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@Troy, I did... It's scheduled to post on the 6th. Our turnout along with other women of color makes the difference - and we do turn out in mid-term elections. We can't carry the democratic nominees but if others join us we can elect them. My post indicates the latter. Together we must turnout at 65 % or higher... Like @Pioneer1 said, we aren't protecting ourselves and we are being gerrymandered. The democrats in the state legislatures are allowing it to happen. OK North Carolina went to court to stop the shenanigans but each state democratic caucus has to do the same.

Hey Troy! I think the Decatur Book Festival is awesome but it's the only one I have attended. This was my second year. They have a large tent for emerging authors. Basically anyone who doesn't want to purchase their own booth. Overall I think its pretty good lots of great authors, speakers and food. Thank you for adding the video!

Because my trust fund wasn't that large - and we went to the same high school as did kids from the 'hood - and if you listen to malcolm gladwell podcast revisionist history - In "Carlos Doesn't Remember" you would have heard that many high scoring test takers come from the 'hood - I mean the deeply entrenched hood... All this to say, is underachievers are the outliers - not even the norm. And As for midterm election it was already reported that black women voter turnout was responsible for the win of democratic governors such as giving Terry McAuliffe (D) the margin of victory in the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial election. In 2016, there were 156 million non-Hispanic and 70 million racial/ethnic minority eligible voters.Of those 70 million racial/ethnic eligible voters; 27,338,000 were black eligible voters (roughly 12,019,000 black men and 15,319,283* black women). 16,400,000 black eligible voters (Men and Women) cast a ballot in Election 2016. 60% (or 9,191,570) black women reported they voted. And media reports indicated 94% (or 8,640,076) of those black women, who voted, cast a ballot for the Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. So this is why I say black women are politically engaged. Imagine if we stop the GOP from preventing black women from voting what a turn out we would really have... Oh I don't have to wait. While you may not notice how politically engaged black women are , the GOP does and is doing its damnedest to stop us from voting. Because when we do democrats win. * US Census 2014 - content from my upcoming blog post "Don't Know What you Got 'Til Its Gone" on melhopkins.com Oh snap... an alleged terrorist is suspected to be white and fired on an killed a lot of white people in Las Vegas - and today, I agreed with @Pioneer1 . That's it I'm playing the powerball AND megamillion! Oh snap... an alleged terrorist is suspected to be white and fired on and killed a lot of white people in Las Vegas - and today, I agreed with @Pioneer1 . That's it I'm playing the powerball AND megamillion!

Cynique HOLD UP! What the hell does an....80 SOMETHING....year old woman know about "thot"??? Lol.... Have you been eavesdropping on your grandchildren's conversations or something???? They, instead, prefer artists like Alicia Keyes and Rihanna and Jennifer Hudson, who represent a different genre and have huge followings. And THESE artists I have absolutely no problem with. These are AfroAmerican women who carry themselves in a respectable and feminine manner. But the difference is Black people CHOSE these artists based on their talents, where as people like Cardi and Nicki are CHOSEN FOR Black people by racist White executives. 　 Furthermore, white performance like Katie Perry and Miley Cyrus' performances and lyrics are very edgy, vulgar and anything but whole I was actually thinking about Miley and Lady Gaga when I posted my comments. However even as sexual and "nasty" as they make White female artists appear, they still promote their femininity as opposed to making them seem violent and "gangster" as they do with so many Black female artists. 　 Or, are black girls anymore corrupted than the white teen-aged girls texting nudies of themselves to their high school boyfriends I'm not speaking for anyone else on this issue because my ideas of sexuality are slightly different than most. I don't have a problem girls sending sexy texts of themselves to BOYS. Many if not most Black people have a problem with the rampant sexuality and promiscuity being promoted in music today but I don't....I think it's just nature. It's not the sexuality that's the problem, it's the boyish behavior, the violence, the crudeness and rudeness that so many girls are being encouraged to behave as that I consider the biggest problem. In other words, I don't have a problem with a girl being the sexist GIRL she can be....it's when she starts acting like a BOY that it becomes a problem in my view.

The percentage of Black men and Black women who voted and who they voted for is irrelevant. Why? Because if you're too weak and aren't going to do a damn think to PROTECT your vote, what good is going through the motions of voting? Clearly there was widespread election fraud in the urban areas around this nation and especially in the three states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania where most of the votes of Milwaukee, Detroit, and Philadelphia were tossed out or simply not counted. The same thing happened in Florida and Ohio back in 2000. And just like back in 2000, not only didn't most Black leades raise hell about this and demand some sort of recount or accountability before Trump took office, but HILLARY CLINTON HERSELF barely made a fuss about it and accepted defeat. This is why I call myself neither Democrat nor Republican. The Republicans have proven themselves to be unabashed racists but the White Democrats have also proven themselves to be: -closet racists or -cowards who are too afraid to confront the racists. Black people are the real "soul" of the Democrat Party but most of them are in impotent positions. We shouldn't expect White politicians to be fair or just....even if they court our vote. We should be promoting OUR OWN politicians and getting them elected where we can have a reasonable expectation that they will serve our interests.

If she's on Fox News.....and she's a woman (of color or otherwise) she is probably on there more for how she LOOKS than how intelligent or insightful she is. Fox News is one of the propaganda tentacles of the American right-wing and when you see the women on there you notice that almost all of them are attractive and dress provocatively. Why? In order to KEEP YOU WATCHING the channel to watch the women.....while they fill your mind full of right wing propaganda. This young lady may be intelligent and articulate but her being on Fox News wasn't an ACCOMPLISHMENT based on her own merit.....she was CHOSEN to be in the position she's in.

What message is being sent by versatile super star Beyonce who wears many hats: entertainer, wife, mother, business woman? If you make fanciful videos portraying scantily-clad seductive women singing, dancing and interacting with guys, this will attract impressionable young fans who will buy your product and make you rich and famous? Or, - does she actually make girls want to present themselves as alluring skanks, bent on attracting members of the opposite sex? Or, - does she simply inspire young women to become the best that she can be at what they are good at, in the hopes of becoming a successful person? All of these answers probably apply. If you'd take a survey of black girls from all walks of life, a McDonalds fast food worker, a WalMart check-out associate, a college student, an upwardly mobile professional, they'd all most certainly would want to better themselves. Give them credit for that. I don't think they would say that Beyonce was their prime focus in achieving this goal, or that they admired her anymore than their beloved, hard working, church-goin, "Mother-dear" matriarchs. What i do think is that they'd all say that Bey's exciting performances bedazzle them and make her fun to watch! And sometimes "girls just wanna have fun". Yes, it's good for young sistas to have impeccable role models like first lady, Michelle Obama, TV producer, Shondra Rhymes, Tennis star, Serena Williams, and Congressswoman, Maxine Waters, but in this imperfect world, we all have our guilty pleasures. We all lapse into free-spirited naughtiness at times. Sexual harasser Bill O'Reilly is in no position to chide celebs about the messages they send. Vacillating Ebony K. Williams needs to do a better job at articulating her position on this subject.