Pioneer1

For basics..... Keeping the society relatively safe and stable. Establishing hospitals and keeping them operating and well stocked. Establishing schools and keeping them operating and in decent condition Keeping the electricity on and water running. Building and maintaining a decent sewer system. Building and maintaining a decent intra-national and inter-national transit system like busses, trains, and airports. Again, these are some of the basics functions and duties of what I consider an effective national government. Ofcourse much of it involves working with private companies but an effective government will oversee and manage it.

Well, Al Sharpton may not be THEE leader of Black America but he's certainly A leader and mobilizer. Take a look at the recent rather uplifting speech he gave at his church: I didn't realize that the Jacksonville Shooting took place at the same time the 60th anniversary of King's March was happening! But Mr. Sharpton put the two together like that. How ironic. How diabolical. Maybe some other publications mentioned it but I don't remember having heard this anywhere else in the media.

Perhaps......PERHAPS.....under the current two regimes (in the U.S. and Russia) there may not be direct conflict. But at some point the facade will be dropped and the gloves will come off. Those nukes aren't going to just disappear. Somebody HAS to use them. I'm not a weapons scientist so I don't know how long nuclear weapons last of if they have an "expiration date"....lol....but I don't see people just letting them rot and become unstable. I believe INITIALLY those nukes were designed from Africa and Asia....not eachother. Just incase an African or Asian nation got "too powerful" and became a threat to the Caucasian world, they'd TRY to nuke them to neutralize them. But the Universe has a way of establishing justice and turning the powers of evil against eachother. At some point somebody is going to get in office either in the U.S. or Russia who ain't down with the "program" and will see the other nation TRULY as an enemy and seek to destroy them.

ProfD Lol...he might have been sick before but dancing around like that he seems pretty healthy now. Especially at his age. Not sure when the video was taken but it seem to be fairly recently like within the past 5 years. He's 68 now, so he was clearly in his 60s when he was freakin' that lady up and down....lol. Don't look like arthritis was holding him back either...lol.

Does atleast one country operates effectively in Africa? It's hard for ME to say because I haven't been to any African nation yet, however based on what I've studies and heard from those who've been there....... Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Kenya aren't doing too bad as far as maintaining stable governments and economies. Ofcourse they have challenges as most nations do, but they aren't experiencing coups every couple of years and nation wide black-outs like some other African countries are. But again, if I'm not over there to witness first hand what's going on....it's hard to produce and accurate assessment.

POWERFUL observation and statement. This entire "stop playing victim" theme was really born out of the 80s with Ronald Reagan and the conservative movement as they tried to shame Black folks into not complaining about racism. -Stop playing victim. -Get over the past. -Stop with all the complaining. -No one likes a complainer -Stop the bitching and moaning All of these are terms that White folks love to use....ON BLACK FOLK when we speak up and stand up for ourselves or point out injustice. However if you notice they never use them on eachother! When a White woman gets on televison crying about how she's been raped, you never hear a White man tell her to "stop playing victim". When White Republicans get on television or the radio complaining about a law or state of the nation, you don't hear White folks tell them to "stop complaining" or "if you don't like this country than leave it". It's a form of reverse psychology or perhaps gas-lighting to try to turn the tables on the victim so that they'll be ashamed to speak up.

I don't know exactly why but every time I read this statement I laugh.....lol. I guess I picture you hurriedly slapping sandwiches together and driving kids back and forth to school and washing clothes for about a decade.....too tired to do anything else, lol. Do you mean to tell me you were too busy parenting to even listen to the music back then????

If anything, they should have kept Professor Griff and ditched Flav.....lol. I still think it was wrong they way they did Griff. He didn't say anything that Public Enemy as a group weren't rapping about anyway. His remarks CERTAINLY weren't nearly as anti-semitic as Ice Cube's were in No Vaseline....yet Ice Cube went on to have a major successful career in Hollywood. Troy Are you talking about this video? .....the video and radio version was the EDITED version, lol. I come to find out later that about a quarter of the actual lyrics were edited out to shorten the song! Here's the song in it's original totality:

The thing about crime in the 'hood or ghetto is..... Usually if you aren't INVOLVED in it....you don't experience it and usually don't even observe it. This isn't always the case obviously, because bullets don't have names on them (unless they come from a racist who scribbles racist rhetoric on them). But usually. Based on what I've seen and know living in and near different hoods around the nation, I'd say over 90% of the time if you 1. Stay to yourself Don't go thugging and getting involved in illegal shit Don't hang out with thugs and gangsters....including dating them and screwing them. 2. Mind your own business If you see shit going down don't get involved in it trying to be Superman. And DON'T LET YOUR WOMAN DO IT EITHER! I've told so many brothers, WE need to be the man in the relationship and stop letting these women get you in trouble by involving themselves and you in shit that ain't none of yall business. Infact, don't even stand there STARING at people who are engaged in dope dealing or fighting.....just act like you don't see it and keep it moving. If you want to help somebody who is a victim...try to wait until the perpetrators are GONE so you can help them and call 911. Don't do like a lot of wealthy White folks do and scream: "Well I'm gonna call the cops RIGHT NOW!" As if THAT'S supposed to stop everybody from doing what they're doing. ....and end up getting jacked up and peed on while laying out on the ground. If you do this, you'll usually be safe even in the roughest of areas. Again....usually.

The way they're tip-toing...... Something tells me even if there IS a direct act of aggression on either side....they'll probably try to have a series of negotiations to iron it out before escalating. Infact, the initial act of direct aggression (if one hasn't already occurred) will probably be called a "mistake" by the media in order to conceal it while both sides try to work things out. However a direct all out war between the U.S. and Russia IS coming eventually. All of this tip-toing is just prolonging the inevitable.

He's certainly A spoke-person and what some would call a "leader" or "leading voice" in Black America, but I wouldn't say he's THEE leader. BTW...I think he may need to gain a little more weight. His body is smaller but his head seems to be the same size. Grinning and dancing around....obviously he's not sick, so it's amazing how small his actual frame is and how he managed to carry so much weight around when he was younger.

richardmurray well over 95% of black people were once enslaved which is a pure combination of being incarcerated plus homeless at the same time, so I argue your assertion is wrong that black percentages to either are higher than ever. Well, let's look at it..... Firstly, I was making two separate points. 1)How can more Black Americans be in jail and homeless right now more than in any time in history AND be at a record low poverty rate at the same time???? Then.... 2)Black folks....in Michigan atleast....collectively were doing MUCH better in the 80s and early 90s than they are collectively today. Not nearly as many were incarcerated. You didn't see nearly as many homeless. I'd have to argue that slaves generally speaking weren't "homeless". They had homes they were actually forced to live in. Also, I stand by my statement that more Black folks are in jail (which is a form of slavery in most cases) than at any time in history. Prison is a form of slavery BUT....slavery wasn't necessarily the same as being in prison or jail. Kind of like apples are fruit, but not all fruits are apples. Troy I think the income figures used to determine poverty are too low. There are plenty of people making $50,000 or $60,000 a year who are on the verge of being homeless along with their families. Those who do these studies like to make assumptions like the person is getting medicaid as well as taking advantage of certain programs like section 8 to help pay for their housing.

Let me explain or expound upon my above comment a little more.....lol. Nature has a way of weeding out the most stupid of humanity. ....if you let nature take it's course. Many if not most of the people stupid enough to get on top of moving trains and ride them like skate boards don't live long enough to have children. Or get locked up (for doing dumb shit) at young ages BEFORE they start having children. Because of this, whatever genetic defect that affects their intelligence isn't passed along to their offspring.

.....but that's coming. And soon. The U.S. doesn't mind sending billions to Ukraine to keep Russia contained, as long as they CAN keep Russia contained. But they're losing the war big time and so the U.S. has to step their game up...or change games...in order to prevent Russia from expanding their grip. Obviously proxies aren't helping, so it's probably time for a DIRECT confrontation.

Just giving away federal money to Ukraine by the BILLIONS and not even a hearing on it, let alone a study. But like I've said before, if we as AfroAmericans were truly organized and united....we could give OURSELVES Reparations! Literally. Black Congressmen could literally pass a bill and put enough pressure on the leaders to sign it into law and honor it.

Troy, so are you trying to tell me that THIS man- ....is the "leader" of Black America??????

Troy I didn't even KNOW there was a paper called the "Afro American" until I read it in this thread....lol. It was organized by the leader of black america, in so far as we have one, Al Sharpton. Only one? Al Sharpton????? I'd say we have hundreds if not THOUSANDS of Black leaders in America today....which is part of the problem. The people are confused and not sure which direction to go in. Too many to choose from. I didn't even KNOW there was a paper called the "Afro American" until I read it in this thread....lol.

I used to LOVE Flava Flav.....lol. Now I think he's an embarrassment. He was one even back then, I just didn't realize how silly his antics were to grown folks who were serious about liberation. PE trying to talk about serious issues and he's on stage and in videos with his eyes bugged out and mouth twisted up acting a fool. I know he was doing it to hype the people up and add entertainment.....but still. Chuck's rhymes and messages were so powerful, that foolery really wasn't needed.

I admit that living in Western Michigan, my region isn't the most ideal one to measure and determine how successful Black America collectively is doing, but having grown up in a mostly Black city and having been all over the nation since the 80s.....AND knowing history....I have to question who came out with that report and how did they come to the conclusions they came to. How can more Black Americans be in jail and homeless right now more than in any time in history AND be at a record low poverty rate at the same time???? Black folks....in Michigan atleast....collectively were doing MUCH better in the 80s and early 90s than they are collectively today. Not nearly as many were incarcerated. You didn't see nearly as many homeless. Most lived in houses that they either owned or were buying. Most had good jobs in factories with benefits and decent pay. The percentage is MUCH lower now. More Black folks have college degrees today than in the past....true. But those jobs are very transient and you bounce from one to the other without a retirement, the pay doesn't seem to buy as much, and many don't even get jobs in their field of study. You drive around the nation today and you see pockets where thousands of Black folks are out on the streets begging and many many more thousands are locked up behind bars.....not counted in the economic system. Like the unemployment rate -I don't think they even count incarcerated people when they do poverty statistics. It's like they don't even exist. But being incarcerated is worse than poverty. And being homeless and destitute as so many are today is worse than living on a meager income in the projects as so many were in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

One of my favorite music videos is by one of my favorite music groups. Fight the Power by Public Enemy Not only the lyrics but the entire atmosphere........ The different hoods with their signs up representing. Real people from the streets up in the video representing more realness. Nation of Islam representing adding positivity and consciousness to the atmosphere. Professor Griff and the S1W's marching and drilling...... So much I love about this video.

Al Sharpton is a gifted Political Activist, Preacher, Teacher, Entertainer, Politician, not to mention a father who managed to stay in the home and raise his children while engaging in all of his activities. Not only is he gifted intellectually, but has remarkable wit and charisma that launched him into the international spotlight since way back in the 80s. He can get on stage with ANY politician Republican or Democrat and not only hold his own but make FOOLS out of most of them with his direct yet witty responses and debating style. I've seen him in person on a number of occasions. He may have lost a lot of weight lately (too much if you ask me....lol) but he's no LIGHT WEIGHT by any means.

NYC to cut overtime pay for police despite being understaffed by 'thousands' (msn.com) New York City to Cut Overtime Pay for NYPD, Other Departments in Response to Migrant Crisis (msn.com) Cutting the overtime pay for your own POLICE FORCE in favor of illegal immigrants??? That's suicide....political suicide. Even if you DID have to make cuts, cutting the pay of your soldiers that you rely on to protect you and keep order under your authority is one of the LAST things you'd do . And Eric Adams was a cop HIMSELF. I'm no fan of the NYPD. What little I DID see of them when I was in New York didn't leave me with the best impression of them. However, if these reports are true, I'm going to have to say Mayor Eric Adams is being played for a COMPLETE FOOL. Whoever on his staff suggested these particular cuts and even fed the stories to the media is trying to UNDERMINE him. He's being turned into the FALL GUY and POSTER CHILD for all politicians guilty of selling out their own American citizens and constituents for illegal immigrants. White folks are doing it. Wealthy White folks of BOTH political parties are bringing illegals into the nation and shipping them all over the nation for the purpose of cheap labor and displacement of AfroAmericans. That's a fact. The US labor market and citizens’ views are shifting in favor of immigration (msn.com) "Citizen's views" my ass....lol. Nobody I know is in favor of immigration legal OR illegal....but the media is trying to JUSTIFY the plans that wealthy White men have enabled to help the LABOR MARKET. But THEY don't want to be the face of it; they want to make a Black man the face of it. So the poor, destitute, and angry Americans will blame HIM instead of THEM. ...and he's walking right into the trap. How foolish.

Is the ENTIRE reason -that they don't have the authority? Or is it that they neither have the authority nor the DRIVE or WILL to enforce laws against White folks? Back in the 70s after Detroit got it's first Black mayor....a STRONG Black mayor....he began integrating the police department and not only FORCING the department to hire more Black officers but encouraged the Black officers to be more aggressive and pro-Black. And he backed them up. Even hired a Black police chief and backed HIM up to back up the Black officers. On more than a few occasions there were actual CONFRONTATIONS between Black and White police officers IN THE PUBLIC over the treatment of Black citizens! On atleast one occasion there was a SHOOT OUT between Black and White cops at a local police precinct after Black officers accused the White ones of harassing them and denying them certain privileges! Again, this was in the 70s....on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, when Black folks were still pretty aggressive. I say that to say, a lot of the bullshit and foolishness you see going on in the United States (and I can actually say around the world in relation) today is as a DIRECT and INDIRECT response to the passiveness and fear that so many Black folks of the past few generations have when it comes to confronting racism and exerting what power they DO have in this nation. Don't get me wrong. I'm not under delusion that we live in Wakanda (although we could MAKE one if we really desire to) in this nation. I realize wealthy White men run it and hold the most power right now. My point is, Black America has a CERTAIN AMOUNT of power and authority and ain't using it! And we had EVEN MORE back in the 70s....and lost a lot of it BECAUSE of the lack of use. Like that old saying, "If you don't use it.....you lose it". That's true for a lot of power. If you are Favored to get some power and authority and neglect to use it out of laziness or indifference....often times those with LESS power and authority but who are more aggressive and more hungry will TAKE that power from you!

Those sound like "text book" solutions to the problems you've been complaining about. I think you're holding back....lol. I don't think those are ALL of the "solutions" you'd like to see implemented.