Mel Hopkins Posted May 13, 2021 Report Share Posted May 13, 2021 14 hours ago, Delano said: @Mel Hopkins thoroughly enjoyed the Issae Rae piece that you wrote. Thank you, Twin! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hopkins Posted May 13, 2021 Report Share Posted May 13, 2021 On 5/11/2021 at 9:47 PM, Pioneer1 said: A real boss. ....like most children of African immigrants. If this is true of African immigrants - why isn't the entire continent of Africa host to the wealthiest countries in the world? I'm not asking this to debate - I genuinely believe this to be the case too. Without looking up the statistic, I get the sense that African Immigrants rarely sell their labor. Instead, they produce. Also, the percentage of African immigrants with professional and doctorate degrees outnumbers even white Americans. American Blacks and Latinos don't even measure up in that comparison. So why are some of the African countries so poor or in debt? As I write this, It appears to be the same reason that blacks don't collectively support social networks, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted May 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2021 On 5/11/2021 at 3:25 PM, Mel Hopkins said: Issa Rae is one of the most successful people I know who launched her entertainment career through a white-run social network. First, Issa Trae is talented; second, she emerged during a point in our history where people were streaming platforms and other content providers need content -- this has been a boon period for good content producers who know how to market themselves. Issa used the platform(s) where the most people aggregated and she used them well. In a world before social media she could have used Black Planet equally well. Zane, a very popular writer, did the same thing -- in a world before social media. She posted on her own site, earned a following, and got her own imprint, publishing company (imprint) and movies deals. I went to one of her premier in times square she was also large. Today a Zane would not have emerged on her own platform. Today, she would have to use one of the handful of social media sites. When Zane built an audience the World Wide Web was MUCH more fair and rational. Search engines actually returned search results -- not advertisements posing as search results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer1 Posted May 13, 2021 Report Share Posted May 13, 2021 Mel If this is true of African immigrants - why isn't the entire continent of Africa host to the wealthiest countries in the world? I'm not asking this to debate - I genuinely believe this to be the case too. Without looking up the statistic, I get the sense that African Immigrants rarely sell their labor. Instead, they produce. Also, the percentage of African immigrants with professional and doctorate degrees outnumbers even white Americans. American Blacks and Latinos don't even measure up in that comparison. So why are some of the African countries so poor or in debt? As I write this, It appears to be the same reason that blacks don't collectively support social networks, lol. Most Africans that I know be they immigrants or children of immigrants are EXTREMELY smart and resourceful and very BOLD/AGGRESSIVE compared to other immigrant groups which also helps them socially. For some reason African men don't seem to mind putting their hands on complete strangers while communicating with them. I haven't been to any African nations (yet) so it's hard to give an educated answer as to why Africa is in the shape it's in but if I had to SPECULATE based on the limited information I have so far I'd say there are atleast 2 major reasons: 1. Outside of Nigeria and South Africa, most African nations are ruled by Western backed DICTATORS who's shameless nepotism and crony policies ensure that the most UN-qualified people occupy positions of authority keeping these nations in a constant state of economic mismanagement and political chaos. 2. For the past 50 years the West (especially United States, England, and France) has been draining Africa of most of her educated and ambitious youth who yearn for more religious and cultural freedom and more financial opportunities. Probably one of the biggest mistakes African nations made when they achieved their so-called "independence" from European colonialism was continuing to MAINTAIN those same political and economic systems they were ruled under. These systems weren't designed for sovereign nations but were specifically designed for exploitation of human and natural resources. They were literally designed to maximize profits from cheap human labor. African nations should have gradually shifted to more practical "Afrocentric" political and economic systems of government. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hopkins Posted May 14, 2021 Report Share Posted May 14, 2021 14 hours ago, Troy said: In a world before social media she could have used Black Planet equally well. Did/Does Black Planet have video upload capabilities back in the 90s? I don't remember that feature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Hopkins Posted May 14, 2021 Report Share Posted May 14, 2021 14 hours ago, Pioneer1 said: For some reason African men don't seem to mind putting their hands on complete strangers while communicating with them. I laughed out loud when I read this - I've seen African men do this so many times! @Pioneer1 When I worked for United, I traveled to every continent except Antarctica and Africa - but that didn't stop me from meeting Africans in every other continent, and many were there to further their studies and/or conduct business. You know when an African couple opens a hair salon in Beijing They're definitely about that life lol https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-21421956 14 hours ago, Pioneer1 said: African nations should have gradually shifted to more practical "Afrocentric" political and economic systems of government. I agree - I hope they will before it's too late. We need a big-a shift in dynamics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer1 Posted May 15, 2021 Report Share Posted May 15, 2021 Mel Africans are all over the place, both as immigrants AND as natives. Most people don't realize not only were Africans in the Americas but we were also in Europe and China for THOUSANDS of years before Caucasians and modern Asians arrived in those places. Caucasians aren't the native Europeans, they FOUND Black African people already there when they migrated FROM the mountains of Central Asia, and consequently slaughtered and displaced most of them. You know when an African couple opens a hair salon in Beijing They're definitely about that life lol I like to hear Africans are making inroads into the Asian economy, especially since so many Chinese are in Africa buying up land and resources. However I have to wonder if the Chinese and Japanese aren't contributing to the brain-drain that the United States and the West already engages in. I'll never forget how somebody explained to me years ago that when Black people move to non-Black communities (nations or even just a neighborhood) and do great and impressive things, often times history records it as "that community" doing great and impressive things instead of distinguishing the Black individual who accomplished it. So the entire nation/community get's the credit while the negative image of the Black nation/community that produced them remains. I have a good example of what I'm talking about..... Right now you have a girl who is an up and coming tennis star winning all types of championships named Naomi Osaka who is half Black (Haitian) and half East Asian (Japanese) but because her parents raised her in Japan for much of her life, JAPAN is getting the credit for producing this wonderful sister instead of Haiti. I hope they will before it's too late. Well you can rest easy because I don't think it will ever really be "too late" for us because I believe Black people are "immortal". What we don't do in THIS round we may do hundreds, thousands, or millions of years down the road. However like you, I want to see it in my lifetime where I can enjoy it. I would love to buy land and invest in an African nation like Rwanda which is supposed to be one of the cleanest and most peaceful on the planet now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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