Troy

The entire city's crime when down, but that started before Bloomberg purchased the mayoralty. Basically correlation does not mean causation. But it is a slick way to claim credit. As Kurtis' kin points out, a lot of Brothers and Sisters were locked up for petty crimes while white boys got off scott free for similar offenses. This is well documented. A whole generation was lost and the impact is incalculable.

I don't think the conversation is "fruitless." I had not idea anyone felt this way about Erivo. I still plan to see the film, but I'll be keeping my eye on her 😉 Frankly, @Kareem I'm more interested in what you have to say about Black people than what a Tyler Perry might have say (unless the subject is black people cross dressing and cooning).

Post a link @Kareem (always)

From all that I've seen Ali rejected Malcolm for renouncing the NOI @Kareem if your following quote does not marginalize Frazier, then I don't know the definition of marginalization. You've elevated Ali WAY above Frazier. Both men were great fighters and Frazier was an asset to his community but greatly marginalized by the mainstream culture -- unlike Ali who was deified later in life. I bet if the NOI was as strong as it was when both Ali and Malcolm were in it Ali would never have become a media darling. As far a Ali and Frazier being friends I dunno, but I doubt they were BFF's. In any case Ali talking about Frizer like a dog which I did not care for. I also recognize that Ali recognized the Frazier was sensitive and used that against him. A tactic which backfired against Kenny Norton

"Let me plant the stake now: No black person — or Hispanic person or ally of people of color — should ever even consider voting for Michael Bloomberg in the primary. His expansion of the notoriously racist stop-and-frisk program in New York, which swept up millions of innocent New Yorkers, primarily young black and Hispanic men, is a complete and nonnegotiable deal killer. Stop-and-frisk, pushed as a way to get guns and other contraband off the streets, became nothing short of a massive, enduring, city-sanctioned system of racial terror. This system of terror exploded under Bloomberg, with his full advocacy and support. In 2002, the first year Bloomberg was mayor, 97,296 of these stops were recorded. They surged during Bloomberg’s tenure to a peak of 685,724 stops in 2011, near the end of his third term. Nearly 90 percent of the people who were stopped and frisked were innocent of any wrongdoing." -- Charles Blow, in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/10/opinion/michael-bloomberg.html ‐------------------- I'm listening to Charles Blow on this one...

Here is a link to an article where I describe my 10 favorite Black-owned, brick-and-mortar bookstores.

Preach!

@Pioneer1 No problem. It was a very stressful period. ‐----‐-------- So you are saying that the masses relate more to Iron Mike than to MLK? Do you? I don't.

You know @Pioneer1previous experience tells me I can't assume that you r actually read this document. Did you? If you did you'd know the heavily redacted document does not say; It was more a warning as a potential tactic, not a declaration of infiltration.

Hi @J. Brinkley thanks for sharing information about your new book. I have added it to the site: https://aalbc.com/books/bookinfo.php?isbn13=9781699933138 We you probably now we get a lot of requests for reviews, and only review a small percentage of the requests. I'll let you know here if we chose to review it.

Yeah, I'd have to disagree with Tariq as well. The Everio tweet is almost 7 years old and who cares what she (or Luuvie) tweets? She's an actress... now. We give way too much attention to the tweets of celebrities. Wouldn't you agree?

Man I have to disagree here. We all fall prey to the stories white media create. One minute they they tell us Ali is a traitor the next they tell us he is beloved. Ali trashed Frazier mercilessly while never doing the same to white opponents. Fraizer ran a gym actively working in the community developing another generation of athletes he was ignored by the white community and as a result the larger Black communty (outside of Philadelphia). White racists in Philadelphia chose to erect a statue of the fictional Rocky Balbos over an actual heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. Joe Fraizer was a great man and boxer whether the mainstream media chooses to recognize it or not. Ali was in the NOI and could not join the military. His stance was more a consequence of being a follower of Elijah Muhammad than any personal conviction. Prominent members running afoul of the NOI suffered consequences. When you describe Ali as the "ultimate activist" you are indeed judging. The man was complicated and i don't want to come across as diminishing his impact, but at the same time I don't want exaggerate his role as an activist and marginalize Fraizer.

Welcome back @Kareem can you share a video or and article in which Erivo expresses "coon" views? Also why hold her ancestor's mistakes against her. Besides wouldn't you agree we give way too much weight to the socio political ideas expressed by entertainers? In other words, why do we even care what Everio thinks she is just an entertainer. Has she studied politics. Is she a politician? Is she a genius? Why would she know anymore than a truck driver, a janitor or any average person -- again why should we care?

Where did you learn this @Pioneer1? Can you reference a source that one can access?

@Pioneer1 The children's book content on the site went viral crippling the web server for almost two weeks. I have upgraded the hardware so the likeihood of that happening again is greatly reduced. Welcome back! He was a excellent boxer, but activist humm... i dunno. The way he dogged Malcolm X and Joe Frazier... I'd be reluctant in calling him the "ultimate" activist.

Nov. 5, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lois Smyth, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, lsmyth@braf.org, (225) 387-6126 Mukul Verma, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, mverma@braf,org, (225) 362-9260 Renowned Author Ernest J. Gaines Dies Louisiana Native Remembered for Southern Classics BATON ROUGE, La. – Author Ernest J. Gaines died in his sleep of cardiac arrest at his home in Oscar, Louisiana today. He was 86 years old. A native of Pointe Coupee Parish, Mr. Gaines’ critically acclaimed novel, “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” was adapted into a 1974 made-for-TV movie that received nine Emmy awards. His 1993 book, “A Lesson Before Dying,” won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction and is a part of high school curricula across the nation. He was Writer-in-Residence Emeritus at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. In addition, Mr. Gaines was active in the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, established 13 years ago to honor outstanding literary work from rising African-American authors while also recognizing Gaines’ extraordinary contribution to the literary world. He was born on River Lake Plantation near False River and became one of the greatest writers of his generation, earning a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature and winning numerous other awards for his literary achievement, including the National Book Critics Circle Award and the MacArthur Prize, also known as "the genius grant" for creativity. In 2007, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation established the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Mr. Gaines and his wife Dianne have met with each of the winners in Oscar and he has publicly shared words of insight and encouragement at each Gaines Award ceremony. The Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence will continue as his legacy. It will be presented to a new awardee January 30, 2020. “Ernest Gaines was a Louisiana treasure,” said BRAF President and CEO John Davies. “He will be remembered for his powerful prose that placed the reader directly into the story of the old South, as only he could describe it. We have lost a giant and a friend.” Gaines wrote his first novel at the age of 17 and returned to Louisiana after living in California, building his home on former property of the plantation that inspired his stories. In a 2007 interview that ran in The Foundation’s quarterly magazine, Currents, Mr. Gaines said of his ancestors, "I often sit on my back porch at night and think about how wonderful it would be if they were there sitting with me in rocking chairs and drinking coffee and talking. It’s the sort of thing I think about often, because this is where they were, right here, my grandparents’ grandparents. This is what makes me proud of the place.” About the Baton Rouge Area Foundation: The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is among more than 700 community foundations in the country. The Foundation improves the quality of life in Baton Rouge and across south Louisiana in three specific ways: the Foundation and its fund donors 1) grant about $40 million each year to nonprofits; 2) provide fundraising and management advice to nonprofits; and 3) take on projects for civic good, such as reclaiming inner city neighborhoods. For more information, please visit BRAF.org.

Again, I was unfamiliar with Nipsey until he was murdered. I believe I understand what you are saying @Kareem. I often push back on embracing someone as a "hero" that some record executive created -- I don't recognize Jay-Z or Kanye for the these reasons. Sure, they get to the white house and are celebrated as thought leaders, sages knowledge about the Black community. Meanwhile true Black intellectuals are marginalized. At the end of the day these guys are entertainers and we can even argue about how good they are at that. I'd take anything Curtis Mayfield created over anything Jay-Z has created. I'm sure any of the retired musicians working with your students are at least as talented and certainly more entertaining than Tupac was. Could Tupac read music and play an instrument? Again, if writing rhymes and reciting them to music someone else wrote is the extent of Tupac's talent that is really not all that impressive in the context of the musical talent or rappers I'm aware of...

I've read two of Gregory's books, hist last, Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies and one of his first (I believe), No more lies: The myth and the reality of American history. His most popular book is Nigger. I have not read it, but I'd probably recommend it first.

This website seems to be the source of that stat: http://www.blackandmissinginc.com/

Yeah the book did not pique my interest -- this is why it is important to have multiple bookstores.

Really? I was totally unaware of the actress' politics. She is talented. I saw her on B'way and sang her ass off in the Color Purple. I plan to see the film in the theater. If you dislike Erivo, you'll just "love" Candice Ownes.

Aw man @Kareem, I'd have to disagree with you on your assessment of Tupac. No one is a "typical thug." To reduce any Black man to that cliche ignores the entire history of our experience in this country. I don't think I'm anymore enamored of Tupac than you are. As far as your work with the young musicians keep up the good work!

Baracka did quite a bit after he changed his name, but the world changed and his popularity waned. The iconoclastic Crouch would be able to relate. It wiuld be interesting to read anything negative saud about Baldwin. I can't imagine whar that might be... probably worth reading the book for that reason alone. As far as Black Nationalism if he meant within the U.S. you did nit exactly need a crystal ball. I just started: The Secret of Freedom by Vernon Kitabu Turner It is supposed to be sort of like a cross between The Alchemist and The Little Prince ...I think 🙂

Hey @Maurice The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual is a classic. I have not read it. What do you think about it? Does reasonate today?

Yeah I saw this documentary. I forget where... the YouTube video you posted can't be viewed in the U.S.