Troy

OK you go with the reasoning of a 5 year and I'll go with that of the 50 year old

@Mel Hopkins, absolutely, unless you are providing entertainment, the culture has no use for you (us). I'm open to discussion on the issue. @Pioneer1 perhaps. But, as Omarosa learned, that is not a long term solution.

While I was at the Mississippi Book Festival, I attended a panel of booksellers. One of the panelists ran a bookstore in what he described as a resort town in Florida, so I looked it up and saw that it was not far out of my way back home. The store, Sundog Books, is located in Seaside, Florida which is in the middle of the Florida panhandle. It is a fine bookstore. The beach in Seaside was the nicest beach I'd ever seen in the continental US -- the entire area was pristine. The water varied in color from deep blue to light green. The sand was cool and fine, almost like power -- simply beautiful. Seaside, FL was also almost exclusively white. I saw one other Black man who was older than I, with a white woman. I did not see any Black women. I was not made to feel uncomfortable, I'm sure a lone negro posted no immediate threat -- though I was asked more than once where I was from, but it is a resort town and not an unusual question. I could not help but think, man these folks have really kept this place all to themselves. There is no place that Black people can go to that is nearly as nice and be surrounded by other Black folks. Martha's Vineyard comes to mind, but the beaches there are terrible in comparison. There is a mural that tells the whole story:

... the legacy of slavery. The influence of social media and gerrymandering for good measure.

Yeah I initially ended to agree with what you have said Pioneer, but I don't any longer.

Again Pioneer, this is what I mean, you can't just look at someone and devine their ancestry. If someone has brown skin what does that tell you about them? My sisters complexion is completely different than mine and we have the same parents. When we were growing up she thought I was Black and that she was white, but she was 5 years old. I don't understand why adults continue to use the same reasoning as a 5 year old.

So if he is not dumb, then he is wicked. Maybe his is adopting his position to attract attention and make more money. If he were a younger, female, and attractive it might just work for him. Middle aged Black men are invisible.

I attended the Mississippi Book Festival this past Saturday. It was held in Jackson, MS. Like most cities in the deep south it is a series of profound contradictions. You'll find both moving testaments to civil rights and blatant signs of racism and its legacy. The book fair had a terrific line up of authors: I got so see Charles Frazier, Rick Bragg, and Jon Meacham just to name a few. There were quite a few Black authors of note as well including Jabari Asim, Janet Dewart Bell, Don Tate, Angie Thomas, Nicola Yoon, Quvenzhané Wallis, and many more. The organizers of the festival commissioned the creation of a street marker dedicated to Ward's work as a writer. In accepting the honor she gave a very moving speech. Still, other than the authors, there were few Black attendees -- probably more black authors than Black attendees. This is remarkable considering the fact that Jackson Mississippi is virtually 80% Black! The most surreal moment was listening to a conversation between Jon Meacham and Karl Rove. They began talking about the Klan and it was then that I noticed virtually everyone in the room -- several hundred people -- were white, many elderly. I began to wonder how many of these people had attended a lynching, fought against segregation, or just believe people with brown skin as inferiors -- surely some have had to (or still do)... it was just a strange feeling.

I visited Africatown, in Mobile Alabama, a couple of days ago. The remains of some of the Africans who survived the middle passage, on the Clotilda, one of the last known (documented) slaves ships, are buried here.

I dont think you know the definition of greed.

Poorly worded statement. In other words, we are hypersensitive to photos of women who resemble the caricatures white people created to demean us. There is nothing wrong with by Viola's photograph. Being the victims of racism put us in a position where we reject our own image. Does that make more sense?

This is a perfect example of what I mean by sloppy thinking. So Bey is not Black, but "gentically European." Again, I'm at a loss...

The guy on the right is not very bright. What do think @Pioneer1

Del more opinions don't mean 45 will get the boot before the end if the year. Try watching Fox News or listening to right wing radio for a minute. That will temper your enthusiasm. I hear they want to make Australia great again too.

@Delano I would have thought Goolge paying me would would have been explanation enough. In fact, Google has paid me far more than Amazon -- some periods up to 10 times as much. I have to use Google to understand how my site ranks. As a monopoly, Google controls which sites are discoverable through organic search. If I ignore AALBC's relative positioning on their search engine I risk AALBC's viability as a revenue generating website. As far as queries unrelated to AALBC, it would be too cumbersome to have another search engine, say DuckDuckGo, as my default search engine, when the majority of queries I run are related to AALBC or Black books. Does that help?

Making money trumps (pardon the pun) serving the community everyday of the week. Johnson made it clear the "E" stood for "entertainment," not enlightenment or education. The reality is that it stood for enrichment, Johnson's personal enrichment, and that is the legacy of BET.

@Delano, you may re-read my response here.

OK we will see.

@Delano I thought we covered the Googl issue already? I still use Amazon and Facebook too...

@Delano What?

@Delano, do you use a Crystal Ball? I was in a place in ATL called Ponce de leon plaza (It think) and any rate it was a pretty cool place with trendy stores and eateries. It also had one of these new agey store you now see every where. They had all manner of crystals incense and related paraphernalia. What caught my eye thought were th tarot card they had. Some were quite beautiful. I almost purchased a set for this reason. The also have joke tarot cards too. (this stuff has become so commercialized) I listened to the sales woman described the different ones as if any lay person could use them. They also had the CBD oil which is like herb without the THC which seems like gin without the alcohol -- as in what is the point... I know that was a wide digressions from the subject... The store also had a real crystal ball (not glass).

Yeah Mary does not play She had been publishing books for years and was/is one of Kensington's most popular authors. here is another video of Mary, that was filmed in my home when I lived in Harlem. The video is at least 10 years old. The chaise lounge Abiola is sitting on in now in my bedroom in FL -- man so much has changed in my life since this video was shot. Mary (both women) continue to adapt over the years.

@Cynique I guess you remember went Aretha first emerged what was that like? I saw her perform once -- long past her prime, See was complaining about the audience not having white castle hamburgers, which she said she ordered for everyone. I think she was serious too

@Chevdove I would discourage you from using Christianity to understand science -- then you'll get really confused. I never heard of a Zorse either I see it is one of many different Zebroids. You learn something new everyday