running 3 very popular websites... 1 (Blavity.com) ranks 13,000 in the us and 36,000 worldwide; another is Awesomely Luvvie 41,000 us and 199,000 worldwide who runs Awesomely Techie and The Wealth Factory I subscribed awesomelytechie - I like her approach as she gets to the "why" behind the stats.

@NubianFellow thank you. Pplease share information about AALBC.com in any way that makes sense to you--I'm all for that. Any other readers out there you don't need permission to share information about AALBC.com anywhere--please share! Nubianfellow, I post a links on Facebook myself, almost every day. I will also respond to or acknowledge people who have commented to something I've posted. I'm just not going to post articles or anything that is more involved than what is needed to describe the link. I also do not think we should, or even can, use Facebook, Twitter or any corporate owned social media platform to uplift and empower Black people; their business models runs counter to those activities. Besides that fact they exert complete control, and that we do not, is sufficient reason by itself. NF, you also mentioned controlling out media, man we need to establish our own media. That said, what would you say is the most important media outlet that we own today?

since Slavery there have been Black people that have done well and most have not. But they same can be said of white people. Maybe that is just the system. However if Black dollars circulated in the community. Hair choices would be relegated to the minor issue that it is? Although theCJ Walker may not agree with this. Actually neither do I. As a kid the barber and beauty shop was a salon of the hair and the mind. The topics I remember were in the barbershop was local gossip, sports and politics. The simplest and most effective solution is to build on what you have . The only thing we need is to change our mindset .

Now I'm all for boycotts, but boycotting the NFL to get one player a job, that does not make sense to me. If a team wanted to take on the distraction that is Colin Kaepernick they would have done so already. Plus I don't think any team should be forced to hire any given player. That is a nonsensical demand. Teams are trying to win. A distraction like Colin is probably perceived as decreasing the odds of winning. Nowt if he was a great quarterback, teams may be willing to take a chance and make the tradeoff. I doubt many fans will support it, folks are too tied up in fantasy leagues and gambling to make the sacrifice--even if they believed in the goal.

@NubianFellow There is a argument to be made about how materialism and superficiality a/k/a "bling" are too much of a priority among blacks, especially those in the ghetto where not enough emphasis is placed on education, family values and - birth control. Similarly, you are fixated on black womens' hair, attributing to them sentiments that you have decided is at the root (pun intended) of their motivation. That's being presumptuous. And where is it written that people have to like everything about themselves? If they do what they think will improve their appearance or enhance their attractiveness, then this is a form of self love because it makes them feel better about themselves whether this is admirable or not. It is, what it is in the real world. I am neither an Obama lover nor hater. i do take into consideration how handcuffed he was by the Republican Congress dedicated to blocking his every move, determined to make his presidency a failure. But my girl, Mel, has previously given a very good accounting of the important things that Obama accomplished during his term in office - as a president who was black, not a black who was president.( I liked his Supreme court appointments.) i'm waiting for her to chime in because i would be very interested in her take on your opinions. All my life i've been hearing the phrase, "what black folks need to do is...". Now, i'm just hoping i can live another year so i can see how "Game of Thrones" ends up. I've given up on seeing the black race become a viable player in America's game. But, then, i never thought that an incompetent racist enabler like Donald Trump could become president. So keep hope alive. I just want to see what will happen between Dany and Jon when they find out they're aunt and nephew!

Well, i don't think how black women wear their hair is at the core of black problems. In America the black race is pretty much screwed because the self-destructive, dead-end, innercity lifestyle perpetuates itself and is a detriment to the entire race. But black people as individuals can thrive by learning to circumvent racism and by emulating what white people do to achieve a modicum of success. Those who have done this comprise the black middle class who, if we are to believe Mel Hopkins, another poster here, are a segment in society who are doing fairly well for themselves, wearing their hair extensions and designer clothes driving their fine cars, and living in nice homes. What you envision would require African-Americans to relocate in a new territory and go back to square one, a starting point where slavery would not be a factor and where black pride would be nurtured. And that is not necessarily an impossible dream, i guess. White Americans may not be in the majority, but their culture is the dominate one here.

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.

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.