Mel Hopkins

I hope (and believe) this generation of boys can figure this out for themselves. Because too many generations in the past have brainwashed them into thinking they are good for nothing. Those who don't know their strengths aren't necessarily physical will always fail themselves, the Black community, and ultimately society. Custodial mothers, fathers, and even two-parent households who are wise enough to know what we don't know have reached out for help from those in the know. (not opinion-givers) And we have educated our children, especially boys, to know physical strength isn't enough in a society that requires intellect and problem-solving. Those children are our communities' success stories. Still, civilization requires Hypermasculinity coupled with hyperintellectuality in battle. And as history shows, it can occur in any sex when necessary and as needed. Sankofa. If you don't know your history, go back and retrieve it. Check out Nyabinghi. We, as a species, adapt to our environment for survival. It doesn't require anyone's approval. Those who don't adapt perish. The last woman Dahomey warrior died in 1979. According to historical records, Dahomey's army fought against colonization until 1892, that was about 200+ years of women and men fighting off European colonization. When the French colonized them, they made sure to subjugate women. Because subjugating women is an Anglo thing. Because - No Nation Can Rise Higher Than Its Women.

When I suggested "WritingBlack" I thought it would be a great companion to ReadingBlack. There are quite a few of us that read and write too. Now, TheGrio has a podcast with the same name. So unless @Troy created an affiliate, The Grio's Writing Black is a separate entity.

In general, Black women and Black men work towards freedom together. Statistics (numbers) and Labels (reporting agencies like HHR, CDC, Census et al) have data to support our unified movement. However. our “feelings” tell a different story. Feelings make people behave contrary to the own well-being. Consider some men who “feel” inadequate and leave or hurt their families Just recently, a Black women, mother of six was murdered by her children’s father Raymond Thompson. He told Philadelphia authorities he believed she was cheating on him. He allowed his emotions to cloud his mind and stabbed her more than 18 times while she sat in the car with him. She had a restraining order against him but her family said she wanted to continue building a home with him and their six daughters. I just added the father’s name because she wasn’t the only mother of 6 in Philly murdered recently. Sadly, reporting agencies ( Justice Department / CDC), also state, per capita, Black women are more likely to be killed by their Black spouses/ partners than any other ethnic group. Whereas intimate partner murders rank 1 - 1.4 out of 100,000 for other groups, Black and First Nation women rank 4.4 - 4.3 per 100,000, respectively. Also noted. possibly by surviving family members, Black women rarely report domestic violence most likely to keep Black men out of the prison system. So, no matter how we “feel” about unity between Black women and men, the numbers show Black women are “ride and/or die” when it comes to Black men.

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Amerie pens a children's literature book, “You Will Do Great Things," illustrated by Raissa Figueroa, under the imprint, Roaring Brooks Press, published by Macmillan Books. Publication expected date 03/282023. ISBN: 9781250817020 Hardcover price; $18.99 The Host and founder of Amerie' Book Club on YouTube gives a sneak peek. #readwithamerie #ameriesbookclub

Thank you for the tag @Delano i tend not to think about such things unless I’m writing. When I write, all the cosmic “truths” reveal themselves. I think this is probably why I tend to procrastinate instead of write. In short, we know everything - we’ve simply convinced ourselves we “know nothing.”. I likened this denial to a line from The Matrix To paraphrase quote “You’re not here to make a choice. You already have. You’re here to understand why you’ve made the choice.” I believe when we try to analyze the tangible with intangible”. - It’s a mind f-ck we perform to keep us in the state of plausible deniability. Probably why we created “God” to scapegoat. also: @Cynique you remind me of the Oracle.

greg consistently does this one thing and it confirmed my suspicion early on that he's a white nationalist in a digital blackface. greg writes white with an uppercase "W" and Black with a lowercase "b." Black people wrote Black in uppercase long before it appeared in the AP style guide. So, if this were a game of poker, that would be his tell.

DeFi Understanding decentralized finance exchanges Coinbase and Cashapp are DeFi (Decentralized Finance)-adjacent cryptocurrency exchanges. These exchanges are connected to the internet; you can link your traditional bank accounts to them to buy coins and even cash out into dollars. BUT the platforms must report any transaction to the IRS and your digital currencies are at risk of hacking, By its very nature, exchange platforms are no different from depository banks. EXCEPT your dollars are insured but not your "digital assets." If you are only buying coins, any digital asset, because you think they are going up in price, you'll lose. The "invisible hand" that moves the crypto market has extremely deep pockets causing extreme volatility. At least, the U.S. central bank is controlled by the FEDERAL RESERVE. The Feds control the monetary policy on the U.S. <-IF You don't understand centralized banking - I'm sure you won't understand decentralized finance markets. So study up! So why do you need a cold storage wallet? You need a wallet to store your authentic cryptocurrency transactions. Instead of "trading dollars for digital currency," most peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trades are for goods and services. Think about Russia's new law? Why would this ban come up now? You can trade cryptocurrency for anything and can cash out anonymously. (This will take a lot of maneuvers, but it can be done) A cold storage wallet secures your private key. A key, in this context, is a secret number used in cryptography and cryptocurrency. The key protects digital currency, NFTs, et al. Cold Wallets are noncustodial and NOT connected to the internet. There are a lot of hardware storage wallet manufacturers, So I'd give the side-eye to anything built by Mark Zuckerberg. Still, cold storage wallets are better than hot storage because there's less chance of hacking. However, storing digital assets in a cold wallet requires the owner to be extremely careful. It is easy to lose or damage a cold wallet and even easier to lose access to your private key. A simple internet search will reveal stories of owners "physically" losing both. And if you lose either one, you lose ALL YOUR ASSETS, and there's no getting it back. Still want to get into Crypto? Suppose you still want to make money in digital currencies. In that case, the best route is to build your own decentralized application(s) or invest in a dApp startup. dApp companies are the "gold rush" shovels of the digital assets craze. I'm an equity shareholder in one such Black-owned fabless semiconductor company that has a proprietary patented cold storage wallet and NFT Ethereum-web-based application. If you want to invest, message me your email address, and I'll add you to the company's mailing list.

While I don’t believe the official 9/11 report, I feel we are all complicit in what it takes to be a “superpower”

Yes. I tend to believe someone is always on the cusp of dropping science. Now I see those days are long gone. Many have given up their power. It is clear a lot of people want to be stupid. “When people show you who they are believe them.” I’ll add “when people display their “aggressive ignorance,” step back, stop talking.

Sadly Twin, you’re right. Folks are letting Fox media do their thinking.

Delusion: 1a: something that is falsely or delusively believed or propagated WHERE’S YOUR EVIDENCE! WHERE ARE THE FACTS, FIGURES, DATES, EXECUTIVE ORDERS, LEGISLATION that will support your assumption?, Surprise me with something factual. So far all you have is another a baseless opinion.

Guilty! Blame it on my love of learning! Human perspective is the true super power. “No one is as smart as all of us!”

I only want to test the apple program. You know I like to go straight to the source for my investigations. lol. My first distribution choice to sell my books is through my website and AALBC.

You made the false equivalence statement the topic of this thread. You wrote, "Biden makes America unaffordable for Blacks," then attributed it to the federal reserve rate and inflation. Both of these statements are false. So let me help you with your "argument" - Somehow, you got it in your head - 45's policies are better for Black Americans. If this is your statement - then you sound like a member of CULT 45. Let me share with you how government works. We elect people to work for us. We don't need to love them or even like them. They aren't our friends. We hire them for what they know and how their knowledge will benefit us. And as my mom says, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating and tasting." When 45* took office, Black Americans were finally doing well financially, physically, and in some cases, mentally -thanks to the policies of The Obama Administration. By the end of Trump's criminal enterprise masquerading as a presidential, Black Americans were once again circling the drain in all areas where the Obama Administration helped us gain. I grew up in NYC, and I know Trump was never a statesman or a legislator. -His business practices are shady -and he makes money by running businesses into the ground. He exploited social programs earmarked for the impoverished to enrich himself and his friends. One such program is the so-called opportunity zone. In Georgia, Sean Hannity helped himself to Opportunity Zone property thanks to his connection to then HUD Secretary Ben Carson. "Hannity, a former talk-radio host in Atlanta who has become one of the nation's most popular television and radio conservative commentators, has amassed a real-estate portfolio worth about $90 million, most of it rental homes in Georgia and six other states. HUD, the agency that Carson now heads, guaranteed about $22 million in loans on two of Hannity's apartment complexes in Georgia." Provide proof of how 45* policies helped Black people - if not. I'll consider this topic "false" and moot.

I agree. Back when am*zon started their affiliates program , they mentioned an am*zon author would get an automatic yes. Back in the beginning (2006) they made it easy for authors to gain fees from selling their own books. I'm going to publish an digital book and upload to apple - and see if they invite me into the affiliate program. I'll share what I learn. note2self: am*zon am*zon am*zon