Troy

Man I'm going to make sure Leonce sees these comments, they are just so thoughtful and profound. I may quote from these comments in my next letter. It would be nice if others shared as well. @Mel Hopkins, though we converged at Brooklyn Tech our paths there were entirely different. I grew up in segregated East Harlem where you where either Black or Puerto Rican. I did not know any white people my age until I got to Tech. Even then the only ones I really got to know were on the teams I competed on. To this day NY City Public schools are very segregated by both "race" and class. @zaji, what you wrote is probably better articulates what @Pioneer1 has been trying to communicate regarding race. Pioneer does what Zaji wrote reflect what you believe. I "saw" race.., and that is largely my biggest problem. I thought all Black people lived in the 'hood and were poor. This is all I saw growing up and this was reinforced by the images I saw on TV. The Blaxploitation films were filmed in my neighborhood, The Projects the TV Show Good Times depicted could have very easily been the one I grew up in. The Cosby Show which later might have changed my perspective, but I'm sure I would have assumed that is was far fetched; Doctors don't marry lawyers and live in big houses in NYC. In fact the one of the first Brownstones, like the one the Huxtables lived in, that I'd ever been in, that was not cut up into apartments, was the one I owned. The life my kids was provided would have been completely alien to the one I lived even though they lived walking distance from where I was raised. What what I was seeing was not race, but largely culture and often the two are confused. Most people would see Zaji, Mel, and myself as just "Black" people largely indistinguishable from each other. The reality is that culturally we are different. One good thing about the artificial construct of race is that it has brought us together

This is a short (sub-3 minute) video. If made me think of conversations we have been having here. Particularly as if concern race. Anyone who has been active on these forums knows I believe we should dispense with the concept of race in its entirety because it is flawed scientifically and it provides a mechanism for us to hold onto racist stereotypes that have never served us. The video below speaks to the later. Leonce, the Brother speaking in this video is a novelist. His book, I Dreamt I Was in Heaven - The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang is an 18 time AALBC.com besteller. He is currently the 20th bestselling author on this site over the past 20 years. The video describes the premise of his first (I believe) nonfiction work; Whites Shackled Themselves to Race and Blacks Have Yet to Free Ourselves. Let me know what you think.

Sometimes it is more difficult than others.

@Cynique that us exactly what I mean. Acceptance does not mean agreement.

@Delano don't think of it that way. You don't have to "accept" anyone's opinion anymore than you have to accept the fact that some people hate brussel sprouts and other love them.

It is actually great that you are visiting a network of other sites related to your business! I agree with the premise of everything your written. Brands are already know they are at an disadvantage when there are less than a handful a places to promote their products. Content rich websites are the way to rich a specific audience. I've know this for years by simply comparing ad engagement on my website versus what I see on social media. Plus, social media ad engagement over time has only gotten worse and more expensive. 3,000 to 400,000 visits a month is incredible growth -- congratulations! Have created a video or article describing this success? If so please share it in the Strategies section of #ReadingBlack

Man we all appreciate whenever you pop by! Man that is great we should talk on the phone, assuming you are keeping the same design (interior and covers), this will not be a big deal. But we should have a conversation. Drop me you phone number troy@aalbc.com and we'll catch up. Do you have any new books in progress? Any updates for your site: http://chrisdburns.com

@Delano, man you better familiarize yourself with the use of commas. I was like what does a "Psychic Bartender" do -- have your drink ready when you step to the bar? I don't read as much as a bookseller should, but I probably read more than most webmasters, and certainly most people -- but that is not saying very much. I have been running AALBC.com for over 20 years now. The activity is so completely different in 2018 than it was in 1997, it might as well be two completely different jobs. The only commonality is a love for Black people and desire to ensure our stories are told. In fact the job would be impossible without it. While money is definitely a motavator, I don't know anyone who does this type of work solely for money. Over the years it seems people who work solely for money, whether it is for themselves, or for a corporation usually have no problem exploiting others.

These titles are some of the most popular in AALBC.com. The ladies of The Tea, have created videos pitching each of these titles. The Wide Circumference of Love by Marita Golden Be My Forever Bride by Martha Kennerson Have You Met Nora? by Nicole Blades There are many others and and more to come. I've been sharing these on AALBC.com, but The Tea can benefit by readers subscribing to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/jointhetea

@Pioneer1, I agree with a lot of what you said about Lipstick Alley. It is a very gossipy site which of course is part of its appeal. It definitely skews female and is heavily moderated. I can reply to comments in the books forum, but I cannot initiate my own new conversations. I also find the group to be somewhat cynical and snide, but also funny too. Virtually everyone there hides their identity behind pseudonyms and avatars. I guess this gives people the freedom to say whatever they want. I never was a fan of this because when you are truly free you can always say what you want without hiding behind a fake identity. It is a massive discussion forum the vast majority of it would be impossible for me to read. So my opinion is not unlike that of the blind man feeling a small part of an elephant. I did communicate with the owner of the website who confirmed that it was black-owned, but we did not develop a relationship. Pioneer have you, or anyone else, participated there?

I have not written the reply to this message yet because it is so meaty and so thought-provoking. I feel like a off-the-top-of-my-head response would not do the subject justice, so I have not replied. When I get a minute I'll just reply to one aspect of what you've shared here.

I actually asked the questions to point out inconsistencies in your reasoning. True, you cannot see electrons or galaxies with the naked eye, but you can't see chromosomes either. You state that you don't trust so-called "Western science" (is this code for "white science") and extol the virtues of one doing their own research. But I don't believe that you've done any research in genetics, astronomy, or particle physics. It is fascinating that you have no trouble dismissing science and feel comfortable promoting what you believe. Again, this not at all unusual; most people do it everyday; albeit not to the same extent as you. People are usually comfortable shrugging their shoulders and saying "I dunno." Do you believe the world is flat? I assume you have never been to outerspace to observe this on your own.

We I've seen many a afro wig in my day :-) When I wore a 'fro, on picture day, my mom used to run a hot comb through my hair. An Afro might have been called a "natural," but it takes some maintenance and a certain type of hair to pull it off.

Well you answered you own question regarding pioneer Cynique. This line is classic; "...and they take root amidst an environment where your brain is on lock down, imprisoned in an ego-centric cell where the bars are forged from your myopic mentality." Are you this witty in real time? I named the forum for you because your contributions are prodigious in both depth and duration. These forums exist because of your contributions. If you were not here the forums would be much less valuable. I still believe contributions are worth of a book. Your dedication deserves more than I can return. Naming the site for you may one day really mean something. I would be really nice if you can see that day. At the same time all of the regular contributors -- even Pioneer -- make this sites possible and give it life. I welcome indeed need his contributions too. So even when I disagree with him, I welcome his input. The literature site is named for Thumper. Even the address of this site pay homage to him https://aalbc.com/tc The "tc" stands for Thumpers Corner. But Thumper who posted here for over a decade has not posted here in years. This Cynique gives your contributions even more weight because of you longevity. The literature forum will always be Thumpers Corner and the Culture board will always be Cynique's Corner. Over the years we had some great contributors. I miss @Thumper, @ABM , @a_womon, Yukio, and so many others. I appreciate @Xeon popping by every now and then and I hope @zaji shares a bit more too. This forum is only as good as the participant's contributions. The very fact we that were are still here in the face of social media is really quite an accomplishment. When I see the success of forums like Lipstick Alley, it gives me hope for the future.

@Pioneer1, do you believe there are other galaxies besides our own? If so why, if not why not? Do you believe in the existence of electrons? Again please say why or why not?

@Pioneer1, using your reasoning virtually no one today wears their hair naturally -- including most Black men -- including myself (I shave my head). Do you see what I mean about the way you debate?

LOL, yes @Pioneer1, I did see this thread. I think @Cynique is sincerely interested in understanding why she disagrees with you so often. As she implied she does not dislike you you, I think you seem like a good natured fellow too. Cynique I think the issue with Pioneer is that he is incorrigible. He can't be reasoned with because he is more interested in "winning," the debate, or advancing his world view rather than gaining new insight or knowledge. For example, @Delano and I can have a heated debate, but at some point he or I will concede a point and I would never assume to debate him on a subject that he has clearly studied and knows more about. As far as subjective topics where there really is no "right" or "wrong" answer -- just different opinions I tend to relate to Pioneer -- even when we disagree -- because I may have held his opinion previously or I know many people who do. I doubt you share this experience with him. This may be due to differences in gender, age, and class.

Yeah, I'd have to agree with @Cynique on this one too. I spoke at a blogger conference a few years ago that was attended by mostly Black women and the vast majority of women had natural hairstyles. My mom, sister, daughters and their mother wear they hair naturally. Of course my personal observations are just anecdotes, but based upon my observations more women are going natural today than 20 years ago. I'd admit this does differ from the images we see in the media. But again we don't control this images...

I shared this on social media, but all the replies were posted on the social media platform themselves. I'll add this to an upcoming newsletter and make it clearer the responses should be posted here

@Xeon, You'll discover none of this will matter to @Pioneer1. Once my man believes something, he does not change his mind. He will never accept the what modern science tells us if it conflicts with his world view. But he is not alone, many people are comfortable with the racial categories and the stereotypes that go alone with them... it helps them make sense of the very nuanced beings humans are.

@Xeon, sure white people absolutely have something to do with it. We don't green light big budget films, give 7-figure advances, or select academy award winners. White folks determine who is successful, and as a result define what is valuable and noteworthy. Problems arise from the inevitable mismatch between what white folks validate and what Black folks think should be validated. So when African "condescend" as Cynique described it is because they believe the hype. In other words the white validation has gone to their heads and they believe they are better than American Blacks... It is already a cliche that foreign Blacks are naturally harder working and smarter than American Blacks. Of course this is silly, but people believe it, in part because white folks believe it. When we view the world from the perspective of white folks we get into trouble with each other.

@zaji thanks for asking. I'm making some progress. This past month has been very hectic. I actually relocated to Florida this month. I'd been living between NYC and FL for several years, but no longer have a residence in NYC. Hit me at troy@aalbc.com for the gory details... Basically, the upgrades are progressing more slowly than I anticipated. I'm getting close to a design I like. I also decided to keep things really simple and work with a single template; (basically a pared down version of the Blog design: https://aalbc.com/template2018.php I'd hoped to have this done before the spring semester started.. I guess I'll use this experience as a lesson for my students :-)

I'm changing the look and feel of AALBC.com. The design is being worked on here: https://aalbc.com/template2018.php (this is a work in progress but is substantially how the new design will appear. As a result, I'm changing the look of these discussion forums to match AALBC new look. The discussion forums is third party code, so I what I can change and how I make those changes is a mission of discovery and somewhat of a challenge right now. Please bear with me as I experiment with settings and try to get this done as quickly as I can. Thanks, Troy

@Cynique would you (anyone actually) try this link again and see if it prompts you to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Thanks!

The plan is to produce more videos of this type to promote the books of publishers and authors who have demonstrated a commitment to #ReadingBlack. To keep videos like these and more coming please subscribe to The Tea's YouTube Channel. Also subscribe to AALBC.com's YouTube Channel as well.