Mel Hopkins

Africans asking about your son's "tribe" makes me so happy! I got so giddy reading your reply. And I think it has something to do with my experience while working for United. One of my passengers looked like my Nana. She didn't speak English. She didn't know how to find the person supposed to meet her when our flight landed in Dulles. I think it was a delay or something. Because she looked like my Nana - I gestured if she spoke "Amharic," She did! I went to another passenger - who appeared to be from West Africa (he was wearing cultural garb), I know their language can be Yoruba, but I took a chance and asked if he also spoke Amharic, and he did! I was able to help my "nana" looking woman -and the West African brother agreed to help her when they disembarked. You already know I did a lot of research for my book. So without that background, I wouldn't have a clue to make the connection between the two if I hadn't, especially since I'm just a regular black American woman who happens to share mtDNA with North Africans/Ethiopians. All this to say, I'm not surprised your son looks like Habesha. And here's why I think it's a given. When I was in Lima -some of the Peruvians thought I was from there. When I flew to Jamaica, WI, and Aruba, some locals asked me if I had family there. We can learn a lot from the people who call us out. I know I did. For example, I learned the people from Aruba are Arawak (Taino), also from West Africa and Peru, and spoke a language-remix called Papiamento. As I was traveling around the world, I felt so proud to be African - even where they "hate" black people they still paid deference. It was a bit unsettling but in a way that made you wonder about your place in history. When we Black Americans travel abroad or find ourselves in a global setting, we see our people. I believe we (our ancestors) were nomadic people for so long that we crossed the whole African continent! This thread was eye-opening for me. Another one of "there is no right or wrong; simply belief" Although I used logic (as in debate) to tackle the topic, I still realized that my way of reading scriptures is more Hebrew than it is Christian. I even found an article in Time magazine that tackled the same theory of how Hebrews (Jews) and Christians read the Bible differently. I've always read the scriptures as a story of the Hebrew people, how they viewed their Creator, and their interaction with the Tribes they met along the way.

Have any of you ever perused Stewart Synopsis? This website is one of the most detailed history of the African Diaspora I’ve seen on the internet. I’ve never fact checked the work but it is fascinating. I think I chose the link about Africans and the bible but there is so much - much more to review. https://stewartsynopsis.com/dogon-tribe-palestine-and-benjamin-banneker

Not the monkey pox! We are living through a full-blown apocalypse and don't even know it!

If this were a debate, the original poster @Addison's position would be "The bible is holy, slavery is in the bible, then slavery is holy." This syllogism's crux hinges on believing that if the bible is good, it couldn't endorse something horrific as slavery. @Stefanshows that the bible condones slavery but codifies ethical treatment in the rabbinical literature. Condoning slavery is the point where many believers suffer from cognitive dissonance - and try to justify their belief that their God would never justify slavery so they can continue to believe God is good all the time. BUT the very people whose ancestors wrote and lived by the Old Testament with commentary (Talmud) tell us the Hebrew word "ebed" means slave. - "Where real slaves are referred to, the English versions generally use "bondman" for "'ebed," and "bondwoman" or "bondmaid" for the corresponding feminines (Lev. xxv. 49)." When one is referring to the old testament, one must take into consideration Hebrew transliteration. They must also consider the Talmud/oral history (Mishnah) that corresponds to understanding the history of Rabbinical literature. In this case, foreign-born enslaved people couldn't own anything - they had no agency. So, it's a stretch to conclude the bible doesn't endorse chattel slavery. It does. The Hebrew people had to contend with this fallacy, too - maybe right up until the Egyptians enslaved them. "Not until the Greek and Roman period, however, does the emancipation of slaves attain, as an institution, any importance for the Jews. According to a not wholly reliable authority, most of the Jews captured by Ptolemy I., Lagi (322-307 B.C.), were taken to Egypt, where they were ransomed by his son, Ptolemy II., Philadelphus (285-247), for a considerable sum and set free (Aristeas Letter, ed. Wendland, § 22). " So maybe if believers deal with the bible endorsing slavery - they will better be able to understand Jesus ransoming his life to free the Hebrews and others who chose to follow his way of life.

Thank You @Stefan - I misspoke, well kinda. I want news reports that tell the story from the Black American perspective. We used to have Amsterdam News as a go-to, but I don’t think they have the budget to cover global stories let alone war. I did look at the website and at first glance, the content looks dense - and it’s kind of intimidating. But I’ll see what I can get from it.

Maybe that’s how folks get so caught up - lol

Absolutely! This is exactly why I've been keeping a side-eye on this invasion-war because eventually black people pay the price for not paying attention!

One black child is the part that cracks me up! Do you feel this is a case of colorism: light-skin vs. dark-skin. Because according to these scriptures - Emzara gave birth to all of Noah's children. Further, Kush is Canaan is Kemet -KMT is Mizraim is Egypt is Ethiopia. Nearly all of the land by the Nile river. So really, Noah's story is more of a story of migration. While some people feel these stories are "holy," - I see a report of a people, their record of movement, practices, and their knowledge of the universe, solar system, and Earth. Case-in-point, take these two supposed Greek letters "Nu (Nv) and Mu. The Greeks based their alphabet on the KMT (Egyptian) hieroglyphs. (The Phoenicians popularized the hieroglyphic system - but that's another story). These two "hieroglyphs" together loosely translate into "created from the primordial waters) Nu is the name of the oldest Egyptian god, who is the father of the Sun god, Re. Nu is also the symbol for primeval water that began all creation. (By the way, there's also an updated 'feminine' for this translation, which means the ancient Egyptians were not originally a patriarchal society - which was probably another source of contention for surrounding societies.) Mu is also the symbol for water - offspring from the primordial waters. Archaeologists say Egyptian hieroglyphs date back to early 27 - 28 B.C. So riddle me this. How did ancient Africans know that water was the oldest element in our universe? It was only 2014 when modern scientists discovered Earth's water (via a study of ice molecules ) is older than Earth and the sun? Scriptures have a lot of information, but very few "scholars" have extracted its wisdom.

There's so much geopolitical ignorance in America - but it's not surprising since most of us don't even know how our own government works. I can't speak intelligently on the Ukraine war-invasion... I'm still heartbroken that I can't get unbiased information on what appears to be a civil war in "the land of the gods" Ethiopia. Please continue to share your perspective and information - I'm paying attention I just don't know where I should focus it across the pond. (aside: we are so isolated here in the americas)

Don't stop there, Sis! Keep thinking it through. Laws are never divisive. It is the application of the law that divides the people. You brought up marijuana laws - look at the 2022 map, determine where marijuana is illegal, then look at incarcerated people based on the laws written for possession and distribution of marijuana. If you feel inspired, look at the record of the prosecuting attorneys involved in those cases - and law enforcement. Next, look at the states where marijuana is legal - or a misdemeanor- to see how those states seek to offer retribution to those tried and convicted under all laws. Once you gather that information - see if there's any relation to proposed criminality for terminating an unwanted pregnancy. Legislators who protect your freedoms separate themselves from those who don't. Vote for the ones who create legislation to protect you.

@Stefan Well stated! And thank you for the reminder! What we (I) do today will determine the future.

@KENNETHAnd they are viable opinions too! I was fortunate to work on a multimillion dollar project in West Virginia like the one you've mentioned in community development. It works but there is a lot of push back from people who believe they are too proud to accept help. Thank you for adding to the list!

Absolutely, this too! I just hope when the democrats and independents gain control of congress again - they move quickly. Exactly. So make sure you aren't responsible for any woman's decision to have an abortion.

This is the one thing that makes me crazy about democrats and the independents that caucus with them. Write that ish into law when you have a (REAL) majority. When President Obama was elected in 2008 -the 110th Congress should have lined those legislatives proposals up and got them signed before 2010.

All billionaires supply the wants of those in need. (Or they inherited from someone who did.) Supplying wants is how anyone earns money. Find a person's need to fulfill their desires. For example, your ability to read the stars is the answer for someone who wants to hedge the predictions for their future. They need to be self-sufficient. Some of us determine "wants" better than others. And those who do earn a lot of money. I earn money from clients because I pay attention to what people want from me. People usually want me to prepare statements. It doesn't matter what type of statements - they all have one thing in common. Many people need to appear versed in their vocation, and they are, but they sometimes have difficulty expressing what they know. So I help them. I can't make millions from helping people - because I help one person at a time. I could scale my knowledge by writing a book. But I don't know how to address their want commercially. And I NEED to get it right. (lol) BUT billionaires have figured out how to scale their product/service to sell to multi-millions. And I think all billionaires have a need to create the future.

"skipped over" maybe, but it's obvious you didn't stop! Thank you. Old-school Journalists never lose their skills! I can only imagine how your brain was working through the scenarios. People often think journalism is about telling other people's stories. And yes, on the surface abortion does seem like a woman's problem...But that is exactly what "Right Wing Wackos" want the electorate to believe. Journalists may start with a subject but that's just the beginning of any story. Thank you so much for the follow up!

Is this your belief? It’s not fact - but if this is your belief it does make your position clear to me. I don’t debate “beliefs.” I thought you were stating what you witnessed. And I didn’t see any empirical evidence. But now I understand the perspective is more nostalgic “Make Black America Great Again.” Although I I have more in common with iconoclast. I don’t have a strategy. I observe what is and analyze migration and the structure of movement. A movement doesn’t care about what you believe or how you feel about it - but it will run you over if you don’t adapt.

@richardmurray Those are institutions/organizations, NOT a community. Using the definition of community from both Merriam Webster (definition 1 ) and also using the description of Umoja on page 158 refers to "Oneness." See Linguistic Dilemmas of Afrocentricity The Diaspora Experience Ali A. Mazrui | State University of New York, Binghamton, New York Alamin M. Mazrui | The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. A community is a group of people with shared interests and likeness. The Black community continues its growth stage. It quickly becomes a large, diverse, decentralized, peer-to-peer networking community. The Black population in the USA is 46.8 million strong (second only to German-Americans at 49 million people here in the U.S.) Further, these individuals, many whom are immigrants, have chosen to identify as Black/African American. These individuals self-identify as Black, which is what makes us a community. Presently the black community mirrors Del's assessment. Definitely, not the community of enslaved Africans you continue to refer to when you mention war between the states. But it is understandable why newly unshackled Africans needed a central meeting place the laws codified Africans as less than. Still, Institutions and organizations that outlive their usefulness tend to die. And self-directed individuals take their place. If you're interested in reading about the trajectory of the black community, PEW Research already did the heavy lifting. All that is left to do is independent research to fact-check.

Panic would only happen among people who don’t understand decentralized finance. Even when hackers hit Coinbase - folks didn’t panic. The took the L but coinbase also has criminal insurance. Most cryptotraders don’t even deal with exchange platforms. They trade peer-to-peer. Coinbase is for people looking to play it safe … which is why coinbase content does it best to explain’s cryptocurrency’s movement and volatility.

From this reasoning, It appears you agree with @Delano assessment. “If people learn to be independent the movement doesn't stop when the leader no longer leads.” And from your reasoning, it appears even after we lost the use of our language - we retained our cultural heritage, oral tradition and cipher that maintains our community without a so-called “leader.”

Please share your perspective. Are you referring to day workers - who harvest produce? When I think of laborers, I think of blue collar, plumbers, lineperson home builders, road construction. etc. This is exactly the age we’re living in - the two generations after the boomers are making their own rules … and building communities around their similarities.

I haven’t. And I am naive when it comes to certain aspects of finance. I only think about unsecured creditors when it comes to lining up for money after filing bankruptcy. But I think people are getting confused between traditional finance and decentralized finance. There are few protections in DeFi. traders are own their own and risk and reward is very high. When you mentioned coinbase - I was looking at from a trading/depositor perspective. Once cryptotraders get coins they deposit in their noncustodial wallets like mycelium - cryptotraders know not leave large sums in coinbase.

I thought about “salary cap,” when I heard - high labor cost were the root of inflation. I never looked at it like that before. It makes sense though because the higher the wages the more we can pay for goods. If I charge a 1.00 for an apple - and someone wants it for a 1.25 - I’m selling at that rate. So, the feds attempt to slow down the economy and make some work for “slave wages” to keep prices low. But can work today? Especially with digital technology and cloud computing? Both allowed for sex work to go virtual during lockdown. Sex and Tech became bedfellows no pun intended. And the same for labor and digital technology too. Remember the call centers in India? Well thanks to AWS and “Intel inside” laptops - There’s a business called live ops where anyone with a laptop, internet and two weeks to train can handle customer service calls for as many fortune 100 clients they can handle. And they can make their own hours and a decent salary working from home. Because of semiconductor chips, the same is happening with repetitive labor inside factories. These are just some examples that come to mind. I like your analogy but don’t forget about all the information workers in this society now.

Yes, but if we only use it for trading cryptocurrency. Once you make a purchase...send it to your storage wallet.

Sadly this true. But only because of perspective. In fact, there was something you wrote in the abortion anti-abortion thread that help me have a paradigm shift. Once we start looking at things differently- things change!