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richardmurray

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Everything posted by richardmurray

  1. @Chevdove Great point, i must first say, the problem with reparations is that it isn't something obama can give. Reparations, as you know, means a thing that repairs. The problem is, only Black DOSers themselves can decide that. Not the senate, not the supreme court, not the president, even if the president is black. This goes back to that black family that won their own land back but then sold it near instantly after. What is the point? What Richard/ Chevdove/ Troy/ some black person in a small black town in mississippi deems will repair the Black DOS tribe in the village can all be different so , one black person like obama dictating it, will not work. Yes, Obama didn't state what I said, he stated, based on his multiracial campaigning stratagem [remember obama failed trying to appeal to a black majority, he won his first seat and each one sequentially on a firm multiracial stance ] that the usa also has to give reparations to others, not just Black DOSers and he was correct, the USA has to give the First Peoples reparations , and i argue them before anyone else, though i don't know how any completely murdered tribe can be repaired. https://nativetribe.info/extinct-native-american-tribes-a-complete-list/ https://nativetribe.info/extinct-native-american-tribes-a-complete-list-2/ yes, whenever a complex bureaucracy like healthcare in the usa is forced to make huge changes to how it works, it will be painful. Obama knew this, and that is why he opposed. But, Nancy PElosi was correct too, the healthcare industry in the usa is very powerful, they will never allow a so called socialist healthcare as you see in canada/western europe/china/russia . So the only way to get them close is to manipulate the market. In defense, I knew someone , an unmarried black woman, whose child... has many issues, and wasn't insured because of those issues but after the affordable care act, that child was insured, cause they had to be by law now, and my offline acquaintance was very happy about that. you know this, financial markets love predictability, that is why all the computers, nothing harms a computer program designed to predict more than random values.
  2. I have noticed a number of black women comfortable while the usa burn art #bwcwtub I for one have said it many times, black women, in majority, have made the usa be the country it is today in terms of some level of meritocracy in various fields or the individual allowance that has allowed the lgbtq+ the atheist or other populaces that are usually stymied to death in all other governments in humanity. Not the majority , with varying intensity grades, of : white men/the cruel slaver, white women/the envy-proud trickster slavers wives, black men/the obsessively violent enslaved, First people male or female/the near completely annihilated or contorted , or immigrants of the 1900s and after/the self indulgent liars, If Black women relinquish this role, who is going to pick it up? So share your favorite black women comfortable as the usa burns art from william r walker of greensboro [ https://normalcoffeeco.com/collections/curated-artwork ] from Nikki Free through a program commonly called AI [ https://nikkifreestyle.com/shop/p/the-92-by-nikkifree-canvas-print ] I would had placed this in literature section of the forum but...
  3. @Troy I don't know if you can use but consider the black history sale.
  4. Submissions to the OverDrive Black History Sale and the OverDrive Romance Sale are now open! Please download attached file and send the completed sheet to writinglife@kobo.com with the subject line OverDrive Sale. Please ensure it is clear which promotion(s) you are submitting to in the body of your email; if you are submitting to both promotions, please send submissions in separate, clearly labelled spreadsheets. Submissions close November 29th. https://kobowritinglife.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059385371-OverDrive-Promotion-Submissions The Sheet link https://1drv.ms/x/c/ea9004809c2729bb/EZslzvbD63VCnp1LEUPn1ioBTovj8JZG5FB4XI-UZw0nqw?e=6EZciU KWL Live Q&A - Everything You Need to Know About OverDrive with Maria Fesz kobo overdrive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrOY4Anm0s4 THOUGHTS 6:54 overdrive started with legal books on floppy disk digital lending for libraries 8:28 what is difference between Libby as opposed to Overdrive Libby is the main patron reading app experience, overdrive isn't labeled anywhere except the website 9:41 Kobo devices allow straight access to Overdrive 11:03 what is top priority for collection development for children's books? You want children to come in and find a book they identify with. More mental health, learning to listen to your body or listen to your mind 12:17 Does overdrive have an editorial calendar for 2025 yes and kobo has a mailing list for libraries 13:12 does overdrive make acquisition recommendations? what are top ways that librarians make overdrive acquisition decisions? Overdrive will. 17:44 Why is it important for indies to export to libraries? The more voices you can have the better. Ensure a library has the ability has a deeper collection. Lot of avid readers on these apps Reach readers wherever you are Librarians are your best recommender 19:52 what are common misconceptions about indie authors for getting their book into libraries Libraries are natural in your head if you are not avidly into libraries Use the proper code. Make sure you add more than one. 22:29 what are best ways for indies to support libraries Libraries aren't outdated. The best way to support libraries in the digital space, is to interact. Libraries are publicly funded and their resources are finite. Can see fluxes as libraries get their budget 24:06 How to approach a library as an author to entice them to have my book You don't need to have an excerpt are they doing a program like NaNoWriMo, or a book talk. 25:22 Netgalley has been huge in getting libraries to get her work 26:02 any success stories from library distribution She recalls one person Grace Burose loves libraries. She puts all in marketplace. 27:02 What role do libraries play in the book market? The exposure role, will i like an author enough to auto buy their books The library is low pressure, no one expects anything. You might reach readers who don't read in other ways, some people read exclusively through the library. 30:14 What does it look like for a librarian to go through the catalog and choose a book The catalog is huge so we have old things, new things, have to use filters, , put titles in carts. They may have a budget in mind. Multiple people at a library can have an account. When they are ready to purchase they go straight in hours. They can discover in Libby in many ways. Curate display lists, based on subject, audience level. She gives an example in the video. You can see what libraries own now, aside the collections. If you download the kobo sales account, you can see the specific library that purchases the books . 37:08 any tips for libby users for a reader, that are underused She likes to use the available now filter. She is using tags more in libby. 38:40 is there a way to make playlist on libby? 39:57 how are revisions dealth with, are they automatically provided to libraries? It depends. If it is a preorder, and the full source file isn't sent, the new update will come through. if an older title, but a different title id to make the title, it will come as a separate title. Usually libraries will not purchase new editions, they will keep the one they ave, if just for budget sakes 41:43 Any trends popping up? Cosy fantasy , that has been doing very well Legends and Lates The spell shop Swordcross A poll suggested that most people enjoy reading on their bed , ala the cozy fantasy life [ https://www.tumblr.com/communities/black-artist-on-tjambler/post/767501139627458560/i-wonder-where-you-voted ] Alot of inclusivity, but the stakes aren't so big, maybe extra escapist, world building but not 43:22 how is cosy and fantasy are combined? Less earth shattering consequences. She gives an example. Maybe romance implied but not heavy, low stakes. a hug in a fantasy land 44:39 a fun or video game will relate I think it is the new legend of Zelda game, echoes of wisdom 46:11 any other genres Horror is really getting mainstream, so many subgenres. you can find for anyone. Can cosy horror exist?:) People are reading horror at any time. 47:47 are libraries responding to illustrated ebooks for kobo colour ereaders? Kobo launched two color devices, Maybe a cosy fantasy with a map of the coffee shop. 48:57 any upcoming initiatives or features in Overdrive? Shopping can take place in one search. More generally, more personalized for a particular library. Tags are great in Libby, but more powerful or interactive has been helpful. More authors. The growth has continued. 51:56 One thing , an online social element Libby focused blog called reader life. A colleague is writing one on self published or indie. 53:51 talk about the podcast the professional book lenders podcast. a cosy fantasy episode may be. OverDrive Distribution https://kobowritinglife.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059385651-OverDrive-Distribution
  5. Authorization to Defend Humanity joint resolution https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Authorization-to-Defend-Humanity-joint-resolution-1124555923 used in the stageplay The Last Day? https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/The-Last-Day-1124559173
  6. @Mel Hopkins if you ever do , at me in the post:) @ProfD glad you will be safe, regardless:)
  7. @Mel Hopkins I never knew this, have you spoken about this in the forum? what position? I will like to read your thoughts on your time as a government agent. @Pioneer1 No it is true, Schrumpft won the bronx in NYC, he didnt' win nyc but he won or at least split even the bronx and that was the latino vote, and I know latinos who live in the south and he won really big in the soutehrn states latino populaces. But here is the thing, from my offline dialogs, what few in media are saying, though it was loud in a ny times article before the election, many latinos in the usa who are , doing well for themselves, want the gate closed. This happened with the irish in nyc, who wanted to shut nyc off from other irish during the potato famine, alot of times in the usa, group who immigrate into it freely, tend to dislike people just like them coming in when financial times are tight. @aka Contrarian I don't think your quote is pessimistic, i think your quote is honest. The immiagration act was far more powerful than many, including many whites admitted publicly or maybe even privately I quote Lyndon B Johnson This bill that we will sign today is not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions. It will not reshape the structure of our daily lives, or really add importantly to either our wealth or our power. the following is my citation and continue my thought https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2785&type=status Johnson was wrong. And it makes your point the true key issue in 2024. Before the immigration act, the usa had three major populations. Whites/ Blacks/ First People. Blacks were mostly the group some call DOSers, descended of enslaved but their minorities in the black populace, like black latinos, negras , those who speak a language derived from the latin, like roberto clemente, black caribbeans like marcus garvey, speaks english but a willing immigrant to the usa not forced to immigrate. Whites were mostly anglo saxon protestant, most whites were of german stock and the angles or saxons while part of enlgish history came from germany. but they had minorites in the white populace, white catholics like irish, white latinos like italians or blancos , white latinos who speak spanish , white africans usually from north africa, white asians, ala the japanese, chinese. Even the First peoples in the usa , commonly called the native americans, had first peoples from mexico especially out west as a minority and sometimes regional majority. But after the immigration act, something happened. All of a sudden whereas Garvey or Roberto clemente saw themselves as black in the usa, now Black jamaicans/Dominicans/Indians from india - black indians are called Kalo, in india the black people who are descended from the slave trade are the siddi, note two different names, though both the same skin/ they are of a particular community. Dont hate DOSers but for them they relate to the usa as the country that opened the door, not the country before the door opened. So many whites came in, white latinos from cuba/venezuela/mexico, more white asians from taiwan or indonesia or Siam's parts. Indians from india. Again, they don't hate Blacks, but they want to continue the white unity/blanco unity/I forget the indian word for whites in india, they want to continue that in the usa, And while this is happening you still have all the interacial marriages and mixed everything, from workplaces to residencies. So the point is, you are not pessimistic, you are being honest, the usa has though the immigration act, become whiter in some ways, BUT all the populaces including the white have become complicated. The simple confederate unity does not fly in the white populace anymore, the negro spiritual unity doesn't fly in the black populace anymore. Many white asian or white latino women share the same legacy of aid to the white man in the countries they immigrated from like the white woman who is anglo saxon protestant while in parallel, many of the black latino, black asian women share the same legacy of opposition to white power supporting black men in the countries they immigrated from like the black woman who is DOSer, ala the voting patterns. I think you hit the nail on the head, the usa is is circa two hundred and fifty years old, like all governments time application to human activity changes them usually more than anyone is ready for. And scrhumpt as a person raised in nyc comprehends a simple truth nyc teaches you, it is very messy getting to where nyc is today. NYC is the most multiracial city in humanity, not the most people, but the most multiracial set of peoples by all accounts: phenotype, religion, geography, language, everything, but NYC's civility wasn't simple. It wasn't we are all human done, no and that reality is what i think many in the usa who live outside nyc, don't comprehend. Aka Contrarian, when i hear people say, why can't some small white town in the south accept homosexuals. I am thinking the nypd used to beat homosexuals nearly to death back in the 1970s and some they did. Scrumpt himself as a failing real estate man tried to get the status of illegal immigrants to make it where they could be apid whatever offered with no contest in nyc and he had a lot of support. NYC has taken a long bloody road to get from Manahatta through new amsterdam to the collective civility it has today. it wasn't simple or straightforward, the law didn't do it. of course we do, all humans have power to influence change, the problem with the black populace in the usa, and definitely the DOS tribe is or tribes are the lack of a defined goal. You want power, right but power to do what ? If i have a billion dollars right now that I can spend, taxes already paid, and I wish to spend it, spending it is decided in my mind, what do I do is the question? Many black people can't answer that question. and that is the problem. Saying i want to live happy isn't an answer. Saying i want to help the community isn't an answer. For example, a black republican in my view should say, i want to start a black business district. pick a black city/town and use the billion to buy the land the district will be on and start as many 100% black owned businesses as you can, no shareholding. Black christians in my view should say, i will pick one black church and i will give it money to buy the land of the church and then adjacent land and start businesses in that place, make residentials, make a school, Georgetwon university is based on a jesuit church, do likewise. black christians , if a hbcu is nearby a church that is even better. But the thing is a goal. It can't be, betterment, that isn't good enough. What is your plan? and if you don't have a plan, time's a wasting, figure one out. @ProfD + @Pioneer1 yes and I have to add, only because i think the following is one of the realities of the black populace in the usa that has never been grabbed. Black people, most free blacks, fought against the creation of the usa. And so what that means to me, and I really will like both of your thoughts on the historical precedence, is that the black populace has never been fractured in the usa, but the black populations, specifically DOSers, heritage in the usa is to be tribal in itself. Do you comprehend where I am going Profd? You talk of positive debate, positive thinking. And when i think about it, i realize that black DOSers in the usa have not talked positively about our past. I don't mean that we were enslaved, but I mean that we naturally group into camps, it is the heritage. And my reasoning why so many blacks DOSers do this is simply because our history to the usa is unlike any other. a kind of collective peer pressure. Black Nigerians or Ethiopians , white russians or white ecuadorians, white koreans, talk about coming to the usa willingly with dreams, trying to build a community, But DOSers didn't come to the usa or the european colonies that preceded it willingly and we didn't stand together in support of the usa when it was founded. In fact most of us who were free, fought against the creation of the usa while a moajority of us who were enslaved ony had one idea of the usa and that exodus and that was no matter what happened, so black DOSers have always been tribal in the usa, the positive thing to say is it is Heritage, a thing we carry, a tradition, a thing taught from generation to generation, we haven't taught. As Clarence Thomas said, everyone in he usa is immigrants. That isn't a lie, but to say that a black man whose father is a nigerian oil baron coming to the usa to harvard is the same as my forebear, of unknown name, at the bottom of the book who was the lucky ten percent to survive is... that is alie, and that is the culture, a thing grown, that i oppose, though to the aforementioned peer pressure i comprehend why some black DOSers like thomas embrace it . But for me it isn't fracturing, it is a heritage of tribalism i feel needs to be a tradition embraced. That is positve, what say you two? Not just charismastic, may I add functional. Whe I look at Malcolm/ Fannie Lou Hamer / Powell jr /hampton in the 1900s when i look at Garvey/Washington/Dubois /Wells in the 1800s yes all are charismatic but all also had a goal, no no te same goals, the heritage of tribalism, again lets embrace it, but definitive goal , not the vague black improvement speech that often many black people in leadership positions today speak of. Barack Obama never has a goal. He always speaks of improvement but never a goal. Booker T Washington did speak but he did start tuskegee. Garvey did speak but he did start businesses and paid for some black folks to leave the usa. Dubois did speak but he did start a newspaper speaking his views. Wells did speak but she did coral black women to support black men's vote weven though it meant black women couldn't. Fannie Lou Hamer did speak but she always had food drives for poor black homes in the deep south. Poell jr did speak but he did get white owned business in harlem to employ blacks. hampton did speak but he did make the rainbow coalition, the true one, which included white people in chicago. Malcolm did speak but he was the worker behind the nation of islam's infrastructure. So, yeah charisma, but please emphasize the best black leaders in the past didn't just talk, they acted, they did things. and many black leaders today are all talk and it even relates to the election. Cause Alexandra Ocasio Cortez who is a publcily proud latina, clearly didn't help kamala in the bronx. But in the same way, I don't know if either of you know but the bronx has the lowest turnouts in the city, the latino populace of the bronx has the lowest turnouts, less than one percent at times, but the why is simple, all talk. AOCs and others talk alot but no doing. So the people quit. Schrumpt says the economy is bad, which in the bronx it is clear, and kamala is saying the economy is rebounding or good... not in the bronx. And this goes back to the historical heritage of tribalism, if blacks in the usa embrace said heritage positively, then it explains why no one moral code can be applied. And we have to resist the false notion of unity. I am lucky to have talked to my forebears ,of two generations and one generation behind me, most black people didn't approve of the black freedom movement. Most black people were good old church folk who wanted to keep their head to the ground and don't do any mess to "irritate" whitey. so that unity in the past is a lie. A tribe of black people fought for the 1960s and another tribe didn't. In my view the relationship between the tribes is civil mostly. but the idea of what is right or wrong, which in human history hasn't been eternally codified by anyone, is up in the air. I argue, the heritage of tribalism makes that desire of right or wrong in the village a dysfunctional goal. I argue it is more functional for black folk to embrace the tribes, not try to be part of every tribe but embrace them, as i always say, black elephants keep talking about the law alot and black money alot but amongst them i don't see the activity, i see they spend more time talking to black people in other tribes than doing better on their end. Black donkeys always talk about integration and equality and but amongst them i don't see the activity, i see they spend more time again, telling other tribes what to do. The preoccupation with telling other black tribes what to do has to stop, ... at least has to lessen, we are all human. If we each focus on gathering around likeminded blacks and focus on goals, and wish all other black tribes well:) i think it will be far more productive or functional.
  8. It is up to us on this site to use it in ways that will gain exposure.
  9. The seventy-eigth of the Cento series. A cento is a poem made by an author from the lines of another author's work. In the series I place my cento and a link to the other authors poem. Invincible Fight Girl- fan art challenge Dates - Auguste Rodin , Evelyn Cisneros IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR : Black elected representatives need to replace hope with truth, and Priceless Facts About Money ; Rajacenna van Dam - ambidextrous drawing ; Architecture- Sans Souci Palace + Citadelle La Ferriere ; Fleuve Noir Anticipation- Fantastic Planet ; Honoring Charlie Christian - flying home URL https://rmnewsletter.over-blog.com/2024/10/11/17/2024-rmnewsletter.html
  10. How to write best-selling book marketing copy https://kobowritinglife.com/2024/11/04/how-to-write-best-selling-book-marketing-copy/
  11. can you provide a link
  12. December Audiobook Promos from Kobo Hi writers, Can you believe we've arrived at the holiday season already? It seems like just yesterday we were excited about what 2024 would bring. As you've probably guessed, I'm writing to let you know about the promos we'll be running in December in hopes that it will help you better plan your promotional schedule. It's promising to be a busy month, so please read carefully! DECEMBER AUDIOBOOK PROMOS Kobo Audiobooks: Holiday Sale (December 13 - 31) This is the last audiobook sale of the year, so let's make it special! We are looking for your best audiobooks from 2024 for this promo. Please try to submit different titles than those submitted to the Black Friday Sale—each author can submit five (5) audiobooks to this promo. The price points are as follows: CA, US, ANZ: $6.99 or less UK: £6.99 or less IE: €6.99 or less **Excluding erotica & free** How the promo will work: This will be a price drop sale. Meaning that the publisher will be responsible for dropping the price of each audiobook via Kobo Writing Life dashboard just before the sale begins Kobo will promote this sale as follows: Email placement Deals Page placement Banners on site Of the Month Page Placement Homepage Placement Custom LP I will send you links to the sale for you to share to your base as well To participate in this sale, please fill out this price promotion template with the following information: A list of titles that will be promotionally priced from December 13 - 31 (inclusive). Please ensure all columns are filled out, and please select a genre from the drop down list as this will help us properly place your title(s) on the landing page. Please note that while we are happy to receive your submissions, we are not able to guarantee their inclusion. That said, please assume that all titles submitted will be included in the sale, unless you hear otherwise from myself, and ensure that the promo pricing has been set for the duration of the sale. Important Dates: November 21st - Final Date for Submissions! December 13th-31st (inclusive): Kobo Audiobooks Holiday Sale DECEMBER EBOOK PROMOS Festive Reads December 1 - 31 in CA and US A price drop promo featuring festive and winter-y reads is on the promo tab now until November 10th! Great Reads under $5/£5 December 4 - 18 in CA, US, UK An all genre promo featuring titles under $5/£5 expect on the promo tab November 11th December Boxset Sale December 18-31 in CA, US, UK, AU, NZ A promo code sale featuring boxsets and bundles expect on the promo tab November 25th Boxing Week Sale (CA US) December 19 - 31 in CA and US An all genre price drop sale expect on the promo tab November 11th December VIP Sale December 21-27 in CA, US, UK, AU, NZ An all genre promo-code sale for VIP customers expect on the promo tab December 2nd Boxing Day Sale (UK, ANZ) December 26 - January 5 in UK, AU, NZ An all genre price-drop sale expect on the promo tab by early December We will also have Daily Deals, Kobo Plus Placement, and the Free Page — the monthly rotating genre will be Holiday Romance — running throughout the month, so keep an eye out for those as well! https://kobowritinglife.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4415226138011-Kobo-Audiobooks-Promotion-Submissions
  13. @Pioneer1 yes, for the record I wasn't trying to suggest you meant anything negative to her. We all have our tastes:) and for most of the women i mentioned it is billionaire ex wives gates and bezos's wives all divorced yeah, she is the president or ceo of a black investment firm started by a black man so i think she is comfortable in her tribe of the village, that being financially affluent blacks. She has a positive relationship with black people every day in her work life of all genders/ages/geographies thus I imagine her mentality is very secure with self. She just clicked with lucas, who to be honest is a divorcee so i think they had a personal clicking. From a distance it seems many people get better and better with marriage after a divorce.
  14. @Pioneer1 well, I don't know her but from what i have read two things 1) she had a career as a financial operator before she met george lucas, so she didn't marry him and suddenly get money like belinda gates or bezos wife or amny other women 2) most women with the largest money today have marriages as a role in their wealth. From the 1970s most women had no wealth, i think one of the tragedies of modern humanity is humans seem to not realize the racial variance of wealth in 2025 started in the 1980s it wasn't forever so most black wealth comes from business dealings with whites. most womens wealth comes from marriages to men. Comprehending one key poiint, white male wealth came from violence which if I recall correctly, blacks or women, in majority, at least in the usa, have chagrined as evil or illegal or wrong or baddy well, NFL teams are evaluated, in the billions , which in my view is overestimation, but since the endof the gold standard and the fiat in the 1970s most wealth today is human valued, it isn't that the numbers add up, it is that the humans in control of listing value say such things are, speculation. which mean a thing that looks has nothing to do with the value of the thing itself, but the qualities of the one looking any way these articles confirm, the walton clan, owns the broncos , they brought in various minority investors, one probably because of the nfl's own guidelines, to selling teams, wanting to make sure non whites or women are part owners for the image of things. Supposedly Condoleeza Rice + Lewis Hamilton are also minority owners. article https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/broncos-and-walton-penner-family-enter-into-a-purchase-and-sale-agreement article https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-owners-approve-walton-penner-family-s-purchase-of-denver-broncos-franchise
  15. @ProfD I never said the multilog was, I said I learned about you. and i quote myself using the following to prove my point and I learned more about you Well, I am glad to know your goals for the larger black populace, i have learned more about you than ever before and I am happy. I don't share such a goal for the larger village. I think the black populace what I like to call the village , globally, in any continent, or just in the usa or any other government , need to have various tribes of various conditions or qualities which will lead to incongruency at times often in communication or whose ideas of contentment or happiness can be vastly different so much so they don't match.
  16. @ProfD neither built them alone and your right, it is 100% more positive, productive to focus on what was done correctly and if i may add, what wasn't done that is the opposite of what they did incorrectly. So, own a black business , have a focused idea, gather black investors, see nouveau or niche or particular markets, they did that well, And, to the opposite of what they didn't do well, keep the people who helped you build it close and involved, stay with the local community and maintain the value of your infrastructure, and remain focused to your industry which is changing in ways that maybe you don't see, pay all your bills to be blunt- don't let financial success make you skim anybody, and don't sell, it is false assumption to think someone else black will simply own a business as successfully as you in the industry you are in like magic. Your right profd ood lessons all around your right, i am not trying to blockade you from communicating but I now comprehend you better. You are a black person who lives in a fiscally affluent black community/town/region of a white city and in your local black community you have the example of black institutions or fiscal infrastructures that satisfy you, like getting eight to ten turnovers on the dollar locally. But, you want to see every local black populace/community have the same quality as where you live or better. I comprehend now. That is cool. I will hopefully remember when you comment you are commenting from that position. I comprehend.
  17. @umbrarchist well said Two thing black people online not just in this forum but throughout the entire world wide web proves, 1) we spend to much time dwelling on the non black 2) we don't create enough, critiquing or judging isn't a sin and always has value but creating/crafting/growing is more positive and we don't do enough of that online so offline said online exhibitions prove their quality Congratulations. Do you still design or draft anything? Even if you don't have the resources to build cause resources cost money, you can design. If you are willing please join the club and share a design to anything you built or will like to build in black games elite. If you are willing I have a small challenge for you. @ProfD Yes Philadelphia international , and huff and the other guy still own their work. Berry Gordy owned the biggest black owned business in the usa at one time. That being motown. He sold it. But before he sold it , he mismanaged it. I admit slight rant is coming, motown gets me angry, maybe if i didn't know so much of its administrative history I would be less angry about it. I forget whether it was the four tops or the temptations, i think it was the four tops, but one of them said they would leave him if he left detroit for los angeles, he left for los angeles and they left the label. He didn't need to leave for los angeles. Detroit couldn't use a film studio? Why did he not make better deals for musicians. Smokey robinson admitted he knew aretha franklin for years. She never signed to motown. why didn't berry make that happen? what was it about berry gordy that she didn't like. When Motown signed the four seasons, why didn't he pay them? Yes they are white, why didn't he pay them? Why is it he didn't get more black musicians. Celia Cruz is black, more black people live in latin america than anglo america, why didn't he get black latino artists? He knew of the origins of hip hop , why didn't he sign the last poets? Where was motown in the 1970s with earth wind and fire or parliament funkadelic. It is cheap retrospect, but the reality is, Steven Wonder admitted motown/berry gordy was going to cut him, it was a black woman who worked at motown who saved him. I am not trying to be negative, though i probably come off as such but Motown was the biggest black owned business in the usa, and Gordy mismanaged it into nothing. That isn't non whites fault or the Black village's fault, but Motown is not just oing to happen again from nothing, the industry has changed... But he did achieve that claim. I just wish, he hadn't did what he did once he got to the paramount. Look at Johnson who owned BET, he didn't even tell his wife, who was a shareholder he was in talks with the white jewish redstones. Why? he knew his wife and most of the employees were thinkin this was going to be all that motown wasn't but in the end, Johnson in shorter time did like gordy, sold it and didn't keep it black owned. Not non blacks fault, not the village fault. And no, financial history proves, no one, including non whites, can just do things, it takes fates hand with these things. And I know enough about starting a business to know, most businesses across the board fail in the usa. We will keep trying:) No, i didn't mean to suggest i didn't care for your wording. I meant you asked a question in your affirmation. And i think avery important one. I just finished my rant on Motown:) and B.E.T. you say At least here we have true history book contention. I may be wrong and please tell me if I am.... Based on your words, Berry Gordy with Motown: drugging MJ, not paying the four seasons, not getting black latino musicians, leaving detroit, not getting black artist in up and coming genres was investing as he saw fit and no matter the outcome that is acceptable as an owner ? am I wrong? I imagine it is similar to Johnson and B.E.T., him selling the firm to non blacks to the surprise of the employees plus the other black investors is acceptable because it is his want as majority owner. am I wrong? For me, and I imagine you oppose the following, but I said here is our true contention.... if the fiscally wealthy blacks are able to sell to non blacks and make black owned institutions former black owned institutions, sell black owned infrastructures to make them former black owned infrastructures then the fiscal poor man can shop at non black small stores and buy non black potato chips. we owned the negro leagues mostly, but it was hard staying alive when roving baseball teams became harder to have, as real estate changed, and then black towns started dying as more and more black people moved to the big cities where black owned anything is , a challenge ok:) and black people aren't into baseball as we used to be. But doesn't ice cube own the big 3 league? based on coaching and players it seems to have more black people in coaching or drafting percentage waide than the nba. Where again is oprah, tyler perry, hey, invest. Why not a womens big 3 league? So today their is one league that maybe , i am not certain , is black owned, do you watch the big 3? I admit i never see it on t.v. though i have watched segments online a few times. Many black folks love the girdiron but anthing like the nfl will be very expensive and i argue against the nfl, a huge challenge, indoor football can work but it seeems oversaturated with leagues. I think one problem with a black sports league in the usa is again, the black populace in the usa isn't geographically spread out like the whites, the truth is, the black map of the usa, is really very easterly with this huge island west coast, so the approach has to not be the way white leaues work... any ideas? Ok cool:) thanks for the specificty. Eight to ten times, not easy as black people don't live alone in the usa, and it isn't like black people will use arms so... You are really convinced that all the black populace in the usa needs to do is change its buying habits and that can lead to a whole crop of black owned financial institutions or infrastructures. ok, maybe your right. I admit, i have doubts. And yes, I can be wrong. Ok, I may be wrong. For the black people in the usa, I hope I am wrong..... Yes, black people spend money but I saw newark new jersey recently.I don't know how black people without money can leave and then without money can start business, and without money can afford to find or reach black owned business who knows how far away. I just don't know. Forgive me. I realize you have done the numbers, and based on the amount of money black people spend to buy things, which includes a large percentage of money from the government , you are convinced and based on raw data, i can see how the numbers work. I definitely can see how the numbers work, but I don't see how it works on the ground. Well, you can say the same for DOS forebears in the boats, remember, over 90% of the black people in the boats died, they didn't make it, so the black people who survived are pretty tough, if you can survive starving at the bottom of a boat for months chained with no light, the plantations or inner city regions whites herded you is a step up. oh cool, non blacks say prince georges county in maryand or that county in los angeles are the most fiscally affluent black places. With your vigor and fiscal prudence you must own a black business where you live then. Do you? How many black owned businesses are in your affluent black place, an estimation? I am happy. for you. But I wonder, why bother talking about other black places. If you live around financially affluent blacks and all of you own business, and i imagine all the businesses where you are are black owned, then you did it!! You always talk about black people in other places. why? Aren't you happy where you are? You aren't going to start businesses other black places are you? I am surprised you talk about other black places, considering you are in a black place that is the best in the usa, modern tulsa right. I am happy for you, and wish that place stays strong. @nels One question before I reply to your quote I want to know four positive things you did in the last seven days that also involved another black person or was a craft, not a critique? I will answer my own question. I created art for Invincible Fight Girl competition,started by uston Montgomery, to give examples for a black work. i finished a sonnet, based on a fellow artists poster I shared to south side chicago home movies , started by jaqueline stewart, an opportunity for their collection to be put in a collective commons I shared to someone at xavier college a hbcu a chance for them to join the creative masters program started by regina brooks, a black person Ok, what four positive things did you do that wa a craft, not a critique, or involved a black person? Now the following is my reply to your quote Well, your implication about the most recent presidential election is wrong because i have called him out of his name long before he was getting involved in elected offices. I called him names when he had his reality show. I called him names through his various bankruptcies and cruel acts to various people when he lived in new york city. And I will explain. I am black born and raised in new york city, many black people... many non black people, from new york city dislike Schrumpft, and when i say dislike it ranges from people like me who despise him to others who hate him and he has warranted all the dislike from people in new york city for more than his verbal actions but his nonverbal actions. And, I will be even with you. i said when Schrumpft won his first presidency that many people in new york city dislike him for his life befor egovernment such that they will never be swayed by him, but outside new york city, all they know is a reality tv host guy and a candidate, some of his most ugly, negative, cruel things were in his past and more importantly, didn't involve most outside the northeast. And one more thing, I am not an elephant or a donkey, I have no care for either of those parties of governance nor will I and like with schrumpft my dislike was way before modernity, when I was a child, and i have said this in this forum many times, so I have no care to the condition of the donkeys or the elephants
  18. From Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary Agency Over the last 180 years, historically Black colleges and universities have nurtured some of the greatest literary minds of our time. Yet, across more than 100 HBCUs, not a single institution currently offers an MFA in Creative Writing. That's why I'm excited to invite faculty members or administrators of a historically Black college or university to apply for the HBCU MFA Think Tank at the 2025 AWP Conference & Bookfair in Los Angeles, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The think tank will provide educators, writers, and administrators a collaborative space to formulate and explore plans for developing MFA programs at HBCUs through innovative problem-solving and interdisciplinary dialogue. Ten faculty or administrators from HBCUs will be awarded a scholarship to attend the Conference. Applications are open now through November 22nd. You can learn more and apply here: https://awpwriter.org/AWP/AWP/Writers-Connect/HBCU-MFA-Think-Tank-at-AWP25.aspx
  19. @nels Well, the answer is clear, you or i share a different view of the word loser. Loser doesn't mean murdered or death. Loser doesn't mean nobody. hell, nobody doesn't mean nobody. All I can say is I will use words as I see them. And you are completely free to state how you see words. But, it is more constrcutive to use the word you will like used, then to mention how you don't care for how i use words. And moreover or importantly, to the topic of this forum post, what are your thoughts to the Schrumpft second term? Are you happy? are you sad? Any prescience? Do you have anything positive to say?
  20. @nels Well I gave context to my words, i wish you would had quoted more of what i said. I explained hwy Melania is a loser with the following quote. She herself said she didn't care for the white house life, so going back to the white house makes her a loser. My question is why didn't you take the whole quote ? Is it better to piecemeal quotations ? You said So can you say more to your position. Are you suggesting the people in california are no different than the people in akansas? The people in wyoming and west virginia voted for schrumpf the most, the people in vermont or massachusetts voted for harris the most.. .are you saying those two pairs of states are really the same? In the last few weeks i have heard blacks + non blacks , and not just a few, say the same thing Umbrarchist said, on local media. I don't know where you live, but, your accusation to her words is flawed for me, because I have heard many non blacks say similar so... can you accept your wrong? @nels I usually don't like to know where online people live but do you live in atlanta? If you do live in atlanta, what are you doing to make atlanta better for black people? and if you don't live in atlanta, how do you know and what are you doing to make wherever you live better for black people?
  21. @ProfD When you say let non black folks own it, can you clarify? I am assuming, and I could be making na ass out of myself, you are suggesting black people in nyc should had bought all the tv stations/radio stations/newspapers/magazines/record labels/satellite networks in nyc that are 99% white owned so that hip hop's transmission would had profited black owned media concerns? Ahh so atlanta has the black institutions plus black financial infrastructure that satisfies you? Do you live in atlanta? the populace of atlanta the city is five hundred thousand the metropolitan area is six million. NYC is eight million and the metropolitan area is twenty million. The black populace in nyc is circa one million seven hundred thousand in the metropolitan area circa four million so I doubt the black populace of NYC the city ro metropolitan area moving into atlanta would be good for atlanta. Every single new mouth anywhere in the world needs: food, water, shelter, and the modern demands of ehalthcare/employment... can atlanta provide near two million people food water shelter? Can the black institutions or black financial infrastructures in Atlanta handle two million new black people? That is very impressive if it can True, the new NFL rules of ownership don't allow that anymore, they grandfathered green bay in. When green bay did that... that was a long time ago:) before the modern sport owning landscape. You pose the question unstraightly, once a black person in the usa gains a certain level of financial wealth are they exempt from growing black institutions or black financial infrastructures ? In my mind sports teams and their stadiums/training grounds/media networks are pretty strong financial infrastructure elements and each team can be an institution. What level of vertical integration will satisfy you? How many times specifically? Again, black people did this with Tulsa , a white city. In NYC, I know quite a few black owned businesses,not just eateries, but... the drug money of blanocs or mestizoes which connects to outside the usa which black DOSers don't have or the oil money of the white or mulatto arabs which again Black DOSers don't have aided them in financing small businesses. I know of black owned shops, not just eateries, but it will be expensive to start more absent black wealth helping. And black people don't own chase bank to get loans. I may seem a pest, but i am trying to see how to get to where you seem to want. Vertical integration, ok great, but can't get there without money. And many black people in nyc are flat broke, no money at all, yeah, foodstamps, yeah EBT, but are you suggesting people need to gamble on small businesses with their food money?:) Puff Daddy and others have huge homes in the hamptons... just saying, maybe they could help. In your atlanta , is the vertical integration satisfactory? I hope so. If so then move to atlanta and help atlanta grow but it will be hard for other black populaces in non white cities to get where you suggest the black populace in atlanta is in terms of black owned insttutions or financial infrastructures.
  22. @ProfD I concur ... so, ok, institutions and economic infrastructure.is what you say the Black populace in the usa needs. Well ok, Two types of black people exist in the usa. one type lives in a city/town not mostly black the other type lives in a city/town mostly black For black people who live in a city/town not mostly black, like NYC for example, can institutions be made, do any exist now? Can fiscal infrastructure be built up to be , i assume self reliant, what exists now? Well, in NYC, you have the schomburg, which is part of the city's library system, it isn't standalone, it gets endowments from wealthy black people. You have medgar evers college which is in the city college system, it gets aid from blacks who have money. The studio museum of harlem recently got one million dollars , it was in the local newspaper. But all of these institutions are concerned with learning or the arts. Can wealthy blacks finance such organizations, they are now but the black rich isn't as wealthy as the white rich and that isn't laziness or unfounded, that makes perfect sense. The Rockefellers made many museums have a center to their name, but when old man rockefeller starter, 99% of black people were unable through legal or illegal means from owning land. so... Well for financial infrastructure, well, Carver federal savings bank exist, we have small businesses throughout new york city. But, these are all small they don't have the means to lift the black populace in the city. Goldman Sachs- White jewish with connections to white jewish financial transactions from europe tha go to the time of the roman empire, Chase- the rockefellers/ Bank of America- which was started with white italian mob money, has a much larger scale. The one bank in the usa that was fined for fraud when the banks collapsed was an asian community bank in nyc, whose sole function was helping asian vendors in various chinatowns. so... being small banks wiil not leap you into the ability to lift your community. So NYC has a black populace, that populace has examples of what you want, but what is it exactly you want in infrastructure or institutions? And I realize black populaces in other cities may not have such things , ok. But, the black populace in NYC has a limit on what it can achieve because it doesn't have majority of the populace. Most of NYC is white, white meaning anglo saxon protestant/white jews/blancos or white latinos/ white women/ white asians- ala chinese-japanese-koren. yes south east asians tend to be kalo which means black but they are not a majority of the asian populace in the city in the same way, Negras or black latinos aren't a majority of latinos in nyc. So... you said institutions and economic infrastructure. Well, focusing on NYC , which represents black people in a city/town not mostly black, what do institutions or financial infrastructure need to do for you to be happy with the condition of black people in nyc? For black people who live in a city/town mostly black well, they have the one thing that is vital for institutions or financial infrastructure to be in any populaces favor, they have the majority where they live. Government matters. NYC is the proof. 99% of the populaces in NYC, including many white ones have suffered because they don't have the majority populace which means when laws are made, when policies are concocted, they can't dictate over all so they get hit, they get undermined. But for black people who live in mostly black towns/cities they have the potential/possibility to use government to protect their institutions/financial infrastructure. But you need a black agenda for that. And I am not suggesting a black agenda has to be anti non black or hating non black but the majority populace favoring itself... that is one of the weapons of voting that while it can hurt minorities is not a criminal act. But outside the need for a black legal agenda in the government to protect or aid black institutions or financial infrastructures long term, I think black investment in black towns/cities can work long term realistically. Remember Tulsa wasn't a black town or city. One thing as well....either blacks in a town or city mostly black or not mostly black need the effort of the modern black wealthy. Oprah winfrey had more money than the white man who bought the chicago wnba team, which now has four primary owners. I tis interesting how a number of wnba teams have multitudes of primary owners but oprah winfrey doesn't own one..... so what was her excuse exactly? Madam cj walker supported the black populace of harlem, that is the truth. so, winfrey who is supposed to love chicago couldn't do that? I have said it before in this group, how many black people with money paid for black people to go to a non hbcu. if every black person with money only paid for students to go to an hbcu , that would had changed their financial fortunes so... So at this point, i ask, what do institutions or fiscal infrastructures have to accomplish in black populaces, in mostly black towns/cities or in non mostly black towns/cities? Are they the same to you? And I end with , I do think specificity matters. I think the modern black populace in the usa, especially the DOS segment warrants details. They have the right to reject, try for trying sake.
  23. @ProfD And don't get me wrong, nothing si wrong with having study and mock trials before a job, that isn't erroneous, people can grow that way and mae them better at doing a job. All I am saying is, it doesn't have to be that way and more importantly, to black folk, we were forced en mass to learn absent the ability to be in astudious or mock environment, many things, so I just call on black people or at least, Black DOSers to embrace our unique history in the usa. Well , the point is, in the history of black elected officials some black elected officials have thought outside the box, helped the black populace, yes, nt most black elected officials but not unprecedented so it is a matter of choice, absent the pills. yes, private enterprise, The tragedy of private enterprise for Black DOSers is like the even more tragic First peoples in the usa, we don't have one of two things. 1) the ability to have centuries of illegal or criminals profits , like the white europeans, ala the italian americans/white jewish americans/irish americans who have only one source of their wealth and no, it isn't college or school, it is their mobs that at one time made untol profits that no black mob ever could in the usa. 2) an external country to do trafic in. Nigerians have nigeria/japanese have japan/chinese have china, brasilains have braisl, DOSers don't have a country to leverage. By rights it should be freetwon or monrovia, not sierra leone but freetown, the capitol of sierra leone, not liberia but monrovia, the capitol of liberia [I can explain why if you want in a follow up comment] but the short answer is, it isn't. so, DOSers don't have an external source, like all the peole descended from willing immigrants not white european. My point being, private enterprise isn't bad, you make an excellent point, shirley chisholm, one of those black elected officials ho was't on the take, who did for the village said private enterprise needs to be the way, but DOSers don't have an external country to leverage wealth and e were unable to make illegal fortunes in the past to leverage the community today so, it is harder. Not impossible, but just stating it is harder and intellegence or knowledge does not outweigh opportunity. well, that doesn't mean a black ivy league graduate can not be good at a job, my point is, that is not the only way well since the end of the war between the states , many blacks tried in various ways, you kno this, it isn't like black people haven't tried Profd. Yes, itis unfortunat ewhite power has destroyed all attempts at the end of the day. But I wish black people will say try again, when it comes to making blakc institutions or infrastructures in the usa, we were not doing nothing, we simply faced an uphill battle as we are not the majority of the population, nor do we have financial advantage. But we have tried before Profd. Your words to me suggest we never tried.

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