Troy

@Mel Hopkins see what I mean? He's incorrigible. @Delano, when presented with facts that run counter to one's experience rational people simply update their believe system to incorporate the new information. Of course many people reject this idea because the previously held believe is too difficult to lets go of or maybe they are too lazy or dumb to think a different way. It is human nature not to change. Change is often hard and requires work. I believe this is what has made life to stressful for many over the last 50 years. What our parents knew does not help us today. What we know will not help our children. The best any of us can do learn to cope and adapt to a swiftly changing world. Otherwise you will not make it in the world, perhaps this helps explains the rise in suicide rates Here is a personal anecdote as it relates to this website. If I operated he site based upon what I knew and believed back in 1997 his site would not be here today. Virtually everything has changed since 1997. Things continue to change and change rapidly. If I failed to incorporate new information (yes @Pioneer1 facts and statistics) and apply the new knowledge, this site would be a memory. Anecdotes are important. Skillfully used they can help explain complex subjects in a way that resonates with people. However if you attempt to understand how the world works through you personal anecdotes you will virtually always be wrong. Bottom line, Pioneer you have no clue which so called race of women first dyed their hair blue. But even if you did you still no idea why some Black women choose to do it -- other than the ideas you've formulated based upon your own preconceived notions and biased personal experiences, which have no basis in reality, other what in your head. Maybe @Delano the reality in Pioneers head, or anyone's head, is the reality that you believe to be true -- as opposed to the objective reality? Is this the proper take on you accepting Pioneers ideas? Pioneer where one of those brothers that used to make fun of Black kids who spoke "proper English?" Did you tease Black kids who tried to do well in school by saying they were "acting white?" I tell you man when you say stuff like"I don't debate and discuss the way White folks TAUGHT ME to discuss and debate." It requires the same mentality and that mentality is destructive.

Yes suicide rates are going up. This may be part of the reason life expectancy is also going down.

@Mel Hopkins, one thing you have to understand about @Pioneer1, is that all of his arguments and claims are supported by personal experiences and anecdotes. Anytime these happen to mesh with reality is purely incidental. When confronted with science, data, or other facts that run counter to his opinions Pioneer summarily rejects these. Recently @Delano, has taken on what I'll call a logical relativism in which anything can be true and everyone's opinions are valid. Pioneer's positions have been bolstered by this position. Bottom line Mel do not look for studies from Pioneer and do not expect any that you present to change his mind. Now if you want to share info here to benefit lurkers and others, please so but don't expect Pioneer to be moved. He has never changed his position in anything and is indeed unique in this regard. Pioneer how, for example, do you know that white women were the first to dye their hair blue, where did you get this information? Also were white women the first to braid their hair too? Is this why Black women do it? Are they trying to look like Bo Derek or white women in general when they do this? Sadly, the suicides rates are higher for almost everybody Pioneer not just Black women. In fact, if you want to use suicide rates to bolster your argument, you should know the fact is that the suicide rates are actually highest for white men. Again, I don't expect you to look at the actual numbers or change your opinion, but others reading this may want to know the truth. Finally, Beyonce is just one product Black girls consume and is a part of an commercial ecosystem that markets to and is only concerned with profiting from all of us. Saying Beyonce is responsible for lowering Black self esteem is like saying Cardi B or Nicki Minaj are. These women, and so many more product,s are all part of a system that tends to demoralize all of us. Even white men are not immune to this.

Keep in mind that, "...men are more likely to be involved in a homicide than women. Seventy-seven percent of homicide victims are men, according to the FBI, while more than 90 percent of known offenders are male." But yes, when Black women are killed it is most like to be a spouse or intimate partner. I would argue that these Black men are taking their frustrations our on their spouses. Their anger is misdirected so their reactions are tragically inappropriate. Our upbringing, lack of education, and racist culture make this type of behavior inevitable. Has anyone noticed that white male life expectancy has gone down in a the last couple of years? They are feeling the pressure too, but have even less of a clue what is causing it.

There are more Black women in college and earning degrees than Black men. \Black women are less liked than Black men to be murdered by police, indeed murdered by anyone, We can go back and forth with these whose lives are better easier, but that is the wrong way of looking at it. Women, like Black people are, are marginalized so that the oligarchs can maintain power. The concept of "race," that so many hold on to, was used to justify the enslavement of people from the African continent. This is not to say that we should not fight racism, but we should understand where it came from. The same goes for sexism. It really has nothing to do with women; it has to do with power. The only people allowed to vote originally were rich, white landowners. This is the same goals in place today maintaining control for the wealthiest. Many don't even realize Black men were given the right to vote before white women! We should fight for equality for women but, we must be clear what the underlying problem is, because because a different tactic will be deployed to result in the same out comes if we are not careful. Civil rights activists marched for school integration and today, 60 years later, NYC schools as well as many districts across the country, are as segregated as ever. Legalized segregation has been outlawed but the desired outcomes remain the same and power is retained by those in control by virtue of great disparities in access to a quality education.

Yes the psychological problems are a bigger driver of financial problem, even bigger the the current brand of cultural racism we race today -- which is saying a lot

EIN, you know thats is right. If it were not for the current tax law AALBC.com would not exist -- full stop. So a feminist is "...a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes." Then I'm a feminist, but it just seems like anyone who believes this is just a fair human being. I don't believe men are women are the same as in interchangeable. I believe that men and women have many, often profound, differences. Differences that should be acknowledged and not ignored as if they don't matter. Am I still a feminist with this belief system?

Yes. Why, did you?

Plus tech companies know the gig economy and the low skill/wage jobs, which they drive, can not create wealth or happiness for the individuals who have no choice but to participate it.

Yeah does not surprise me. I'm never going to his festival so I don't even care...

Yeah @Mel Hopkins I'm just talking trash. I have no idea who or what type of women Bey has in her dance troupe. The last time I watched her perform was during a the superbowl when she had the sisters behind her dressed as Black Panthers (I assume that was the theme). Still I don't recall any short, plump girls with nappy hair dancing behind her. I had to look up "coachella." I never heard of this festival before you posted about it. It is still going on. It looks like whoever is running it is making a mint :-) @Pioneer1, again I assert that changing ones appearance to what you perceive to be as trying to look white is a narrow viewpoint. The sisters dying their hair blue are not trying to look white? All I'm saying is that the whole industry is far more complex that sad Black women desperately trying to look white to please Black men. White women are changing their appearances and increasing men are too. Look at Odell Beckham, is he trying to look like a white woman?

Pioneer it was not just "laziness" that stopped Black people from opening banks. There were many structural problems that make establishin a bank very difficult. Restrictions on getting property, loans, permits, etc. When I moved to Harlem I went to the big Black-owned bank in 125th street to open a business account for AALBC.com. they refused to accept my documents -- which were perfectly valid! I was disappointed and angry because I knew I was making a sacrifice using them--but I was willing to do it and they rejected me. I went down the street and opened an account with BofA. That was 18 years ago.

I do not believe 45 is a billionaire. I believe 45 is a bullshit artist. I would not liken 45 to PT Barnum, because Barum provided entertainment and never killed Syrians to distract us from his own BS. 45 is indeed a child in a fat, orange, old man's body I do not believe 45 is a genius or a brilliant marketer. I believe 45 has been bolstered by brilliant marketers, starting with the people who made him "relevant" again. I believe 45 will serve until the end of the year. It is highlighly likely he will complete his 4 year term -- unless his health or some nut takes him out first.

This young lady (the one on the right) is extremely talented. But you will never, ever see her in a Beyonce video. Perhaps she'd have a chance with straight blonde haired weave Speaking a hair colors. Our sisters have taken to wearing their hair on all the colors of the rainbow. I mean unnatural colors, for hair, like red, blue, and green. I've seen a number of young women with weaves that had the texture of yarn. The prospect of any woman wearing the hair "naturally" seems highly unlikely. I does not matter what Black men think about it. There's too much money in women's hair and marketers are far to clever and greedy. I see boys in high school rockin' hair doos that would put grown women to shame. It seems crazy to me that a 16 year-old would put that much time, and money, in their hair, but they are doing it... Oh yeah big up to Kendrick

Well you have me beat in the age department, but now understand the source of the optimism. As Kalexander said, your perspective is welcomed.

{sniffle, Sniffle} I don't believe it Pioneer and I agree on something. In the background I hear angels singing and see the clouds parting to reveal the sun and a beautiful rainbow. Strike the in every race bit and we'd be in 100% agreement. I did not know that you were white @Tanny in another post I suggested that you were a younger to explain why you were less pessimistic. But but whiteness would explain it as well. The reality is that young white people have a lot more to be optimistic about in these United States.

Hi Tanny, I suspect that you are less pessimistic because you are probably younger than the Brothers you are conversing with here. I could be wrong but I doubt it. As a result, we have witnessed and experienced more. In fact we probably have studied the subject longer and perhaps know a bit more. But that does not mean we, at least not I, have given up all hope. I continue to fight in my corner of the world, but it is really hard. I just listened to an interview I did about my website back in 2001 and things cautioned back in 2001 have only gotten worse. We have lost so much that younger people don't even realize it, because as far as they know the internet has always been controlled by a handful of large corporations and Black people have only made money due to the largess of these sites. Young people are excited about the opportunity to go viral on Twitter, while I lament that fact that we have lost what we owned on the web and are at Twitter's mercy, accepting whatever crumbs they throw our way. Do you see why someone older might be more pessimistic @Tanny

As part of my ongoing website upgrade I stumbled across an interview I did on the Talking Books Radio program from back in 2001. The radio show no longer broadcasts indeed it problem stopped broadcasting over 15 years ago. During this time there were many more programs of this type. It there are any running now. II'm simply not aware of them. If you know of any radio programs dedicated to Black books please reply with information about them During the program I cautioned listeners that, “We, as a people, need to get beyond the point where we are just taking information off the internet. We need to contribute more…” https://aalbc.com/authors/home.php?author_name=Troy+Johnson#audio2 Today the call would be much more urgent and I would also add that we need to make these contriubtion on Patfroms that we own. When do Black folks begin to share in the great wealth being generated online? Even the commercial breaks during the interview provide an interesting historical context of the state of Black literature when was the last time you heard a commercial, on the radio, for a Black book?

Sure what you wrote @Kalexander2 is nor implausible. Maybe it is wishful thinking on my end.

@Tanny you ignored my question about how would we distribute the money to so called Black people. I assume that you think that issue poses no difficulty. The free education I propose would be free for everyone. Please forget about white folks or anyone for that matter rigging the system in favor of anyone else besides themselves. This has never happened and there is no indication that it ever will. History teaches us this. If Black people want anything we have to take it. Standing around with our hands out waiting for someone to give us something has never resulted in anything positive over the long term. We have to take control of our communities, education, businesses, and our dollars. But as Del said our biggest problem is ignorance --and this is not a Black problem. For example, I could talk until I'm blue in the face (and have) about the problems Facebook pose. But even in the light of all the shit Facebook has been shown to have done, people still don't care! This is largely because we don't know enough to understand why we should care. Facebook is just one example, one could go on all day with examples. Tanny you are right, the economic game is indeed rigged, but it is rigged against anyone who is not super wealthy -- which is effectively everyone. Finally the reason education is so important is that I can guarantee you a huge percentage of people we give money to will waste it. Look at how many How many people gave their money to school like Trump university a failed businessman with a reality TV show...

QueenX, I wonder if you would feel differently if Bill drugged and sexually abused you, or your daughter, or your mother?

Tune in this Saturday, April 14, 7:30 pm (EDT) or Sunday April 15 at 10 pm (EDT) to Book-TV. Black Classic Press founder W. Paul Coates discusses the history of the Press - one of the oldest independent Black publishing companies in the US. To find your local air times check C-SPAN. Black Classic Press is celebrating its 40th Anniversary in May! Please join us. Visit their website for more information and to purchase tickets

Saking of Black Lives Matter; BLM activist Patrisse Khan-Cullors had a book that came out this year, When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir. I published Kam's review of When They Call Your a Terrorist. Please read Kam's the review and let me know what you think of it. Do you think Black people or people from the BLM movement would be, or should be offended?

The more generations that are created post slavery, the more we mix and mingle with each other the less likely reparations will happen.I suspect the majority of people who have has ancestors in the country for more than a handful of generation are descent from enslaved africans -- including many so called white people. I did not believe reparations will ever happen as it is already too late to practically and fairly distribute any money to the right individuals. Fighting for reparations, I think, is a waste of time. @Tanny for example how much would Barack Obama get 1/2 a payment? Maybe he gets zero because he is not descendant from enslaved African. How much does Obama's kids get? What about all the so called Black people who are currently passing? When they come out the woodwork to collect how much should they get? How much would Canbliasians (sp?) like Tiger Woods get. Should rich people like Oprah get a check? Do you see what I mean? I think free education for everyone is a better goal. @Pioneer1, does have a point in that it can't be the same education that were have been assaulted with. Right now our focus is on STEM with the apparent goal of getting more people to work for Google and Facebook. Our best and brightest are now desperate to work for Facebook or Amazon which is a colossal waste of your intellectual capital it you ask me. The liberal arts including history are treat like a waste of time which I'd argue is why many of us are so gullible and fall for the rhetoric of 45 or are so easily enchanted by a comic book character called Black Panther.

Yeah unless you are making rice and beans and eating that all week, doing some serious coupon clipping and price shopping; 125 bucks does not go very far. I'd hate to think how a person with dependent children do it.. Well the Republicans will be voted out soon. perhaps some this damage will be undone before too many more lives are destroyed.