Troy

This past Wednesday I sent a sponsored newsletter promoting a children's book, The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, that was born of the 1619 Project, which was conceived by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can read more the project at The New York Times' website. Below are graphics from the newsletter I emailed. The reaction to the mailing was very positive. In fact, I sold more copies of this book in direction response to the newsletter than any other newsletter in recent memory. People where buying multiple copies clearly purchasing them for gifts. I did get one negative response however, and it was just one sentence: “Why are you supporting the middle of African American history…in the water? Quite absurd, don’t you think?” Does the critique make sense to you? I replied asking the person to elaborate on the comment and if they were familiar with the 1619 Project or had seen the book.

No, i don’t think we do. As long as we perpetuate the myth of race it will continue to exist. Worse still is when we ascribe characteristics to people based upon their level of melanin, as @Pioneer1 does by saying white peoples are devils because of their skin color… this as @Mzuri does make him racist. Though some reject this notion Black people can be racist, though we do not have the power to adversely effect anyone with our racism. I don’t think restricting the definition to “white” and “non-white” will make it any better simply because people will never group themselves that way, as it is unnatural. People arrange themselves around shared experiences… culture. A Black American has more in common with their white neighbor culturally perhaps even genetically that they would have with a person from Africa — despite a similar skin color.

I’m still on my phone but could actually find the link on the Amazon page, but they appear to be links in an RSS feed, which appears to be a slick way to get an external link on Amazon’s site. still wouldn’t it best easier if they simply allowed you to put a link to your website in your bio?

There is a mural downtown which includes the gap band on Pine street (the “P” in Gap) av portion of the street has been renamed in their honor. I still have not seen Charlie Wilson… Chuck brown helped to found a musical genre. I clearly remember the first time i heard a go go song that was over 40 years ago 🙂

Enjoy @ProfD and happy birthday. I'm not selling the book directly, just sending readers directly to the The National Reparations Institute's website. Let us know what you think about the book. Also, let me know how many pages it has; I could not find that information anywhere. I assume @Pioneer1 will be all over this too.

It is interesting to realize how many people did not know the victims were white. I always assume the victims are white unless otherwise stated. In fact I assume everything in this country is white, unless otherwise stated 😉 I heard there was a protest, after the verdict, in Brooklyn, NY and maybe a couple of other cities.

Hi @LaShelle Turner if you have a website please feel free to link to it.

For Immediate Release Media Contact: Shelly Muhammad Email: info@nationalreparationsinstitute.org Phone: (404) 464-8904 THE NATIONAL REPARATIONS DECLARATION A QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR BLACK REDRESS November 16th – Atlanta, Georgia -The National Reparations Institute published the first ever economic and political document which completely defines and quantifies reparations for Blacks in America, based on a Collective Culture Model and Methodology. As recent events have catapulted the long, complicated, and often brutal history of the treatment of Blacks in America, the impact that history has had on the masses ability to achieve and maintain equity in this country requires a precise, scholarly, and definitive framework for complete reparations. Clearly this research document identifies who owes Black America, why they owe, how much is owed, why reparations is essential and why complete reparations is good for the entire nation. “This study is fundamental to any meaningful discussion validating Reparations. It should be required reading for any governmental body studying the physical and psychological impact of the rape, torture, uprooting and extermination of Africans brought to America by Europe and her allies. Skillfully using well researched data, the authors were able to reveal the systematic economic racism, and the outstanding justice claim debt that the American government must pay if American descendants of slavery are ever to gain “liberty and justice for all”.” William Rogers, PhD. Professor Emeritus, Africology University of Wisconsin Milwaukee “ I have examined many attempts at computational analysis for reparations. The Declaration contains both the qualitative and quantitative elements for determining reparations for Black people in North America and throughout and throughout the African diaspora. It is a document that should be read by all people serious about gaining reparations for Black people in the diaspora”. Raymond A. Winbush, Ph.D. Director, Institute for Urban Studies Morgan State University The National Reparations Declaration is available for purchase as a soft cover and eBook at AALBC.

I'll check out The Last Defense -- Thanks

Another reason who people should not be allowed to run around, with weapons like this, in public.

I thought it was unnecessarily torturous to wait until just a few hours before granting the stay. Imagine saying good bye to your family as you mentally prepare to be killed only to be told, at the last minute, that you will be locked up forever... I have not been following the case closely and know about it because, being in OK, it comes up from time to time. My understanding is that the guy did not do the murder and did not know it had been committed until after the fact. You don't have to pull the trigger to be convicted of murder. Often the one who actually committed the murder will be released from prison, while someone else who was present during, or involved with, the crime will be locked up much longer. Often this has more to do with the quality of representation rather than guilt. Yeah, and too many of these innocent victims are poor and Black.

Nov. 15, 2021 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 15th Annual Ernest Gaines Award winner is Nathan Harris for his debut novel, The Sweetness of Water Seattle writer Nathan Harris’ debut novel, The Sweetness of Water, has won the 2021 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, presented annually by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to an emerging African American fiction writer. The winner receives $15,000 to support continuing his craft. The 15th annual Gaines Award will be presented to Harris at 6:30 p.m. Thursday January 25, 2022 at the Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Arts. The award is given to honor the late Ernest Gaines, whose stories gave voice to African Americans in rural areas. "I'm deeply honored to have been awarded the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence,” said Harris. “Mr. Gaines' fiction continues to move readers around the world, but equally important is the impact he had, on a personal level, with communities all across Louisiana and the world. His mission was to promote literacy and a love of literature, and I do not take it lightly that I now have an opportunity to further that mission. I follow in Mr. Gaines' footsteps and the footsteps of previous winners of this award, and that is the greatest distinction of all." Harris’ novel tells a story set in the waning days of the Civil War. The tale is about an unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever. In reviewing the book, the Washington Post called it a “miracle,” particularly because it was written by a young author. Harris is 29. Harris graduated in 2020 with a master’s in fine arts from the Michener Center at the University of Texas. Before winning the Gaines Award, he was a recipient of the University of Oregon’s Kidd Prize and was a finalist for the Tennessee Williams Fiction Prize. Oprah Winfrey selected the winning book for her global reading club, helping it break into the New York Times bestsellers list for two weeks in July 2021. The Gaines Award is determined by a national panel of judges who selected the winner from 36 entries, a record number of eligible submissions. Because of the strength of the nominated books, the judges short-listed six entries: The Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejidé, The Days of Afrekete by Asali Solomon, How to Wrestle a Girl by Venita Blackburn, Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge, The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You by Maurice Carlos Ruffin; and The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. Previous winners of the Ernest J. Gaines Award include Everywhere You Don’t’ Belong by Gabriel Bump, Lot by Bryan Washington; A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley; Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson; Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson; The Cutting Season by Attica Locke; We Are Only Taking What We Need by Stephanie Powell Watts; How to Read the Air by Dinaw Mengestu. About Ernest Gaines: Literary legend Ernest Gaines was a native of Oscar in Louisiana’s Pointe Coupee Parish which served as the setting for many of his novels. During his lifetime, Gaines received a National Medal of Arts Award (2013), a MacArthur Foundation’s Genius Grant, and the National Humanities Medal among numerous others. He was a member of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His critically acclaimed novel “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” was adapted into a made-for-TV movie that won nine Emmy awards. His 1993 novel “A Lesson Before Dying” won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. About the Baton Rouge Area Foundation: The Baton Rouge Area Foundation improves the quality of life in Greater Baton Rouge and across south Louisiana in three ways. The Foundation and its fund donors 1) grant more than $30 million each year to nonprofits; 2) provide fundraising and management advice to nonprofits; 3) take on projects for civic good, such as reclaiming disadvantaged neighborhoods. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is among more than 700 community foundations across the country.

Ok that is good. I certainly would be stressed living in a place where the crime is out of control -- if I had the resources I would definitely move away from such a place.

....so Obama's lesbians (whoever they may be) gave us gay marriage and the trans things who make you feel threatened in public bathrooms? Do I understand you correctly?

Sounds like a stressful live style. What is the appeal of living in such a dangerous place?

You brought (see below) this up and I'm looking for anything to justify the statement... You brought it up as a consequence of the lesbians Obama put on the supreme court. Who are these lesbians anyway that "gave us gay marriage?" I thought the court decisions were based upon a majority...

Agreed because it is not relevant to my point. There are many laws, in this country that have been extremely detrimental us -- especially Black folk. That is reason enough alone to outlaw guns. In that past century, Black people have gunned down more Black people than all rogue cops, Klansmen, and run-of-the-mill white people combined. All of the issues responsible for gun violence should be addressed, getting guns off the street should be at the top of any serious person's list.

Yes. this is what I mean. Obviously I can not influence how you feel, but I can't tell you that your concern of being over powered by a transexual person in the ladies room is unfounded. Have you been reading about a rash of such assaults to warrant such concern? A woman is more likely to be assaulted by a man in the ladies room than, "some sort of trans thing." @Delano yeah Dyson is a fast energetic talker, though his is not nearly as animated for white audiences 🙂 No one is gonna do this, as it is unnecessary. This whole bathroom argument is silly to me. Many places use a single bathroom that anyone can use. Larger rest rooms have stalls. @ProfD are you so concerned when using a urinal next to a gay dude? What is wrong with y'all 😃

Yeah I'm glad those days are largely behind us. You up on Azie Faison. He was shot 9 times twice in the head before he got out the game -- an amazing story... Game Over: The Rise and Transformation of a Harlem Hustler by Agyei Tyehimba ADD TO CART 1 Time AALBC.com Bestselling Book! Publication Date: Aug 07, 2007 List Price: $18.99 Format: Paperback, 288 pages Classification: Nonfiction ISBN13: 9780743282314 Imprint: Atria Books Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc. Parent Company: CBS Corporation

This is why we need more Black media and Black platforms. Otherwise we are just being misinformed. White corporate media is not trying to serve Black viewers.

Actually I would not be so quick to dismissed this serious problem: "In 2018, accidental gun deaths accounted for 1% (458) of total gun-related deaths (39,740) in the United States. Thus far in 2020, there have been unintentional shootings by over 220 children. This has resulted in 92 deaths and 135 injuries..." That said, so you propose that we fix poverty, criminal, mental health, racism, etc. as a way to curb gun violence?! Wouldn't it be easier to simply outlaw guns? In all of recorded history we have never "fixed" poverty, crime, mental health, but we can certainly outlaw guns? You gonna wave a wand and fix racism? Sure, as you suggest, the wealth of a nation lowers gun violence. However we also know the availability of guns also increase gun violence. Wealthy countries like Japan and very strict gun laws and a fraction of our gun violence. One would think this would be common sense. Americans, on some level, are crazy.

Sure to white police officers, in a tense situation, every Black face is a potential threat. I was in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on my way to get fitted for a tux for a wedding I was in. I was driving a green Chrysler mini-van, with another Brother who was also in the wedding. Speaking of "n8gglets got the bright the idea to assault and kill and commit crimes," one of the youngin's from my neighborhood was murdered recently in Harlem. The Brother's name was "Alpo." I watched a documentary about him I had no idea he was responsible for so many murders.... They were not all in the life either, one was the little brother of one of his associates 😞 I guess the 'hood never forgets.

@Mzuri I did not realize the link to the archives was not working. I have created the page below which links to all of the archives that I could find:

@Mzuri I'm beginning to see that you have a flare for gross exaggeration. Who are all the lesbians that Obama put on the Supreme Court? Have you ever encountered a "trans thing" in the ladies room. Is this truly a concern of yours? Interesting, please describe anything Dyson said in the video I posted that could be construed as talk above someone head? Have you ever attended a talk given by either West or Dyson? I have, and in a variety of situations. Their skill is that they have the ability to adjust how they speak to the people the audience they are addressing. And this is the primary problem with our country's political system. @Delano here is the full video the one I posted above was just excerpts from a longer talk: