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@Troy I was indifferent until I read the rest of the post and others pointing out the Haitian/Japanese opponent Osaka that was depicted in the caricature as a White woman. Granted her hairstyle does have a blonde tip, but the picture was clearly a White woman with blonde hair. So, I think that it was heavy handed in his depiction of Serena. I might be a little biased too, though, because I think Serena is gorgeous. She's so beautiful and she carries herself with 'a right to be unique' and she's stylish. So, I think the depiction is kind of cute, and it depicts her having a tantrum. So even if he meant to demean her, I hope it does continue to backfire. As far as her getting called on showing bad behavior, well, I don't know enough about the rules to comment on that issue. Serean might have to pay that fine.

@Troy As a black american woman, I'm used to the double sometime triple standard that we operate under. Black american women are regulated to the "de mule uh de world" position in this society- so anytime I hear of us doing well; I cheer. However, if we do too well we become targets. Therefore, this cartoon doesn't surprised me and neither does exaggerating the physical features of the darker woman in contrast to the drawing of a petite fair-skinned blond-hair allegedly subservient women . It's par for course when others seek to put us black american women in our place. Sadly, it appears to be working too. So many black women in my twitter timeline are truly butthurt. As for me - I ain't got time for it. Amazon has just merged Create Space and Kindle Direct Publishing. There are far too many gullible writers in the world looking for the easy button that won't see that this merger will ultimately hurt independent publishers. So later for that stupid cartoon...we folks who like to keep control of our intellectual property are busy right now.

Troy you are right but also wrong. Who is defending poor whites Donald J Trump nominally while they get pick pocketed. Master overseer slave it still works. Actually his message is for disenfranchised whit's who are more concerned with maintain their perceived superiority than fairness justice or liberty for all.

The pecking order white male white female black male black female. The White Male is the main character in history and culture, everyone else has varying levels of invisibility. You can also add sexual orientation and cultural/country to the mix. Gay white men would be situated between straight white men and straight whute women. So men talk down to women and whites talk down to blacks. So the more powerf you have the easier it is us to dismiss those below you or simply not validate their existence. Even insults are asymptomatic

LOL! Oh No... I tried SO HARD not to click this link.... but my curiousity got the better of me. I am trying to not to laugh.... Yall please! LOL!

Suntext Publishing would like to submit for review, Nightmare Detective: The Skeleton King (ISBN:978-1-7325432-0-1), a debut fantasy novel for middle school children by Monk Inyang. Publication Date: September 18, 2018 Synopsis Uko Hill is a twelve year old black boy in Newark suffering from the same nightmare every night - an army of terrifying skeletons breaking into his home and destroying everything. He's given up hope of ever having normal sleep until one night, in the middle of his nightmare, he meets Toni. She's part of a group called the Nightmare Detectives - a trained squad of middle schoolers that can jump into the nightmares of other kids and help them stop for good. Uko is given the opportunity to join the Detectives and accepts. Along the way he learns that there's a lot more to living in this dreamworld than he expected. Can he stand up to the evil that he discovers? Can he overcome his fear and doubt to join the legendary Detectives? Amazon for Trade Paperback ($8.99) or Kindle eBook ($2.99) Barnes and Noble for Trade Paperback ($8.99) Early reviews for the book inclue: "...a splendid adventure into the complexity of the mind while maintaining an action-packed plot."- The BookLife Prize"...Magic Tree House meets Goosebumps - but more. Inyang creates a world that exists in our subconcious minds that connect us all...an action-packed story that's sure to grab kids..."- Sundee Frazier - Corretta Scott King Award winner and Oprah Book Club author of Brendan Buckley's Universe "Nightmare Detective is a delightful adventure about friendship, childhood, fears, growing up, helping others." - Manhattan Book Review Contact: monk@monkinyang.com for more information about Nightmare Detective or to order a review copy

I read your blog article Believe in Yo’Self; yep, you can be in a creative business without believing in yourself.

I would argue that the work had two protagonists: Hurston herself because of her goal to keep Kossola talking and thereby transcribe his life to text, and the other being Kossola because the text was his story, and wow, what a story. There was so much grief in such a small work – loss of family, loss of community, loss of health, and the loss home. And equally as painful as the grief was Kossala’s remembering the part Africans / Dahomey played in the slave trade. Kossala’s goal was to stay alive, and his antagonist was the Peculiar Institution of American Slavery with its long reaching and lasting tentacles of racism. He was kidnapped, placed in a barracoon, a slave ship, and on an auction block (all life threatening situations) due to American slavery. I believe, the establishment of Africatown, was his strongest blow against the reaching effects of slavery; freed slaves reestablished an African community on hostile American soil; that was miraculous. Kossala didn’t die due to slavery, but he suffered during and after; the lashes of racism ripped at his spirit and his body most of his life. Kossala was never able to return to Africa, and this denial was directly linked to slavery’s tentacles. The main message the text left me with – was that culture was king. Kossala’s culture was his strongest and consistent weapon. He relied on his culture and African traditions his entire life: in the bowels of the slave ship, he and the other kidnapped youth cried through traditional songs to ease their burden, as soon as he and other recently kidnapped Africans were freed they danced a traditional dance, throughout his youth and senior days African parables and fables guided his actions. When his family was taken, his culture remained; he took on the traditional role as griot for Africatown before the loss of family and remained in the role after the loss as an elder. Motifs in the text included valuing family, adapting to change, self-sufficiency, and surviving despite oppression. The text was loaded with descriptive language but what remained me was Kossala calling his wife his eyes, and when he lost her/then he was finished. The most memorable scene was the image of the Dahomey attacking his village; woman warriors entering the village beheading elders while the men blocked the exits kidnapping those who tried to escape the carnage. I believe the work will become one of the most important slave narratives in the canon. Hurston brought the skill of a fiction writer to the task of recording a biography; she converted Kossala’s biography into a story. In addition, Plant’s editing is informational and instructional. I will continue to read both writers. https://ndigo.com/2018/06/27/barracoon-wakeup-reading-paul-king/

Lord, help us. Pioneer is now shielding himself behind a new avatar, one that brings to mind a biblical patriarch. Guess he figures he needs a make-over to dispel the devilishness that has recently burnished his aura. I always did say he had a "Messianic Complex", and now he's representing himself with a image he probably hopes will bring to mind a black Moses parting the Red Sea and leading his people to the promised land, - a far cry from the reality of his actually muddying the waters and misleading his tribesmen to the dead sea of Pseudo-Africanism. 😀 =

I think I would put black male ahead of white female. Black men got the right to vote first. Black man handily defeated a white woman for the democratic nomination for president. I would also include class in the equation @Delano. Rich, white men rule the world. But a rich Black woman trumps a poor white man. As long as the difference in class is visibly obvious.

Here's a perfect example of what I was referring to earlier. This comment was in response to my answer about a low point in my flight attendant career. As far as society is concerned, black women aren't allowed to display human frailties. This is what Serena has been dealing with her whole career but on a global scale. It is actually more than frustrating; it's infuriating. But as the Angel Maya Angelou wrote "Still [we] rise". typical. You are American so you can et away wit anything bc you're black. You are propagating the reality in your country tat black American females are aggressive and cannot control themselves. I am glad you shared this. o hand btw try tis in Europe sweetie and you will be fined or arrested. black women are not allowed to attack anyone especially white women in beautiful cultured Europe. no black entitlement special status bc of slavery tat happened 200 yrs ago wen black on white crime is the norm. which is why I live in Western Europe.<3 you do your job THEY should have fired you. Any classy airline would but you work for an American company. you are incompetent and bc you are black they are afraid to. psycho. You are a servant in the air nothing more. Quora https://www.quora.com/As-a-flight-attendant-whats-the-dirtiest-thing-you-have-done-during-a-flight/answer/Mel-Hopkins-1/comment/72884111?__nsrc__=4&__snid3__=3214182566

Yeah this process will jack up a lot of indie authors. The video (below) makes the transition it look simple, but even a simple process that is unfamiliar will cause a lot of frustration for the less than super tech savvy. Of course there will be no shortage of professionals to help authors make the transition. I already see that CreateSpace Cover Creator designs aren't compatible with Cover Creator on KDP. What is MOST amazing is the "Amazon Royalty." Here is where Amazon gets you and their own price calculator make the very plain. I will write more about this when i get a second. But here is the gist: For a 240 page book if you print with me (AALBC Prints Books) the unit cost is $3.87 per book (assuming a 200 book print run, less for larger print runs). If you sell the book you will make $11.13 (ignoring shipping). Now if you print and sell the books via Amazon, the pricing cost is $3.73/book, but Amazon wants an astonishing $5.27 or $7.54 (with expanded distribution) that is 2/3's of the profit of the book! @Mel Hopkins I gather KDP requires that authors give Amazon the exclusive right to sell their books -- unless the author pays for expanded distribution. Is that right? Amazon can get away with this because they monopolize the online sale of books. For Black books, they essential monopolize the sale of ALL book bt electronic and physical ebooks.

D. All of the above.

Now was the cartoonist engaging in satire, a racist trying to put her in her place by demeaning her, or reflecting a culture that elevates whiteness and marginalizes Blackness subtly, directly, and everything in between? I doubt Serena's reaction was just about that specific penalty, but a culmination of a entire career of unfair treatment (perceived or otherwise). When people fly off the handle that way it usually is not about that specific event, but more like the straw that broke the camel's back.

Author Roland S. Jefferson, MD shared this with me a few moments ago. I have never seen this and the first few minutes look good: "In 1968 ABC filmed a 30 minute documentary on musical prodigy Aretha Franklin. It is notable for the rarely seen interviews with her father, her husband, and producers. Importantly it features candid peeks behind the scenes that reveal how Aretha conceived and developed her approach to songs. And of course to watch the mesmerizing impact of her voice on the teens of the day is priceless. At your leisure, I encourage you to take the time to watch this amazing icon at the height of her youth. Enjoy!" --Roland S. Jefferson

Hi @ESP welcome to our online book club. The club's moderator, @Tony Lindsay will be posting questions shortly. In the meantime, did you read the book? What did you think?

@Chevdove Yeah there is a grain of truth in Mooney's jokes...

Hello Everyone I hope I’ve signed up, I’m looking forward to share my thoughts

@Pioneer1 I don't know about that part, but the rest, I do agree. I am not 'what today's definition of a feminist means' but, women do think broadly about family life and sexual relations. My mother is matriarchal. My husband comes from a very dominant. male dominant, background, and we've had to 'duke it out' over the years... LOL...over certain issues. Some women, IMO, will be quiet, if they are dealing with a male dominant man and if they want to bond, for reasons of protection and wealth, they will. But, afterwards, if they are shut out from being 'at the table' on decisions, they will turn you out. And that kind of gender contention is not good for our culture, IMO. Their needs to be a balance. My husband's father's definition of 'family life and sexual relations' really pissed me off, and so, we’ve had some conflicts too before there was peace between us. I eventually admired him because he was willing to listen to my viewpoint and meet me ‘at the table’. He could separate himself from controlling people around him and make solid decisions independently. He was able to view me as a unique person without sizing me up and comparing me to the controlling women around him. I think he was ‘Old World’ in more ways than one. Like me, I think that he was searching for spiritual balance with the opposite gender and I think that is the true test of a lasting relationship between men and women.

The devil made you do it huh...? In YOUR case, that's known as SELF-CONTROL....lol. That's not some "black Moses", that's a painting of a Moor. I might end up changing that avatar again because I don't like how that picture presents itself.

@Mel Hopkins WOW! Thank you! I am obsessed with timelines! LOL. I am very familiar with a lot on this timeline and because it covers so much, I don't even know where I would like to begin to perhaps add my research. I guess I can close my eyes and point! lol. What I would love to do with my research is to somehow write it so that people can read my input and determine for themselves just how the western civilization has brought confustion to the past. However, writing and transferring ideas is a challenge for me. I appreciate having the chance to read what you write. I hope you continue to write because you do it so well! I haven't sat down yet to completely read you book, but I tell you, it is awesome. I was so surprised to see how much information you put behind your theme. The information you put surrounding Ethiopia and Babylon and Solomon . . . amazing. That is my passion! I recall a book I read in the past called Black Spark, White Fire, [?] and it delved into Sesostris I, II, and III and the colony of Cholchis in the north, and I have read other Afrocentric scholars on this colony too. I love the 11th Dynasty king, Mentuhotep [ie. Nebhebitre Mentuhotep] too. This timeline that you posted places Moses, as do too, during the 18th Dynasty and most Black people have no idea! And also, I have seen so many bits and pieces of 'European Bible Scholars' who place Moses in conflict with Thutmosis III but this is not my finding. So, maybe I might try to share some of my research in this area. Thank you again.

People need meaning in their life and they want to be part of something bigger than themselves. Apple isnt selling computers they are selling membership into a club comprised of artistic altruistic thinkers. Apple consumers worship Steve Jobs like a rock star. And just likea a rock concert. They camp out to consume the latest offerings. The product is sold but it is the perception of image and community that is consumed. This applies to following products : Religion; soda; music ; restaurants, universities ; clothing ; sexual identity ; sports ; weight lifting; race et cetera. Identity is a chimera it means what we believe it means. (it is like race a subjective construct) So purchasing products helps to create and sustain identity. When was the last time you drank OE 800?

NIKE is not a philanthropic organization. @Troy As a business man, yourself, why are you so contemptuous of corporations using marketing strategies in order to push their products and realize a profit for them and their stock holders? If you had your way, companies would just post a picture of their product with a caption: "This is what we are trying to sell. We'd appreciate it if you would please buy it." Nobody forces anybody to buy something that catches their fancy. Consumerism is based on a "buying what you want rather than what you need" mind-set. People tend to compartmentalize their lives and acquiring cherished possessions is a niche they set aside to spoil themselves.

I visited Africatown, in Mobile Alabama, a couple of days ago. The remains of some of the Africans who survived the middle passage, on the Clotilda, one of the last known (documented) slaves ships, are buried here.

Here is a video of Barracoon's editor, Deborah G. Plant.