The NY Times: Stars Flock to Atlanta--Reshaping a Center of Black Culture

[Indentured Servant]

Originally Posted by readyset

What is the O Network?

The Oprah Winfrey Media Network.

[Hypnosis]

I've been to Atlanta, there is nothing much to talk about, it's a boring city

[chiatldal]

Originally Posted by tigers84

Hasnt changed in 400 years? Oh. Dear. Lord. And you wonder why white folks feel the way they do about race....

If not for the "wealthy white male landowners" (how did they get wealthy in the first place, you know, to build the boats and pay for the long voyages that were required to gather the slaves, I wonder? Hmmmm)

Recently saw a show that took place in Madagascar, a large island off Africa. Really, nothing has changed there in hundreds if not thousands of years. Things like refrigeration are still unknown. Surely, the entire world, including the poor downtrodden minorities, would be better off had the wealthy white man not had the wherewithal to drive the advance and modernization of society to where we are now, right? I mean, the white male has been a completely and purely negative influence on the world, correct? In fact, without the white man, folks from Africa would have developed the computer, the car, airplane, mobile phones, space travel, etc., had the wealthy white man not inteferred with them doing so. Damn evil whitey, net net, he has had a hugely negative influence on the entire world!

Whites that generally believe blacks blame them for everything is just as racist as blacks that do. Both take irrational negative views hasty generalizing folks. Also believing a group of people collectively owe or should be thankful for another group of people collectively base on race is also racist.

Also the skrew history thing.

Africa was no different than Europe, Asia, and the pre Columbia america regarding slavery. People did not slave people base on race, that something that started when European companies started going to Africa. Europe had slavery up until the middle ages white slaving whites, there was no major concept of race like way it is in today terms. Again European companies not white people. The Companies members happen to be white, this has nothing to do with whites in general, if your white, your not being blame for anything, that wouldn't make sense.

It was common that if a nation defeated another, members of the defeated state would become slaves to the other, Also it was common slavery because debt example the Roman Empire, In Africa people became slaves by those idea people were not born into slavery, it wasn't common for some whole life to be slave nor did this had anything to do with race. Again during the time of European exploration came the first major concept race then racism. European nations band slavery regarding whites then went to Africa and etc, to buy slaves of different races, and with the new ideal of racism, People was born and commonly spent there whole lives as slaves just base there race.

African states like European etc, where trying to gain power other there neighbors. So what more befitting then selling rival states and gaining wealth off it. Example of this the coast where the Dahomey, Oyo, Benin kingdoms where is know as today literally all the Slave coast to give a ideal Vodun (Voodoo) is the religion the Fon (Dahomey). The most traded commodity from European were actually guns. So if you had to look at it European nation back rival African states to fight each other for slaves to be solid.

But don't preach history wrong.

Dahomey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oyo Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Benin Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kingdom of Kongo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ashanti Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kingdom of Nri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aro Confederacy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

While in some situation kingdoms sold there own people it was rare, with saying that we didn't get here because are own people solid are ancestor. But rather European states support rival states to capture are ancestors. But there's a reason why European states didn't colonialize African states until the slave trade was over. Instead of just invading and getting slaves that way. Because These African states involved in the slave trade were powerful enough Iron Age that it would had been too difficult. So after the slave trade which they became depend on, European nations invaded. Columbus wanted to get India without going around where? European been aware of the states along the African coast.
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We know what Madagascar is located at but it has nothing to do with us, Madagascar doesn't even have anything to with black American Ancestry either. Africa is a huge continent the second largest, with different cultures and cultural regions. Blacks Americans ancestors came from west and central Africa.... so fail. Ireland and Albania so not the same nation, culture and history huh.

Your stating that Madagascar had no European interference during slave trade,..... it had no interference by West African kingdoms either "black American ancestors" hell it had no interference by Swahili or even infected by the bantu migrations never the less west African states. Before trans Atlantic slave trade west African states again where already iron age. It so failed trying to use Madagascar as an example for anything regarding black Americans. The over generalization of people base on skin color is just killing me.

Then black Americans view Africa the same way white Americans view Europe, it's 2010, we have no connection to them, any more than you do.

Originally Posted by cabasse

No, you don't really have to respond to one bad generalization with another equally bad one.

There we go! It's one thing to point out the generalization it's other to dis one back. I'm mean like really.

[muxBuppie]

Originally Posted by tigers84

So western capitalism and the wealthy male white man are also big monoliths?

You go this route every time. No discussion at the maco level is allowed because it requires some level of generalization.

How about a better premise of not marginalizing entire people based on skin color white or black? Then we can talk.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by tigers84

So western capitalism and the wealthy male white man are also big monoliths?

You go this route every time. No discussion at the maco level is allowed because it requires some level of generalization.

I'm generally okay with Western capitalism and the wealthy white male. There's just a lot more to history and to the future than that. You can make a pretty good case that they didn't come up with jack for the 1,000 years between 500 and 1500 AD.

[stationplay]

i have randomly trolled through this forum for a couple hours now, watched the chicago documentary (which was REAAALLY good) and read every posting. the conversation has gotten way off topic but y'all have really got my mind to thinking about some things.

The fact that we can have these conversations about rather ATL is the black mecca as compared to D.C. or any other city says a lot about our current state of citizenship in this country. There is still tons of work to do and healthy debate is good. In the end there will always be many different attributes that make a city great. There will never be a "utopia" for black folks. Would be nice.... but there won't be. I think the key to making the gap a little smaller for the "bougie" black folks and the blue collar/poor is in that old Kwanza principle of cooperative economics. Lets not forget that.

i don't live in any of the city's mentioned but have visited MANY times over as many of my friends have moved to these so called "meccas" or bastions of all things black. Each city gave me a different feel. Since the forum has kind of slanted toward the black race as a whole, and assuming that most people that have posted over the last couple hours are black, lets not start pointing fingers and getting all bent out of shape over frivolities. Appreciate what these cities mean for our communities and respect the differences between them.