Troy

@Kareem your family history is deep. @Pioneer1 the prospect of collecting money from Africans for the slave trade makes Kareem's pipe dream sound completely plausible.

Ok will do, though saying he is not as powerful as KRS1 is not exactly a selling point. I listened to some KRS1 video over the years and he is into that illuminati stuff...

I actually attended Quincy Troupe's reading on Tuesday. It actually was an interesting event in park... Well it is not really a "park" in the sense anyone outside of NYC would think of one, but it is an oasis a break from the density popular concrete that surrounds. The park is near iconic FlatIron building (the former home of St. Martin's Press) and very close to where I teach Baruch College (which is why I went).

Ok money, power, and fame, but money first.

I started the video, saw it was over an hour in length and I couldn't... I can't imagine a single revaluatory thing this young man should possibly say. If there is a particularly revealing insight give me the time mark and ill check it out otherwise I'll go back to watching my Cardi B videos.

Thanks!

The shoes retailed closer to $100 dollars. kids in my neighborhood were stealing them from each other. @Delano what is your point, and what does it have to do with Google pushing titties a rump shakin' to sell concert tickets?

@Pioneer1 did you sleep through the entire Blaxploitation Era?

Yeah that video of him in the Moore's pretending to drink Flint's water was outrageous. I don't honestly believe Obama is a Christian. The last Christian in office was probably Carter. Obama dropped more bombs from Drones than Bush, a real Christian would find.myrdering so many people revolting. I could care less what adults choose, and agree, to do with each other. I dont think the average homosexual is trying to "force" anyone to do anything other that treat them justly. In that regard the fight is similar to the fight for Black justice. But reasons for the injustice are very different, and because if this these fights should not be lumped together as if they were the same. I never use "people of color" when speaking about Black people. The term applies so broadly to so many groups it is virtually meaningless I also think it is confusing, and wrong, to lump all the alphabet people together as if being gay has anything to do with being transgender. I don't use that LGBTQIABCD+ term for the same reason.

Man y'all turning me on to a bunch of interesting books.

Well I'm disappointed to see anyone leave the forum. But im glad you'll continue to participate in #readingblack @Mel Hopkins. My severing of ties with Amazon has led to some interesting comments which has prompted me to do more with #readingblack myself. After 20+ years of hosting this forum. I know things are cyclical. Personalities come and go. Even trolls get bored and move on. The problem today is that trolls have fewer sites with enough traffic to make their shenanigans worthwhile and with social media cracking down, sites like AALBC are more of a target now.

You know the answer to that question @Pioneer1. Most people need to be validated by those in power. I guess the main reason is validation by those in power brings money and other benefits. I stepped out on my own and the cost has been high. I'd do it again, but you are never free of oppression. The police can stop you at anytime, the government can jam you up with a keystroke.

I recently changed the site, by removing links to Amazon, so the buy button points directly to your site.

Perhaps. I still think it is to get as many eyeballs as possible by appealing to our baser natures. Any adverse impact on our mortality is incidental... they just don't care, either way, as long as they are making money.

She live through 3 centuries and must have known people who were formerly enslaved. It must have been really special to know to her. @Kareem your reparations package might be a good idea for a speculative fiction novel, but Earth is more likely to leave the solar system before any of those things take place -- let alone all three. If the U.S. government gave Black people 150K, which is really not much money and quite doable. Shoot Jeff Bezos could do it all by himself and still be a multimillionaire when it is over. But struggling white people would lose their shit -- completely. You think there are mass shootings now... Every location on the gulf coast of Florida's panhandle, Alabama, and Mississippi are prone to hurricane. If not, racists would just use their hurricane control device and destroy New Nubia, right @Pioneer1 🙂

You keeping me busy @Maurice -- thanks!

I'd imagine teenaged boys.

Oh but no-- This is NOT a coincedence!!! Then what is it @Chevdove? If you don't buy into @Pioneer1's white racist controlled technology guiding storms into Black counties. What do you believe is?

No. Of course not, but what period in the past century since moving pictures was invented are you referring to?

I did not know this until just now. I thought about looking it up but never got around to it... I agree with you all regarding Cardi B and En Vogue, TLC etc. from the lyrics, to their music videos, and the way they are packaged and delivered to our youth for consumption. Now I maybe a 50+ year-old guy talking who is out of touch with "what happenin'" today. I freely admit that I am. However, whenever I'm look I'm concerned. Some older people probably felt En Vogue's videos were hyper-sexualized likening it to the devils music. They would probably argue the videos of today are a natural progression from En Vogue. I'd disagree what we see today is a perversion of En Vogue and the other artists from a generation before. Again I was actually surprised to see topless women on a music video of a mainstream artist on youtube. This is obviously acceptable now. So the boundaries will continue to be pushed. As corporation appeal to our baser natures for money. People will defend this because it generates revenue and they like to be aroused. My problem is that this type of content is pushed to us by Google 24/7 (the video has over 85 million views in less than a year). That is 85 times the number of view all of AALBC videos have obtained over a 10 years period. While YouTube is not AALBC's focus, that is still a staggering difference. We know sex sells, we know Google pushes this type of content, and we know corporations invested a tremendous amount to produce and distribute this stuff to us. I know at the end of the day most people don't really care, but we need to at least acknowledge what is being done and consider the implication on our culture. "All A Bad Bitch Needs is the Money" The really crazy thing is that Google has banned an earlier version of this discussion forum (Thumper's corner) from showing google advertisements because of nudity, but Google themselves earn ad revenue showing nudity on their own platforms! This is what happens when monopolies rule. They control our narrative and are the only ones who can profit from it. All the rest of us can do is hope they will share some of their profits with us -- provided we do what they say. This makes us slaves.

I missed this quote @Chevdove thanks for pointing it out. 45 is a lot better than most of the previous presidents. But the bar is pretty low. 45 has not stared any wars yet. He has not impregnated or held slaves, he has not committed genocide or taken land from other nations. Shoot, 45 even let a bunch of Black folks out of prison. He is easily in top quartile of U.S. presidents. I still think Hillary would have been a better choice. Something tells me she would have risen above expectations.

Yeah this was the first time i watched a cardi b video myself. I have not really watched music video since Yo MTV Raps! and boy have they come a looong way. The topless women surprised me. I guess soon they will just have intercourse in music videos. @Pioneer1 of course will say that is beautiful and our nature 😉

@Kareem Obama was a warmonger too. "Surely" He (and hillary) superior to 45. Right? @Maurice the reason also has to do with a reluctance to refer to him as POTUS or even mention his name.