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Nobody I know uses the term "Afro-American". As far as I'm concerned, it is an obsolete label like - "jive-assed nigga". Over the past 50+years, "Black" is the most common word used when referring to America's slave descendants. Previously, Whites soliciously refrained from publicly calling us what was considered a derogatory term until we started calling ourselves that via the "Black is Beautiful" slogan embraced by the Black Panthers who took their cue from Malcom X. This all took place back in the late 1960s, and from that time forward we, as a people, proudly became "Black" with a capital "B"; going from an adjective to a noun. The idea of blackness being "a state of mind" also came about during this era, presumably to promote inclusiveness, especially since such dynamic activists as Huey Newton, Angela Davis, and Malcom, himself, were light-skinned. In the present, calling negroid Immigrants "African" suffices, because that is what they are, and nobody is confused as to what segment of the American population is being referred to when using that description. This applies to West Indians as well.

With the murder of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at a VA hospital in Minnesota, who ICE agents riddled with bullets when he went to the aid of a female protestor they were wrestling to the ground, the tense situation in this country has really escalated. Social media is blowin up as Retrumpicans and Dems go at it, with MAGAs labeling Pretti as a gun-carrying domestic terrorist, and Dems describing him as a Good Samaritan who was brandishing a phone not the gun he was licensed to carry and had on him. ICE supporters argue that all of this could've been avoided had Alex Pretti not interfered with federal troops doing their duty while Pretti is being turned into an angel of mercy and martyr by the Left, much to the chagrin of Right wingers who defend the reckless overkill by who the Left refer to as masked, poorly-trained bullies! The camera accounts taken by those on the sideline do seem to contradict the Trump Administration's accounts of Pretti being a threat, and It's Charlie Kirk all over again as the lines are being drawn and the nation becomes more polarized than ever, with Blacks continuing to distance themselves from the conflict, preferring to remind that what happened to Alex Pretti has always gone on in their neighborhoods. As much as I hate MAGAS and ICE, and agree that the camera proves that Homeland Security head, Kristi Noem, is lying, I wish the Liberals would stop the over-the- top aggrandizing of Alex Pretti because it's so obviously hyperbole. Now it has been revealed that Pretti was previously arrested for intervening in another protest and that he was under investigation by ICE officials who were out to get him. smh. One thing for sure is that ICE is bad news and its members who are rumored to be heavily drawn from right wing militias like the Proud Boys, are trigger happy unprofessional storm troopers who need to be dismantled and sent back down their rabbit holes! They have caused nothing but trouble and are a menace to American society.

I respectfully bow out of this interaction. It's too much work for a Sunday

I agree. The latter are a showcase for pedophiles In regard to the initial question posed by this thread, I never got around to anwering that yes, I do remember the Miss Black America and Miss Black USA pageants that originated back in the 1960s. Contests to crown Miss "Whatever" were common back then, especially on a local level, and I didn't I pay much attention to the details of a national beauty contest. The black versions to determine an American female paragon just struck me as eager attempts to imitate white folks... What I more importantly recall during that era, was how dark-skinned actress Cicely Tyson always got her props when it came to recognizing something other than white beauty, and in1963 she was the first black actress appearing regularly on a network TV series, to wear her hair natural. That CBS program was entitled "East Side, West Side". Over the years, the question I and others posed, just for the sake of needling those people who always want to "read light-skinned blacks out of the race", was: why having other negroid characteristics such as nappy hair and full lips and noses that weren't keen didn't matter as much as having a lot of melanin, especially since the aforementioned characteristics are common among African Americans of all skin tones. The responses to this question tended to suggest that dark skin was more distinguished. And so it goes... As for science usurping consensus, the science most appropriately involved in blackness, is Anthropology because the blackness of America's slave descendants is social as much as science. It is a culture, and state of mind as much as a skin color; it is about essence as much as about geography, it is about soul as much as about body. Of course "high yellows"should not be given preferential treatment. But neither should their skin color automatically disqualify them for representing their people in beauty pageants, etc. There are universal standards of beauty that have nothing to do with color, and the "cuteness" trait is found among all species. Yes, these points can be challenged and disputed, and this is where consensus comes into play. If the majority of people who make up this negroid segment of the American population don't agree on what constitutes their blackness, then science becomes irrelevant, especially if it is based on interpretation. imo 🫨 And, yes, I may have figuratively and petulantly "divorced" America's black sub-division but I'm still "married" to my tribe.

Well, if it's like THAT where you live then uhhhh, brace yourself because I'm....

As long as it is working for and not against you...roll with it. Right. As a foodie, I'm particular about what I consume. No sh8t. Sure. Some things come with the territory especially in a situation over which one has little or no control. As adults, we do have agency over what we put into our bodies & minds. That can be said for people of all races. Every group has their own versions of "Can't Get Right". The cool thing about this life from my vantage point is that it is relatively easy to get away from foolishness.

The state of Georgia is white (58%) & Black (33%) & other folks make up the difference. That's why politically the state could be red or blue or purple at any given time. Sista @Mel Hopkins...just be on the lookout for those unmarked SUVs & vans with the blue & red lights. Don't get snatched up.

Make sure your passport is on your person or in a secured location before they seize that too. Georgia is supposed to be having a gubernatorial race in November so hopefully yall will get a Democrat Governor who will put an end to those type of shenanigans or atleast provide enough pushback to not make it worth the effort. Georgia and Atlanta is the Black economic capital of the United States. There is no reason that state should be governed by redneck conservatives.

Agreed. A whole lot of humans had better figure out how to stop depending on someone else to write that check. As the late Biz Markie rapped in The Vapors..."sorry Mr. Lee but there's no help wanted."

Maybe they were constipated.

Absolutely not. It's another grift from the clown-in-chief. Just like the tennis shoes, stuffed bears and cards. Whenever POTUS OJ leaves the White House, he will have enriched a whole lotta family & friends. His son-in-law got a billion dollars the last time POTUS OJ was in office. He must be stuffing the youngest son's bank account this time around.

I'm revisiting the 7+ year old post because it is ranking high in search the past couple of weeks (at least) and has attracted more than 31K visitors (@richardmurray this would be mostly real people, not bots). If folks with influence in the media cared about sites like AALBC viral posts, of which we have many, this would be newsworthy. It seems MLK's sexual predilections are of interest to a lot of people. I guess because of his recent birthday. I just ran a search on the phrase was MLK gay and this post came up #6. Reading some of the earlier posts on the conversation, I must have been in a mood (sorry @Delano I was bit critical over you use of the word illegitimate when referencing children. I still don't like the word used in that context, but thanks fore starting this conversation :-) Maybe I should return Google ads to the site. I the crappy Ads Google likes to server here, but AI told me how to step up the quality... we will see. The site as a whole

This situation is an example of how the polarization caused by politics is leading to people being unalived. IMO, there's no reason for ICE to be patrolling cities like bounty hunters. They normally execute enforcement actions quietly. Riding around like storm troopers & throwing tear gas canisters at protesters is not a part of their job description. The DHS hiring a bunch of right-wing nut-jobs is definitely a huge part of the problem. It had been all fun & games until people started being unalived. Especially *innocent* white folks. No stupid prizes will be handed out.

They are either ignorant of history or choosing selective amnesia. Some people seem to think events that occurred before their lifetime didn't happen or aren't relevant & therefore lack precedence.

Every once in a while, I say some funny $h!+.

As I mentioned in the other thread, among our small number of regular posters, consider it a pat on the back that you weren't challenged.

ProfD They're still free. Well..... Free means unrestrained or unrestricted. Isn't a casket quite restricting? A dead body is SELF restrained...lol. Would you choose to be a slave to another man? You may find my answer appalling but, it depends. It depends what MY situation is at the time and what that man is TRULY (meaning he keeps his word) offering me in exchange for for my bondage. Does being a slave to a particular person offers far more benefits to me and my family than walking around free as a bird? I'm not some bearded White man walking around with an American flag tattooed on his chest yelling and waving "live free or die" flags and shit. That's a lot of dramatization and cosplay. I prioritize happiness and comfort over simple freedom. Especially when it's not real freedom to begin with.

It was becoming unpaid work.

And, of course, in the "Game of Thrones" TV series, the "Red Woman" brings Jon Snow back to life by speaking a spell!! I do believe you can weaponize words. Up until this past year I spent a lot of time on FB arguing with right wing conservatives and on those threads, out of all the anti-Trump posters, I would always be the one these MAGAs responded to because I infused my words with so much venom, this stung them. Speaking of stung, with the advent of freezing winter weather, village workers came and removed the dormant wasp nest from the now bare tree in front of my house.

@ProfD Filo + Musk who started yahoo are the only ones from truly financially humble beginnings. And, to be even, they got lucky. Again, less than 1% of all websites failed. So, the entrepreneurial spirit you are talking about failed many non blacks. so.. your argument on the whole is unfounded but... I continue Zuckerburgs father offered his son a mcdonald's franchise , how many black parents can do that or euqivalent for their children? please don't say it is common for black parents to offer the next generation wealth. Gates parents have always been on the boards of big companies, how many black parents are on the boards of large companies while their children are in high school? please don't say it is common. And don't insult black history, again, black people have been blockaded from financial wealth by whites in the usa from1 492 to 1980 nearest holistically. Jobs father is from a fiscally wealthy syrian family. wozniak's father was an engineer for lockheed. Please don't say that they are financially common. Page and BRin for Google had well connected and well off parents. working as engineers for nasa or colleges in the usa. How many black engineers have not been accepted at Nasa? that had every single thing a white engineer did. Nasa is a great job for an engineer. You are connecting with big financial channels. All of them through their relatives or communities, many are white jews or have white jewish background which has a financial aspect to it, some are simply nepo babies, that have money or access to money, like Musk, who is also from a financialy wealth white clan. You mention entrepreneurial spirit but don't mention lack of fiscally capable parents. I know few black people have fiscally aiding black parents. I know that. it is interesting to me how so many black people in the usa accept white power or white advantage but then in assessing black people, blame ourselves as if the white people who are wealthiest in the usa, aren't assisted by white power or white advantage but simply have the entrepreneurial spirit. It is very imbalanced, or uneven thinking. @Pioneer1 I give blood to a blood bank, five times a day. @Troy I have created youtube or tiktok videos to share my art, but I am not the biggest user of either platform. There are a few youtubers I like because they are informative or interesting in the arts. I like Mayowa's world cause she is a black natural haired woman who has insightful positions on black identity, accented cinema cause he makes great posts on asian cinema. I like shadversity cause they develop weapons and test them and have helped me think on weapons in my own stories. So i admit as an artist youtube has some great educational folk. What are your thoughts on what to do about lurkers? any ideas. I comprehend that bots have always been used to augment perceived activity on websites, from the early 1990s. Thinking on it for a minute, from bots to paid real members of websites to now the llm identities, the children of the bots, so much activity online is augmented... two questions come to mind. 1)Of the facebooks/twitter/youtubes/google searches/netflix or other, how many of them used bots to augment their activity to appear positive? In my mind I begin to wonder, how many websites failed cause they didn't invest in bots, didn't invest in ways to augment popularity? If you augment popularity even if you aren't making money, maybe you can keep the investments running, especially in the dot com craze days, the earlier eras of the internet when money flowed to these bleeding firms. 2) what activity online has the least lurkers? I comprehend if one is online it invites de facto lurking, at least the possibility. I guess email, but I imagine you know, if not through experience through conference with others. 3) should black owned websites invested in lurking more ? I remember when beyonce or jay-z had some media thing and it was found out it had a bunch of bots, but it seemed so late in the internet, like an old style bot drive that white people used ten years earlier?

90% of social media visitors are lurkers. It is probably higher than that on some platforms. How many of you actually created TicTok or YouTube video for the public but have used the platform. The number of lurkers here is probably higher than 90% because of some very popular posts generate a lot of traffic.

Factually correct. Opinion based upon a flawed foundation of racial stereotype (sounds like more of your big penis belief).

See, I don't think I'm getting enough credit for my prediction.

I called it, but where is the credit....lol.

Ditto. @Delano that is an interesting subject

Why do you say that? Now you can get you grass cut for damn near free and your strawberries cost a lot less too. meanwhile YOU get to sit in an air-conditioned lounge on your job hitting up on the ladies

How do you really know there's no interest in it? Just like pro sports, let a wealthy white dude announce he's financing a Black Male Pageant & n8gglets will come running to be in it.

Enjoy my brotha. Here in the USA over 140 million people are enduring a snow storm.

Thanks @ProfD I'm having a midnight snack. Today is Australia Day. It's like the Fourth of July. Except Aboriginal call it Invasion Day.. There's a big Aboriginal festival across the street. Will check out our this year.

The theory is more interesting than his application so far. However it is sparking some ideas so it's worth the price. You're ahead of me. I'm either bored, jaded or apathetic.

I think they SHOULD have beauty pageants for men too, but that's not going to be very popular because Black men and men of African descent in general would routinely win them and it would severely damage the concept of White male superiority. In order for White men or Asian men to win "beauty" or "handsomeness" competitions they would literally have to make white skin or slanted eyes one of the traits or standards OF beauty for men, which would go against nature. Other natural markers for male physical attractiveness like muscularity, symmetry, deep voices, smooth and dark skin....Black men rule. Women...not just American women but women all over the globe...consistently see men of African descent as the most physically attractive and masculine regardless of the propaganda and conditioning.

Which would explain addictive behaviour as a coping mechanism. Which is a slow form of death or a refusal to live a constrained life.

Humm. Sounds intriguing. If I were young and energetic and adventurous I would check out this book. But, I'm losing interest in life.

Amazed. They. Have. Not. Got. The. Athletes. From. Other. Countries .Pro. Baseball. Players. From. Other. Countries ,NBA. ,,Basket. Ball. Players. College. .Sports Have Foreign. Players. ..,White. Pro. Hockey. Players. ....This. A. Money. Business ..

IMO, it is unfair to compare the US (340 million people) to Canada (41 million people). The population of Canada could fit in California. 70% of Canadiens identity as white (28 million). The rest of the country breaks down as Indigenous (1.8 million), South Asians (2.6 million), Chinese (1.7 million), Black (1.5 million), Filipino (960,000), Arab (690,000) & Latinos (580,000). Canada takes care of its citizens by way of social safety nets, public healthcare & government regulations. Again, the majority of them identify as white. The US as a pseudo-rainbow & melting pot is much bigger & fueled by racism white supremacy is a different setup.

Neely Fuller, Jr. (October 6, 1929 – February 1, 2025) Roberta Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) Jawanza Kunjufu (1953 – April 25, 2025) Tony Rose (October 11, 1950 – May 27, 2025) Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (January 5, 1938 – May 28, 2025) Thomas Sayers Ellis (d. July 17, 2025) Vivian Elizabeth Ayers Allen (July 29, 1923 - August 18, 2025) Larry Ward (d. August 19, 2025) Quintard Taylor (December 11, 1948 to September 21, 2025) Assata Shakur (July 16, 1947 to September 25, 2025) Malcolm Jamal Warner (August 18, 1970 – July 20, 2025) Michael I. Days (August 2, 1953 - October 18, 2025) Keturah A. Bobo (d. October 2025) DéLana R. A. Dameron (January 30, 1985 – November 29, 2025) Elle Simone Scott (November 28, 1976 – January 5, 2026) Charles S. Finch III (February 25, 1948 – January 17, 2026) Eric Huntley (September 25, 1929 – January 21, 2026) Addendum (to be edited) Sly Stone (March 15, 1943 - ) D'Angelo () Angie Stone () Some of these folks I knew, some I admired from afar, and others I was unfamiliar with. Quintard was a Brother whose work I really admired at https://blackpast.org/ He built his site into an institution. I spaced on our last meeting and missed it. I called him back and was wondering why he did not return my call... Keturah was a shocking loss because she was just so young and had such a bright future. Vivan Allen was Debbie and Felicia's mom who was force in her own right I did not know until she was gone. Eric Huntley, they don't make men, publishers, or booksellers like him (and his wife) any more! We are all soft, weak, and asleep compared to him. Of course, I don't have to tell anyone here who Kunjufu, Fuller, Shakur, and Finch are any why they were important. R.I.P.

I didn't even know my girl Roberta Flack passed away last year Come on Troy, how could you forget Theo...... Malcolm Jamal Warner

@Troy...thanks for acknowledging some of our elders, brothas & sistas who have departed the rock. We can add Sly Stone, D'Angelo & Angie Stone to the 2025 list.

Nevermind. Richard.

We already know historically, other groups of people didn't speak up for and/or support FBA/AfroAmericans in our struggles past to present. Surely, FBA/AfroAmericans can provide a healthy dose of moral support from the sidelines in silence. Otherwise, there's no need in FBA/AfroAmericans putting on capes for people who don't give a f8ck about us.

Would you say US Blacks are free?

Hey man I'm note sure if you are up on BISAC codes, but I did fight for some new ones for Steampunk and a few others.

TLDR: but "beauty" pageants are a thing whose time has come and gone... and they really need to get rid of the ones featuring little girls.