ProfD

Brotha @frankster, I'd imagine you’ll jump off the merry-go-round at some point but let me type that it's entertaining as h8ll from the sidelines.

Totally understood. The real world aka life always comes first. Gotta handle that business. Hopefully you'll have free time to clown around with us in 2024.

IMO, Black leadership will not come from folks in the business of entertainment or religion. The paper chase has Black entertainers, athletes, clergy folks and politicians doing whatever it takes to get paid and enjoy their lives. It will take a grassroots effort to develop AfroAmerican leadership. Then, we'd be in a better position to hold our folks accountable and call them out on their greed, corruption and other BS. The dominant society uses all types of tools and dysfunction among people to maintain the system of racism white supremacy.

Glad you decided to check in on the family.

I was a voracious reader several decades ago until I became a musician. While I haven't read a novel in a very long time, I still read a lot. Mainly for knowledge and information. As technology has expanded into various forms of entertainment, I can imagine that fewer folks read books now. There's no shortage of cable TV, internet, video games, social activities, sporting events, etc., keeping folks occupied. If there's an upside, books are plentiful and super cheap nowadays for those so inclined to read.

See my comment above about Democrats and voters.

Yep. She definitely kept it a buck in her house. Wasn't mean or nasty or rolling her head either.

Despite being replaced as a voter block, none of that will make Black folks look at the Democratic party sideways. More of our people need to start thinking about forming an independent political party . This current setup isn't working for Black folks at all.

Considering the number of fruit balls and bussy bandits running around in churches nowadays, those rituals might be really weird.

Pastor Manning is living proof that Black men are not overly violent. Otherwise, his azz would have been in the dirt a long time ago.

There's a reason Puffy's parties aren't held at a mega-church. No Gospel music either.

Regardless of age, a *man* of God has zero business at a Puffy party. Women are attracted to men with power because it appears to be an extension of a man being a provider and protector (strength). Power enables men to get women who may not be interested in them otherwise. Freedom. Unfettered access to that nappy dugout is the main reason men pursue money and power especially if they're naturally unattractive. Black men never have a problem expressing theielr desires and getting s8x. The most broke n8gglet can get a woman. They can share a chicken box with fries and drink or smoke something and f8ck all night long.

The reality is that today's *Black* mayors aren't cut from the same cloth as men like Marion Barry and Coleman Young. Factor in that some of these folks are tethers instead of AfroAmericans and their ineffectiveness makes even more sense.

I think he posted up his chair in the same spot that handicapped folks park wheel chairs. It doesn't block anyone else's view. That would have been a more reasonable accommodation than calling police. The outcry would have been far worse had he been in the alphabet soup community.

There's less profit in death. In a capitalistic society, It's more lucrative to keep people alive and medicated until their bodies can no longer take it.

Euthanasia would be more humane than bring murdered violently.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2023/12/29/homicides-see-historic-decline-in-2023-despite-perceptions-that-crime-is-on-the-rise/ Murders have dropped by 10% across many major US cities. Hopefully, this downward trend will continue into the future. Let folks die of natural causes or incurable diseases. There's really no need to speed up the process. In the meantime, there is no shortage of issues to tackle with any potential savings in law enforcement, hospitalization and incarceration.

Excellent question brotha @frankster. It's all good. We know the dealy-o. Awaiting a response to your question.

The biggest difference is Dr. West wasn't getting a salary of $900k per year. Otherwise, I can imagine it looks/feels good believing these folks respect the credentials until they find a reason to kick that azz to the curb.

I'll defer to Troy and Delano to give their NY perspective. However, from a bottom up perspective, through Jazz, Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll, Soul, Funk etc., AfroAmericans either created or heavily influenced all music produced in the 20th century to present. Reggae and Afrobeats were was inspired by AfroAmerican music. Bob Marley was heavily influenced by Motown,Doo Wop & R&B groups of the 1960s. Hip-Hop music was built on breakbeats from Funk and Soul records. Of couse, music producers went on to sample everything else musically. Hip-Hop rapping started with AfroAmericans like Gil Scott-Heron and Oscar Brown Jr. well before the Last Poets and Hip-Hop MCs co-opted it. As an aside, it's a known fact that white folks stole the Blues from AfroAmericans to create Rock music. The dominant society will always do whatever they can to strip AfroAmericans of their inventions and contributions or give credit to someone else. That's why it's important for AfroAmericans to codify and control their own sh8t especially when it comes to wealth-building intellectual property...inheritance.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2024/01/02/claudine-gay-resigns-from-harvard-why-black-excellence-is-never-enough/ While Dr. Claudine Gay seemingly survived congressional inquiry into her handling of war protests on the campus of Harvard University, she ultimately resigned under intense scrutiny from the white court of public opinion. Unsatisfied that Dr. Gay wasn't fired after the congressional inquiry, white folks went after her academic record claiming plagiarism in her writings. I find it hard to believe Dr. Gay's credentials were not verified prior to white folks allowing her to become president of one of America's most prestigious universities. White supremacy usually breaks its tools when they no longer find them useful. Dr. Gay's resignation is a clear example of it. Dr. Gay will remain on the faculty of Harvard. Apparently, the plagiarism charges don't keep her from teaching. She'll just have to move to a smaller office on campus for now. I don't know how many AfroAmerican students Dr. Gay was able to get admitted into Harvard during her short tenure. However, I do believe Dr. Gay could use this situation as a stepping stone to leading an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). An HBCU should be place that will welcome someone with Dr. Gay's credentials with open arms providing that she wants to be there. We'll have to wait and see how comfortable Dr. Gay is with being demoted over some sh8t that she had zero control.

By design, most Black mayors are limited in what they can do for other Black folks within their communities.

Vivek Ramaswamy's 15 minutes of fame will expire soon. He didn't make the cut for the CNN debate. His poll numbers are in single digits. Ramaswamy may have put enough soundbites on tape for former POTUS to consider him for a cabinet level position in charge of whatever agency he wants to abolish. Still amazing the amount of money these people *waste* running for public office. Seems they could help a lot more people instead of burning through like paper.

Rumors about Puffy have been swirling around for many years. Timing of the ramp up is interesting. Right after Keefe D gets arrested for the murder of 2Pac, Puffy is getting sued and rumors about his lifestyle come up. A lot of weird stuff happens in the entertainment industry. Some religious figures are entertainers too.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/29/rev-william-barber-ii-amc-theaters-to-change/72057398007/ Rev. William Barber walks with two canes and has his own personal chair to sit. Last week, Rev. Barber took his 90-year old mother to see The Color Purple movie. Rev. Barber brings his chair into the movie theater as a reasonable accommodation. Yet, some goofy azz movie theater employees take exception and call the cops. The po-po escorted Rev. Barber out of the movie theater. Considering Rev. Barber was in his home state of North Carolina, clearly, these people should have known him. He's only the most prominent civil rights activist there. The CEO of AMC definitely knows Rev. Barber's work. He quickly issued and apology and wants to have a meeting for damage control, er, to clear up any misunderstanding. Whether there is a lawsuit or not, a few crash dummy employees will lose their jobs after potentially costing their employer a few million dollars. The police department has some explaining to do as well. This story ain't over yet.