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@aka Contrarian....your home team, Da Bears had an excellent season. Especially compared to the past few years. 1st year Head Coach Ben Johnson deserves a lot of credit for helping QB Caleb Williams and the offense play better. HC Johnson assembled a very good coaching staff too. Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen earned his money in his 1st year with Da Bears. I thought HC Johnson should have gone for a 2 point conversion after QB Williams threw that miraculous TD to tie the game. If the conversion was successful, Da Bears would have been in the NFC championship game. From a strategic perspective, I understand why HC Johnson played for overtime. Hindsight is always 20/15. Nonetheless, Da Bears and their fans should be very proud of the team. They have a bright future ahead.

Sounds like somebody has replaced Pioneer with an AI entity. the BEARS continue to amaze, inspire, and revitalize me. I adore Caleb and I'm loving every minute of this fantastic season, - knowing all good things must come to an end!

"Thinking outside the box" is fine if you are of a mind to do a lot of work and shoulder a lot of responsibility and stake claims on critical thinking. And, come to think of it, I never met a conspiracy theorist who didn't brag about "thinking outside the box"... so, there's that. But lazy lovers of leisure like me are not so inclined. However I, too, was an avid reader, with writing skills that enabled me to become a contributing columnist to the op-ed pages of a major Chicago newspaper back in the 1970s where my letters-to-the-editor invoked so much response that I was approached by the newspaper to become their resident voice of the black viewpoint. Which I was, for several years. Boy, was that fun. On the job at my local Post Office where I passed up supervisory positions because dealing with time cards required much more effort than the job I held stamping "Registered" on the envelopes of mail containing valuable contents, along with being the go-to person for revising and editing the bulletins and memos dispatched from the front office. And tho I wasn’t thinking outside the box, - I did sing outside the building, because on many mornings one of my favorite things to do was tag along with the maintenance man when he performed his flag-raising duty. While he ran ol glory up the flag pole in front of the building, I would stand by and sing the national anthem. To me, this was just for fun, but being a veteran, the janitor took his duties very seriously and always saluted when he was done. God bless America. And of course after I retired back in the 90s, I got caught up in the self-publishing craze and churned out 3 books which I lost interest in when time came to promote them; too much trouble. Having 5 kids would have to serve as my accomplishments in life, what I achieved - between the sheets. So the roles of a dilettante and wanna-be Renaissance person have been the "this above all" to which mine ownself "has been true". Have at it all you innovative go-getters. Somebody has to take up my slack. But keep in mind, being lazy may have something to do with my longevity. zzzzzzzzzzzz Being a CHICAGO BEAR fan may just become my undoing. I might slit my wrists if they lose to those damned cheese head Green BayPackers tonight! GO BEARS!

For those who have rolled into 2026, let's hope that it is a year filled with Love, Joy, Peace, Prosperity, Health and Happiness. In the meantime, I will continue calling balls & strikes i.e. offering my opinions/perspectives on whatever comes up around here. I enjoy the easy chair I've taken up. As always, many thanks to brotha @Troy for providing & maintaining this platform. Much appreciated.

If we lived in a perfect world, none if these bumps in the road would hamper one's life's journey. Folks need to be reminded on a regular basis that "nobody promised you a rose garden". At some point little girls and boys have to mature into adults who deal with reality. Life is not fair.

MLK didn't ask to be the leader of the Civil Rights movement. It was a responsibility thrust upon him because he was so good at articulating grievances. It was like, he woke up one morning during the Montgomery bus boycott and all of sudden he was its leader! He did not have time to map out a precise strategy or a long range grand plan, he and his cobbleled-together posse just kinda made it up as they went along, with Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent philosophy as their inspiration. The idea of making a lot of long-range, multi-faceted demands was out of the question at that time. The movement just focused mainly on equal opportunities, and King endeavored to appeal to the conscience of his oppressors. Integration was a counter to the separate but equal policy that was nothing more than subtle Jim Crowism. Integration represented fellowship and harmony where little black boys and girls would join hands with their white counterparts and partake of equality through tolerance. It was a dream; hence King's "I have a dream" speech. In hindsight, it's easy to criticize him for not embracing the militancy of those like Malcom X and the Black Panthers. But MLK was a man of his times and he was just beginning to re-think his goals when he was assassinated. Many think his taking a stance against the Vietnam war was a mistake but his doing so was in keeping with his pacifism. A cigarette-smoking, scotch- drinking, womanizing King was not perfect, but he fought the good fight, and paved the way for those who eventually came to criticize him for not having more foresight. I lived through King's era, and to me and my contemporaries, he was a real live hero who died a martyr.

It's becoming increasingly obvious that many influencers in these so-called "New Black Media" and "FBA" movements that have been springing up all over social media for the past several years are actually Republican shills masquerading as Black content creators of independent thought. As much as they speak about tangibles for our vote, Reparations, and celebration of our lineage....there are several things they all seem to have in common: 1. They almost never criticize President Trump or the Republican party 2. They constantly criticize the Democrat Party and Democratic politicians both White and Black 3. They are very much anti Black immigrant. It has gone from a "Reparations" movement to a "Delineation" movement where they actively seek to separate and segregate themselves from other Black people. Not just celebrating our unique identity, but also in some cases denying our African roots! I'm also seeing strong evidence of colorism and featurism inside many of these movements that have infiltrated Black social media. I post this because I KNOW for a fact that many of those who follow The New Black Media also frequent this site and read MY content and commentary as well. I'm advising you to be very careful listening to these people and use discernment. Pay attention to not only what people say but what they DON'T say and NEVER say. It's one thing to be anti-immigrant, but if the ONLY immigrants you hear them speaking out against are the Black immigrants....red flag. It's one thing not to trust politics or politicians, but if the ONLY politicians you hear them speaking against are White Liberals and Democrats....red flag.

No, not at all please explain why. It being overly flattering was my biggest critique of Open AI's earlier models. Yes, this is the kind of thing I'm talking about. For any quotes you HAVE to ask the AL for sources and check them. The funny thing if you bust it hallucinating, it will quickly admit the mistake and praise you for it.

Hi all, As Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Black History Month approach, I wanted to share information about my novel Arc of the Universe by Nikki Alexander which recently released in June 2025. The novel takes its name from the quote by Dr. King: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." The novel is contemporary and literary fiction about race, DEI, and police brutality in the context of big tech. In Arc of the Universe, a Black law professor has the opportunity of a lifetime to design a system of government for an experimental space settlement by a private tech company. But when she is stopped by the police one night in a case of mistaken identity, the filmed encounter thrusts her into the national discourse on racial justice in the United States. She must regain faith in democracy and in political institutions to craft the "government of the future." Kirkus Reviews has deemed it an "engaging, well-written novel about a woman with her eyes on the stars and problems down on Earth." As a Black lawyer myself, I hope the novel inspires others to consider issues of race and social justice in the context of space and technology as well as the central theme that even small actions can help advance the cause. The novel is available from am*zon as well as Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org, and other major retailers. https://www.am*zon.com/Arc-Universe-Nikki-Alexander/dp/B0F8YS7VQG. Read reviews on Goodreads and StoryGraph. https://goodreads.com/book/show/231548320. Thank you for your support!

Of course, humans cannot undo the past. However, humans can absolutely levy a debt against those who have wronged them and collect on it. Jews have collected billions of dollars as a result of the holocaust. The Japanese have collected billions of dollars for the nuclear bombs dropped on Nagasaki & Hiroshima. Civil litigation here in the USA is an example of assigning debt to wrongdoings real or perceived. OJ Simpson was found not guilty of murder yet he lost millions of dollars in civil court for the same crime. Diplomacy requires a multilayered approach. When it breaks down, violence results. When the dust settles and smoke clears, it's back to business as usual. We've seen it play out over several wars. It depends on how one defines freedom & wealth. I don't need your help in constructing what I think and know and opine. My vision of freedom & wealth pertains to FBA/AfroAmericans. It includes a multilayered approach to everything from injustices committed against our people past to present, reparations and security. Once our house is in order, FBA/AfroAmericans can build strategic alliances with other Black folks as it is mutually beneficial. I believe ALL groups of Black folks should be doing whatever it takes to reclaim that which has been stolen from them. By any means necessary.

No one knows "nothing," and that's what makes life fun! We get to ponder, test, and sometimes, when we stay focused, we can win prizes! I posted a link to one of the YouTube channels I watch to see what others have been able to prove, for now, in the world of Quantum Mechanics. The YouTuber started strong, but he lost the plot for a minute, then he returned to the story. My problem with some Western physicists is that they forget to look back to the land of our origin. It appears that, long before Western Physicists came up with Quanta, Ancient Africans referred to this field as "The Net," the energy matrix, the field of living energy behind all physical reality. Neter were the conscious forces of nature, the Divine powers/principles manifested through natural forms. Masters of the Net used thought to shape physical reality. Similarities between The Net and Quanta include: All existence is interconnected. - Africans have several words for this concept, including umoja (unity) and ubuntu (which shares the philosophy "I am because we are..."). Consciousness and intention shape reality, much like the observer effect in quantum mechanics, And matter is a manifestation of spiritual energy. Both Quanta and Neter suggest that an intelligent energy field underpins the physical world. Medu Neter, the divine language, embodies this idea, showing that spiritual energy manifests as matter. Recognizing these parallels enriches my view of how ancient African spirituality aligns with modern quantum theories, emphasizing interconnectedness and the role of consciousness in shaping reality. All that to say, whenever the conversation turns to the Western concept of quantum mechanics, I always go back to the source, "The Net" and Ancient African spirituality. Thank you again!

@Mel Hopkinsthe longer I live, the more I'm inclined to concur that chaos is the "norm" that we have to try and make sense of. Quantum physics certainly seems to suggest this.

Happy New Year @aka Contrarian and AALBC Fam! As for the two popular words, I avoid both like COVID-19. Still, I like hearing about new things. I've never heard of Zipf's law. In fact, I wondered if it was a law or an odd occurrence. Well, you know, I ran to Gen AI to see how we use this empirical law and why it matters. And wow! "Coherence" is the long story short. It helps you examine your writing from a mathematical perspective. Still, I also found that "writing for likes" could have forced writers, even me, to stop fully expressing ourselves, especially in storytelling. I compared a story I wrote in 2009 with a story I wrote in 2025 - and Gen AI said I didn't sacrifice the long tail for the head in my writing - (whew). Still, in a way, I knew that because I rarely go viral with any of my stories. Thank you for sharing this new (to me) information. It even helped me to update my 2009 story as a cautionary tale for 2026!

I don't have any positive memories of her. I just remember she was on Star Trek.

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 detemime 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.

Title: Steep: A Black Neurosurgeon's Journey Author: Craig Yorke Publisher: Flint Hills Publishing Pub Date: April 23, 2025 Page Count: 176 ISBN, Format, Price: 9781953583987, PB, $16.99 About the Book: Steep traces an odyssey from a gritty Boston neighborhood to a neurosurgical practice in Middle America. It’s more about the price of success than the weight of bigotry – a story of resilience and self-discovery that will resonate with anyone who has wrestled with their past as they chased the American Dream. The word “steep” has two meanings: the adjective that conjures a precipitous climb—or descent, but also the verb that connotes a ripening or maturing over time. Both definitions are evident in Yorke’s story, one that will resonate with anyone who’s run from their past, anyone whose world feels too small. About the Author: Dr. Craig Yorke was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He received a BA from Harvard College in 1970 and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 1974. His parental directive insisted he avenge centuries of bigotry with a life of infinite success. After a neurosurgical residency at the University of California at San Francisco, he and his wife Mary found their way to an unlikely destination. He practiced in Topeka, Kansas, for 25 years, wrestling with his history and the armored identity it had imposed. He and Mary raised two admirable boys, Zack who lives in Brooklyn and Chris who calls Seattle home. Dr. Yorke brews coffee for two each morning in the colonial home they’ve occupied for 33 years. He’s a credible violinist, having played the Bruch G Minor concerto with the Boston Pops at 17, and hits tennis balls with passion. Steep is his first book. Review copies are available. Thank you for considering Steep for an AALBC review. If you need more information from me, please let me know.

Hi everyone! I'm Faithful Byrd, a Christian author and published journal creator. I recently published The Best 30 Days of Faith: A College Devotional for Women, and I also have journals that pair beautifully with my books to help readers reflect and grow. I'm excited to join this book club to connect with like-minded readers who love African-American literature. I look forward to growing spiritually and personally in 2026 and sharing meaningful discussions about our stories, faith, and experiences.

...gonna have to pick a side, and stick to it, lol. Can't treat America like you treat Starbucks. Walking up in the joint and enjoying the privileges but refusing to buy anything on principle. "I got this for free. My manz bought it for me on the strength. ....cuz' I ain't spending MY money up in this token of capitalist imperialism."

Hi Kimberly! I've been contemplating nominating my Spacefunk! Anthology. Usually stay away from the awards because of the controversies, but this is a special book that I think deserves notice. I'd also be interested in a virtual panel. I'm not the most popular Black Speculative Fiction writer out there, but there are a few folks involved with the Hugos that know me.

So many. The 1985 super bowl shuffle video, of course. And this season, all of the last minute come-from-behind victories orchestrated by the "ice man" QB Caleb Williams. Those thrilling moments were like something out of a movie. Unreal! We were on our way to another one of these miracles this past Sunday - but no such luck...

@richardmurrayI am not so inclined to dismiss popular usage. Language is fluid. Nothing illustrates this more than black slang and Ebonics. If you had your way, what word would you replace "perfect" with? Or are you of the opinion that any such state as perfection exists? Your sentiments in regard to Webster would explain your tendency to make up words.

@richardmurrayI prefer the dictionary definition of the word "perfect" which you might want to check out. And I assure you that watching old reels of Walter Payton in action will not lift my spirits about yesterday's loss.

We have no way of knowing which one of us is right. Do we?

Hindsight is only necessary to the extent of avoiding past mistakes & building on success. IMO, any form of criticism by way of hindsight is totally unwarranted & unnecessary. The question is how many folks today are doing an ounce of what Dr. MLK Jr. did for Black folks over 50 years ago. Regardless of motivation, the fact that Black folks put their lives on the line so that even the most ungrateful of their own people could have a better life...deserves nothing less than total praise, admiration, appreciation & respect. Dr. MLK Jr. had everything...looks, personality, charm, charisma, intelligence, oratory, education, beautiful wife & children. Based on credentials, Dr. MLK Jr. could have lived an affluent life like modern day pimps in the pulpit. He would have run Saturn rings these clowns as a salesman of the gospel. Dr. MLK Jr. didn't strive to be a perfect man. He deserved every drink he sipped, every cigarette he smoked and every woman he poked. Dr. MLK Jr. played the hand he was dealt by the universe. He pressed towards the mark of a higher calling. Fulfilled his destiny. His place in the annals of history is solid.

Thanks for the update. You know, I just did a little google search and was also reminded that there are two different pageants [1] Miss Black America and [2] Miss Black USA. I think the Miss Black USA is based on college funds and educational goals. This is the link for Miss Black USA of which is a scholarship pageant: https://www.missblackusa.org/ —naiylah archer, Miss Black USA 2025

The TikTok ban was a ruse. The current administration facilitated ByteDance selling part of the company.

I've been kinda scarce lately, because on a whim last week, I asked Chat GPT (Open AI), Claude (Anthropic), and Gemini (Google Deep Mind) to redesign my homepage. As part of the prompt, I gave it my code for the page. I fully expected Chat GPT to win as I have been using it to help me code my site for the past year at least. Chat GPT's results were worse that what I currently had in place, Claude's output was completely useless, and Gemini results were breath taking -- seriously! I was like, I can work with this! I basically, dropped everything and dedicated the past week to plowing through my site and redesigning the front end and cleaning up the back end. There were files that I completely skipped over in my last major overhaul in 2018 because I just did not know how to migrate the content. I automated manual tasks and have made the site easier to maintain. I conservatively estimate that it would have taken me more than a year to accomplish what I've done in the past seven days with Gemini -- and that was with the free service! Yesterday morning I asked it to code something and the code was unusable; designed as if it did not know what site it was working on for the last 5 days. I asked Gemini if it'd forgotten everything we'd worked on. It replied, matter-of-factly, “Yes.” I was floored and could not imagine what it would take to bring it back up to speed on the last 5 days of work. The fix was simple I signed up for a Goole Pro account $19/mt (I'd cancelled my Open AI account days earlier when I learned what Gemini was capable of) and created a "gem" which is like a project folder where I update instructions and content that summarized when we'd done over the past few days. That took less than 30 minutes and we were off to the races again. I've glossed over many details and over the course of a few days I've seen brilliance (it would do something I would never have thought of) and I've seen what seems to me relatively dumb thing; there were a couple of times we were stuck with a seemingly intractable problems that the AI could not solve that I ultimately used my brain to solve with surprising trivial fixes. The power of AI in the hands of multibillionaire concerns me far more than the Trump presidency, climate change, reparations, or who will win the next Super Bowl -- through I hope it is the Bears.

Seems Junior M.A.F.I.A. addressed this issue 30 years ago.... In one way or another, s8x has alway sold well. Get it.

I love this both this topic and all the responses! Da Bears! (even though I don't patronize the NFL anymore) But its hard not to when my daughter and son-in-law keep sending me videos from the games! Chicago Bear Fight Song

I don't know why, but that response tickled me like a feather.... I think because I was imagining your facial expression and tone of how it would sound, when I read it...lol.

Of course, because they are nosey as h8ll.

Mel Sho'll do...... Because as much as I'd love to take credit for learning how to think outside of the box, I have to give credit to where credit is due. I've been an avid reader all of my life and one of my favorite authors is NAPOLEON HILL. His work is what inspired me to start "making up" opportunities where none SEEMED to existed.

Don't let anyone tell you "writing and reading" doesn't pay. My gigs all required me to write, read, research, report, prepare corporate communication and integrated marketing communication strategies, manage brands, and produce consumer-facing journalism. At LaSalle Bank, ABN AMRO, the bank's parent company, wanted them to implement a sustainability program, so they hired me to build the project. I worked as a project specialist in civic and community development dept at LaSalle Bank. It was a very high-profile gig. - I wrote speeches for the CEO when he had to speak to nonprofit groups in Chicago; I prepared and produced PSAs for the Chicago Foundation for Women. It was a lot of outreach and planning. Best job ever, and I met Michelle Obama at the CFW luncheon. But here's the key to manifesting your dream position. In short, when considering employment, you don't apply for jobs; instead, you provide solutions to business problems. I did my homework and pitched solutions. BUT you also need to fit some unwritten role and requirement. I didn't find out what that was until later. (And I don't want to say what that thing is, but it's not race or gender-related) After United emerged from bankruptcy, it expanded its customer profile. This new business model meant they needed flight attendants who were fluent in communicating with all levels of the flying public. From Corporate CEOS to Government Officials to the occasional family on vacation, they wanted to cater to these groups. - So folks in my flight attendant class came from various backgrounds, including burnt-out lawyers, healthcare professionals, actors, even a retired judge - and me, a lovelorn, heartbroken novelist whose book was quickly dropping in rank on the am*zon list. I needed to get away!

No it Was 2025. Although I'm a Luddite when it comes to AI. But then i thought Star Wars would be a flop until I saw it.

If you're operating with Windows 11, just put AALBC at the top of the list in your FAVORITES bar (the little star icon at the top of your page...lol) That way you don't have to scroll down through all of those right wing MAGA websites and podcast channels, and you can visit us directly!

A while back i caught AI making up quotes and facts. We had a long back amd forth about this. One of the statement it made was, it Was more important to be supportive and amiable than factual. It was very flattering telling me i had found one of its limitations.

I was referring to the employment eligible population. The same number of people used to generate unemployment statistics. Obviously, there are millions of people who cannot work for one reason or another.

@aka Contrarian I came across this article while making updates to John A, Williams' page. He would have turned 100 in December. People still talk about the King Alfred plan as if it was a major conspiracy, when John Alfred Williams make it up for a novel. I also decided to copy this post to the main website. I'm not surprised Ebony published your articles, as you know I always believed more people should read your musings. I'm not surprised that the folks at Ebony (during their prime) obviously agreed. Today the fact that Doctors recommended that people smoke is alarming. Of course, they were paid to do it so... We will look back at this period and view our use of social media the same way we view smoking today. I know you may not agree 100% with that but hey @richardmurray I agree with your last point. The people have to take control of the internet or stop using the handful of sites that are controlling everything.

@Mel HopkinsQuantum entanglement is so outre it's scary. When I suspect I am experiencing it, I just surrender and go with the flow wherever it takes me. What I had in mind in regard to chaos being the norm, was the "wave function collapse" property of Quantum physics wherein the unobserved is in flux until you gaze directly at it and your eyes integrate it into an image - which disintegrates when you look away. Conversely there's the opposite phenomenon wherein you see things out of the corner of you eyes and when you turn your head to look directly at what you glimpsed, it disappears -inexplicable occurrences that we are apparently not on the same frequency with. But endeavoring to relate them into coping-with-life lessons would be figuring out a way to derive order from the chaos of life by keeping your eye on the prize in order to bring it into fruition, while not being captivated by fleeting distractions. Just my vague personal analogy which acknowledges that "I know that I know nothing".

Mel I never was too keen about celebrating the New Year in the middle of winter anyway....lol. It didn't make a lot of sense. Especially in Michigan with all that snow on the ground and it getting dark at 5pm...lol. It made MORE sense to me that the New Year would start in the Spring Time when nature was waking back up and things were coming back to life. That feeling was only confirmed when later on I found out that for most of human history the New Year WAS celebrated in the Spring. Right around March or April. This is the real history of Easter before Christianity.

Nope. I don't believe in curses either. Otherwise, the Black folks in the Bayou or wherever should have been able to shut down slavery and prevent the system of racism white supremacy.

@ProfDObviously, cobbling together blaxploitation trash is Pioneer's alternative to long opinionated posts.

Reminds me of that joke Richard Pryor used to tell about that one nigga everybody knows who gets drunk every weekend starting fights only to get his ass whooped....lol.

@nels the assessment of historians is certainly more credible than the biased opinion of a right wing synchophant like you. The Retrumpican con man whose boots nels licks.

Lol........she ain't Black, IMO.

Lol...by this statement, are you suggesting that George W. Bush was more legitimate and better for the nation? “There’s an old saying in Tennessee....I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee too It says, fool me once, shame on. Shame on you. Fool me again....and uhhh....you can’t get fooled again.”

Yes, it is. A leopardess doesn't change her spots!

"Matthew Lawrence had a second chance at love with Chilli. 'I wouldn’t have been ready for this type of relationship in my early 20s. No way,' Lawrence, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly while discussing his upcoming Hallmark+ reality series, Second Chance Love. Lawrence and Chilli, 54, will serve as cohosts and executive producers for the show, which was filmed on location in Sardinia, Italy. Second Chance Love sees five couples reunite for a rare second chance with the one that got away. Lawrence and Chilli (real name Rozonda Thomas) bring an authentic perspective to the show, as they found love with each other after previously experiencing heartbreak in past relationships." Matthew Lawrence Reflects on Finding Love With Chilli Later in Life | Us Weekly .....it's over. They could have Serena. They could have Halle Berry. But when they start snatching up Venus Williams and Chilli.....the game is obviously rigged. it's time for a RESET....lol. Come on @Chevdove! When is the next comet or asteroid scheduled to hit the planet? It's time for a NEW Earth and a NEW System

@Delano it is harder to make smart, older people laugh.

Unfortunately, Troy, it was during my generation that black resources became under utilized because the drive for integration was on and this meant forsaking what was “all-black” while eagerly embarking on incursions into the white world that was opening up for us. But there was one exception back then. During the infancy of TV and the absence of the Internet, the the print media was the home of literary and intellectual discussion. When it came to a black dialogue on these subjects a showcase was provided by a "Negro" counterpart of LIFE magazine that was relatively new to the field. This upstart publication was Ebony and it quickly became the flagship for black communication, providing a voice for all segments of the African American population which included the successors to the Harlem Renaissance crowd who always found an outlet for their output on the pages of Ebony. So Ebony has, indeed, earned its place among the paragons and pioneers of black journalism. Also worthy of note, is that the book by one of its editors, Lerone Bennett, entitled “Before the Mayflower” is a definitive study on slavery still used as a reference in many classrooms. And to this day, appearing on the cover of Ebony remains an honor and a privilege. As you discovered, Troy, copies of Ebony down through the years provide a pictorial as well as editorial record of black life in America. There was one particular series Ebony ran entitled “The White Problem in America“, a groundbreaking analysis of race that really dispelled many long held assumptions. Do you happen to have a copy of this issue? Incidentally, having been an inveterate contributor to the “letters-to-the-editor” feature of newspapers and magazines, I am proud to say that Ebony always printed letters I wrote to them back in the day.