Mel Hopkins

Actually, I should have written Americas and since the native americans (mexico, canada and u.s.) are said to be from south asia , it would make sense to look at the information already in studies to see the migration patterns between Asia and Africa also if early humans were mostly matrilineal tribes then it stands to reason why today we trace migration patterns through the mtDNA. The mitochondrial DNA doesn't mutate that often. Allegedly my mtDNA is found in a haplogroup that is 80,000-104,000 years old traced back to east africa and ethiopians. So if there was a way to find the "african" origin of Asians (there is by the way - they came from my clade) then we can begin with the women in those groups to the first women in the new haplogroup... we could learn their language and religion -and then find out where they separated... So far, the mtDNA tells us that my foremother remained in east africa but my "daughters" crossed over into yemen to begin a new group (euroasians)... Still that doesn't give us the what their early community looked like - how they met up with the neanderthals et al ... because what anthropologist have reveal thus far, is those of us who remained in Africa didn't meet or mate with neanderthals but those who left out of Africa did...

@Kalexander2 maybe if we'd start here in America and look at migration patterns http://www.indigenous-americans.com/

@Chevdove. I read this earlier and had an epiphany, a coming to jesus meeting and experienced nirvana - all in that order. Thank you. Please keep in mind, I'm not saying your feelings and experience aren't valid, but what I'm about to write is based on my journey. And because of what you expressed, I can see now what I missed. From my perspective, the only difference I see between men and women are their goals. Successful opposite sex relationships arise from the two being goal mates. For example, If the mates' goal is to ensure the success of their offspring, then they will do everything together that is necessary to make that happen. You've written that black women were your oppressor but could they have also been your savior? What were their goals for you? You mentioned in a follow up " Did they hope that you would do more than be a mother and caregiver for the next generation? Did you go through your academic and professional experiences with the goal to be a mother and caregiver? (Hypothetical question, because although I have a fabulous professional life but I went through hell and high-water to raise my girls. They came first because raising powerful women was my goal. My ex-husband had the same goal - we just had different goals for marriage . (20-20 hindsight speaking, here). My ex-husband is german-french ancestry because right up until I met him; men of african ancestry had been "my oppressor." - I realized from reading your response - that was a lie I told myself. They weren't my oppressor -they just weren't my savior. If we're looking for a savior - chances are we're going to find a lot more folks looking to be saved. And they will most likely break our hearts. But I digress. I was heart "broken" by the time I met my first love, a black man. Up until him; I was a "player" in a game that was set up against women - but I didn't care because my heart wasn't in it. It wasn't my goal to be someone's property. It was my goal to... I actually had no goals. Coming to someone broken is a heavy load for the other to carry - especially when they may be broken too. We are so much like sheep - we hide our wounds in an effort to not be vulnerable - but we expect someone to care for our wounds that they can't see. I remained "broken" but expert at hiding my wounds. So anyone that wasn't like the one who didn't "save" me - was the hero. All this to say, we are all broken... no one is an oppressor ... We're just a bunch of broken vigilantes instigating and carrying out a bunch of mini-battles since the dawn of time- we are the anti-christ, the beast. This, I believe, is why the idea of a supernatural savior and the idea of a supernatural energy called LOVE is so appealing. We can access it but first we have to stop lying to ourselves about who the real enemy is. $0.02

@Kalexander2, I've read, (Pioneer- wait for it, wait for it Peter Drucker's "managing oneself" and he says the best way to learn something is to teach it. I'm learning so thank you. Speaking of which, @Pioneer1 and @Cynique offered answers to the question I barely formulated. From their insight, I believe If we can trace the earliest use of language AND religion practiced by a group we can determine their origin and migration of a people. I'm sure there are quite of few cultural anthropologists who know this but they've probably put their findings in a book - and the media gatekeepers have hidden it. . Friedan was speaking for and to women who were sheltered at the time and looking for a way to gain their independence. Specifically, those who, culturally speaking, hadn't found their way into the workforce. The majority of black women in America had been in the workforce since slavery - there was no need for us to find our way into the labor force - most of us were already there. The message wasn't for black women. One thing, I've learned as a journalist and marketer is "know your audience." While the West operates under the system of patriarchy - our struggles are similar but not the same.

I will defer to your assessment, @Pioneer1 according to our DNA we traveled as tribes and like every other animal on the planet - we followed the water... I also agree with Cynique - WHEN did we become two or maybe more distinct groups of blacks? Also, how and why did we change physically. Also language, as @Cyniquepointed out, played a large part in our movement; as it does today. The antiquity of the Tuareg Women indicates they were a matrilineal tribe ( it may indicate some were the original Hebrews.) The men followed the women. Anthropologist report women and men lived separately - even after marriage. Surprisingly,  Today, some reports indicate their lifestyle hasn't changed. Also the Berbers were nomads then and today so if some converted to Islam it would make sense how it would spread. If I had a chance to go "home"...it would be fascinating to research these questions. Especially in the libraries in Addis Ababa (Aside: The Ethiopians and Egyptians are still at it lol) What is so sad as it is empowering is that we are having these conversations and doing the best to piece our origin story together. It seems that the " fire-stick-inventing-conquerors" know our origin and history - yet co-opted and white-washed for themselves even though they know it originated with the first group of modern humans . Or did it? Maybe this has been one long extraterrestrial battle for superiority that we brought to Earth like in the marvel comics ....

@Pioneer1 Remember, I'm not wedded to this description of the moors. For once I can't even debate lol. I'm still piecing together what I've seen in Europe, South America and even Asia as it relates to the "moors" and what I've read and am reading. You may have hit on something. It may be the wording. Consider this article , I stumbled upon... Essays by Ekowa <- Link http://www.essaysbyekowa.com/Black Briton.htm Here's an excerpt. Wherever there is man or civilization there is the Black man. Wherever we have planted our seed civilization took root. Europe was not exception African had populated the isle long before Europe / Europa took its name: Europa (Greek Ευρώπη) was a Phoenician [black] woman in Greek mythology, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The etymology of her name (ευρυ- "wide" or "broad" + οπ� "eye(s)" or "face")[2] suggests that Europa represented a lunar cow, at least at some symbolic level. Who was the Lunar Cow? According to Gerald Massey in his book ' A Book of Beginnings' to the Egyptian origins of the British Isles': He has evidence that Stonehenge, the most famous ancient monument in England, was built by a Negro architect, named Morien. [That is the name MOR or Moor came from the ancient Egyptian]. The word 'Moor' is derived from Latin 'Maures' meaning black. Here are a few derivations on that name: From the same root we derive: Maur, Maurus, Marra, Moro, Morisco, Mohr, Moritz, Moor, Moru, Maru, Morelo, Maureta, Mauretania, Morocco, Maurice, Morien, Morin, Moryan, Moreto, and so on.� The Oxford dictionary definition: "The Moors were," according to the Oxford English Dictionary, "commonly supposed to be mostly black or very swarthy, and hence the word is often used for Negro." Black Irish and the tide of Ignorance Well, that's white folks at it again . When you find a black man you ha to label him inferior instead of looking at the whole context and understanding he is the basis for you civilization and culture..... " *** I haven't had time to source the information - but it might be fascinating to find "Moors" was a description of people who later just wore the name like a badge of nobility.

@Pioneer1 The author of the article I referred to would disagree. He wrote that folks who believe your view are misinformed about the moors. My world travels also point to the fact, that moors were first in europe and then were conquered. This is why it is important to read books but also travel the world to see for yourself. Further, according to historical reports Moors existed all throughout europe and africa They left their stamp in architecture and practiced all types of religions included none at all. Also when you look at Queen's artifacts (sceptre jewels et al) its designs are straight out of the motherland. , Also there's this article in the guardian. "It was initially assumed that Cheddar Man had pale skin and fair hair, but his DNA paints a different picture, strongly suggesting he had blue eyes, a very dark brown to black complexion and dark curly hair. The discovery shows that the genes for lighter skin became widespread in European populations far later than originally thought – and that skin colour was not always a proxy for geographic origin in the way it is often seen to be today" Still, since none of us were there; I tend to go with scientific proof... although I can be swayed stories that fit the narrative I subscribed to - lol

YES! I was just reading a story about the Moors in Britain and ultimately this was the outcome. According to the story, the Germans conquered the dark-skinned British {Moors) and took their land. It is what it is. The Germans conquered the "Blackamoors" and we have who we have Queen Elizabeth II - German in the house of Windsor. And then came Meghan to marry the six in line to the throne. Maybe what we can't accomplish through war - we can accomplish in love. I didn't watch the Umar video - but what if he is right? What if black women begin to marry men who currently hold the seat of power? Meghan isn't the first black woman to marry into a German "royal" family.

Is this dude an angel or a walk-in who creates things for rich people to profit from? Oh wow, just wow. black people are from another planet.

@Pioneer1 Your neighborhood??? "This forum is also known as “Cyniques’ Corner,” named for our most important contributor. " Heh, Heh, heh....

@Delano , You're welcome!

"Introduced Species" comes to mind. I don't have the studies handy right now but with the introduction of transgender women on the team, means cisgender women will eventually become faster... As with every sport - athletes work to beat times not humans. Prior to transgender women on the women's track teams. I suspect women's race times was much lower. Now, standby sh*t is about to get real. This story reminded me of Kevin Hart racing a co-ed from LSU

@Troy LOL!!! I Follow Hashtags not people! Outside of the people I know in real life, I don't follow people unless they follow me and ALSO have engaging content. That personal minutiae , and words of wisdom most folks posts gets on my nerves too! And I hate that facebook owns instagram.

@Delano sure.

LOL! @Pioneer1 I haven't been absent from the discussion board - I've been blogging here and the other day, I posted something in the readingblack.com forum.

@Delano, I missed the nonsense, thank goodness! But then again I've spent the last month learning about blockchain, bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Also, I've been looking into consciousness and habits (remember the link you shared about Rupert Sheldrake) - I can really see from Sheldrake perspective how life is a series of habits - not necessarily, innate behavior. I'm glad you shared that ted talk. Anyway, if you're tiring of culture and economy please do visit us over at that readinglack.com forum!

Blockchain Technology may cause the next disruption in book-selling and "Put Authors At Center of Publishing Universe". Blockchain, the underpinnings of the bitcoin launched in 2009, "is a decentralized ledger of all transactions across a peer-to-peer network. Using this technology, participants can confirm transactions without a central authority. Potential applications include fund transfers, settling trades, voting and many other uses. " Source: PwC (see the infographic) As we all know, one of the centralized authorities in bookselling is an online retail store, namely Amazon. With blockchain technology, books will contain smart contracts between the author and publisher. Also spelled out in the block, will be subsidiary rights, payment etc, essentially cutting out the middlemen (maybe even bowker's isbn too! But I digress. From Publisher's weekly: So how would blockchain work for books? Basically, a digital book created in the blockchain holds both the text, and also all the terms of a book’s contract—referred to as a “smart contract”—including but not limited to commercial terms of sale (and even resale), author credit and other information. The Alliance of Indepedent Authors (ALLi) has published a white paper on blockchain for books. When a user purchases a blockchain book, the transaction is direct between author and reader—no middleman, like Amazon. The reader gets the text within an app. The text cannot be tampered with or transferred outside of the contract terms coded therein. And the author is paid immediately, with payments divvied up according to the smart contract—for example, the contract might call for 10% of the book's price to go the author’s publisher. And yes, payments are made in cryptocurrency directly to the authors “digital wallet.” By the way, this isn't years away; it is happening now with one of the first books launched in April at the London Book Fair. Also from Publisher's Weekly: Josef Marc, CEO of upstart blockchain publisher Publica, announced that the company had just gone live in the Google Play Store with author Sukhi Jutla’s Escape The Cubicle: Quit The Job You Hate. Without getting too technical, Publica offers the service to authors to crowdfund their publications through ICO (initial coin offerings). So who knows, maybe , @Troy will use a blockchain platform to publish authors and create AALBC tokens too? Decentralization is putting the power back into the hands of the people. For the times they are a-changin'.

Sorry? No, Thank you for sharing and getting "carried away" !!! This is awesome @Damani Congratulations!

Yep! Got up early and walked the canine late so I could see the ceremony! It was beautiful and they appear to be truly in love!

This sentiment is similar to what Kanye said about slavery being a choice -

Exactly, why I chose not to talk about the video! I did watch it once on twitter out of curiosity . I wanted to know what all the fuss was about - Once I saw it, I thought nothing to see here move along. It wasn't sharing anything that I didn't already know. Further, I'm not impressed by Donald Glover's work. @Pioneer1 's discussion of the video allowed me to revisit the role of art - but the video, meh. @Troy Maybe at the Black Pack Party 2018 but shoot up black books . Then in perfect "Coyote Ugly" style, dance on the bar top. Next send it to the Coretta Scott King Awards committee members and also have someone post it to twitter and facebook with the hashtag #readingblack.com

The irony of this article dated May 7, 2018 appearing here as a post is that I believe it was inspired by awesomelyluvvie article - dated April 17, 2018 - Still, It drives home the point that unless a black woman's feelings are echoed by a woman of non-color - then those words are just another "fart in the blizzard." Further, tears of woman of non-color are assigned as the attributes of all women especially black women. And if we don't cry at the drop of a hat then we are labeled Angry black women. Or we're not women at all, or rather we're acting like "men"...because we don't act weak. When in reality women are not weak at all - but women of non-color just play men that way. Now, they've joined the me-too movement to kick men out of their offices all the while playing victim but getting the corner offices in the process. All I got to say is "well-played women of non-color; well-played.

@Pioneer1 You did it again ! I really don't want to give childish gambino this much credit - but he deserves it. He got you talking about him... and I joined in. I didn't want to talk about his provocative video because I suspected that is exactly what he wanted me (meaning us, the masses) to do just ; but here I am. smh (:-) Now I have to admit that is what art does. It doesn't seek to change minds - but it does force you to open your mind and ponder it. You can only disagree with it once you consider it . We may never know what he wants - but we are talking about it. And unlike a politician who tells us what to think about; we have consider how to think about the spectacle. * * * By the way, yes David Hogg, Parkland survivor got Ingraham to apologize when he ran a campaign on twitter. He has almost 800K followers and he inspired his followers to boycott her advertisers...Needless to say it went viral and was quite was effective. Do these teens have that kind of power? Not yet but they're getting the support. But remember the blacklivesmatter group have also been effective with their campaigns. Their support has been in the form of millions of dollars in donation and people power. In fact, they've been so effective that white folks use blacklivesmatter as their avatars on twitter. Just recently one of those white women - forced that white woman who called the cops on the black folks barbecuing in oakland's park - to stand down - then another white woman stepped in and pretty much chased her out of the park and to the police. But I digress. Anyway, the teens I mentioned were also on CNN Van Jones' show and they gave promising numbers on how many teens they've been able to reach. I can't say if they're responsible for the decrease in gun deaths in Chicago but at least there is a decrease "Chicago sees drop in killings and shootings for 13 consecutive months" "Shootings dipped 17% and murders dropped 25% compared to March 2017, figures show. Year-to-date, murders dipped 22% and shootings dropped 25% compared to the same period in 2017, Chicago police said. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said the city still has a long way to go to curb gun violence despite the steady progress."

Thanks @Delano I've already acknowledged that perspective. "Although I understand your mentioning that 45* didn't dance an Irish jig to get his message but rather he articulated his message clearly to his base,