Troy

It is always tricky when a rich Black man harshly critiques the actions of poor struggling people. However condemning the action of looters and condoning the verdict are unrelated things. If your business, home, or car were destroyed you would probably feel differently. There is no reason some unrelated business should have been destroyed as a result if this verdict.

Chris, yes you are correct. My tone in the last post was somewhat negative, and may have implied that the Hurston/Wright folks were just taking advantage of my largess, which may not be true. I do know, for a fact, that managing a website is a challenge for many institutions and the failure to link is often a lack of control rather than spite, as I may have implied with H/W. A lack of technical skill is also one of the reasons we have so wholeheartedly embraced social media. Increasingly I see many using a Facebook Page as their primary platform. This is not only bad for that organization, but it actually makes our collective situation worse. This point is even more difficult to get a across to folks particularly when the trade off is a presence on Facebook or no presence at all. That said, I also know there are institutions that have complete control over their websites that don't return my support either. Generally these are the larger commercial driven (versus mission driven) websites that are solely interested in generating traffic (read: revenue), so uplifting a 17 year old site that is supportive, but covers books is not likely to attract much attention, so their resources are invested elsewhere. I could no on all day about the lack of support from entities like Essence (even before they were completely bought out by Time) or Black Enterprise. I can't tell you how many subscriptions I've sold for those magazines or how much of their content I've promoted. But again, the queries speak for themselves. Black Enterprise on AALBC.com, Essence on AALBC.com versus AALBC.com on Essence, AALBC.com on Black Enterprise. When I found out how Essence ditched the Black Bookseller during their music festival (an event I actually attended), I was basically done with going out of my way to support Essence. I even dropped my own subscription, but again they are owned by Time so no at that organization could give less... I agree we have a lot of work to do. We have to; Develop the capability to support each other and; Once we achieve a level of success we have to actually support our own--even if a sacrifice is required. Both are very tall orders at this time.

Chris you are absolutely right about the lack of transparency about what happens to the funds after you give you money away. There is no accountability, you have to trust the people you are giving the money to. Over the years I have donated to several film campaigns and I have NEVER been given the gift I was promised. About a year ago, while contributing to yet another film project, I noticed the contribution website told who I gave to previously, then it dawned on my I'd never received a single gift, so I decided to follow up with everyone I made a contribution to. One Brother got back to me right away, apologized and promised to send my thank you gift. I never heard from him again or any of the other people I gave money to. I stopped giving money away to filmmakers; I should have at least 10 DVDs by now. Chris, I'm telling you if we could all get together and really work together there would be nothing we could not do, least of all get paid. Honestly I wish I could say that I was working with Hurston-Wright. Don't assume my unbridled support for them is reciprocated, for it is not. Indeed a search on their website for AALBC.com versus a search on my site for Hurston/Wright will tell you the story. i don't mean to pick on that organization, but the time it takes me to promote their organization takes away from opportunities to promote others, generate revenue to just rest rest. Again, if they did anything obvious to uplift AALBC.com I would grow and that would enable me to better help them. But I know you know this Chris. I'm really writing it for others who may not appreciate this concept. Again I survived this long not because I got pissed of every time someone failed to reciprocate or even tried to do me harm. I succeed because there are still, despite it all, people who support. Chris you link to AALBC.com and so do many others. Thank you. If it were not for people like you I'm not sure what we would have left...

Today we get so many more solicitations for contributions than just a few years ago. I wonder if we are, collectively, any better off? I'm sure I get a dozen or more solicitations for contributions each month. They range from helping established filmmakers fund a movie to helping people pay their rent. Of course many are worthy causes and other seem a bit sketchy. In the meantime, the solicitations for contributions from traditional sources (mail and phone) has not let up. Indeed, they may have redoubled their efforts given the competition from new online solicitors. Shoot, two years ago I even started requesting contributions for my eNewsletter. Often I'm left just feeling bad that I can't help a friend pay their rent, as I fight to pay my own, or am unable to support a foundation I believe in. Cultural organization and charities need our support as funding from grants, and government support, dries up. Meanwhile the buying power of Americans has failed to increase and, for most of us, has declined over the last several years. These platforms, like indiegogo, that make it easy for people to ask for donations seem to be the only entities truly and consistently benefiting. It is like the book industry; technology has made it easier to make a book, but are readers collectively better off with an order of magnitude more books available to buy? Are the individual authors better off, with so many products in the market place to compete against? There are some benefits to the existence of barriers to entry. The cost of production and gate keepers helped ensure that bad books never got published. I think the same is true for asking for contributions. If it is so much easier to make the ask, and collect the funds, more people will do it -- what do you have to lose? The problem is that donors don't have unlimited resources; it is a zero sum game. So we end up in an environment, we have today, where established institutions are struggling to get a smaller piece of a shrinking pie. Some would argue that maybe those old organization deserve to die. I don't know, but I doubt it.

Marita Golden, Co-Founder & Interim Executive Director of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, and Tope Folarin, Hurston/Wright Foundation Board Member and Winner, 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing introduce the foundation's 25th year of service, and a new $25,000 Indiegogo campaign. This crowdfunding effort will raise $25,000 toward's Hurston/Wright's operating expenses, and the creation a literary and cultural center for accomplished and aspiring Black writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hurston-wright-25-years-of-serving-black-writers

Yeah I see Q-Tip has issued an open call to join the Zulu Nation on Twitter: https://twitter.com/QtipTheAbstract/status/537461789613903872 The Zulu Nation's website is soliciting membership as well

Interestingly I've been having some success with posting my content on other, non-social media, websites. I just run a few queries related to my topic, find related articles, contribute meaningfully to the conversation and post a related link (basically the same thing I've encouraged authors to do here since forever). I tried using this tactic other Black sites and the effort was a complete failure. I even got my feelings hurt on Ebony's website by being flagged as a spammer! Actually my feelings were not hurt I was just outraged that my own people would treat what I thought was a meaningful contribution to the conversation as if I was some low-life selling fake Viagra pills. Lately I've been posting on the bigger news sites (the Washington Post, The Guardian, HuffPost, etc) and the results have very good-- far superior to social media. I'm going to write about it next week if I can just get the new Power List out (it is late). This is not a new strategy by a long short. In fact, before search this was a common practice, for websites to become known. Indeed we would actively swap links with related websites. The Wall Street Journal just published an article on how Facebook is going to really set the screws to entrepreneurs. This is not a good sign for Facebook's future. But they don't see it.

Regarding Wise Intelligent's assertion that the high school drops outs are more conscious because the are more likely to march than their college educated peers. This has less to do with consciousness and more to do with spare time. He suggested Rappers did not invent the uses of the n-word, but he has to understand that it is used way more today, in the media, than ever before and rap artists are almost single-handedly responsible for this. I was completely unaware that the popular of Black rap artists is waning! With this knowledge what is the point? Perhaps we need to launch a new musical genre. I leave you with this, my kid was playing this song (8 million views on youtube in 2 weeks). She is in her early twenties and never knew a world without rap music of the form. Sure she is a college graduate, but I think she, all of her peers, and the rest of us would be better off if this music was not being drummed into their heads.

Yes Jay-Z, Dre, Puffy and Russell's, are part of the problem. They, like Bob Johnson a generation before, are fantastically successful because they operate like or operate at a high level in corporations. However, they could absolutely be part of the solution. But I don't see that happening. I don't even hold that against them, they are no different that most people. Besdies the media elevates them so it is hard to imagine them doing anything differently. People celebrated gangsters like Bumpy Johnson while completely overlooking his illegal activity. Like a drug dealer or a cigarette manufacturers corporations are about getting paid. The impact on the culture is inconsequential. If there is any benefit, that is purely incidental. But they will tout all benefits and make believe the negative impact does not exist. Cigarette manufacturers and drug deals create jobs, right?

Sure we could get away with it, but we (including myself, at least for now), simply will not do it. But Prince does a lot of things most of us will not do. I guess that is why he is Prince. The article does not say much more than Price dropped his Twitter and Facebook accounts. I just checked Twitter and it does not appear to be much of a reaction to Prince's action, but Twitter controls what we see so who knows what the reaction is I did not bother to check Facebook, because they are expert at controlling what we see so I'm not gonna waste my time. I'm glad he dropped his social media, maybe people will rediscover other websites Then again the article implies that Prince is down on the Internet altogether: In an interview at the time with one of the newspapers, Britain's Daily Mirror, Prince declared the Internet to be "completely over" and said of digital gadgets: "They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you." I can't find an official Prince run website, so the quote may reflect Prince's feelings. If this is true I wonder why he bothered with Facebook at all.

"We collectively reject the idea of exploiting this hot button issue, but instead are wholeheartedly COMMITTED TO USING THIS PROJECT TO INCITE SUSTAINABLE CHANGE." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXR65h-zK50 From Actor Nate Parker: Family, Friends and Concerned Citizens, I’m reaching out to you to inform of a campaign I've launched aimed at addressing the crisis affecting black males across America. I was one of the many who tuned in two nights ago to witness the grave injustice hurled at Michael Brown’s family, loved ones and our community at large. I watched as the banner flashed across the TV screen exonerating Darren Wilson and I didn't flinch. The truth is, I knew when I visited Ferguson in September what the result would be. I knew outrage would follow. I knew the lifeless bodies of black men would continue to accumulate across America as we waited for the Justice System to remind us that black lives hold no value. The question that lingered in my mind as I witnessed Mike Brown’s body stretched facedown on the pavement, as I boarded my flight to Ferguson, as I heard the news of Ezell Ford, as I watched the video of John Crawford diving for cover, hear Eric Garner gasping for breath, Roshad McIntosh, LaQuan McDonald, VonDerrit Myers Jr., Cameron Tillman- and most recently Tamir Rice… That lingering question: What will I do? In response to this burning question, I contacted my friend and Academy-Award Nominee Amy Berg, a documentarian and truth teller committed to fighting injustice through her work. After intense strategizing, we have partnered, along with Award-Winning writer/director Matthew Cooke- to produce a documentary examining the Black Male Crisis that has become an epidemic in America. In this documentary we will explore the rampant dehumanization and criminalization of black males. We will highlight the patterns of this systemic device and how that pattern created fertile ground the Michael Brown tragedy and many others. Ferguson represents so many communities across America where the attack on black youth has further disrupted the possibility of racial harmony, further perpetuating the damaged relationship between black youth and police. In creating a documentary that analyzes and creates solution for the Black Male Crisis in America- specifically in Ferguson- we can start a movement throughout the country that brings people of all demographics together to address racial disparity and White supremacy. This is a time of great moral conflict, a conflict that needs the support of every able body to rectify. Join me in this journey. Your contribution and prayers will serve great purpose in preserving the lives of the most at risk human beings in our great country. Thank you all for your support! Nate Parker https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/american-race-a-film-on-the-black-male-crisis

"We collectively reject the idea of exploiting this hot button issue, but instead are wholeheartedly COMMITTED TO USING THIS PROJECT TO INCITE SUSTAINABLE CHANGE." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXR65h-zK50 Family, Friends and Concerned Citizens, I’m reaching out to you to inform of a campaign I've launched aimed at addressing the crisis affecting black males across America. I was one of the many who tuned in two nights ago to witness the grave injustice hurled at Michael Brown’s family, loved ones and our community at large. I watched as the banner flashed across the TV screen exonerating Darren Wilson and I didn't flinch. The truth is, I knew when I visited Ferguson in September what the result would be. I knew outrage would follow. I knew the lifeless bodies of black men would continue to accumulate across America as we waited for the Justice System to remind us that black lives hold no value. The question that lingered in my mind as I witnessed Mike Brown’s body stretched facedown on the pavement, as I boarded my flight to Ferguson, as I heard the news of Ezell Ford, as I watched the video of John Crawford diving for cover, hear Eric Garner gasping for breath, Roshad McIntosh, LaQuan McDonald, VonDerrit Myers Jr., Cameron Tillman- and most recently Tamir Rice… That lingering question: What will I do? In response to this burning question, I contacted my friend and Academy-Award Nominee Amy Berg, a documentarian and truth teller committed to fighting injustice through her work. After intense strategizing, we have partnered, along with Award-Winning writer/director Matthew Cooke- to produce a documentary examining the Black Male Crisis that has become an epidemic in America. In this documentary we will explore the rampant dehumanization and criminalization of black males. We will highlight the patterns of this systemic device and how that pattern created fertile ground the Michael Brown tragedy and many others. Ferguson represents so many communities across America where the attack on black youth has further disrupted the possibility of racial harmony, further perpetuating the damaged relationship between black youth and police. In creating a documentary that analyzes and creates solution for the Black Male Crisis in America- specifically in Ferguson- we can start a movement throughout the country that brings people of all demographics together to address racial disparity and White supremacy. This is a time of great moral conflict, a conflict that needs the support of every able body to rectify. Join me in this journey. Your contribution and prayers will serve great purpose in preserving the lives of the most at risk human beings in our great country. Thank you all for your support! Nate Parker https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/american-race-a-film-on-the-black-male-crisis

This skit was not about spiking a woman drink. Del do you really believe there is a connection between this routine and Cosby's "alleged" rapes? I guess you believe Bill is a serial rapist. There are people in jail for who never raped anyone but were accused of doing it just once. How could this man have raped so many people and never even go to court, let alone jail? What changed why has this now become an issue, in the media, after so many years? Did a payoff check bounce? Was it the book's publication?

"...while you're fellowshipping with the Klan..." LOL! Cynique when was the last time the Klan put a cross on someone's lawn? The point I'm trying to make is that the media is doing us a tremendous disservice. They widely reported, speculated and circulated rumors. "Allegedly" means nothing to people, all the noise on Twitter and Facebook, where all these rumors circulate like wildfire does not say allegedly--not that it would make a difference. At least I know where the Klan stands. That Youtube video does not count as "the media." I'm talking about the Fox News, and CNNs of the world. The alternative would be for the media to do the best they can to report the truth (actual facts they can substantiate). That is information we need and can. Prior to the release of the transcript too many of us believed the young man was holding both hands up trying to surrender and was gunned down by a white racist cop who wanted nothing more than to kill a Black man, now that I heard more of the story the whole situation is not nearly as cut and dried. But emotions have been inflamed, Sharpton has been unleashed, people have been tear gassed and arrested, and business have been lost. I think the media bears much of the responsibility, due to their irresponsible reporting.

This Klan leader's view of the mainstream media mirrors my own As reprehensible as I find the KKK history of violence and against Black people, I'd trust them more than I would mainstream media.

Alex Poucher, a heavily involved member of Anonymous, sat down with Frank Ancona, Imperial Wizard of the Traditional American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan this Sunday. The two groups- Anonymous and the KKK- have had a feud over the last month regarding how to respond to action in Ferguson. Following the release of a controversial flyer by the KKK, Anonymous members took over the KKK's national Twitter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onuMdF-iJIE Steven Colbert is really very silly, but at least he has a platform to highlight Toni Morrison, and bring here to a wide audience something Black people don't have, really. The last time I saw Morrison was at the 2013 National Book Awards where she honored Maya Angelou. Maya would transition less than 6 months later. We got a chance to take a selfie :-)

This video stands in sharp contrast to the fanning the flames, sensationalism chasing journalism promulgated by the likes of CNN. Regardless of the verdict, which was not a surprise to me, there is clearly a problem in America as she relates to Black people. A solution will have to begin with some semblance of committed solidarity (and I don't mean just Black people) Unfortunately, I just don't see it happening.

#FergusonSpeaks As law enforcement officials and national media gear up for a St Louis County Grand Jury’s announcement as to whether it will levy charges against Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson for the August 9th shooting of Michael Brown Jr., activists have issued a 9 minute video communiqué providing an intimate look at the climate on the ground. The video communiqué displays a cross section of the myriad groups activated in the region and includes exclusive footage of Vonderrit Meyers Sr., Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III, celebrated artist and HandsUpUnited.org cofounder Tef Poe, Taurean Russell, Lost Voices organizer Low Key, Millennial Activists United co-creator Ashley Yates, activist and Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams, Damon Davis -- a volunteer with The Don’t Shoot Coalition, Canfield Watchmen founder David Whitt, as well as local Ferguson business managers. Viewers are encouraged to tweet, share, and embed the video using the accompanying hashtag #FergusonSpeaks—extended raw clips of each of the video’s subjects are available upon request.

Del at the time I did not think hip-hop would go global either, but then I had no real framework to appreciate how corporations could capitalize and exploit it. Chris I could not disagree with your professor more. His assumption is that spoken word artists do not understand poetic form. That is what we call stereotyping. I actually doubt, Chris, that you understand how I feel about rap music. Lumping me in with your professor tells me that. Just because I don't consider myself a disciple of hip-hop, and I don't really like much of the popular rap music out today, does not mean that I dislike all rap or that I think rap artist have no musical ability. My feelings are much more nuanced, not stereotypical. Part of the problem in America is that Black people's art is often thrust into a tiny box, stereotyped. If you are Black and write about an urban setting, you are automatically a street/urban/hip-hop author. That designation brings in a ton of baggage, most of it not good. Indeed, the same is true for being a African-American author, who writes about Black characters. The mainstream culture puts you into a category that means only Black people will like you books (read: it won't make any money). It is only interesting if it talks about dysfunction, crime, slavery, etc The only reason what we call "hip-hop" has gone global is because of corporations. Hip-hop has become a corporate tool. Corporations are the primary beneficiaries. Most of the brothers and sisters who originated this thing you call hip-hop are not benefiting from it financially, nor are the vast majority of devotees. You give hip-hop a lot of credit for doing things that I would assert have been done previously under another name. Del, Public enemy was a very powerful force back with hip-hop was a reaction to an oppressive culture. Today hi-hop is a tool an oppressive culture. No I did not expect hip-hop to go global, but I also could not have imaged that the most popular music would be riddled with the n-word and use bitch and ho like they were terms of endearment, but then I had no framework on just how corporations operate.

Bill is not speaking on the allegations it because; (A) He is guilty or; (B ) He is innocent. Either way he gains nothing other than opening the door to more negative questioning about his sex life, family, etc, etc. I think the the officer in Ferguson case will walk, otherwise they would have made the announcement by now. The only reason to delay the announcement until 9 p.m. CST tonight it to mobilize forces. The family has already been informed of the verdict. It is fascinating to observe the "news" outlets frantically position themselves two be the 1st two announce the results of the ‪‎Ferguson‬ verdict. Search engine and social media optimized, stories ready to go--anxiously awaiting to pull the trigger (pardon the pun). Marion Barry did indeed pass. He was loved by the people. DC will probably never see another Major like him. No major city will. I think it was criminal the way they set him up years ago. But they do that to us all the time, don't they?. R.I.P. Mayor B.

The producers of the show would absolutely have Obama if he would show up. The rating would go through the roof! I agree the show would be beneath Obama's dignity. Tavis, in his prime, was arguably the most distinguished Black journalist we had. I thought dancing with the stars was beneath Tavis, but obviously I was wrong.

As an individual, in the short term, I would lose time time, energy and money. Collectively, we lose our in independence. It is the last reason that concerns me the most. Individually I can use strategies that benefit me. Collectively I'm pretty helpless. I can share articles like the one above. I can talk to people. I can become the anti-social media nut no one wants to be around, but if we (content providers) all turn to social media as our primary internet presence we all lose, not just us content providers, but the readers. When we relinquish control of what is seen, by depending corporate controlled social media, only interested in showing what is profitable, we all lose.

Yo Del Happy Belated Birthday Man! Chris I'm not surprised the 2nd song it more popular. It has a more engaging flow. I have no problem understanding the lyrics. Again, as you suggested "better" is subjective. I'm not sure the problem is equal playing time. If I were to extend your book analogy, that would mean I could sell more copies of Toni Morrison's Beloved simply by promoting it more. My experience tells me something different. Often books that sell best on my site are books I was completely unfamiliar with, and not promoting at all. Usually they are not of the caliber of a Toni Morrison novel. Sure after I discover them, through sales I may begin to promote it and ride the wave. People buy what they enjoy. Rational vendors promote what whats poppin' Sometimes you have people like me who push products I think are important for people to consume, knowing darn well there will be fewer takers. We are mission as well as profit driven. But you make less money that way. Ultimately as all sellers focus on what is most popular, everything else gets crowded out. We are seeing this in the book world as we lose platforms. This happened to rap music a Long time ago.