Troy

People stick around for a variety of reasons, but I think it is mostly laziness and denial. There is a class of people who really can't easily leave, or where the effort to leave is worth the risk of staying. The government issues a mandatory evacuation order and then says we will save you when you need help; that creates less of an incentive to leave too. If you rely on historical precedent you will always underestimate the risk. You don't have to tell people who have been through something like this once to heed evacuation orders.

Fortunately for me The storm passed far enough South of me that i was largely unaffected. There was rain and high winds but nothing coming close to what we have all seen on TV. Terrible. At some point we will have to come to the realization that we can’t live right on the beach any more. Every new weather event is now the “worst ever.” closer to home St Pete, Clearwater, and Tampa bay dodged a bullet, but it seeming is only a matter of time. The same goes for places like NYC, Miami, Houston in fact all along the gulf coast from TX to FL. Side bar: people always say their prayers were answered because they avoided disaster, but they never think about the prayers of those not answered, people who lost their homes and even their lives…

Profit. Perhaps, but if the activities did not result in profit they would not be taking place. In America, "C.R.E.A.M." When it comes to our biology no, when is comes to how gender is expressed absolutely. As far as sexuality, that is 'hole 'nother ball of wax 🥰 The science would disagree with you here and so would most homosexuals. @frankster what would it take for you to "choose" to be homosexual? I suspect nothing. Consider why that is the case. Sure, there are some people whose brains are wired in such a way that they are sexually attracted to people of both genders and can "choose" to have sex with either one, but they are bisexual, not homosexual. Sexuality is not Black and white it is complicated. Indeed gender as I have using it isn't even considered binary 😳

Well I'm all caught up House of the Dragon and am looking forward to the episode this Sunday. I'm enjoying it @Cynique

Profit. @ProfD 😉

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks The Pool Players Seven at the Golden Shovel We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. I have not hopped on the "celebration" of banned books parade so many booksellers have. I feel like that is something I do every day. This is also why I don't feel the need to do something special for Black History Month. That would be redundant... Anywho, I understand this poem was banned for the sexual connotations associated with the line We Jazz June.

Yeah, I hear you @frankster I think it is more of an attempt at increasing representation. That is the agenda. When we witness a group going from zero representation to any people start to lose their shit. When Black people when from zero right to some, white people lost their shit too. Adapting to change is even more difficult than providing equality for all people. The real question related to a secret agenda is the one alluded to by @Cynique and that is: who is the "they" Back folks often talk about? Many point to an evil cabal of Jewish puppet masters who control the world. Black folks are currently victims of the Illuminati, Rothschild, Rockefellers, and Bilgerbergs, pulling the strings behind the scenes. Wielding amazing levels of power, but seemingly too inept to keep their diabolical plans secret from the hip-hop community. Maybe there is a "they," but there is also an us. Are we going to work with ourselves or continue to wring our hands over the "they."

Seriously man one could ignore everything else that came after this statement as it relates to the film. That would be false. Reread the applicable part of Mel's post then do some more research. No, it is not. In my mind, Hollywood, on the heels of the success of Black Panther, came up with another idea to rake in big bucks, Money is their sole motivation. Any other consequences are purely incidental. All of the nonsense about pussyfing Black men is just conspiracy theories run amuck. I liked the film Black Panther, but I wasn't feeling Black people running around embracing the "culture" of Wakanda. Some were even trying to visit Wakanda. This revealed how needy we are as a people for positive images and how unaware we are of actual Black accomplishments. I think Woman King will be superior to Black Panther in that it is based upon reality, and, I'd be willing to bet, it will be more entertaining. Given the lead actress, a sister who can act her way from housemaid and a warrior. I'm looking forward to seeing it on the big screen and I'm sure I'll emerge with my manhood intact. @ProfD gotchu.

Hi @anonymous50 that was a good summary of the current situation. What do you propose that we do about it? "Blanqueamiento" is a cool word. There has always been generational wealth in the Black community. But as in the white community, most of those people are obscure to the public. There are not tons of Black families like this, but the celebrities and athletes are the ones talked about the most and are probably in the minority of families with Black generational wealth. --------- Sidebar: one of the most difficult things about running this forum is deciding which accounts to approve. Sites like Facebook have a much easier time as users there provide detailed personal information including their full names. The vast majority of people who register here won't even provide a name. Do people feel they are freer to express themselves when anonymous? The reality is that anonymity is just used to get away with trolling and spamming the forums. Sometimes it is not so easy to tell.

Media Contact: Delmarie Cobb Phone: 773-373-3860 Email: dlcobb@thepublicityworks.net THIRD WORLD PRESS 55th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION It is incredible that in the year 2022, many Americans are learning, for the first time, the many contributions that individual Black people have made to America and the world. For centuries, the history of America has been slanted, misleading and distorted. This “his-story” has been a means to keep African American contributions hidden. For fifty-five years, Dr. Haki Madhubuti MFA, Ph.D (poet, editor, publisher, educator and activist), has pursued the singular mission of counteracting the myth that Black people have not contributed greatly to American culture. He has done this by allowing readers to share the Black experience in America from the perspective of Black writers. Next month, the octogenarian celebrates the founding of the second oldest independent Black owned book publishing company in the United States. In 1967, Madhubuti started Third World Press in Chicago’s South Side community of Englewood. He did not have much money, only four hundred dollars. The only technology he had access to was a typewriter and mimeograph machine. But he did have an idea. That idea grew into Third World Press. Since then TWP has published hundreds of authors such as Mari Evans, Derrick Bell and Gil Scott-Heron; producers and playwrights Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis and Christine Houston; renowned psychiatrists, Frances Cress Welsing, Carl Bell and Bobby E. Wright; historians Chancellor Williams, John Henrik Clark and Jacob Carruthers; poets Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Illinois Poet Laureate Angela Jackson and the first African American Pulitzer Prize winner Gwendolyn Brooks and of course, Madhubuti himself, who has published more than thirty-six books. The publisher’s interest in books started as a teenager in Detroit when his mother ordered him to the public library to check out Black Boy by Chicagoan, Richard Wright. Madhubuti was so taken by the vivid descriptions of Black life in the South that he read the book in one day. The next day he returned to the library and checked out everything that the library had on the shelf by Wright. Although TWP is not as widely known as some of its white counterparts, the Chicago-based publishing company has a loyal following of national and international writers and readers. In recent years, due to COVID-19 protocol, it has limited the number of books published. “We are committed to publishing culturally progressive and politically insightful works of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and works for children that may not get published elsewhere” says Madhubuti. “In October, we will publish six new titles highlighting local and national authors. All of them will be available at our anniversary celebration.” This year’s 55th anniversary celebration will take place Saturday, October 8, 2022. The festivities will start with an open house at TWPF, 7822 S. Dobson Avenue from 12 noon until 1p.m. followed by a program at the Institute of Positive Education (Institute of Positive Education Way) on the shared campus at 7823 S. Ellis from 1:30pm until 3:30pm. Poets Useni Eugene Perkins and Angela Jackson will be honored as representatives of the fine tradition of poets and writers that TWPF has produced in its fifty-five years of existence. Both Perkins and Jackson published their early works with the Press in the early 1970’s. They will be on hand at the celebration as well as many local and national TWP poets and writers. website: www.thirdworldpressfoundation.org email: twpress3@aol.com Please share this with your family, friends, and associates.

From the South Bronx projects to the boardroom—at only nineteen years old, Cin Fabré ran with the wolves of Wall Street. Cin Fabré's memoir, Wolf Hustle, tells about her experiences growing up in an immigrant household and saving up so that one day she could escape her abusive father and poverty in the Bronx. Pulling back the curtain on the inequities she and so many others faced, Wolf Hustle reveals how Cin worked grueling hours, ascending from cold caller to stockbroker, becoming the only Black woman to do so at her firm. She indulges the excesses she took part in on 1990s Wall Street—the strip clubs, the Hamptons parties, the Gucci shopping sprees—while reveling in the thrill of making money. From landing clients worth hundreds of millions to gaining, losing, then gaining back fortunes in seconds, Cin examines her years spent trading frantically and hustling successfully, grappling with what it takes to build a rich life, and, ultimately, beating Wall Street at its own game. Read an Excerpt ▶ ****** Having worked the better part of my corporate career on NYC's Wall Street. One of the things I found most striking was the lack of Black people actually from New York City in revenue-generating positions. While I also grew up in the projects I wasn't in a revenue-generating position. I was in technology -- an "overhead" position, an expense. The big bonuses and lavish lifestyles were enjoyed by people who brought money into the firm. It wasn't that people from the projects were not smart enough. There are so many reasons why we are missing on Wall Street. This sister is a unicorn. 🙂

I was unaware of the Griot's efforts regarding WritingBlack. But it was a great compliment to ReadingBlack. The WritingBlack.com domain name is going for $2K+

Not only anesthetized it is how our economy functions. If people stopped buying shit our economy would collapse. I'll never understand why you are unable to untangle the concept of race with racism. I've been down this road before 🙂 Let me know how one can possibly deal with a response that says the Earth was "seeded" over a trillion years before the planet existed...

If they were reared in the rural south, maybe. But most of live in major urban centers, and I doubt any of us can survive more than a few weeks, especially if the weather is shitty. Besides it would be a life of constant work. Is that the way you wanna live, as if we were back in the 16th century?

@ProfD Don't forget bullets. Do you there is enough arable land in places like NYC for individuals to cultivate their own farms? What do you think people, who live in cities, large and small, should do in preparation for the eventuality you apparently envision? Also when you use a smiley face does that mean we should not take what you have written seriously?

Then why mention it in the context of this movie and in reaction to Pioneer's declaration that that is what this movie is doing? I am sure you can see why one would interpret your statement in the way that I have. Are you now saying that you disagree with about @Pioneer1's interpretation of this film and it's attempt to emasculate Black men?

@ProfD do you think the Dahomey were trying to "pussifiy" their men? I think you are confusing the depiction of powerful Black women in film with "a war on masculinity." Surely you do not think there is a lack of Black masculinity in modern cinema, do you? I think one can more reasonably argue that we should be more concerned with images of toxic masculinity than the pussification agenda you and @Pioneer1are asserting -- especially when it comes to Black men.

Hey ya'll, as AALB.com enters its 25th year (I began working on the site in October of 1997 and launched the domain in March 1998), I'm doing a bit more than I usually do to promote the site and raise money for it. I'm planning an upgrade to the site which includes a refresh to the site's design and tech stack. This will be the first time anyone, other than myself has worked on the website. Having others to work on the site is long overdue, but building the site myself kept costs down, which is what has allowed me to keep the site afloat for so long, weathering many challenges. But doing all the work myself has also constrained growth and this is something I hope to remedy, with your help, over the course of the next year. Learn More and Get Your Raffle Here

@ephremlainson63 welcome to the forums.

Of course not?! This movie is designed to be entertaining. You can probably find a documentary about the Dahomey, if you are looking for something historically accurate. Still, this film will probably spur many people to learn more about the Dahomey and there is value in that. Don't you think? My friend, you are often too quick to dispense with the historical facts. They matter. Have you considered why the Dahomey raised an army of female warriors? Come on man! Think about the portrayal of Black people in film 60 years ago and you'll be able to answer your own question

@Pioneer1 one must ask, Have you seen the movie? Another Afrocentric Brother, who actually watched movie, recommended it without reservation. You do realize the Dahomey are well known for their all-female army which existed long before America was founded? What does that do to your theory of "...another attempt to brainwash Black women and influence them to be masculine and act like men. Especially Black girls."? Yes, Davis is a great actress 🙂

I watched everything called labeled star trek, star wars, marvel, DC, game of thrones, marvel, Chappelle, boondocks, etc etc. No, I'm not a fan of sitcoms. I used to be, but not anymore. I do like family guy and south park, but rarely watch them in favor of the stuff above (there are only so many hours in a day). I feel like I'm more laid back than "No Nonsense." I'm pretty easy to get along with, I don't create drama or cause scenes, in public, I don't try to draw attention to myself. I give my unsolicited opinions here I find challenging my ideas or those of others fun and interesting. In the real world, I don't get much of an opportunity to have a protracted debate with others without making someone mad or hurting someone's feelings. Maybe that is why I run the forums and participate in them. Truth is non-nonsense is not incompatible with laid back... I guess I'm a laid-back, non-nonsense, Brother -- that is Gin without the Juice @Delano but still laaaid back 😉 The people who claim this have the evidence. It is common knowledge that Trump got more coverage, driven by social media, than all the other republican candidates combined. Sure there were "many factors" that influenced the outcome of the campaign but most of them can point back to social media -- even how the flaws in the electoral college were exploited. How else did people learn about trump and what he had to say? The media mined Trump's tweets like they were gold, because they were! Free coverage for Trump

TMI 🤫 Most likely some advertiser targeted you based upon your demographics. 50+ year old man is bound to have occasional dick dysfunction. @Nnamdi Azikiwe i stopped using Amazon affiliate program to sell books because it was much more profitable to sell them directly. i dropped all the others because they stopped making money for me. People are buying ebooks through my Amazon affiliate program and audio books through my Libro.fm affiliate program.

What?! I had no idea! I’ll start with the current season; it was the old ones that turned me off

Now that is definitely not an attribute I’d ascribe to our local cynic. 😉 I’m surprised she skipped right past Cardi B, Meghan and Minaj