Troy

OK we are at an impasse @daniellegfny. What seems obvious to me is completely lost on you, and presumably the converse is true. It just seems to me that since no one wants to be impoverished and so many more people work very hard, that many more people -- especially brown people would be rich. If what you say is true that would mean two things (neither of which I believe to be true); (1) people choose to be poor; and (2) people are unwilling to work hard. Plus you'd have to completely dismiss everything that has been done, and is being done, to hamper the success of Black people. @daniellegfny would you define what is means to be rich and tell us if you qualify? That is, by your own reckoning, are you rich?

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True. Almost. You won't get anywhere focusing solely on injustice, but you won't get very far ignoring it, or making believe it does not exist. How can you work your way around it if you refuse to recognize it? Right?

So we should ignore racial in justice and inequality? So the answer to why so many people are impoverished is that they did not choose to be wealthy? Is that what you are saying? That sounds the beliefs of prosperity ministry, just believe and you'll be rich. I think there is much more to life than becoming financially rich, they say you can't never get enough of something you don't need. Studies have also shown that once ones basic needs are met each additional dollar earned brings increasingly happiness. Now of course you try not to break the law (unless the law is unjust) and you get an education and work to achieve a descent life. Most Black people have no choice. There are class of people, virtually all white, who do not have to work. This generational wealth was not obtained by just believing. It was obtained typically through the aggressive and merciless exploitation of others. Kicking Indians off land, enslaving Africans and their descendants, working children in factories, bribing polticians to facilitate creating monopolies, exploiting immingrant workers, rigging the financial markets with toxic mortgages, selling cigarettes, polluting the water and air with toxic waste... If everyone's sole goal in life was to become rich it would be a pretty screwed up world.

Well I drink regularly, try to keep exercise at a bare minimum, sit behind a desk most of the day, and eat plenty of pork and fried foods. Now I have heard that I do not look my age, but I never heard anyone say that I don't "sound" my age. What does that mean? is it word choice, intonation, what?

Absolutely. It could be but people often want to be around people like themselves. This attitude is short slighted because many brilliant people are overlooked. Maybe. Probably. Would you prefer to like with people who share your culture and background or people who did not share you language, religion, or any aspect of your culture? Does that mean that you "hate" those people? Does it mean that I hate white women because I balk at the prospect of marrying one? I agree, but it is so often shoved in you face like when a white police officer murders an unarmed Black man for some alleged petty crime. @daniellegfny do these Brothers "chose" to be killed? Maybe because you think women are just men without penises and see the differences as a double standard. Men and women, in general, think differently. I know into today's world men and women are "equal," but we are indeed different. Wouldn't you agree?

Stop saying that; it is not true! At least not in the way you are asserting, a genetically defined definition of race. Race is a relatively new social construct with no basis in genetics. Otherwise there would be a test for race, but there is not one because one is impossible to create You OBVIOUSLY did not read the article you linked to. If you did you would have read that it supports what I've been saying. This tells me you are being intellectually dishonest @Pioneer1 and I'm disappointed in you 😞

I've been all over New England, no they do not sound like Brits at all. I just learned about a Black-owned book store in Oregon: https://thirdeyebag.com/ Oregon is one of the last places in the country I would live, right behind the New England states, but I'll visit the bookstore when it opens 🙂

Well I would not indict the entire race because of this one sister. She just struck me, because she is the only one to ever put me on blast publicly -- 22+ years in the business. Now this sister has no following on Twitter, but it was the principle of the thing. I think some people get a kick out of this trashing Black businesses. She called me a thief for Christ sake! Now I will say whenever someone comes at me hard for some customer service issue it is always a Black person but they least they come as me directly, without putting our business out in the street. Again, I knew I did not have any unresolved orders because we spent weeks clearing this stuff out and I personally handle all the Go On Girl orders this sister never gave me her name so I reached out to one of her book club members, got her name and found the order. Her order was mailed via UPS 3-day service and she was provided the tracking numbers. Once tracking number are provided I don't think about the order again unless the customer complains the books did not arrive or the books are returned to me. In this case, UPS lost one of the packages (at least it seriously delayed). The tracking information make this plain. Maybe she did not get the tracking numbers, maybe she does not know what to do with them. In any event, a simple email with her name or at least an order number would have resolved this. I emailed her and offered her refund or to reship the books. Also asked if she would be as quick to post on twitter that I did not "take her money," that the books were shipped but lost by UPS and that I made good on the order. My people my people...

It is just that simple huh? There is no subtlety to your game @daniellegfny, everything is Black and white. Would you agree that most people would consider poverty to be an undesirable state? If so why then do you think so many people, the majority, "decide" to be impoverished? Did you know this is one of the first generation of kids in a century who are less well off than their parents? Did a whole generation of kids decide to be less well off thatn their parents? Last question do believe in exogenous factors that disproportionately impact Black people hampering the ability to obtain wealth? You probably don't you strike me a pull-yourself-by-your-own-bootstraps kind of guy.

Danielle your in ability to understand something does not mean that thing does not exist, right? You usually have to look outside your own personal experience to understand something? That said, have you ever taught? Do you think if the publishing world was run by Black people and inner city children, like myself, were taught by loving Black educators that Black people would read more books?

Danielle that is a classic strawman arguement. I never wrote that, nor do I feel that way, so I'm not going to defend the statement. Where did you get that from anyway? 20 years ago there was a much greater variety of Black websites -- even Black book sites. Today these businesses are gone along with the wealth that they could have created for their owners and the pleasure they could have brought their visitors. These businesses were killed by a handful of websites whose owners (all white) are the wealthiest people on Earth. And no Jeff Bezos did not personal "kill" anyone, that I'm aware of. "Mob violence" is not necessary today, technology is better at taking wealth and is not nearly messy. @Chevdove no problem, the book targets Black women and addresses a subject you are well versed in, so I thought it might interest you.

That is just one manifestation of racism. Prejudice is another. Not hiring someone for a job, not allowing them to move into a neighborhood, or not being willing to get into a relationship with one, based solely on race are a few. @Chevdove white men collectively are the most powerful people on Earth and arguably the most racist. They have a legacy of brutalizing Black people and for a couple hundred years have raped Black women with total impunity. So to see sisters run into the arms of white men is, especially the most desirable one, is kinda hard to embrace wholeheartedly. Do you get it now? Now I fully appreciate that younger cats may not feel this way, because they are too far removed. I also appreciate some sisters and white men may truly be color blind, but in America this seems unlikely to me.

@Jeffrey I grew up in NYC the publishing capital of the world. As a kid, and to this day, NYC publishing is lilly-white. The vast majority of my teachers were jewish women. The first book i saw with a black character was written by a Jewish man. It is wonder any Black boy grows up with a desire to read for pleasure. I would have loved to have been able to read books with Black people in them, but i just was not exposed to any. Many it is one reason I feel strongly about sharing info about Black books today.

"Biracial," again is the language of the culture scientifically it is meaningless. White people said Black people were genetically inferior, more animals less than human. This justified permanent enslavement. Trying to convince whites that we were equal was met with violence. The resistance to the fact that we are all one race is meeting similar resistance.

There us defintely no shortage of interracial couples in my neck of the woods. In fact, if you see a black person in a couple the likelihood of their partner being Black is just as likely as being white.

I made more than 10K last month selling books. What is the point you want to make? No, not really. In fact, I consider Tulsa perfect analog to what happened to Black businesses on the web. Well I agree with you there. I too believe America can right itself, but time is short...

As much distain I have for Amazon, I'd much rather be picking products in one of their warehouses than cotton on a 19th century Louisianan plantation...

Pioneer there are many cultures in the Black American community. You've lived enough places to know that. I dont think "Oreo" is one, but hey I might lesrn something.

This is what I found when checking my Twitter messages just now. No one as ever done anything like this before. Sure sometimes orders get delayed or screwed up. No business is perfect. Everyone else who has a problem simply emails me. They don't put me on blast and effectively accuse me of stealing. @Pioneer1 I can see, based uoon what this woman did, why you would say we don't care about each other. But here is the thing, I've been working with this bookclub for years. The bookclub, Go On Girl!, which this sister is apparently a nember of has dozens of chapters and hundreds of members across the country, and are avid supporters of AALBC and I of them. So while I don't understand why this sister came at me publically, I know she is not reflective of the majority of Sisters than help support AALBC rather than try to tear it down. I'll let you know what happened to her order. She failed to leave her name of any other way for me to identify her order in her Twitter message. I don't have her voicemail either. And I'm not aware of any outstanding orders. The Sister that follows up on order status for me is pretty thorough. I know the correct response is to bend over backwards and to try to placate her, but I've learned when people come at you sideways you've already lost.

My laptop is realtively high end, but the built in video camera is trash. I'm going to Best Buy tomorrow lol!

That is the same line of reasoning people used to not emancipate Black people. Sure, forcing people to change entrenched idea even when they fly in the face of truth is always hard. Again your question is based upon a presumption I don't ascribe to. I do not believe there Black and white people. Their are just people. I'm not blind and I recognize how you and most other define black and white people so i can speak your language, so to speak. I do however reject all the characteristics you ascribe to people based upon how they look (what you call race). Again AALBC exists in reaction to people with your mindset @Pioneer1, people who treat differently, usually worse, because of they way we look. Americans have different subcultures based upon class geography, religion, history of enslavement, political party; sexual orientation, etc. Often people of the same subculture present in a similar fashion, but when they don't you even up with terms like "oreo." There is only one race. We just need to accept this and move on. Besides relgion alone is enough to keep us at each other's throats.

Obviously. This is one of the reasons AALBC exists. AALBC expanded its scope years ago to include writers in yhese categories. In fact one of the site's most popular pages is, 25 African Male Writers You Should Read and 25 African female Writers You Should Read Yes narketing is definitely part of it. The other part is our culture and educational system.

@Neal Owens i guess you forgot about our boycott.

Sure, why? I have zero interest in moving to either place. Well at some point I would like a life partner and if I'm only considering Black women am I unnecessarily limiting myself... I did not know that. Sure the thoughs are racist in nature. They are mildly racist not like those of the Klan and of no consequence to anyone else, but racist nevertheless. LOL. Now that is a double standard! WOW @Pioneer1 That's crazy. Sure Pioneer's sentiment is a racist double standard, but Black men of a certain generation "get it." If you think about it @Chevdove you'll probably figure out why.