KENNETH

She looks great in the Vogue Cover. I  don't think it has to be emasculating or diminishing ASAP Rocky. It's about her rise or perhaps re-emergence not only as a star but a business woman and mother. He's there supporting her and holding her hand as a symbol of the bond. But that's just me. 

We want to talk about black people being liberated and strong over white racist dominatdomination yet black people male and many females still see patriarchal control as positive and necessary. Black Freedom then merely becomes freedom for black men to control black women and communities. I just think it's a good cover.

22 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

There's a whole lot of Black folks down in Florida.
What are THEY doing about this racist autocratic Governor?

Plenty of Black folks with money in Florida.
Plenty of Black folks with power in Florida.

If they just sit back and let a Nazi like that take over and do whatever the hell his mind desires....besides the racists, I'll have to blame THEM TOO.

Just like I blame that sissy ass buck-broken clown (I don't have respect for that punk) who all but won the Governor's race but sat up there and LET DeSantis and the Republicans CHEAT him out of the election through their usual racist fraud and suppression tactics.
Listening to those racist White Democrats advising him -the nigga didn't even fight back.
He just took it up the ass (literally I guess) and conceded without so much as a challenge. 


.....tired of letting these sorry ass negroes off the hook.

Actually THEY are more to blame that the White folks.
I can't blame White folks for trying to secure as much power and authority as they can.  That's COMMON SENSE.
At some point I'm going ot have to look at my own people and wonder why so many of US aren't even interested in trying to do the same thing!
 

It's not common sense. They are racists. Moreover it's the system that has been put in place over time. Its wrong. Furthermore it goes beyond teaching history in school.

On 2/16/2023 at 6:40 PM, Pioneer1 said:

Proposed by whom....and rejected by whom?

Should we be surprised when an enemy....especially a historic one...rejects something that benefits us?
 

There are nearly 50 million (or more) AfroAmericans in the United States and most speak some form of Ebonics or another.
Who in the hell has the power to reject it if WE say it should be codified and established as an official language or dialect?

Negroes need to grow a pair and stop waiting on White mommy or daddy to give them permission to be human 

Slang and Ebonics if that's really a thing are fine in certain situations, but not everywhere all the time among ourselves or dealing with whites. We are more than capable of speaking standard English. Why get into some kind of symbolic struggle over making Ebonics standard? It's a distraction from bigger more important issues.

8 hours ago, Janeer said:

It seems that soon will be a new protests  with thousands of people.

I hope you're right. 

3 hours ago, Jaboris said:

Jobs, housing, ecenomic opportunities, and education systems are all failing because of the incompetence, laziness and general thug culture prevelant within alot of our black communities 

There may be something to having a smaller more well off black population rather than lots of blacks many of them living in concentrated poverty. But if you have less racism, poverty, and more opportunity then you can have thriving black communities like Prince George's County Maryland.

On 2/13/2023 at 7:44 PM, Stefan said:

Democrats in Texas fought against Governor Greg Abbott's restrictions against voting and lost. They even left the state to avoid arrest. They staged a walkout, voiced their outrage and encouraged the writing of protest letters. 

To no avail. 

What the hell do you expect Black elected legislators from other states to do? If a law is passed in Texas and this is appealed to a higher court, then we have to wait on a decision from that higher court.

Black activists, church officials and lawyers in other states will have little affect except to bring attention to an issue. But you can do that yourself by highlighting the issue online as I did. 

Too many Black people care more about celebrities, music and fashion than the overall state of Blacks in the U.S. 

 

You make a good point about the kinds of things some black people care about. I have wondered why black people don't launch a mass movement to fight against racism and economic exploitation. Then I thought about the ways in which black people and society are different from the 1960s. It's more difficult to get large numbers of blacks together to fight for concrete change

Some black people benefit more from the status quo today than even the most well off blacks in previous generations. Lastly, black people are more separated by class and neighborhood than ever. So it's easy to understand how and why reactionary extremists like Abbott in Texas and De Santis in Florida are not effectively challenged.

On 2/12/2023 at 9:14 AM, Pioneer1 said:

Kenneth

Is it that we have NO leaders in the AfroAmerican community....or is it that the WRONG people are leading?

 

I think it's both. In some places there is little or no activism and elected officials are not responsive to the masses. In some cases you have activism but no real mass organizing. Meanwhile elected officials are making an effort but they fail short for various reasons.

I would say my local community fits into the former scenario. The next largest city in my native state with a much larger black population fits into the latter.

11 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

So we SHOULD expect to see massive protests with HUNDREDS of thousands of Black folks in both Austin and Tallahassee demanding the resignation of both of these racist governors.

Right?

That's what would happen if AfroAmericans collectively had GOOD SENSE.

Unfortunately most Black folks in both of those states don't give a damn about the academic curriculum or anything else involved in politics and racial issues.
Most of them are so busy wrapped up in their own personal drama that they are as far removed from this issue as any White person and could care less about it.

Infact, unfortunately a larger percentage are only concerned with getting high and having a good time....until.

It's simply OVER for a lot of our people.
Those of us who are righteous and intelligent....those of our people who can be saved....must SEPARATE ourselves and form our own communities and let whatever may...COME...to the masses.

I don't think it's about resignations or the curriculum. Diversity Equity Inclusion efforts impact recruitment, funding, and contracting. These things have a concrete impact on us. Nobody gets fired up to do anything if there is no agitation. That depends on leadership. I fear that is what we lack in many black communities. 

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

These prejudiced Governors of Texas and Florida respectively are directly attacking Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). 

 

Interestingly, these governors are not being challenged by their colleagues and constituents within their home state. 

 

I'm sure there are minorities working at the local and state level who are either affected by and/or have benefitted from these initiatives. 

 

Yet, with every news story clearly showing how these governors are determined to roll America back 100 years, there is no massive protest state-wide or nationally. 

 

I wonder why....

 

Please don't tell me it's because citizens are afraid they will be injured or killed. 

 

Otherwise, silence is either acceptance or complicity or both.

 

We as black people along with white supporters are caught up in symbolism or merely reacting to the most blatant racism like the killing of Tyre Nichols.

By symbolism I mean protests over Confederate monuments or outrage over microaggressions like something said or posted on social media. We are focused on the 1619 Project and related controversies.

Then there are the police killings whether it's George Floyd and Breonna Taylor or now Tyre Nichols. Of course we should be outraged and demanding justice 

We have to think and act more broadly than symbolic jestures or reacting to blatant racism. We must challenge public policies or the lack thereof. It is important to confront powerful corporations too. These political and economic institutions are what systemic racism is all about. They should be the targets of street protests, boycotts, civil disobedience, negative publicity, and lobbying by blacks and white supporters. 

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

No surprise. How the money gets spent shows the priorities.

 

The taxpayers should be protesting if they don't agreee with how their tax dollars are being spent. 

You both are right on target to point these things out.  We need a politics, mass struggle, and consciousness that doesn't tolerate this kind of situation.

There is always an economic dimension to racism and Slavery was its manifestation from the 16th to late 19th century = Brazil abolished Slavery in 1888.  But think of the ways in which black labor is overrepresented in low paying unskilled least desirable and dangerous work to benefit a white corporate elite. While I'm not a Socialist I strongly believe class matters. It is as important as race.

22 hours ago, ProfD said:

Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by 5 black former Memphis police officers.

 

Word is for 3 minutes, those 5 ex-cops beat that 29-year old man like a "human piñata". We'll see the video soon. 

 

The whole ordeal stemmed from a traffic stop. Tyre's family says the only reason he tried to run away is because he was scared.

 

No matter how eccentric an individual might appear to be, if they're nonviolent, there's no reason for police officers to abuse them. 

 

Police officers have plenty ways of catching up with a fleeing nonviolent suspect too. Let them go. Eat donuts and wait for them to show up at the crib. 

 

Police officers are sworn to serve and protect citizens. They have had a false sense of authority since the war on drugs.

 

Police officers shooting and beating nonviolent folks is excessive force or worse...murder. Those 5 clowns need to go to prison. 

 

You're absolutely right. There's no reason why a routine traffic stop should have ended with that man's death. What were those officers thinking if anything at all. American law enforcement has got to be the most violent in the Western world. 

But it goes to show that having black people in positions of power and authority doesn't guarantee justice or benefit black people individually or collectively. The Police Chief in Memphis is a black woman named C.J. Davis. Representation doesn't mean a thing. 

Thanks for posting this link regarding the Project for New American Century. It was as disturbing as it was insightful. We need to be concerned about foreign policy and politics. Black people cannot afford to disengage just focusing on self improvement and entrepreneurship alone.

We need to be sophisticated in our advocacy and voting to challenge politicians and elites committed to endless war and regime change. Furthermore we need to challenge our young people to rethink the notion that the military is a means of self improvement and economic opportunity.

The United States has ruined things in places like Iraq and Libiya through military intervention. We need to make sure that support for Ukraine against Russia doesn't escalate into a wider war that involves the US and NATO as well.  Foreign policy is a black issue because the military is full of young black people who will be disproportionate casualties in any war.

As for your initial concern about war with Iran we need black and progressive voices to call for change. I'm no expert but here's what I think :

1. Ease sanctions against Iran and revive the Obama era nuclear deal. 

2. Encourage peace and reconciliation between Shiite Iran and its largely Sunni Arab neighbors like Saudi Arabia which will ease tensions and lessen conflict.

3. Make it clear to Israel that the US opposes preemptive force against Iran and that American financial and military aid will be adversely affected by attacking Iran. 

We need to speak out against heated rhetoric by politicians of both parties that exacerbates conflict.

6 minutes ago, Cynique said:

@KENNETH Was journalism your original field?  You are an excellent writer; a concise critical thinker 

It was Communication with a minor in Pan African Studies. Thanks so much for the compliment its very encouraging.

11 hours ago, Cynique said:

Is this speech by Booker T. Washington the one that motivated President Theodore Roosevelt to invite him to the White House?  Didn't  W.E.B. Du Bois the other famous black spokesman of that era oppose many of the stances Booker T. Washington took on race. Some historians have compared the relationship between the radical Du Bois and the moderate Washington to the one between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.  

 

 

@KENNETHwhat an interesting resume. Did you get disillusioned by the confinement of college and the chaos of activism, and now prefer to immerser yourself in the ranks of the proletariat?  Or do you supervise the labor force, something your past experiences qualified you to do?  

I married a sista who had two small children and we had two more together. Working in different jobs often low paid service positions and a couple of professional jobs making ends meet and having a family quickly pushed aside protest activism. 

8 hours ago, Troy said:

Kenneth how old are you?

 

yes he built a successful black school that is still churning out educated people with valuable skills to this day. 

 

Given the period he operated the last thing the white power establishment wanted was educated black peoples. 
 

an amazing legacy and accomplishment.

 

 Contrast that with today, in a much less hostile environment we have Dr. Umar

 

 

 

Troy sorry I didn't get back to you earlier.  I am 54 years old.  I'm a factory worker. In college and as a young adult I was involved in activism and protest for racial and social justice. 

It wasn't really about self reliance or independence  Booker T. Washington was trying help black people survive in a hostile violent social setting. He and his white audience knew most black people didn't own land or a business and never would. The lack of resources and violent white opposition prevented that.

Washington helped himself and black people by stopping black protest and any criticism of Southern whites treatment of blacks by Northern whites. He knew that and white people did too. After the violent suppression of Reconstruction and its attempts at legal equality for blacks, whites in neither section of the country were supportive of racial justice.

They wanted tranquility and commerce with each other. Any demand for black rights like the struggles by unions and agrarian populist for economic justice had to be repressed. Booker T. Washington was brilliant hard working former slave who built a successful black school. He was just what the white power establishment needed to shut blacks up about rights and equality. 

I can't get on board with his rhetoric, but I completely understand it. Survival and making the most of hopelessness is what we have always done. But regard Washington with a critical eye.

39 minutes ago, Troy said:

 

Kenneth, are you implying that what Whoopie said was anti-Semitic? 

 

I have a slightly different take on what @ProfD is saying.  I don't think when should be "indifferent" to the plight of other groups.  We can learn from, sympathize with, and even support other groups, but our first priority has to be our people. 

 

As a Black man promoting Black culture through books, when people are people start talking about "diversity" in this context it is not the same thing and in many cases undermines the advocacy of Black people.  "Diversity" has come to mean everyone except cisgender white men, who are not impoverished or addicted to drugs.  Any "diversity" effort purporting to support Black people is just as likely to support white women.

 

AALBC profiles Jewish writers, as many have had a significant and profoundly positive impact on Black people.   But of the 6,000 authors profiled on the site, less than 1/10 of 1% are Jewish; 98% are Black.  Black people are my first priority, Jewish writers have a great number of resources to promote their work and to tell their stories.  

 

Black people are the ones in desperate need of support and we should be our first and best supporters so that when others want to lend a hand we can more easily identify agent provocateurs and others who would undermine us deliberately or unintentionally.

More than anything I think she was being inconsiderate and unwise.

I agree with you that we have to be strong and independent doing for ourselves I don't mean to imply here or in my post on unity that such efforts are not vital. However we should not be insular or so self absorbed that we become ignorant or indifferent.  Being aware and cooperating with others can go a long way in benefitting us. 

22 minutes ago, ProfD said:

AfroAmericans should be indifferent about antisemitism and any other issues concerning white folks that have little or nothing to do with reparations for America's original sin of slavery. 

I disagree for two reasons 

1.  You will have to go through the democratic process to get Reparations so we cannot be indifferent to issues and concerns of others if we are to build support for things we want.

2. A threat to anyone else's freedom and well-being in America is not good for our prospects either.

7 minutes ago, ProfD said:

Black unity is not about tyranny or marginalizing or mistreating any other group of people. Live and let live.

 

Black unity and power is about being self-sufficient in all areas of human activity and dismantling the system of racism white supremacy. 

It is a means to an end for black people as much as a goal. However nobody is perfect individually or collectively. We must aspire to help all black people not just certain ones. Moreover we have to engage and hold each other accountable while challenging systemic racism. I don't see any of this as a choice either or. We must be specific and broad to do both.

On 7/10/2022 at 10:09 AM, Greg said:

Statistics clearly show that Blacks commit about 60% of all violent crime in America despite them being 14% of the population. Why is this? No family structure and a community that condones young girls having babies. 
Other minorities that come to this country without money and without speaking our language still surpass blacks. Its amazing !!!! 
Maybe black women need to find a moral compass and black men have to stop committing violent crime and serious drug offenses?? I think so !

Lets stop making excuses and start acting like mature adults. By the way, using some big words doesnt do anything either. We need to take personal responsibility. Lets stop blaming white people especially since they invented almost everything that makes our lives better.

Here's the thing about race and crime : 

When it comes to blacks and whites committing crime in large numbers we never focus solely on policing and punishment for whites. In their case that is only one component and people know it's limited. We focus on finding and eliminating root causes which often involves social, economic, and political reforms.

However for black crime the response is foremost about policing and punishing. There's also an emphasis to some degree on moralizing with exhortations to self help and personal responsibility. What this systemically racist and economically unjust society doesn't do is remedy the social and economic conditions the poorest blacks inhabit. For us it's all about poliice and prison.

Think about it this way black people learned about Anti Semitism from whites while Jews who are white adopted the anti black ideology of white gentiles. Nevermind that whites dominate an unjust social, economic, and political system that undermines both blacks and Jews in albeit different ways.

Jews have are rightly concerned about Anti Semitism and we as black people experiencing racism should be more sensitive and aware not to play into this thing against Jews. Of  course the same goes with racism on their part as well.

10 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

You can't compare racism to "homophobia".

Most of what they call "homophobia" is quite natural; while most forms of racism aren't and goes against the natural order of things.

For example.....

It's natural for a man to find the thought of another man tongue kissing him or jamming a penis into his anus disgusting.
It's NOT natural for a person to get "disgusted" at seeing a Black man with a White woman, they have to be taught and almost brainwashed from a young age to see this as wrong in order to find it disgusting.

If black unity and ultimately black liberation are only about securing power, privilege, and the well being of straight black cisgendered men than there's nothing to stop elite blacks from exploiting or being tyrants over other black people. Not to mention the injustices and mistreatment heaped on black women and black LGBTQ people. 

We are not perfect because of our blackness or experience of racial injustice. If we don't recognize that then we will replace white racism  with black tyranny in any kind of liberated social, economic, or political setting. Look no further for proof of this than the all the authoritarianism that has characterized so much of sub Saharan Africa since the end of colonialism.  Look at the strife and instability in Haiti. 

It never ceases to amaze me how black people talk bad about Jews and oppose immigrants yet we don't fight back nearly enough against the systemic racism and economic injustice presided over by rich white male Gentiles. 

5 hours ago, Delano said:

@KENNETHI feel that racism sexism and homophobia are all an attempt to hide a fear of unworthiness. The object of derision is attractive and has a power of the subject. So in order to balance that dynamic the subject tries to control or hinder the object. So Blacks were allowed to compete in sports not because they are inferior. It is the same with women in business, my best managers were women that could utilise their masculine and feminine qualities. I had one male manager that could do that as well. 

 

The object has a power over the subject , which creates a cognitive dissonance. You can see that when a brother's words or unsuccessful with a woman she is demoted. From an object of affection to one of derision. I feel this dynamic is in play on many different levels.

5 hours ago, Delano said:

@KENNETHI feel that racism sexism and homophobia are all an attempt to hide a fear of unworthiness. The object of derision is attractive and has a power of the subject. So in order to balance that dynamic the subject tries to control or hinder the object. So Blacks were allowed to compete in sports not because they are inferior. It is the same with women in business, my best managers were women that could utilise their masculine and feminine qualities. I had one male manager that could do that as well. 

 

The object has a power over the subject , which creates a cognitive dissonance. You can see that when a brother's words or unsuccessful with a woman she is demoted. From an object of affection to one of derision. I feel this dynamic is in play on many different levels.

Does that mean that conflict and unjust power relationships grow of the so called oppressor's own feelings of inadequacy?