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Del you should widen your source of information everything you share just reinforces what you (what we all) want to believe). The reality is Trump is not going anywhere before the end of the year -- even if he is completely guilty. The wheels of justice turn slowly... if at all. Meanwhile time the Warner monopoly has been approved, net neutrality shut down, facebook owns social media and is working on destroying the rest of the web, and colin Kaepernick has been banned from playing football and no one cares

Yes! It seems like this lock down is causing some of us to go a little 'stir crazy'--me included! Well, I think that maybe many of the Black people have done the same as you and have come to believe that it's a waste of time to care about other Black people being harmed. This system has been attacking us so much that maybe we are not focusing on issues in a healthy way but instead have turned and become frustrated with each other. And yes, it's difficult to see the bigger picture when we narrow the focus to negative Black people, but @Pioneer1 maybe, the younger generation are lost because of our past ineffective Black leaders. The younger generation have been victimized and have become disconnected in many ways. So maybe we should not focus on the negative but keep hope for a positive solution. Yes, I understand that many people don't want others to succeed and I definitely believe that for some Black people, their conditions have been an improvement here in America. I would agree that there are people who only want to feed chaos and have bad spirits I too have been homeless and on welfare and I am still poor. I agree that poverty is the result of choices and I continue to agree with my choices that unfortunately has caused me to still be poor. But I disagree in that poverty in this society is 'not a permanent position'. For me, in this society my poverty will continue to be permanent but, I do have hope that things will change for me with the help of positive people that may be inspired to fight against human sacrifice and human rights violations. Well, I hope that I have not distracted you from progress. Okay, I can respect your decisions. But I believe that Kaepernick's choice can't destroy America.

I don’t argue. Kaepernick is a poison pill because he had no clear objective except the destruction of the United States. I have not seen a Socialist society provide more the death and misery for its people. It’s ok if people have given up on coexistence. I have witnessed the improvement of conditions for Black People in America. It’s sad that we are caught in vice grip between those who don’t want us to succeed and those who just want to feed chaos to feed their sick souls. I have been homeless and on welfare. I now earn over $100K per year. I am working on earning, savings and investing $1 million dollars or more a year within the next 5 years. Poverty is the result of choices and not a permanent position in this society. I constantly have to remind myself not to get sucked into discussions which distract from progress. Massive military forces are destabilizing Africa. China is positioning itself to be it next Master. If we don’t continue to build up our financial situation, we can’t finance the security to protect our neighborhoods. Right now they are being turned over to the gangs, moochers and looters.

On the Topic of Homosexuality, there is nothing that can be legally done to combat it's normalization in American Society so it is an Individual Choice to Accept it or Rejected. I have a felony. I have no empathy or sympathy for the criminal elements in our society. If you commit the crime you do your time. Once you get out you do your best to get pass the error of your ways. I think that you are confusing Media Figures for Black Leadership. They do not define Conservatism or Liberalism. I am not anti-Caucasian. I have Caucasian members of my family. Before my father married my mother and had me he was married to a White Woman. So a lot of the points being raised I take a different position. If you want to see African/Black Society in action, look at Africa. Plain and simple. Dr. Jeffries has been working in Ghana for numerous years. Dr. Ben used to take numerous trips to Egypt virtually Annually. I think it's a waste of time discussing what "White People" are doing or aren't doing unless it's on the legislative front. If you don't believe you can become wealthy you won't. It's not that complex. Encouraging self destructive habits won't help you build a strong society. Colin Powell was just on the Sunday News Shows this morning, unfortunately because the program and station isn't Black Controlled it's significance is diminished;. Communist China has the Plurality of Asians. 6 billions plus are not under the mind control or love of the Caucasian. The purpose of the Cultural Revolution was to purge their society of Western Influence. There is a difference between adoption of practices which work and being beholden to a particular group of people. It's like that erroneous concepts that mathematics is racist. We were some of the first masters of math. Finally note, if we don't deal with the criminal culture in our community the death toll will continue in our communities. The free use of the N-Word is just a symbol of the self loathing that our community faces.

daniel Colin Powell is doing some wonderful work in the Bronx with minority youth. Is the General teaching them the art of warfare? How to protect their communities from the criminals within and the racists from outside? If not, he's wasting both HIS time and THEIRS. I can't speak for ALL AfroAmericans who have a problem with "Black Conservatives" because different people have their different reasonings for why they feel the way they feel. But MY issue with those AfroAmericans who CALL themselves "Black Conservatives" are very defined. For one thing, let's start with the term.... An AfroAmerican calling themselves a "Black Conservative" makes about as much sense as a Jewish person calling themselves a "German-Traditionalist". Conservative means to conserve or preserve the older traditions and values of a society or nation. The older traditions and values of the United States revolve around racism, sexism, and religious ignorance. Values that most Caucasian men love because THEY are instruments of OPPRESSION and usually used to keep targeted groups in a subservient position. But why a woman or an AfroAmerican would want to "conserve" THOSE traditions and values after fighting for a century GET OUT from under them is beyond me, lol. Now if those who CALL themselves "Black Conservatives" want to maintain morality in society, family stability, and promote business ownership in the AfroAmerican community......things I agree with....then they should STOP calling themselves "Conservatives" and choose another name. Maybe "Black Moralists" or something. But "conservative" is the wrong term. Futhermore....... So-called "Black Conservatives" should STOP pledging allegiance to the Republican Party and start their OWN political organization separate from both the racist Republicans and the AfroAmerican Democrats whom they may disagree with ideologically. I'd have far more respect for that, than for them hopping in bed with the racist right-wing party of the United States. I'm going to give you an example of what I mean...... If you notice, unlike 30 years ago, most so-called "Black Conservatives" today DO NOT speak out against homosexuality NOR do they preach that a woman's duty is to be at home with the kids instead of working and pursuing a career.....things they were VERY vocal about in the past. They have basically the same "it's all good" attitude towards homosexuality and feminism that their Caucasian Conservative counterparts have. And why don't they? Because the Caucasian led Republican Party no longer says this openly, so the "Black Conservatives" who take their orders FROM their Caucasian Republican leadership must ALSO keep silent on the very issues they CLAIMED they left the Democrat Party over! AfroAmerican Conservatives are NOT allowed to criticize feminism in public anymore. AfroAmerican Conservatives are NOT allowed to criticize homosexuality in public anymore. The ONLY thing AfroAmerican Conservatives are allowed to do in public is criticize Black criminality and Black family dysfunction....but leave the white homosexuals and feminists alone. So basically the "Black Conservative" movement isn't really about standing up for Conservative values SO MUCH as it's about doing whatever the leadership of the Republican Party demands in order to get money and benefits from them.....which is same thing the "Black Progressives" in the Democrat party are doing! Look brother...... Whether we call ourselves Conservative or Progressive, we as AfroAmericans will eventually have to set aside these labels that Caucasians came up with to manipulate and divide us and start deciding for OURSELVES hat type of society we want socially, economically, morally, ect....

"Black Cancel Culture" does not exist, because we have no media to speak of. Here your opinion of Carson gets equal weight to Pioneer's whose assessment is diametrically opposite. Unfortunately that is like saying that Blacks don't discriminate based on Skin Color. Our Cancel Culture existed before it had a name. Chapters 14 and 15 of Black Fortunes gives early examples. But look at the treatment of Clarence Thomas, Condoleezza Rice and other Black Conservatives. Colin Powell is doing some wonderful work in the Bronx with minority youth. We are not taking the full humanity of our fellow Blacks into consideration. It's like the nonsensical dispute between the Ballot and the Bullet or Dubois or Booker T. We need to work together to know each other. We don't have to like each other We are really handicapping ourselves with our current attitudes towards each other.

daniel In my opinion Ben Carson (Uncle Ben) is just ANOTHER Colin Powell. Another intelligent successful AfroAmerican man who foolishly ALLOWED himself to be used as a token and made a fool of by the right-wing. Just like General Powell was used by BOTH Bushes to wage an unjust war against Iraq and then thrown away like a dirty dish rag, Dr. Ben is being used as a prop by the Trump Administeration. He is the designated "go to black guy" the administration pushes out to deal with and address issues that affect AfroAmericans. He's been working overtime now since the other token negress Omarosa (whom Trump called a "dog") was kicked out. Billy Bob (as if you'd respond....lol) Those innocent AfroAmerican children who've been gunned down across America since July 4th were NOT killed by "young brothers" but by racist CAUCASIANS as part of an ongoing Civil War campaign of going after soft-targets. Further....... Breonna was shot over 8 times (and shot "at" many more times). You don't shoot anyone over 8 times by "accident"....it was intentional. I haven't heard any stories of any of the officers involved attempting suicide or being disabled with depression and guilt over shooting a young lady to pieces while she was in her underwear.....the behavior often exhibited by people who are TRULY remorseful for doing such a terrible thing. Troy Sex sells. This is old news. The liberals counter with Amy Goodman... Lol..... You WERE being sarcastic, right? 83 Year old Diane Rehm radiates more sexuality than her....lol.

There's something about this "Black Lives Matter" movement that makes me a little suspicious of it's origin and intentions. First of all, I have no problem with them being women but why are the founders Lesbian and Bisexual? Secondly, from what I see on television more White people are participating in these demonstrations than Black people which makes me wonder how much effort they're really putting into actually mobilizing the Black community. Also, their methods of blocking traffic and causing social agitation seems to do more harm than good because it pretty much pisses off the public. The police are the one's who did the wrong, so why shut down the sports arena and disrupt games or shut down the freeway and keep people from getting home to see their families? I liken THEIR methods to Colin Kaepernick's who thinks kneeling is will be effective....... Not only are you NOT being effective, but you're actually pissing otherwise neutral people off and making more enemies.

　 Troy Yes, they also find this evil entertaining and it drives revenue. They most certainly find this entertaining. Infact, before the internet Caucasians used to share private videos called "snuff films" where people were recorded being tortured and murdered in real life and they'd sit around drinking, watching this madness, and having a good time! Now they can sit back and watch it all they want on a computer. I used to work with guys who LOVED to sit up and watch real people die, probably getting erections from it. It's in their nature....look at how they smiled and posed during lynchings. Infact, that one dude in Georgia who followed and recorded the father and son who killed Aubrey......... What some were saying was that the video was already being circulated around BEFORE he turned it in. He probably was recording it NOT to save Aubrey, but to record his murder so that he and others could enjoy it and this is probably one of the reasons they arrested him even though he turned it in. I keep going back and forth between THAT being the reason he was arrested OR he was arrested for "telling" on other White men by turning in that video. Probably a bit of both. This country is unraveling before our eyes. Hopefully we will work this out. The rich like Mark, Jeff, and 45 have little to worry about. They will do quite well. The rest if, us especially those with darker complexions, will need to be prepared for a world of hurt. Some of us think we are experiencing this now ... you haven't seen anything yet. I've been praying for this world to come to an end for a long time (back when I was a little Christian boy...lol) and it looks as if it's FINALLY happening. It looks as if my prayers for this are being answers (as they have in other situations). Keep in mind I said "world"...not the Earth....or humanity...but this world/system. The only thing I question is why hasn't this happened earlier....like in the 80s or 90s when I was younger. But The SUPREME BEING knows best, and perhaps this is indeed the best time for me that this jumps off whether I realize it right now or not. You talk about 45, but perhaps he was the catalyst for this! Perhaps if it wasn't for him and his inflammatory rhetoric, people of color wouldn't be as angry and charged as they are today to get out in the streets. 　 Chev I am so proud of those young people!!! My Gosh!!! What spirit!!! Colin Kapaenick's organization has started a fund for those precious souls on THE FRONTLINES and are providing them attorneys to help them know their rights to protest. My heart goes out to them! I'm VERY proud of our young men and women and even children for having the courage to get out in the streets and face tyranny. 　 Now, too, there is a pic of a line of white women lined up in front of the Black protesters. I am so grateful for this too. But in the past, all that happened was, they do persecute that kind of bravery but they only abuse the Black victims even more! I hope they don't arrest those women. God! Man! Perhaps they are using their priviledge to protect the Black protesters. Or....... Lol, perhaps they are actually protecting the police!

LOL! I agree @Pioneer1 Just like FAS quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Riots are the voice of the unheard. It's human nature!!! The fact that man said that it was the fastest indicment made is completely a deterrence and complete Bullshit. I watched the press conference and it really made me so angry. It means nothing. He should have been arrested immediately, that obvious. And the other three should also be arrested!!! When I think about the Civil Rights Movement and how it was affective, I stressed that they were MEN--military men--that came back from the Korean War and also ADULT MALE LEADERS in the community that organized meetings, boycotts, etc. But today, I don't see that kind of support on a significant scale. Even Colin Kap it NOT all that old himself! He's quite young! These are young bloods standing up for Black Human Rights. Man! So, yes, I understand why looting would occur when this government did not respond adequately. It makes me feel that this all was a planned secret happening anyway. This government used us as slaves to set up, then railroaded us out economic security with inadequate education, jobs, opportunity..., and Now that they are having economic problems, then comes along the Coronavirus; so what do they do? They decide to come up with ways to drop the very DOS they used to get their system. smh. I absolutely feel that they stalled to arrest this devil because they wanted the people to start the riot! These wise leaders know human nature all to well. They calculated this, imo. They are trying to incite BLack people and then exploit it to come up with ways to justify 'shooting the looter' so-to-speak. Nevertheless, that should not deter us from standing up in the way that they did.

Absolutely! I have NOT watched the video and do NOT intend to. Even though they keep putting up pictures of the scene--DEATH SCENE--I don't waste my time focusing on it! I am so proud of those young people!!! My Gosh!!! What spirit!!! Colin Kapaenick's organization has started a fund for those precious souls on THE FRONTLINES and are providing them attorneys to help them know their rights to protest. My heart goes out to them! My Gosh. Now, too, there is a pic of a line of white women lined up in front of the Black protesters. I am so grateful for this too. But in the past, all that happened was, they do persecute that kind of bravery but they only abuse the Black victims even more! I hope they don't arrest those women. God! Man! This is so crazy.

@Troy Would you have any misgivings marketing Colin Kaepernick's forthcoming book by using a phrase like "we sell books by black "sons-of-bitches"?

Thanks for the correction Cynique. @Pioneer1 as @Mel Hopkins mentioned this issue is collusion. By law (antitrust) the league;s owners can not get together decide to take an action,like blacklisting Kaepernick. But these guys don't have to talk to each other to know the deal. Colin was poison for the NFL's brand. I'd bet money they colluded regardless of the outcome of the grievance. Pioneer, these types of laws are in place for a good reason.

I love it when a good plan comes together. Many who are dazzled by the media and may have missed the plot. We must remember, we're a civilization rooted in story-telling. We share information filled with iconic imagery, symbolism, and sounds. Celebrities are no different. They use the media to tell stories that voice their platform position or opposition. Case-in-point, On December 5, 2017 "Beyoncé surprised free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick with Sports Illustrated‘s Muhammad Ali Legacy Award." Here's the backstory for those who missed it. Beyoncé became Enemy #1 when she performed "Formation" during the 2016 Super Bowl. SUPER BOWL 50. It was the only time the NFL ditched the Roman numerals. Like a Trojan Horse, Beyoncé and her Black Panther styled-warriors marched out on their field. She resurrected Malcolm X and gave corporate America the finger. Without those who sound off every time a celebrity offends their sensibilities, we'd miss the story unfold. White folks screamed bloody murder and cops threatened not to provide security for her upcoming concerts. Butthurt. Now, 45 and white America are butthurt because Kaepernick took a knee 7-months after Bey danced into Formation. For a protest to be effective, you got to surprise them on their battlefield. Awarding the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award to Kaepernick is nearing the apex of consciousness raising. If this were a monomyth, also known as the Hero's Journey; it would be where the Hero gets the gift from the Goddess right before he returns from his journey. Together, whether it was planned or not, they used their platform to bring attention to police brutality and state-sanctioned murders. Beyoncé and Kaepernick didn't level a gun. They waged protest in an arena the military used to raise support. Raise. Support. For. War. Maybe like me, you weren't aware of how the National Anthem and the NFL wedded at the conclusion of World War II. The Washington Post shared that part of the story in September. Up until 2015, the Department of Defense contracted with the NFL using millions of taxpayer money. I never had a problem with military pageantry. I do have a problem with hypocrisy. Neither Beyonce or Colin Kaepernick used taxpayers money to advance the cause of bringing attention to police brutality. They told a story through their actions. Proving once again; a storyteller's wheelhouse is winning hearts and minds.

I love it when a good plan comes together... Y'all keep being dazzled by the media but still missing the plot .... Beyoncé surprised free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick with Sports Illustrated‘s Muhammad Ali Legacy Award

@harry brownYes, we can thank Colin Kaepernick's knee bending protests for nudging the AFL owners into making this gesture. Unfortunately, your are right about whether the money will trickle down to the people it is meant to help. Sports Illustrated magazine honored Kaepernick with the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award, and GQ magazine named him "Citizen of the Year". He was also honored by Native Americans at an indigenous peoples sunrise ceremony.

@Pioneer1Would you be specific about all the white men i am putting a lot of "praise and power on"? The men that Mel and i exchanged information about in our posts following your complaint, were black men as is Colin Kaepernick. We both give due credit to Barack Obama, as well as our own Troy Johnson. Name some white men who are heroes of "Afro American" women in this society?? You are the one who looks upon white men as being omnipotent. You imagine that on this board your persona is "forceful and dominant". But not to me, especially with all of your pouting about how my and Mel's "rejection" makes you "jealous", and how you mope about my not sharing your adoration for certain people. This leaves me wondering why you don't you stop craving approval. Why do you need my validation? i don't need yours. i don't care if you are put off by all of my new age spirituality and pondering about truth and reality. Why should it make a difference to you if i don't agree with you? Man up! Since you choose to guard your identity and professional resume, all i can go on is the impression you make here on this site, and you come across to me as a font of preposterous pronouncements, opinions that you pull out of your ass; someone who dwells on subjects i have lost interest in. You're good at that. BTW, you spelled "independently" wrong.

Yes, yes, yes. For somebody who is so slavishly devoted to this country and who constantly chides me about hating it, why would you ask this silly question? It should be obvious that i hate all white men of Trump's ilk and am indifferent to the rest of them who populate and run this BS country. Plus you had a fit because i backed Colin Kaepernick; guess he wasn't black enough for you. i happen to be interested in esoteric subjects and ancient wisdom. Besides Franz Fanon i don't know of any black men in these fields.

In New Jersey, Racist White Police ,Charged With Hate Crimes. He Was Caught On Tape Saying , Niggers Are Like ISIS ,They Have,No Value. He Bought A Police Dog To Intimidate Black,People At A Basketball Game. I Think He Slammed A Black,Male's Head Into A Steel Door,Who Was A Suspect..Quarterback Colin Kaepernick Should Be On The News,Now Saying ,This Is Why I Was Kneeling Down...They Need To Show How Many White Police Have Been Fired For Klan Members On The News,Those Caught Saying Racist Things...When Robert Mueller Finish Investigating Trump And The Russians ,He Should Investigate Neo Nazi,KLAN In Police And ,U. S. Military...

@TroyThat would be a 1 MILLION DOLLARS over 10 months.. $100-THOUSAND PER MONTH http://kaepernick7.com/million-dollar-pledge/ “I will donate one million dollars plus all the proceeds of my jersey sales from the 2016 season to organizations working in oppressed communities, 100k a month for 10 months.” – Colin Kaepernick And in my 50 something years ... I've never heard white america squeal like a stuck pig over anything Farrakhan has said or done...Even during the million man march - remember the joke that NPS counted black men as 3/5 - and returned a count of 400-thousand in attendance.. Farrakhan doesn't enter into white america's sanctuary. He's smart enough to stay in his playground. He's not a threat to white America's psyche. Beyonce was enemy no 1 , though, when she performed "formation" during the 2016 super bowl. THE SUPER BOWL 50. Like a Trojan Horse, she and her black panthers styled-warriors marched out on their field and she resurrected Malcolm X and gave corporate America the finger. White folks screamed bloody murder and cops threatened to not provide security for her concerts. Butthurt. Today, 45 and white America are butthurt because Kaepernick took a knee 7 months after Bey danced into formation . For a protest to be effective you got to surprise them on their own battlefield... https://youtu.be/SDPITj1wlkg

Cynique I understand that you, like myself, are simply individuals who wield little influence. Again my concern is not about you or I, but our culture. Whether it is Cardi B becoming the most significant rap artist of the day, Colin Kaepernick being the most visible activist today, or a great Black writers who remains obscure unless they are given the white co-sign. I tried really hard to explain why my point is not about you or I individually, but about us collectively. The only reason I speak about you specifically is because you bring up things that are specific to you, so I address those things and maybe that gives the impression that I'm making this about you--again that is not my intent. You like to state that Black people are not a monolith. Of course we are not, that goes without saying, we are all individuals and are all unique. I'd don't want anyone to adhere to my standard of behavior any more than I would want to adhere to theirs. So while I think the NOI is more significant that Colin. I would not want the NOI to run the entire country. However we as Black people must reclaim our agency. We can not continue to allow corporations who are run largely by white men motivated by profit, to set our agenda--to even determine something as mundane which Black owned websites survive. Individually, we have no power to change anything but together we do. These are the efforts that I personally engage in and support. I would not be surprised that Colin is engaged in more substantive activity. As I previously discussed substantive activity by Black folks is not something the media like to cover. Beyond kneeling, what activity did Coates say that Colin is engaged in? I did read somewhere that Colin has pledged to donate $100,000 to 10 charities over the next 10 years. As you said we'll see Colin's impact over time. I, for one, hopes it becomes significant.

@TroyI am not an important person who wields a lot of influence and what i say or think reaches very few people and has very little effect. So what difference does it make to you that i gravitate toward Colin Kaepernick instead of Louis Farrakhan who you aggrandize and continue to jam down my throat in spite of the fact that, unlike Kaepernick, this adversary of Malcolm X never sacrificed his job or his wealth to get his message across. A someone who i relate to very little. Being an arm chair supporter of Kaepernick is a personal choice i have made in the year 2017, something which i really don't have to justify or apologize for. So, you'll just have to somehow find a way to accept that i, and i alone, decide whose cause i support, and stop obsessing about my decision. Of course you will say that i typify those who gravitate toward Kaepernick and that we are all wrong and misguided, and that your aversion to the media and a guy you think is innocuous, qualifies you to be the person we should be listening to. This in spite of how little you know about what Kaepernick is currently and quietly doing with his money, something the media doesn't report, but which I am told appears on a web site, information i heard Ta-nehisi Coates dispense in an interview. History may very well be the judge of which one of these men had the most impact on the civil rights climate in this entire country rather than a small cult within a black minority in white America.

OK @Cynique While I have no interest in joining the NOI, or adopting their chaste lifestyle, I'd take a Farakhan over a Kaepernick any day of the week. Many, perhaps most, of Farrakhan supporters are not in the Nation. Indeed many in hip hop drew inspiration from him, including myself. He spoke with the force of a contemporary Malcolm, a Malcolm I was too young to witness. Farrakhan, like Malcolm before him, drew criticism from white folks and scared a lot of Black folks too. Malcolm like Farrakhan had a platform they helped lead and did not need the support of the media. Colin does not exist without the media. Malcolm, like Farrakhan, was chosen by Black folks. He was not propped up for us by corporations as our acceptable symbol of protest the way Colin had been. You mis-characterize Farrakhan by saying he never did anything but rant about Jews and do a disservice to the people of the Nation of Islam calling them "Sheeple." But again, I understand why you'd say these things, because that is what the white corporation would have you believe. Cynique you have to understand the power of the media. You don't give them enough credit because you feel you are not impacted, but indeed you are--we all are to a certain extent. Farrakhan only rails against the Jews who do us harm. He speaks highly of Jews he admires. He is a minister so of course he is going to proselytize--that is his job, but no different that a TD Jakes who whitefolks find more acceptable because his is a Christian and does not speak about America's evils... though Jakes is much better at separating Black folks from their money. Yes, Farrakhan's excoriation of CBS's MIke Wallace on 60 minutes was priceless. I seriously doubt Colin is capable of such a thing. I prefer what What Farrakhan said to MIke, clearly exposing America's evil and duplicity for all to see. Kneeling is open to interpretation, says nothing clear, does nothing concrete, and was easily shut down. It took a lot more effort, and violence, to weaken the NOI, to destroy Malcolm and Dr. King. Colin was just fired.

@TroyYou assume i don't know about the hood and what's going on in the clubs. I don't live in a bubble because, unlike you, i've always been interested in learning a little bit about a lot of things and over the years i've been in circumstances to do this. i grew up in what was the black neighborhood of a white town that was a true cross section of the country at large. I associated with just as many rough kids as refined ones. i was never a snob because i had a taste for what was edgy. i worked at the Post Office for almost 30 years. So don't tell me i don't know about common black people. When my husband was away serving in the Air Force, i lived down the street from an American Legion hall, a raunchy little hole in the wall that couldn't have been more typical of nitty gritty black night life. Amid a bevy of circulating hoochie mamas, I'd sit at the bar smoking Pall Malls and let "down-to-earth" niggas buy me drinks and engage me in interesting conversations before i observed my curfew and made my way back home to my empty bed. Even to this day, i will occasionally venture out with my daughter to a hot spot, just to observe the scene. I've mentioned that i had a 22-year old grandson killed in a drive-by because he got too intrigued with the street life. i may have mentioned that i have another Porshe-driving grandson who is a music producer making big bucks supplying beats for rappers, as well as background music for commercials. One of my granddaughters just entered the University of Indiana on a scholarship. Another one, who is gay, works as a sheriff's deputy. i talk all the time about my ghetto, lil Wayne-loving grandson who keeps me abreast of what's going on in Baby Mama/Baby Daddy land.( And, yes, Pioneer, he's the one who introduced me to the word "thot".) And then there are my children: one son who is preacher, another who is a weed-smoking, book-reading working class stud, the youngest one a comic book publisher. There's my upwardly mobile account exec daughter, my adventurous older one who relies on Jesus to keep her safe. i also have a niece who is a TV anchor woman in Chicago, a nephew who was a feature editor of EBONY magazine. You name it. My life is full of diversity! ( And , yes, I also watch TMZ to get the lowdown on the entertainment scene, a program which enjoys the reputation of being very reliable in its sources and rumor debunking.) So don't blow me off as living in a bubble when you tune out everything about the music scene except what you want to believe. Before you started mansplaining this aspect, i said that music reflects what trending in the black clubs, stating further that artists pick up on this and transform it into music. That's what goes on in with rap music, which is just one venue in the spectrum of black music. You seem unable to get past the idea that just as the black community is not monolithic in its values and life style, neither is black music. Not every young black person is mesmerized by Rap. Many are able to like this music without living it. Rap is what it is. it's not going anywhere. And the millennial discretionary black and bi-racial children of the black middleclass will expediently follow in their parents' footsteps, while the black underclass will continue to enjoy themselves, twerking down at the club between dodging bullets. Get out of your bubble and deal with this. And oh, yes, there is currently a revival of natural hair styles trending in black culture. Is this something the white corporate world is dictating? Obviously you and i will never agree on Colin Kaepernick so it should come as no surprise that i reject your POV about him just as you dismiss mine. Back in the 1960s, the Vietnam war inspired anti-establishment protests by the counter-culture community of hippies, college students and white liberals, and a lot of this was provoked by the profiteering of the military industrial complex as well as American hegemony Bending the knee is about exposing the intrinsic racism in patriotism, a ubiquitous racism that exists in the slave trade of the NFL and NBA, as well as police brutality with its undertones of white supremacy. They're all a part of the same matrix. So there is a difference in what the bending the knee demonstration has ripped the lid off of. It's a black thing. And the great silent white majority can't abide niggas messin' with their beloved striped flag with its ugly checkered history. If nothing else emerges from demonstrations by those who 45 calls "sonofabitches', it will become clear that their lives don't matter, and black folks just have to learn to live with this, and sometimes die because of it.

OK, Troy, here's your lunch!. Social media is all "a-twitter" over the latest flavor of the week, an uproar stemming from NFL bi-racial quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s choosing to sulk on the bench instead of standing up during the traditional flag raising ceremony that accompanied a rendition of the national anthem at a preseason football game last week The explanation he gave to avid reporters crowding the San Francisco 49er's locker room after the incident, was something to the effect that America is mistreating its citizens of color and this is his way of protesting injustice. Kaepernick is the offspring of a single white mother and an absentee black father and was given up for adoption to a white couple whose surname he took. So the "brother" obviously has issues Anyway, reaction was immediate. Patriotic white fans are burning their jerseys in outrage and posting the videos of them doing this on line. Football purists are reprimanding Kaepernick for committing the cardinal sin of not making his team the priority by creating a distraction that could interfere with winning games! Players all over the league are straddling the fence, but everybody has an opinion. Pro and con arguments abound, ranging from how people died defending the flag Kaepernick dishonored, to how he is exercising the freedom the flag symbolizes by speaking up for what's right. Many feel he should protest on his own time! As usual, the racial lines are being drawn. Having never been a flag-waving, American cheerleader, myself, I side with Colin even after I learned more about his back story. Kaepernick has recently converted to the islamic faith of his girlfriend, leading me to believe that this is what influenced his angry gesture. I have little use for organized religion, in general, and the Muslim one in particular which I regard as stealthy, dogmatic, and misogynistic. Personally, I'd have no objection if this bearded, disgruntled, pigskin passer who looks like a candidate for an Isis bomb thrower, would just fold up his tent, and fly away on a magic carpet with his Arabian sweetie-pie. I know I'm being prejudiced and irrational, but I don't care. Why should white people have all the fun? So far, Colin Kaepernick has not been officially penalized or banned from remaining seated during the national anthem, a gesture he intends to continue doing, but undoubtedly subtle repercussions will begin to kick in. Americans are such sports nuts, and athletes so idolized that who'd have thought these jocks would start risking their futures by taking to the arena of protest to speak out against racism? I concede that those doing so are worthy of praise, and more power to them. The 2 black Olympic track stars who raised their fists in a black power salute during the medal ceremony back in 1968 must be proud of them.