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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Black Women are Beautiful - Natural or Otherwise

Beautiful Black womenAll women are beautiful in their own way, but black women are definitely some of the most beautiful women in the world.  If you hear the media tell it, you might not think so.  Billboards display ads showing a light skinned (or white), long-haired woman as the standard of beauty.  TV continues to create shows that depict black women in a negative light (think "Basketball Wives of WTF").  Black rappers continue to create songs and videos dissing dark women in favor of light-skinned, long-haired women. 

Commercials bombard women every day with images of them not being pretty enough, thin enough, hair long enough or light enough.  Sisters, you are under attack by the corporate-driven media.  Their intention: to sow seeds of insecurity and low self-esteem that will force you to spend collective millions on make-up, weaves and designer gear with the hopes of measuring up to a corporate-created false standard of beauty.  Let the record show ladies that you do not need to fall into that trap because black women are beautiful - natural or otherwise.

Corporate Media Manipulation

Corporations are in the business of making money.  The bigger the corporation, the more money they need to make.  Corporations make no money from a woman who thinks she is already beautiful so the corporation needs to make you think you are ugly.  They do this by bombarding you with TV, radio, billboard and internet images and messages that show a standard of beauty that is different from what you are.

"To be really cute you need this outfit" - BUY MY PRODUCT

"To be beautiful your hair needs to shine" - BUY MY PRODUCT

"To be attractive your skin needs to glow" - BUY MY PRODUCT

"You are ugly, but if you buy my products you will be beautiful" - BUY MY PRODUCTS NOW!

Proctor and Gamble (the world's largest advertiser) performed a recent study that found that 71% of black women feel they're portrayed worse than other women in media and advertising. Despite that, black women spend on average three times more than the general market on beauty products.  Proctor& Gamble - mission accomplished.

Negative Media Portrayal

Why are the "Basketball Wives of LA" overweight and haggard while the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" are thin and fine?  You mean to tell me that with all the players in the NBA you can't find 6 beautiful black women for your show?  Adding insult to injury, the one "media-defined attractive" Basketball Wife isn't even a wife; she's a toss-up who neglects and abuses her child. 

Today's rap videos constantly show black male rappers with latina, white or light skinned black women as the ones they lust after and fawn over.  If the videos contain a slew of of black women they are all "dropping it"; shaking their asses and gyrating like over-sexed she-savages.  The content, casting and message of these TV shows and videos are 100% big corporation and media driven.  Thousands of high-payed executives spend countless hours casting these shows and videos to make sure the image of black women is crafted exacly as they intend it - negative. 

The Buy-In. Don't fall for it.

Black women by the millions are flocking to stores to get their weaves, butt implants, boob jobs and makeup products all in the hopes of achieving a false standard of beauty.  In addition, too many sisters are adopting the foul-mouthed, over-sexed antics of rappers like Nicki Minaj as the standard forms of acceptable behavior for a woman.

Nicki Minaj

No disrespect to Nicki Minaj.  She is caught up in the corporate trap that has allowed her to make millions of dollars at the expense of millions of women.  The Basketball Wives are getting paid big money to act crass on TV.  Sisters what I am saying is that you don't have to emulate them. 

What Black Men Really Want

For better or worse men are simple creatures.  Black men are no different than anybody else.  Black men do not want fake boobs, fake breasts, fake hair and funky attitude.  We just want an attractive woman without a bunch of drama. 

Most black women look just as good in jeans and a t-shirt as they do in $10,000 Gucci jacket. 

Most black women look just as good with an afro as they do with a $1,000 weave

Most black women look great with little or no makeup

Most black women who work out and eat right will have a better body than one with plastic boobs and butt

Most black women are just as pleasant as any any other type of women

Sisters, you have a natural glow. You don't need all that make up.  You have strong and sexy bodies and built-in curves.  Plastic body part additions are not necessary.  A black man (or any man) will NEVER discount an attractive woman just because she doesn't have designer gear.  If he does you damn sure don't want him anyway.  The media may do their best to shape our ideals of beauty but no amount of media manipulation can change the human condition.  A fit and toned body, a feminine haircut and a nice attitude will attract all the black men you can handle and save you hundreds of dollars a month in the process.  If you want to spend money on makeup, salons and hairdos, do it for yourself - not because the media tells you that you have to.  Either way you go, always remember that you are beautiful - natural or otherwise.