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DUH. i think your response was highly opinionated. But not the expression of a self-centered person. What i said about me being self-centered was that i thought this was how others viewed me. i don't view myself as self-centered however because i am too busy focusing on contradicting what others say. So i guess that kind of ties in with Troy said. Note that i never bother to capitalize "i" when it stands alone and this is for a reason... Once again i have a confession to make. i didn't join this thread until late because sometimes i stay on the sideline and just let others go at it, especially when it involves videos because as i've gotten older my attention span is short, and both spoken and written comments have to instantly grab me or i lose interest. So, when Del asked my opinion on black women marrying white men and Chevdove shared her thoughts on the exchange between Malcolm and Evie, i back tracked and checked things out closer, which is to say i actually watched the video. And it was, indeed, like going back in time. In 1961, i was 28 years old and immersed in the blooming civil rights struggle. This was during Martin's and Malcolm's hey day, their friendly rivalry kinda like a Michael and Prince thing; different sides of the black coin, one edgy, the other smooth. This was also when TV had really come into its own having just started to command a wide audience in the mid 1950s. So "M"&"M" were superstars, thanks to the exposure granted them by the MEDIA of TV as well as talk-radio which was also an up and coming outlet. The thing about what they were both saying back then was although it was revelatory to white people, it was familiar to blacks, and when these 2 started spreading their messages, black folks immediately identified with them. They weren't saying "Oh, Wow", they were nodding "Right On". The things Malcolm was saying about whites i had grown up hearing to my daddy say, something that was common in all black families who lived in a racist society. i never had any illusions about the guilt of whites but my particular environment also enabled me to see benefits of what Martin was saying about integration. As soon as i heard Malcolm's resonate voice on the video, telling it like it was in response to the shrill, high-pitched enunciations of Evie, the years fell away. Now, as then, i have mixed emotions, - which is what it means to be black in America...

And that’s what makes Malcolm X , the man. He didn’t say muslim women he said BLACK Women ...it was unconditional protection. A man who decides he’ll protect someone when its convenient is a punk-azz-bytch. So, who needs him! I speak from experience. I met a black man to pick up tickets for an event. Never laid eyes on him before that moment... As we’re doing an exchange - a cab hit the curb and was heading for us on the sidewalk. Dude jumped in front of me ..to body block. The cab stopped on the curb and recovered, thank goodness. But that man put me in a safe place. That’s a man who protects a woman, any woman. That’s a Malcolm X kinda man. Yes, it is written he exploited women but then he grew into a man. Yes! Now if he started talking that nonsense it would be a wrap. #ByeMalcolm . I have no patience for Islam and roman-catholicism.

@Pioneer1 So what is your point? I ask myself if you ever say anything that i don't have a knee jerk reaction to rebut. The answer is apparently, "no". Where did i heap praise on Malcolm? i simply described his role during a protest era whose time had come. And, yes, if he came on here today, i would be arguing with him about Islam because it's a rigid, vindictive, misogynistic religion that i do not like. And i would also wisecrack about the NOI being who Muslim sisters needed to be protected from because of the humble submissive behavior this organization requires of its women who are expected to defer to their men. Black women have gotten past expecting black men to put their lives on the line for them. Now, black men need to stop expecting certain things from black women like stroking their egos and propping them up and mothering them so they can go out and face the cruel white world that picks on them.

@Troy I thought you wrote "protect THEIR women" ... Malcolm X doesn't say "Muslim Women" even though he refers to himself as Muslim. From my perspective, that makes a big difference. He doesn't put limitations on his proposed protection for BLACK WOMEN... @Pioneer1 Do you remember that I EXPECT black men to provide protection both individually AND as a group... No one has our (black women) but us and this saddens me. Oddly enough my daughter felt safe in Dubai because protocol is set up to protect women. For example, women and children ride in the front of the bus - men in the back - men are not allowed to harass women on the streets... I'm conflicted because I'm an advocate for personal freedom -but in their strange way, they want women to at least feel safe. What I admire about Malcolm X is he didn't say he wanted women to behave a certain way or follow his religion to receive protection.

Yeah James is an iconic figure in the Book industry. It is hard to believe it is the ONLY Black owned bookstore in Los Angeles, CA -- a city of more than 400K Black people.... Then again NYC have 5 times that many Black people and only has one general interest Black owned bookstore too (if you don't count church book stores). @Cynique james was the Black Pack Party in Chicago that you attended.

@Pioneer1 sorry man the words are interchangable, though as Del suggested assist sounds a more proper or formal You can HELP someone in being a drug addict by giving them more drugs.You can HELP an alcoholic by handing them a bottle. No where in the definition of the word "help" is there a guarantee of a positive outcome. Help or assistance that ultimately turns out to be unbeneficial does not mean help or assistance was not provided.

@Troy LOL! Me too.

And the winner by a Truth Knock Out Mel Hopkins.

@Pioneer1 Eh-hem... because of his views? It seems like he gets it! ☺️

Pimps understand human nature. And I believe at one point Malcolm was a pimp

Mel and Cynique Lol @ all of this "praise" you two are heaping on Malcolm X. But something tells me that if he were on this site today you two would be quarrelling with HIM because of his views the same way you love to quarrel with Troy and myself over ours.

I think only folks over 45 will relate to this feeling. Those on the other side might wonder how there could be anything but emotional rage. Note: I’m thinking about Black Twitter raking Michelle Obama over the coals for writing bothsiderism in a passage that refers to Reverend Jeremiah Wright ... and they’re also poking at EBONY Media Operations for its POWER 100 list (advertising revenue mechanism) but not inviting Miss Flint to the “private” gala. Again, maybe Malcolm was onto something. Maybe for Black-Owned Businesses and Black Celebrity Enterprises to thrive they must move beyond the ideals of the black community.

"You cannot enslave a mind that knows itself, that values itself, that understands itself.” ~ Wangari Maathai

Lol! Damn @Chevdove that was a wild story. Nice opening to a book about a good, hard working man, and his loving, but nutty wife. @Cynique no (wo)man is perfect. But some are more accomplished and inspiring than others. Neither King or Malcolm were perfect or above critique. So I'm with you on that regard. I would put Obama in the same category it got to the point for me was beginning to dislike the man because so many (usually women) treated him like he was the second coming. Any critique was met with hostility. I have no problem being critical of Obama, which, for a Black person, is the very definition if being an iconoclast. I find less to be critical of King or Malcolm that I do of Obama. I tend to agree. If you read my newsletter https://madmimi.com/p/6aaf4d?fe=1&pact=1349867-148415217-8791670882-25c1d2bb2a31c65f5317d9dc825a3cdd220b508e I attempt to provide a variety of information, but I've found, over time, the content reflect what i personally feel is important. In this issue mean works that celebrate Black women activitist, who are iften marginalized in favor of the men. Thanks for the nuanced response to my reaction to your rebuttal to @Pioneer1 and @Delano's simplistic atribution of highly opinionated to your personality. To a causal oberverer we could all be called "highly opinionated" but that is crudely reductionist and does not tell your full story. Thanks for continuing to tell your story. I do too. It does not make us bad.... just human. I grew up in a segregated ghetto, I know my perspective is influenced by this experience.

Chev really enjoyed your breakdown of the interracial pairing, plus the voice mail story was priceless