Troy

I assumed it was not personal and said as much @Chasitie. My rant was not directed solely at you. Sorry if it came across that way. At the end of the day, I see us going, en mass to see SOC, as the antithesis of what we need to do as Black people to support Black film. I think we really need to support indie filmmakers much more. But if we are gonna support Hollywood, lets pick a better film, or at least a movie that does not glorify and sanitize a crew of misogynistic gangster rappers--despite what the AAFCA thinks. If anyone asks me should they go to see SOC in the theater I would still say, "no."

30th Day of ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth: Ernest J. Gaines author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dying.

Hi Chastie, I hear you Sis, and I appreciate you many not be speaking about me specifically, and are addressing people in general. But I will tell you something about my support of Black film. For well over 15 years I have paid reviewers to review 100's of Black films. I have published interviews of actors, producers and other film industry professionals. When people like Ava Duvernay ask for support I jump through hoops to support their efforts. This is far more valuable than the purchase of one ticket to watch a film in the theater. So while I did not go see SOC in the theater I did pay for a film review. Even this conversation I posted sharing the AAFCA press release announcing that SOC was the best film for 2015 promotes and supports the film. It is also worth mentioning that I do this despite any form or reciprocation, acknowledgement or gratitude from those who benefit. Writers are much more gracious in this regard :-) As far as borrowing films from the library. For people like me going to see a film is a luxury in both time and expense, so I will only go to see a film I think is worth seeing on the big screen. Nowadays, not many films fit the bill. Straight Outta Compton, does not come close to meeting my criteria to a film I would want to see on the big screen. Cinematographically there was nothing about SOC that would compel me to see it on the big screen. I would go see Mad Max in the theater given a choice between the two films. Finally, the notion that Blacks failing to go to the theater to see every Black film made, is the only thing preventing more Black films from being made ignores so many other factors from racism, to ownership, and the economic conditions of our demographic.

Yeah race is a very sloppy term and it is true Sara phenotype is insufficient to define who is in which group, despite what I think of what the Oxford dictionary says. I remember my little sister explaining to my mother that she was white white and that I was Black. At the time I was about 7 or 8 and I remember thinking I never considered that, but my little sister who was about 4 or 5 years old at the time, had a point, and I awaited my mother's response. I don't recall what my mom said in response, and I don't recall feeling hurt, but I do remember feeling different from them. Over 30 years later I heard my youngest daughters was crying in (Kindergarten or 1st grade), because a little white girl in her class asked if she was adopted. My daughter is my complexion, and my wife who picked her up that day is lighter. Our course young children don't come by these ideas naturally. We live in a color conscious society and it leads to all kinds of problems.

29th Day of #BlackHistoryMonth Independent Black-Owned Newspapers in the United States. SUBSCRIBE to one!

I would say they are all Black, except the Indian woman from The Office. Using the "one drop rule," which is not universally applied in the U.S.

No worries Chris, that is the nature of these things, it is not all that serious ;-). Though I agree forcing you to vote in every category gives people votes they would not have otherwise received. Thanks Mel for the social sharing as well.

As race as race is concerned I would have no problem with it if people did not insist on attributing more to it that simple physical characteristics. Which is already a slippery slope since the "mongrel mixing of the races" created all these hybrids that defy objective racial categorization. No wonder racists fought so hard to prevent "mixed marriages." Too bad they could not stop themselves from raping Black women. Pioneer, man you articulated something about Beyonce's show that I thought from the minute I saw her during the Superbowl that I have not heard anyone else say. That big Blonde wig leading the black haired sisters kinda bugged me. The positioning was such that she was the leader because she was the fairest, and had that blond wig. She was what the other aspired too, she was unique from the rest, even better. It did not initially occur to me that they represented Black Panthers because all of the imagery of the sisters in the Black Panther That I ever saw, never looked like Beyonce and her crew. I see now the sisters were wearing beret, though it is curious Beyonce did not wear one.

You know I sat and listened to the whole video yesterday, and see that I must have said "ummm" 30 times. I thought I got rid of this habit years. When I shot the video I was actually quite tired (and shows on my face), but it is funny I did not pick up on this when I was editing the video. If I did I would have edited the ummms our or reshoot the whole thing. It seems editing your own video is like editing your own writing; You have to step away from your work for a period of time. If you try to edit immediately, you'll miss errors that you would have easily picked up after some time has elapsed--and never writer or shoot video when you're beat. Your time would be better spent getting some rest :-)

I need your vote. Pick Troy Johnson as "Literary Activist of the Year." Please try to do it now, today is the last day to cast a vote--I know I've been lackadaisical in promoting this.

Elizabeth Nunez and W. Ralph Eubanks Lead Summer Workshops JOIN HURSTON/WRIGHT FOR WRITERS WEEK 2016! Creative Nonfiction: W. Ralph Eubanks, workshop leader The Art of Fiction: Elizabeth Nunez, workshop leader Dates: August 6-12, 2016 Location: Howard University, Washington, D.C. Hurston/Wright workshops are open to Black writers published and unpublished. Spend 7 days sharpening your writing during intensive workshops and craft talks led by acclaimed authors. Creative Nonfiction This workshop explores the challenges of memoir, biography and nonfiction narratives. Photo: Stacey Vaeth W. Ralph Eubanks W. Ralph Eubanks W. Ralph Eubanks is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir Ever Is a Long Time: A Journey Into Mississippi's Dark Past and The House at the End of the Road: The Story of Three Generations of an Interracial Family in the American South. He is the former editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review and the former director of publishing at the Library of Congress. A 2007 Guggenheim Fellow, he is the Eudora Welty Visiting Scholar in Southern Studies at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, for the Spring 2016 semester. Click here for more information on Ralph Eubanks. The Art of Fiction This workshop for writers of short stories and long fictional narratives focuses on the essentials of skillful storytelling. Photo: Leonid Knizhnik Elizabeth Nunez Elizabeth Nunez Elizabeth Nunez is the award-winning author of nine novels and a memoir, Not for Everyday Use, which won the 2015 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Nonfiction. Novels Boundaries and Anna In-Between were New York Times Editors' Choices. Anna In-Between won the 2010 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award. Nunez also is a recipient of the 2011 Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers and Barnes & Noble, an American Book Award, and a NALIS Lifetime Literary Award from the Trinidad & Tobago National Library. She is a Distinguished Professor at Hunter College, CUNY. Click here for more information on Elizabeth Nunez. CLICK FOR GUIDELINES AND TO APPLY Founded in 1990, the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation is a nonprofit committed to developing, mentoring, and honoring Black writers with workshops, awards and community. Learn more at Hurston/Wright Foundation Hurston/Wright Foundation | 202.248.5051| Email | Website

Of course, post your email address.

The fact that race is an artificial construct does not mean there are no differences between humans. Pioneer would you provide a definition of the word "race." I ask because you are using it as if it you are quite clear what it means. If would help if I knew what definition you are working from and were you pulled it from--Thanks It is difficult to judge what Beyonce looks like, given the makeup and fake hair. But now that you juxtapose the two images. It seems like they were shooting for the "Shakira look" for Bey.

Well I finally saw Straight Outta Compton It actually was a decent movie as far as films go, and I enjoyed it. But it's basis in reality was pretty thin. As far as best picture, I dunno. They really need to make a film about Suge Knight, that Brother.... I also watched Black Mass last night and I thought Johnny Depp deserved an academy award nomination and I enjoyed that film more than I did Straight Outta Compton.

@Pioneer1, Absolutely. Breeds, by definition come from, artificial selection. There are no "breeds" of humans, any more than there are "races" of humans. Sure all three people pictured here have different phenotypes, but generically they are virtually identical. So much so that there may be more genetic similarities between two people of different "races" than there are of two people of the same race.

28th Day of ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬ - Haki Madhubuti - Poet, Activist, Educator, Publisher

Sara, you make my point Homo Habilis and Homo Sapiens are different species. If you trying to suggest that these creatures could be called Black or white does not make sense. They are classified as a difference species because we can not interbreed with them. Cynique, while there is no way of "knowing," which cultural influences there are many clues. Indeed people who study this stuff make pretty convincing arguments. Some suggest, for example, that we can trace aspects of Jazz and gospel music back to Africa. If I used you argument, about bad food creating obesity the one would expect these rates to go down, nit that our food is "better." Also staples like Okra is not all about scraps and did not originate in America it came directly from Africa. While Xenophobia, may be "hardwired" human have the unique ability to behave in ways that may conflict with a genetic predispositions. So while I may fear people who look different than me, I can use reason and not be afraid of those you are different. Using your logic I should be afraid of 1/2 my family, including my mother who is light skinned. Again humanity has evolved beyond these primitive instincts. You can use culture to define a group of people in the case of Nigeria you be better our categorizing group in terms of being Hausa, Fulani, Igbo or Yoruba. Of curse these groups which are much older and have nothing to do with the boundaries of Nigeria.

What?! Sara and I agree on something out the box Well almost. Keep in mind humans did not evolve until about 200,00 years ago. So no one was Black "millions of years" before anything.

Hi Mel, I'm not sure what there is to disagree about. I'm also not sure what you mean by adapting to conditions of North America. If you mean genetically, we have not been here long enough for any genetic adaptation to have taken place. Would you believe after making my last post here, someone sent me an email about a movie they made discussing race: The Myth of Race and the Evolution of Skin Color.

Have you ever found yourself wondering why humans look different? Why some people may have eyes that appear to be slanted? Why some people may have light skin, blue eyes and blonde hair or why others may have dark skin, coarse or kinky hair and dark colored eyes. Well, the answer is called a mutation, which occurs in every generation when the sperm from a male fertilizes the egg of a female. Now mutations are not a bad thing, actually, they're a good thing because without them all humans would look the same. How boring would that be? This ground breaking documentary entitled The Myth of Race and the Evolution of Skin Color answers those questions by combining anthropology, paleontology and human genetics to show how that all humans, no matter what race, nationality or ethnicity you claim to be, share a common ancestor with a small population that lived in Africa around 200,000 years ago. This documentary is scheduled to be released in March of 2016.

Hi Guest B I'd encourage you to create an account so that your comments will display right away and not require manual approval. I also checked out your website and like the premise. But since the site has no content I won't share it others at this point. Of course keep us update on your progress.

@Cynique, I'm not saying Black American's should NOT be defined by our time enslaved here in America. I saying we should not be defined SOLELY by our enslavement. Our culture is informed so much more. Our collective propensity to diabetes and hypertension has more to do with our food supply and lifestyles than our cuisine. And of course some African people are not lactose intolerant as this has to do with genetic traits that have nothing to do with what we look like. If you want to put people into boxes because of physical characteristics; have at it, you'll be busy for a very long time. You should also appreciate the boxes you create are purely arbitrary and have nothing to do with science. Yes, I do want to put all people in one box, because technically we are in one box, the human box. Any differences in treatment we chose to apply to each other because of differences in physical characteristics are also done so subjectively. It would be like saying all left handed people are inferior because they are left handed, all men with red hair are inherently more evil, all slender men are smarter, etc. All of this would be considered dumb, because it is. Also you can't reasonably use Nigeria to define a group of people. Nigeria was made up by europeans; the boundaries they created has little to do with the people who lived there before Europeans carved it up. @Mel keep in mind that your mtDNA only tracks your mother's, mother's, Mother's, Mothers, After 9 generation we are talking about a single ancestor out of 1,024 who contributed to who you are. In other words you know less that 0.001% of you ancestry based upon that ancestor's mtDNA.

Funny Mel, your attitude about Men who can't make it in America, is the same one I held about White men who can't make it in America--I had no concern and little sympathy for their predicament. Then I traveled the country and saw whole swaths of the nation covered in white poverty. They are not covered in media, but they exist. Then I also realized when we pit men and against women, white against Black, we lose track of the cause of our problems, and we fail to work together to fix them. I have not read the articles yet, but it seems contradictory to suggest that Black women are surviving when Black males are not. But again it is the divide mentality of us against them, you against I. I can only win at your expense... Also I wish they really would stop issuing those bogus unemployment figures, because they fly in the face of the reality most of us see. They stop counting who have been looking over two years, they don't count the millions of recent college graduates who have not found a job. No wonder folks are embracing Donald Trump for president. Folks are desperate.

I believe we are one race. We are all descended from one male (y-chromosomal Adam) and one woman (Mitochondrial Eve), and are therefore family. It would be nice if we looked out for each other they was a family would, but we have to operate in the real world... That said, the issue I would take with your perspective Cynique, is that it is unnecessarily limiting. Why should Black culture be defined by what happened in the last 150 years? We know from our cuisine, our way of practicing religion, our speech, music, and a whole host of other things are influenced by Africa. Everything was not striped from us, indeed it is part of our core being. Part of the reason some embrace a so called "Afrocentric" perspective is that we see where the European perspective mindset has gotten us, hundreds of years of enslavement and 2nd class citizenship. People--even white folks-- are desperate for something different, something that would them better. Pioneer, any African that would fail to embrace an African-American as his Brother is simply a victim of the same colonial mindset we are. Pan-Africanism is better than the fractured, powerless, state we are in today. "Pan worldism" would serve humanity better, but I'm happy to go one step at a time. Oh, the middle east, is clearly on the African continent. Mesopotamia, Egypt, the birth place of Christ, and the Great Pyramids are all in north east Africa.

Cynique considering the board is named for you, you know I'm not about "political correctness," shoot all the stuck I let slide from Kola Boof should have proven that. More recently I even let the likes of an Unkel Rukus post here until he went crazy with the spamming. I would have hoped you would know it is not about being politically correct. We'll be here when you get back. Pioneer, you would not have anything meaningful to contribute if you did not have better things to do.