Troy

Looks like me "fix" did not work. I just saw the problem. I have another idea....

What?! Rarely is this the case with most people. Exhibit #1: You! In all the years of engaging with people here have you ever changed your mind about anything (let alone an entire perspective)? If so, please relate the experience.

Unlike yourself, I can assimilate new information and adapt accordingly 😉

Actually I’m trying to do just that @richardmurray. Ideally the same login for customers, forums, and a login to the site. The login would already be vetted before they could use it here. i could grant access to exclusive content. It is one of the things I was thinking about in an effort to move away from a ad based model. I’m at least a year away from that.

I missed the days where men and women danced with each other. Young men and women don't seem to do this anymore they dance in packs or not at all... Think line dancing is cool too. It seems to be the only thing to get women out on the floor, but I guess ALL women can now get on the dance floor without have to wait for someone to ask them. Line dancing is less popular with the Brothers -- who has time to memorize all those steps when you could make up your own moved as @ProfD wrote, or fall back on the ole 2-step. The 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop reminded me of the "Freak," a dance style that was out in the 70's. As a kid, I loved it, but would be horrified if I saw kids dancing that that today 🫣

Great observation! I had noticed this too, but never drew the connection with the little x. I would end up refreshing the screen to bring up to be able use the "HTML Codes." I then scrolled the content I was trying to edit above the x and it worked! I believe I fixed the problem! The fix is too wonky to describe in detail, but I was related to the adserver. @Chevdove thanks for pointing out the problem as it would have probably persisted a lot longer -- I thought it was just me experiencing the problem. Still you were clear enough that I should have immediately recognized that you were experiencing what I was experiencing. Also I wish the search engine for these forums was better. I type "Little X" and it did not find anything?! I had to bounced out to Google typed: site://aalbc.com/tc "Little X" and this post can right up. The search results were reminiscent of the good 'ole days before Google completely exploited their search engine for advertising revenue.

Yeah, ads are a pain in the ass. They are a necessary evil to keep the site alive and food on the table. There are other models and less obstructive ways to present sponsorship I'll work on these after the sites has been upgraded.

Again these physical characteristics are on a continuum and also based upon environment. There simply are no Black and white race genes. OK show a single paper, just one, so that I may read it. Again, while you may be right, I don't want to confuse American racism again people who look like you and I with the idea that there is a genetic basis for race. I don't understand the distinction, you are making. Negativity based upon phenotype is racism, this leads to bias. prejudice, bigotry. Rejecting the label of racism in favor is bias makes no sense to me in the American context.

That last paragraph was a doozy Brother.

I just finished watching the film. It was “okay.” Nobody will win an academy award. the premise was interesting, but not a lot was done with it. It played with a lot of racial stereotypes which originated in a novel way. i could see where people would really like it. Probably best viewed in a group with a buzz.

It depends, plenty of nerds sell-out. Sell-out meaning: taking money from the other man to hurt the brotherman.

We have been over the before. Sure, skin color has a basis in genetics, but it is a complex trait influenced by environmental factors as well. Skin color is the result of evolutionary adaptations to different environments over time. You trace any so-called white person back far enough you'll end up with what you understand as Black person. The human genetic variation is a continuum and as a result you can not use genetics to categorized people into distinct racial groups based upon skin color, lip thickness, hair color, whatever. This is why there is no such thing as a genetic test for race. It is because people use the same flawed reasoning you are using, you just can't see it.

Is it similar to an X that you might see to close an advertisement? What happens when you click the X? I'm experimenting with a new advertising partner it could be an ad unit, missing an ad? I dunno I'll keep my eyes open for it.

Deep sigh... Astrogle.com? What is that? Are you scouring the web to find the most outlandish things imaginable to just to make a point? The Bible’s teaching seems pretty simple: the earth was created on the first of the six twenty-four-hour days of Genesis, which culminated with the creation of Adam, the first human. Adding up the genealogies in Genesis puts the age of the earth at about six thousand years. --https://realfaith.com/what-christians-believe/old-earth/ What makes your source better than the one I just shared? You reject all science because white people, in the past, perverted it with their racism to ideology justify the persecution of Black people. In the age of information we are astoundingly misinformed. Collectively, we are probably worse off that we were before the dawn of the information age. The only saving grace is that you are free to believe whatever you want. In an earlier time, you could have been burned at the sake for expressing a belief not held by those in charge. Progress I guess...

The guy said the people were "Black" like the color, he did not say like a so-called "Black" person. Who is that guy anyway and why should we care what he is saying for even believe it? When you say that Black people have been around for trillions are years, two orders of magnitude longer than the best estimate of the age of the universe, that sounds crazier than what flat earthers believe. What ancient Dravidian scriptures make this claim? Obviously the "Black" people you are talking about are extra-terrestrials, right? The best estimate of Earth's age is about 4 billion years and most of the time the environment would not have supported human life. I assume you believe that these ancient life forms deposited Black people on Earth. Is that rght?

OK now I see what y'all are talking about I never noticed this before today. If this is the "x" you are talking about @Chevdove it is a feature of the software. If you like a post by giving it a heart, trophy, or smiley face, you can later remove it by clicking the little X. The little X then goes away.

@Pioneer1 you are still playing games. You know very well my point of contention with you is your assertion that the social construct of race is based in our genetics. Of course, racism exists; this website exists in direct reaction to racism. The idea that race is determined by our genes has been disproven. Still, you would deny Rock Newman reparations simply because, in your estimation, he is white.

Really? Then again why should I be surprised, this is America. Follow the links and check out their work 🙂 Then I know with absolute certainty that you are not from NYC. In the late 70's Rap had not really gone beyond New York. I remember bringing my Spoonie Gee 12 inch to Raleigh NC and they had never hear it before. @Pioneer1 I hear you. Hip-hop did not invent anything new. The difference it popularized the type of lyrics @zeke1234 shared, (which are relatively mild) and stamped it with a Black face, like the Black Exploitation films featuring pimps and drug leaders. White people invented drug dealing and pimping but you'd think we are the only ones doing it. We are 13% of the population but are essentially 100% of gangster rappers! Why? White people, who have been the most notorious gangsters ever, protect their brand. Black people do not protect our brand, so we are at the mercy of people who are more than happy to abuse it for profit and handsomely pay the sell-outs willing to help.

@Wide awake I glanced at all the videos you shared. The very first one is directly embedded below to make it easier to see what you are sharing. The title of the video says "Africa Never Built Nothin'" Whoever posted the video also wrote: “Pastor James David Manning delivers a sermon (from a few years ago)... Questions why is it, on every place in the World there are still standing structures built from the 11th, 12th 13th Century...everywhere except for Africa.“ The person who posted the video, and apparently the pastor (I did not listen the watch the video), are alarmingly ignorant about Africa. I'm afraid you been misled, led stray, bamboozled... Now this is a MUCH MORE interesting question! I'd be willing to host a series of Book Club meetings to discuss Martin's book The Jewish Onslaught, a book I have previously mentioned on these forums. If a few of you were willing to break down and read the book I'd be willing to discuss it with you it would make an interesting conversation and we'd all be ion the page as it were 😉 Let me know if you are interested.

I think what is "new" about hip-hop is how blatant and public the sexual and violent themes are expressed. The artists who "sold out" allowing themselves to be pimped out for a few shiny things while enriching record executives. Sure, some rappers have become very wealthy. But far more have died violently as a result of the lifestyle. We used to listen to people like Blow-Fly but it was behind closed doors, and we definitely knew better to let our moms know we were listening to such "filth" 🙂 Before the Furious Five we wondering how to keep from goin' under, we had Gil Scott Heron and The Last Poets. Shoot we had whole Black Art Movement. To the @ProfD's point we have to stop selling out. Consider some of the principal artists Black Arts Movement. I defy you to show me one sell out. Now if I posted a list of the most popular contemporary rappers. Do you think finding sell outs would be as difficult? While "Hip-Hop music isn't responsible for prostitution, drug epidemic or the murder rate." It does glorify this behavior and reenforces the "racist" stereotype in the minds of rap music's biggest consumer: white people. The Brothers and Sisters below, some of whom are still alive, were active in the community doing the work. In America, uplifting Black people does not generate fantastic wealth. Selling Black people out is what gets people rich. Toni Cade Bambara Amiri Baraka Steve Cannon John H. Bracey Jr. Gwendolyn Brooks Mari Evans Nikki Giovanni Nathan Hare Gil-Scott Heron Fred Lee Hord Rosa Guy John O. Killens Etheridge Knight Audre Lorde Haki Madhubuti Paule Marshall Larry Neal Sterling D. Plumpp Eugene Redmond Ishmael Reed Carolyn Marie Rodgers Kalamu ya Salaam Sonia Sanchez Ntozake Shange S. Pearl Sharp Askia M. Touré Quincy Troupe Marvin X

Science asserts that social construct of race has no basis in genetics. Therefore, the association of characteristics like intelligence, or the propensity to violence, to one's race, commonly known as racism, cannot be based in genetics. That is axiomatic, like the Earth is not flat. You guys are being intellectually dishonest, playing verbose linguistic gymnastics, dismissing science, arguing with the dictionary, and for what? @Pioneer1 I provided the source of my definition of racism. @richardmurray found it, I'm not sure why you missed it. But I'm sure you'll reject the dictionary's definition, as he did, in favor of you own.

You believe one's so called race is the reason for the differences between what you see as Black and white people (again people I would call Black, like Rock Newman, you reject and call them white, but that understandable since race is purely subjective). The statement you made is racist. I don't believe homo sapiens with pink skin are any more homicidal than any of the other ones with different skin color. Come on Brother-man the "bias" Pioneer expresses is rooted in racism. Bias is a direct consequence of racism. From Merriam Webster: racism noun rac·ism ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm also -ˌshi- 1 1 : a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race From Merriam Webster: also : behavior or attitudes that reflect and foster this belief : racial discrimination or prejudice

i believe she is right. It is a function of being raised in this country. You don’t get into positions of power in this country without doing the same thing they do. @richardmurray, the “H” in HBCU, ISD you know stands for “historically” not “currently.” A white kid from Morehouse, their valedictorian, was given a high playing job at Goldman Sachs when I was there. I think that should have been a Black kid in that position. If Morehouse is educating young white boys to do well then they are not serving Black parole as well as they should and they can just go on a be a “regular” school. This is profoundly flawed reasoning. white is a social construct, African speaks to geography, “mentality” depending on how you are defining it, is driven by culture, and genetics… White racists, for centuries, used the now debunked idea that black people were genetically inferior. you make it sound as if any white person put into power would be a homicidal maniac, while any black person would bring peace to the world. Individuals are just that individuals. Making sweeping generalizations about people based upon the way they look is the definition of racism.

Yeah some of the jokes were funny. It was as if that was the purpose of the mele to provide fodder for social media memes. It seems social media is the only winner of these events. @ProfD Black people have always fought back, but this narrative and the stories were strongly suppressed. (1) you did not want white folks sacred to death and (2) you did not want Black folks getting any "silly" ideas in their heads. How many memes couched this as a form of Black people fighting back against racism, or was it all jokes?

Based upon account name alone, how many of these accounts did I approve? Wide awake kiarakelynack5 wabix earle384946155 Naomi Rivers norberto59g957 kwc kelleyb123987 Dashia The Black Diaspora I used to take the time to look at IP address. There are some places that get banned based upon where the account was created. Today I don't even look at IP addresses I look at the account name and the domain that the email address was created. I used to worry about banned a legitimate poster today I'm more concerned about letting a troll in, so I appreciate my heavy-handed approach may be banning legitimate posters. I may ultimately restrict all users to google and Microsoft accounts. Sorting users the way I do is tedious and not a good use of my time... I can only imagine what a social media sites has to deal with. Social media sites basically let anyone in to bolster subscriber counts, and deal with the nonsense they post after the fact. Also, most of the accounts I approve are not used. You already know "wabix" was dinged but how many others did a not approve? Wide awake kiarakelynack5 wabix earle384946155 Naomi Rivers norberto59g957 kwc kelleyb123987 Dashia The Black Diaspora