Chevdove

****Let me put it this way; I can speak of one of several experiences that occurred in my life years ago and I sensed that I needed to speak about it immediately, because 'it was explaned to me' that CONFIRMATION was one of the most important aspects: This one experienced happened to me back in April of 1990; and I wrote it down and shared it before, so, I will only mentioned brief aspects of what I recall now. My husband was working a third shift/swing shift because we both agreed to help out the only other African American girl on his job who came to him to ask for his help. They were being sorely harrassed. She was in ther 3rd trimester, a college grad, Chemist, from a prestigious HBCU. And the company also hired four European women a year afterwards and gave them better hours and, promoted the pregnant woman and gave her a permanent first shift position, with an office, when she went into ther 3rd trimester of pregnancy, which was at the same time of the Black girl. So, the Black girl asked my husband to switch her 3rd shift, so she could work 1st shift. So, I agreed. But then, the company got mad at my husband and tried to overwork him. It was a horrible experience. I hate to even think about it again. At the same time, my husband and I was being absolutely oppressed by our parents. My mother told me to go back to work right after I had a difficult pregnancy after three (3) weeks, and so I did and I started bleeding and became very ill. My baby was 10 pounds 3 ounces and the anesthesia did not work. I almost died on the table, but I had a top of the run doctor!!! He was old and said that never happened to him before. He came by after church to see me, he was so shocked. I named by second baby after him. My second baby was also a big baby, 8 pounds 13 ounces and a difficult birth. My doctor told me that I would die if I did not stop working. So, ... we moved to a small place...my mother did not like it and badgered my husband...So here goes... One morning, my husband stumbled into the door after working a 12 hour back shift on a 4 day cycle and sat down on the bed. I was sitting up at the table and suddenly, I was communicated to. It was like a definite communication that occurred in a FLASH-like a camera flash bulb. It happened in one second. I couldn't believe it. But, I immediately turned to my husband and said, OMG! I was just told that in exactly one week from today, on FRIDAY, you will be FIRED!!! And I was told that we would be evicted. I was told to go immediately to MR. BOB, and ask him for refuge at his community because, [and I am quoting all of my statements], "HE'S ONE OF MINE". My husband, looked at me with frustration as if to say, 'Here she goes again' and then he rolled his eyes, laid back on the bed and fell asleep. But, I jumped up immediately, and decided to go by myself. So, I got in the car and drove about 15 minutes to the community where Mr. Bob was the landlord, a older White man. He was very tall, and bald, and when he smiled, his eyes sparkled and, and he was very friendly. He had served in the army and had a lot of stories to tell us and we had lived in this community about a year prior. I would love to sit in the office with him. So, I walked into the office where he was standing that friday and asked him if I could stay here next week if an emergency might come up, and well, he adored me. He immediately said, yes, absolutely, if the city social services gives you a voucher you are more than welcome... Then I left the parking lot and went to social services and waited for about 30 minutes and then filled out a form and etc. and the worker was so very rude; a Black woman. Then, I drove back home and my husband was still fast asleep.... It took me about two and a half hours. ... ... That next Friday, my husband stumbled in the door and said, guess what!? I was LET GO. He had never been written up. He worked that job for 5 years. He was a Chemist. He graduated from a top technological university. Out of the BLUE, they fired my husband. We had never missed a rent payment!!! We stayed in this community for about a year and a half. But, minutes later, there was a knock on our door on that very friday. Our landlord said that we had to go and she said it was because of our car being broke down in the parking lot. It was an eye sore and after a week of not taking it off the block, we had to go.... So, I already had the voucher and so, we got our friends and my father-in-law, to move us into Mr. Bobs community. ... ... Five (5) years later, my aunt, one of my mother's older sister, told us that my mother had called my husbands job and slandered him... before Mr. Bob passed away, he told us that my mother had came to him and slandered my husband and he 'blew her out' and sent her away... Mr. Bob told me that my mother slandered us to the other landlord, a White woman, and that was why she evicted us... This landord, in fact, called Mr. Bob and told us, that on that very day after I had visited him to ask him if I could come, that landlord actually came to visit him too!!! Mr. Bob told me that she came with some 'scraggly looking man' [lol] and told him that I might be coming back to him... He told me that he 'lit her up!' LOL and sent her and her boy away. ... My mother was a social worker and I am her only daughter of three that has children from her first husband, and she hated me,... hated me... hated me... she hated my father.... I look like my father... She applied for Grandmother Visitation rights... the judge, a black church woman, who had never been married and never had children, worked in the FAMILY JUVENILE COURT, gave her rights to have UNSUPERVISED VISITATION of my sons every over saturday for four (4) hours... I said no way... LOL... and trouble continued... my sons were 5 and 7, and remember everything... Okay, so that is one of several stories that I have, and so, my husband did not believe me the week before, he was FIRED from his job... so, even though, he is a witness, and so is the social service department, application dated that day THAT I HAD THAT EXPEREIENCE!!!-- It is like @Pioneer1 said; it is based on the individual's person experience with 'God' and but, I also say, no matter what, some people will believe, but others will always be DOUBTING THOMASES... even if things like this happens to them. Whatever...

What a thought! Okay, so who can prove God!? But I do believe that religion can be killed, for sure, but never the Creator/Higher Power of Intelligent Design. @Troy, @Pioneer1 Brilliant!--in what Pioneer said, because, I also believe that no matter what an individual has experienced or shares to others, if a person doesn't want to believe then, it doesn't mean that 'the proof was not a factor'. I tell you, I can relate to this topic in more than one way, and that is why I inquired from @Delano about the meaninn in his other thread about 'esoteric'. Regarding 'the scientific method' well, I don't know how my questions would fit this topic though, but I can absolutely relate to what Pioneer wrote.

Thank you! Okay so 'what is destiny'? And, 'Where am I going'!? Also, many years ago, I lost my sweet heart, my precious little dog and it hurt me so badly that I don't think I ever really want another dog. Sometimes I wonder If in the future I will get over his death and maybe get another dog; so would that be a proper question to ask you?

This is how I feel. But by just being a part of this powerful system, it's like we can always be vulnerable to so many other ploys against us in so many other ways too. Dividing us based on gender conflicts has been a powerful tool used though, but other kinds of people have gender conflicts too, so why it that African people seem to be the most harmed by these divide and conquer methods, is such a wonder for me.

@Cynique Cynique, I was addressing the process that was used; The Romans set up 'AN EMPIRE' system that, according to history, began long before it became defined as 'an empire'. And, it is a lot of history. There was initially an 'archaic triad' and then later 'Jupiter, Juno and Minerva (i.e. Venus and many other names) and then 'the god An'. Prior to this empire system, the Romans and the Etruscans related and then prior to this was so much more. And, what is not brought out, is the many 'ethnic' peoples that were conquered through various methods. Prior to the empire system, was another time called 'the Punic War times' of which there were supposedly three wars over the course of a few hundred years, and then the Romans interacted with the Greeks. So, there was history made regarding the 'Roman-Etruscans' and the 'Greco-Romans' and on and on... but again, what is kept suppressed would be the 'ethnic' presence that was overcome in order for the empire system to set up. Ultimately, the Roman Empire system set up WHITE SUPREMACY and they did it over the course of time byway of a 'divide and conquer' tactic and ethnic women were one of the biggest methods used to overthrow the ethnic world. Prior to CLEOPATRA, a Hellenistic woman, there were so many other women elevated and like Cleopatra, thrown down, when the desired Roman leadership over ethnic lands was achieved. Again, the 'unified' was not an issue by the time the Romans went from 'a Rome REpublic' to 'a Roman Empire'; the Romans methodically broke down cultures and peoples by and by in various areas until they gained the following of masses. The Romans operated in North Africa, Europe, the Sinai Peninsula, Turkey and elsewhere for hundreds of years and they came to dominate over these areas. I don't know how to answer this question. But yes, this was definitely part of their history. Yes, it did! I have spoken on this several times in regards to my personal experiences with PEDOPHILIA. And, I believe in REPARATIONS; but, I absolutely support Obamas views in other regards. My husband, and many pastors and Islamic leaders in my community and so many more. Compared to men like Wienstein, yes, I do feel that Bill Cosby was persecuted. I am shocked at the process in which he was convicted, I do not understand how this could have happened! Are you saying that I am wrong for the way I criticize the black men in my life? As far as the media goes, I don't know what you mean. Another mind boggle for me, when it comes to this American court system! This story swung from one extreme to the other! First, it was said that he was going to be brought on felonies, a lot of felonies and then all of them dropped. WOW.

Thank you. I still don't know how to pose a question, so I will keep reading other post. I guess astrology is perhaps, like using stars or star arrangements in the sky to understand and answer certain questions or ideas posed about individuals.

@Pioneer1 Yes, I've noticed this. From the Me Too Movement to this and other things. So true! And this is why maybe, White Supremacist can always exploit... to Divide and Conquer. Yeah, but this is not a new tactic. This is how the Roman Empire set up.

yes, this is what I was thinking!

@Pioneer1 Yes, I understand this, but isn't this what other people of all kinds and cultures do too? I agree Black people should reproduce 'responsibly' but due to the natural issue regarding 'reproduction', would be why Big Governments have to have a legal system in place to deal with irresponsiblity. Unfortunately for Black AFrican people, the governments in the world seems to strike out against controlling 'Bad Black Behavior' but these systems also have to deal with the bad behaviors of other people too. Therefore, maybe we should focus our attention on education too, and not just trying to stop reproduction; quantity. yes, again, I say it should be about education and not just 'hoping'. lol, I don't know too much about China but, from the little that I have learned, that limit of having two children caused a lot of problems that may have been suppressed by the government. I don't have an opinion about this issue of 'over reproduction' in so far as a solution but, when I think about this, I think about the foundations of these big governments and how they used this issue to their benefit and how their long range plan is what we are facing today... prison system and what not! I think at some point in the past, certain governments came up with a plan to deal with the natural aspect of 'reproduction' and now, we are seeing the ramifications of their actions. So again, I think that we need to be educated on this wise and understand how governments have worked to control the masses and then maybe we might have better peace about this situation. Quality is definitely better than quantity, but this issue is connected to the government, imo. Yeah, and AFrican too. Invasions. These people were not prepared for an organized invasion, so their masses were affected, but today, I think we should focus on getting a better understanding on these past happenings with regards to White Supremacy.

okay. Can you re-state how you defined 'esoteric' first, then I will know how to pose a question.

@Pioneer1 Yes, I can understand why you say this and believe that, in general, many people of all races engage in sex relationships for sex gratification and the 'accidents' that occur are excused away for many 'false justifications', however, if many Black people choose not to have children, that will not solve the problem for us as a people in this world. To say that "God will make a way for them and see them through some how some way" may be what you think about, but that should not be the focus, imo. The focus should be based on nature and the fact that 'reproduction' is a human right, and therefore, Black people should not feel that they should not reproduce only because of financial reasons. We are human, we need to eat in order to live, so therefore, if some Black people see the importance to fight for the right to eat and work and live comfortably then to also fight while they have relationships and reproduce should be a part of the process. But again, if you, as an individual, have chosen to wait for financial reasons and for other responsible reasons, I think that is great. Hopefully, you will be a supportive uncle to your brothers children and others. Yeah, but obviously, that didn't go to well. I seriously doubt this because, it didn't work in the past. @Mel Hopkins Thank you so much! You too, are beautiful!

Yes, this sounds strange. But for them to have to get a lawyer does seem like something may have occurred. This case is strange. Yes, Something does not sound right here, what a diversion. @NubianFellow I just learned something new. There is a show called Power? I will google. When I hear about something that Lee Daniels is behind, I already assume it's going to be about lbgt and this is what I heard about Empire. I don't know for sure though. This is awful. But again, this was the purpose for electing a 'Black' president imo, anyway. I saw it coming.

@Cynique Yes, this is true. But this runs in my family but, I am happy that my eyes did not stay blue. But, I am glad too, that you pointed this out because I have heard of this common birth of having blue eyes then going away. But I know that the combination of blue eyes with red hair is also distinct and again, this phenomenon runs in my family on my fathers side. And, no, you did not hi-jack this thread! I appreciate your input because it give balance! And, this is your experiences, and I can respect this, however, Cynique there are other African-typed people of all color tones that have been struck harshly with racism and therefore, do not have this privilege that you do, in equating their African origins as being equal to their other blood lines. But for you and others that can do this is fortunate, especially being here, in America. Yes, so true. LOL! That is okay with me. I am happy to know your take on this subject!

WOW Thank you for your honesty! @Pioneer1 You are speaking truth, here. This is sad, but true when it comes to many African American men in this government. Again, WOW. I can understand on a personal basis too, especially about the 'black man not being financially secure'!!! And as far as you choosing not to do this or have children for this reason, I understand completely. I also understand why you would not want to do this 'by accident' and put out Black Children and suffer watching them suffer and also... blame you!!!--and NOT be able to recognize the part of this government!!! I can relate to this on a personal note!!! And this is why, even though, I understand your stance, if all Black men chose to do what you did, we would never win as a people though. So, I also don't blame others who do still marry Black women and have children and take on this HARD PLIGHT! My husband is getting is butt kicked--LOL! But I am so glad that he had 'an accident' with me!!! LOL! And, then he chose to marry me before the birth of my son! But, @Pioneer1 with your other beliefs on relationships, it's amazing that you did NOT have an accident--LOL. @Pioneer1 Yes, I can understand this too, but as a whole, when is there ever the right time? This government is bent on keeping us as Second class citizens. Okay, again @Pioneer1 Thank you for your honesty!!! But then, here is what I have to say about your response. Some men and women don't form a healthy spirit, a spirit that caused them to form a positive perspective and viewpoint about themselves--as they should fit in a physical world and go from this point to seek out a relationship with a person that fits their human presence. So, if you, as a man wanted to be married to the right kind of woman, then perhaps, you would have done that, but if you hook up with Black women that are shallow and who provide you an easy excuse to keep finding faults in our character, then you may be wasting you time. You know about Denzel Washington, right. That was what he said. He said that he was passed over when he was young and called ugly but, when he became older and confident, it became the opposite. And, that is what I have noticed with my sons. Just like Denzel said, regarding Black African American men. My sons were just 'invisible' by Black girls when they were young but, they built up a lot of confidence THAT CAME FROM ME! And so, by the time they reached high school, well, things changed dramatically!

Awesome. Awesome.

Interesting again. There seems to be a lot of hidden history, yet to come out! My mother's mother, as I did say in the past, was part Native American and part East Indian and so, the hair texture obviously shows up in mixed-raced African Americans showing these links!!! But the Colorism and racis that existed in the Pre-Columbian World was really bad. And my mother's mother was really bad too, with her racism. She had a lot of children. I have a lot of aunts and uncles from her, and they all constantly say that she was racist. My aunt of which I was close to, was the lighter skinned one, and she had a 'mean streak'--lol. She was blunt. All of my aunts including my mother say that she was very attractive when she was younger and had a lot of attention, but then, they all did. But they all said that "Ma and Pa favored her over the others because she was light skinned like Ma". @Cynique My aunts would always say this and even she said this too! And that's when I had to laugh. One time I came to visit her in the nursing home and I sat beside her and asked her questions. She loved all of her nieces and nephews and would get angry if we did not come to visit her. Her siblings would come too, and at times she would slam the door in their faces and leave them outside in the hallway during visits. LOL. She hated my mother's second husband, and I think it's because he made a pass at her. But anyway, one day she told me, that "Ma and Pa spoiled her" LOL. I think she blamed them for causing her to become anti-social. She never married and she had no kinds. At any rate, I never met my maternal grandmother, but after hearing all of the stories about her, I'm kinda glad I didn't meet her. LOL. But her ancestry and that of her parents is interesting! I am so glad to hear you background. And, because you said that you married a Black man, then, you may understand how important it is too, though to embrace Africa!!! I agree because, HEY--you are here!--in this community dropping all of this knowledge! However, you married a Black man and so, your children have this ancestry too. So, I believe that you should be somewhat 'riveted on Africa' for their sake. That is one thing tht bugs me about my husbands people. They have benefitted due to African American Movement and their movement AIM (the American Indian Movement) did not form until after ours. So, they admit this and many of them connected with African Americans during the Civil Rights times. But some of them want to be separate now. There was almost nothing for them, so they were able to fight back for their rights with the help of Black people. Me and my father-in-law has some rounds on this issue! LOL.

@Cynique Thank you! This is an awesome story! I got a tell you a quick story about my husband educating me on his mother's people, the BLACKFEET. I see too, that you did mention both, the BLACKFEET and THE BLACKFOOT. When I went to my first Pow Wow, I bought my two young sons, a shirt that had BLACKFOOT on it and my husband had a fit! He made me go back and return them because he said that the Blackfoot Indians were completely separate from the Blackfeet Indians. They are not the same. But over the years, I have been researching and trying to understand the distinction, but seems this information is kept hidden. Most Blackfeet Indians that I meet are blatant and say the same thing as my husband. They do NOT connect with the Blackfoot at all. But based on my research, I do believe that there may have been some connection but they may have split due to issues of Colorism! The Federal government list them separately though, but I believe that in Canada, they may have been connected. They supposedly have two separate reservations though in the Pacific Northwest. Scientist do say that, out of all the people in the world that carry the "O" Negative blood type, it is the Blackfoot that are the only ones that are significant in North America, then this blood type is significant in Mexico too. But not the Blackfeet. So, I think that your oral history and your connection to Blackfoot is amazing! And as you did say, the Osage were concentrated in Kansas and Missouri! Wow! Interesting! You know, both my mother and one of my aunts, her sister, had this happen too!!! My mother's hair was Jet Black and my aunt actually had red hair and she had an afro. But now, their hair turned as yours did-- silky white and bone straight.

I don't know @Pioneer1 The problem with this is that the PEOPLE in this land have been here for many thousands of years and so, the straight hairs that are White skinned are just as much TRUE Native Americans and the BROWN INDIANS. In many regards, the Native American World is more MATRIARCHAL and this is due to the 'CAUCASIAN' expression and much more earlier ASIATIC origins that goes way back in time. @Pioneer1I king of agree with you here, but it is because the 'Caucasian genes' you refer to kind of MARK a recent time period of about 6000 years ago and with the more dominant Paternal presence. But the Native Americans that go way back prior to the 6000 year mark were also WHITE and/or BROWN and they are more matriarchal. So, this COLOR ISSUE was bad in the Native American world long before the Caucasians and then long before Columbus, and this is what is not being brought out. Yes!!! But the problem here is that, in many regards the Africans are also Native Americans. They were not a separate group, but they are Native Americans, this is what is not being admitted. This then becomes a serious problem. Columbus may have seen BLack AFrican tribes, but also he definitely saw 'Negro Native Americans'. As you said, Abubakari was here!!! And, AFrican kings and people came around the AD 1300s mark and met earlier 'Negro Natives' and this is a distinct issue here. The Europeans have drawn the line, incorrectly. They want to define Native Indians that were 'Negro' as being 'Africans' but many of them had nothing to do with the continent of Africa and had been in the Americans even before the Olmecs and before the 1500s BC. But the Europeans want to define THE AZTECS who came over here from Spain in the AD 1300s as being American Indians, but then, they want to define the Black Africans that came during the same time as being AFRICANS!!! Again, I know about this history too. And they remained over here due to a fleet that sailed, but the Aztecs are defined as being Native Americans, but yet not these AFricans who came at the same time span!!! Both of these movements into the Americas about a hundred years before Columbus was as a result of the BLACK DEATH PLAGUE that began to occure in AD 1335. The Aztecas were actually Spanish people that came by the millions.

@Cynique This is too funny! You know though that if you are alien, then we are all aliens! LOL. Your RH-negative Type "O" blood is only one aspect of this alien presence and I told you I was told I had blue eyes when I was born. And, I have had red hair for years until it began to darken. LOL. But I am not broadcasting my blue eyes at all, though! LOL. I KEEPS DAT on the down low. LOL. You are most welcome, my brother! @Pioneer1 Are you speaking in reference to my story? If so, then, yes, my husband's grandmother was MIXED RACED. But due to her 'racist' mother marrying an Indian and abusing her in that way about her father, she obviously did not like it and guess what? She grew up and met and married another Native American! LOL! So, while my husband's grandmother was mixed-raced, though she did the same thing that her 'racist mother' did and marry 'an Indian' and, it was not necessarily out of love, but women back in those days married due to needing to financially taken care of and they had been passed over by the kind of men that they really wanted. My husband's grandmother would always say that her 'racist' mother hated the INDIAN that she married. She would tell us that the woman would always refer to her husband as 'THAT OLE INDIAN'. LOL. But then, I touched upon it briefly, by saying that this same grandmother of my husband was also defined as being 'racist'. She had 13 kids! Most of her kids were very light skinned but a few of them came out dark like her Native American husband and also her genes from her Native father and, she did show that she had problems with COLORISM herself. One of her sons, was dubeed 'the Black One' and it was he that said in my very presence, "Mama is racist". So true. Yeah, but this is too difficult, IMO. Therefore, I don't really agree. Culture has a lot to do with how people are identified too. Therefore, by expecting people to identify as being Mixed-raced, biracial and etc. can be disrespectful in some regards. Some biracial people and mixed raced people do cosign onto ther Black culture and become much more beneficial to the Black cultures than Black people who are possessed with issues of Self-Hatred!

@NubianFellow Thank you for breaking this down! Until now, I couldn't find the actual story. But I just read in the tabloids, yesterday, that he has returned to the set of that show, I think it's called, Empire. And I also read yesterday that the FBI has been requested to investigate the charges on his behalf. I'm not sure though. I only read briefly. But now, after your post, I am wondering if this is all some kind of hype that is coming from certain groups who want to draw more support for the LBGT cause and to connect this to Black Americans. I am wondering about this process due to this show called Empire, that I have heard about. I heard that the show is suppose to be really good, but i have no interest in watching it right now.

@Pioneer1 I absolutely agree with you!!! Here, by brother, you are talking truth!!! the term 'BLACK-WHITE' woman is truth!!! and vice versa too. There are a lot of BLACK-WHITE men in the African American culture that use their traits to deceive us and put out the White Supremacist format. THANK YOU PIONEER!!! OMG! But again, you are attacking Mel as if she is this profile and I tell you that, in this, you are wrong and you are being disrespectful. Yes, and don't leave out African men from that continent too. They also obssess over White women. But no, Pioneer, here, you are missing the major point. The Latina and ARab women don't comdemn their men, in that I do agree, but it is because they too, have a problem with their identity. They believe that they are White and define themselves as being 'White' on applications! But when it comes to Black women in Africa and here, we are most damaged by Black AFrican men who obsess over White women. In this you are so wrong. We have been enslaved due to the global effort to divide and conquer the Black man and woman... this is the very process and this is why when Black men do this, it is most oppressive. Go back and read what @Del wrote. I have no problem recalling!!! I do agree that you deserve a testimony from me and Black women on this score, and again, I have offered one and you completely brushed me off!!!--- as if you don't agree. smh. You are clearly showing the very process in how Black women have been completely oppressed by Black men!!! LOL! Come on Pioneer; wake up! Please read this statement @Pioneer1

@Mel Hopkins What!? Really? Wait a minute--Really!? Now, this is deep, a deep insight. @Pioneer1 I do look forward to your response here. You have requested some responses from me and Mel regarding personal issues on our position of 'abusive Black men' and I responded to you that, it is difficult to make responses but I have responded in this very thread!!! However, you have made no replies, so why should I bring up another case!? That makes no sense. Please respond to my first testimony and then, we will go from there. But no, I don't have any doubt that you don't love Black women. I feel this from you, but I do agree that you have some deep issues about your past relationships and you may be superimposing your experiences onto us! Oh but for now, I feel you my brother and really appriciate you deep insights. @Delano Thank for you insight too! OMG! @Delano So true. @Mel Hopkins Oh no. @Troy Did not reply to me at all. He made a blanket statement about 'King James" and I responded and he completely ignored me, brushed me off. @Pioneer1 I did read what Delano wrote, encouraging her to share her stories, but you miss the fact that he did not push the issue. I understand too though what you are saying, in that, we owe you, as a Black man, some kind of explanation, and I do agree. But, I have offered a testimony and you have brushed it off!!!--completely!!! It is so amazing how, some Black men pretend to be so 'together' and 'respectful' to Black women... LOL... This is the problem!!! @Pioneer1 Please tell me that you are joking!!! You have completely ignored the mental and emotional abuse and etc that causes much deeper wounds than physical. Come on!!! Tell me that you didn't mean that! Yes you did. And here lies the deep truth. You are trying to use one Black woman's offered experience to fit in your personal life's experiences that has caused you to be prejudice against the sum of Black women.

African and Native American Hair-type; THE COMB TEST One key historical mark that reveals issues of Colorism that existed in the Native American world would be a practice that became known as ‘the Comb Test’. Perhaps there has been some publications with regards to this subject but, my account would only be based on a personal experience. Nevertheless, as it was explained to me, this practice was common and widespread at least on the east coast of the States. However, there has been a serious mis-education when it comes to the whole truth about what life was like for millions of people who lived in North America before the coming of Columbus and the Colonial Movement. Even though the Native American world consisted of many different kinds of natives however, today we have been conditioned to define the American Indians (ie. Native Americans) by European construct. But sometimes when I look at my husband, who happens to be a ‘Black Indian’, I sometimes think about how back during the Civil Rights times, a common racist shout against Black people was to ‘Go Back to Africa’ and now, the deception becomes apparent. Because of this European tactic to ‘Divide & Conquer’, based on issues of Colorism as well as many other methods, the reality of Colorism that had already occurred amongst the native peoples became even more of a confusion. My husbands people though, mark both the ancient history and the more recent American Indian history too. As a Negro Indian [i.e. Black Indian], my husband reveals that not all people with nappy hair identifies with the term ‘Africa’ as it applies to the Mid-Atlantic African Slave Trade. For a certainty, all modern humans originated OUT OF AFRICA at one point in time, but also, just like many different kinds of people who are from other continents and countries all over the world and who have no known recent historical link to Africa, nevertheless, there are a significant presence of Native American Indians that fit todays physical description of ‘an African’ but have no recent historical link to Africa at all. Because their cultures were almost wiped out, therefore, some of them have intermixed with African Americans, have chosen to blend, or conveniently allowed people to define them as African Americans but many of them are not direct descendants. Over time, African American Descendants of Slaves have been made to absorb many other kinds of people into our culture and therefore, in order to better understand issues of Self-Hate and Colorism that has plagued us, it may be good to look deeper into our origins and formations. Following, will be four brief personal accounts with some of my relations that may better help to understand how, perhaps, the notion of ‘GOOD HAIR-BAD HAIR’ has been connected to Colorism and White Supremacy and used to classify Black African-typed people as being inferior to others. 1. My husband’s paternal grandmother. She would be defined as ‘a Straight-Haired North American Indian’ woman. He took me to visit her from time to time, before and after we married and it was always enriching because, she was always willing to talk and share a lot about her life. But she was also very frank, abrupt and sometimes crude to the point that some of her grandchildren became offended and would not visit her. On one visit she told me that she remembered ‘the Trail of Tears’. She said that she was very young but remembered it very well. She was led out by hand with her people as they were forced marched out of their lands westwards to become a part of a Cherokee Reservation. She was not Cherokee though, but Sioux, however, there was no designated reservation for the Sioux, so for the many that were caught in the North Carolina woodlands, they were force marched to Cherokee lands. On another visit she told my husband and I about ‘the Comb Test’ and said that this was a common practice. She said it became incorporated into her Church and when a visitor would want to join the congregation, the preacher would then call that person up to the front of the church! She further explained that the preacher would pull out a comb and then run the comb through the hair of the person and if they did not have ‘STRAIGHT-TYPED HAIR’, they could not become a member of their church community. I fell back… LOL. She told us this story with a straight and stern face. I asked her was she serious and she confirmed. On yet another occasion, she came to visit her son, my father-in-law. And as the family gathered around the table, I decided to ask her a question because I felt that her presence was so unique in how she compared to my father-in-law; her son. I said to her, “you have a beautiful skin tone but why is it that you are darker than your son and most of your children? She immediately smiled at me and then she threw her head back and paused. Then she looked straight forward, and it was almost as if she went into a trance. She looked as if she went far back in time and in her imagination while she was speaking of a very traumatic time in her childhood. She said, “I know. I am also darker than both of my brothers. I was my mother’s only daughter and she hated me.” Then she said that one day when she was a little girl, her mother punished her for not washing the dishes. Her mother led her outside and made her stay outside on the swing in the sun for a long time and ever since that time, her mother would tell her that she became dark because she was a bad girl. I could tell that her mind went back to that very experience and it seemed as if she was ‘that little girl’. But then after she told the story, she ‘came to’. Then she looked at me and said, she hated her mother and did not miss her after she died. She had no remorse. OMG! Anyway… fast forward … to one of her own sons, that was dubbed, the black one and he said that she was racist. My husband said that whenever they would go to visit this woman, his great-grandmother, who was a White woman, she would line all the children up—by color—LOL. My husband was always in the back! 2. THE POW WOW—I learned by going to Pow Wows that many of the East Coast Natives adopt spiritual names that relate to a significant event in their life or based on the nature of animals common to their environment. So in the western parts of America the natives may adopt spirit names connected to perhaps the buffalo, bull, horse, coyote, or etc. And in the east coast, some natives refer to the fox, squirrel, rat (swamp rat), beaver, deer, and etc. There are many different tribal people from all over America and I met a native, a Straight-haired-Indian, who told me an interesting story that made me realize that I had mis-judged my husband who spoke about this very topic. So, I need to go back to the story that my husband had told me about some of his father’s people. He would constantly tell me how some of his relatives would have a particular hair-type but then all of a sudden, it would completely change. He said that he had an uncle who was young and had very tight curly hair and then he got sick and was hospitalized but, afterwards, his hair became bone straight. And, he continued to tell me other similar stories repeatedly until, I got sick and tired of it. One day, I told him, “Negro Please! You don’t have to worry about your hair changing as nappy as it is. Be sure, it won’t change at all. Smh!” I didn’t believe it but then, when I went to the Pow Wow, this native man told me the same kind of story. I have since learned that there is such an occurrence in that some people do have this happening in that their hair will change texture or, they have a distinct combination-type hair texture, and not due to old age, but it is a commonality that occurs across the world in certain ethnic groups. This makes me wonder of the useless purpose of ‘the Comb Test’. 3. BLACKFEET Comb Test—My husband’s father lived in the Piedmont area and his people have a long history in this region. However, some of the decision that he made was spurred by the government’s programs aimed at wiping out the Native Americans. He marks a very crucial and historical time of conflict that revolved around the World Wars. The Federal government passed a law known as the Racial Integrity Act (RIA) in order to deal the American Indians and the federal reports concluded on the repercussions of this law years later. Initially, the natives had three choices; (1) they could be defined as White if they were light skinned enough, (2) they had to remain on reservations if they still wanted to be listed as Natives, or (3) they had to be defined as ‘Colored’ and be defined with the Negro ‘race’ if they signed up for the military. In general, and as a result of this RIA, the federal government documents later reported that almost 90% of the Native American men married White women and completely left the reservations and became ‘White’ if they could pass (this is what my father-in-law’s, father chose to do, but he was too dark skinned to pass as White). Only a few natives remained on the reservations and as a result many of them that remained became very impoverished. And finally, there was a small percentage of natives that were aggressive and did not want to be defined as White nor chose to remain on the reservations, therefore, they bonded with the African American community; and this is what my father-in-law chose to do. However, he married a part-Blackfeet woman. My husband’s mother, at my first glance, appeared to be an African American woman, but the story behind the picture of her grandmother displayed in her house was about a woman that came from Montana, was forced out of Blackfeet country with her people who faced harsh times of starvation. They were driven at first to Nebraska, and then some of them were taken by wagonloads further east to Maryland. My husband’s mother was a little girl at the same time that some famous Blackfeet Indians were being pressed hard by the government and were resisting annihilation. Black-and-White photos captured some of the Blackfeet Indians during the 1930s and there was one famous depiction of a Blackfeet on a subway rail in the Capital. But the very brief written documents about the Blackfeet Indians has been severely White washed and painted a very different view of a much bigger story! The oral story about the Blackfeet Indians has some color to it! Although my husband’s mother has that same distinct forehead that I see in a lot of pictures of Blackfeet Indians, her hair was also nappy, no doubt due to being intermixed on the east coast, however, there are small bits and pieces of early stories of the Blackfeet that does include the African presence before the Great Starvation. And also unfortunately, my mother-in-law conducted her own ‘Comb-Test’ amongst her own children and grandchildren. She made a point of announcing to me and her own son, my husband, that our firstborn baby would not be lucky enough to have ‘hair like Papa’. Both of our sons were born and grew nappy hair like her and all of her children and grandchildren. And like my husband, who has the same prominent forehead and hairline as she did, one of my sons were born with the same traits. Our first son developed some physical features of the Sioux while our younger son developed some physical features of the Blackfeet. 4. THE ETHIOPIAN YOUNG MEN—As a Biology Major, my further research began with my personal stories about my family here as an African American Descendant of Slaves. Yet, even though, through by son’s paternal line, they are Third Generation Native Indians starting with my father-in-law and Second-Generation Black Indians, and come from a long line of Natives, however, their maternal links to Africa through myself becomes the Agar that makes them so complete. The American government has damaged and fragmented the American Indian populations so intensely that the Black Indian Identity is almost gone. For this reason, and as my sons grew up, I became so happy to see their African traits develop. I enjoyed taking my sons to the barber shop to get the trendy African American haircut styles such as the High top, Box Cut, fade, and corn rolling their hair. I remember how all the Black young men grew out their afros over the summer and turned up in school for the 7th grade with these large ‘Jackson 5 afros’. And I could see that my older son began to look like my maternal origins more and more, as he grew up. He looked to me like East Africans, but I had no idea that he would receive this same confirmation from many East African and Middle Eastern people! I remember one day that we went to dine at a buffet restaurant in North Carolina and a rather large group of Ethiopian young men came into the restaurant to eat. They walked passed our table and sat over near the window and they were close enough so that their conversations in a foreign tongue could easily be heard as they talked amongst themselves. I noticed that they looked a lot like my son who was sitting at the table with us. But then my thoughts were confirmed by those men that day. At one point, my son stood up because he wanted to go to the sushi bar and he turned and began to walk towards their table because it was in the pathway of the direction to the sushi bar. As my son began to walk briskly towards that direction, the men stopped talking abruptly and looked directly at my son, and three of them immediately stood straight up and began to reach out their hand as if to shake hands with my son. Meanwhile, my son, who had no clue what was transpiring, kept on walking past their table and so, the three men looked baffled and then they slowly sat down and continued speaking in another language. Apparently, they must have assumed my son was going to greet them. I was so amazed at how much he looked like those young Ethiopian men, but it was not until I did more research that I could really appreciate his traits. And as he grew up, however, there was one unique trait that he began to express that really caught me by surprise. My oldest son went off to college and moved into the dormitory community when he was about twenty. But it was only a few weeks later that he told me that he had decided to cut his braids and get a barber shop cut. So, a few days later, I drove up to the campus to visit him and I was taken by surprise to see his new look. He opened the passenger car door and sat down in the car and my mouth dropped open as I gazed at his profile and look at his Mediterranean typed nose. … I said, “Okay, what happened to your hair!!!” He did a silent laugh and said, “I don’t know.” Then I said, “Where are your naps!? What happened to your hair!? It is BONE SRAIGHT! OMG! You look like a Gypsy. You’ve got a White woman’s bump in your nose. What am I going to tell you father? He is going to joke me! … I ran my fingers through his hair. So much for ‘the Comb Test!’ smh. To this day, my oldest son’s hair has no naps. When he grows it out, it is very, very Black and has soft big straight-type curls but, nonetheless, there are no naps!—at all! His hair texture resembles many Ethiopians in that he has a combination type hair texture. He lost the bushy afro that he used to have. His hairline has receded, and he looks like he could be one of Haile Selassie’s sons. Umh. What a thought. Well, I wrote some of my personal experiences with respect to ‘African traits’ [i.e. ???] because of the deeper research that I have done with regards to the ancient scripts of the distant past and to better explain the problems of today that has arisen due to issues of Self-Hatred and Colorism that has plagued the world. These four personal experiences are sort of an introduction to a better understanding of the past.

I love this! So, when I think about 'beyond the physical' then I am wondering if this can have something to do with 'deep visions'. But now, I am going to have to look into what the term 'esoteric' means.

@Mel Hopkins You are so right. Again, you are so right. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!!!!!!! Oh Gosh! I needed this!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!!! Oh Wow! Okay, I am probably wrong, but I actually thought that Shakespeare may have had some cultural connection to being 'Black' and that was why I love that quote. I read somewhere that the other poets did not like him. They called him an Upstart CROW. And they did not like it that the queen of England liked him! And lastly, some of his writings were based of of the Bible, I think either Songs of Solomon or Psalms or something like that. Okay, @Troy Since you saw the need in mentioning a 'book' King James commisioned, it is okay if I comment in response? "Beliefs one holds usually have nothing to do with reason or logic"? Well, when I compare: [1] Trump's Maga platform [2] the 'book' King James Commissioned, and [3] your assessment in that 'usually' ones belief has nothing to do with reason or logic, then I think about this; Trump's life is less than 100 years, your life is less then 100 years, King James life was less than 100 years, but the 'collection of books' that the king commissioned to be translated by a body of learned people, books that had been written by over 100s of people over the course of thousands of years, I guess you are right in your assessment in regards to people's beliefs usually not based on any sound reason or logic.