The term Black culture for me is used for lack of a better term
I mean, what can we really call it?
that's a good question...don't really have an answer for that but it is too general, in the same way there really isn't a singular definition of any other culture, i think as along as it understood that it isn't meant to monolithically fit all of the black experience into a narrow definition/space, it is probably fine to use in a generic sense...
A sound knowledge of contemporary African history (colonial and post-colonial periods) will show that an economically sound Africa would be the end of the era of Western dominance, as well as a threat to the economies AND relevancy of many world powers and the few African elites that support their interests.
The clueless fools who want to "build schools in Africa," because every school built with foreign, charity money is a school they don't have to build. Every hospital built with private foreign funds is a hospital they don't have to build, and it's more proceeds from their countries' economies they can feel free to steal.
western dominance is already in decline, i think every western (and many eastern nations, for that matter) are aging and are not having enough offspring to repopulate themselves, while africa is still growing...it cuts both ways though potentially it could give many african countries advantages just by the numbers but also puts a strain on developing infrastructures, it will be very pivotal how these are managed by individual nations...
that is very true about foreign aid in general, it can stunt growth if not very targeted and used as a model instead of the model...it allows some countries to skirt the responsibilities to their people. which is another issue faced within african nations, there is more ethnic division than there are national ties and many leaders try to install familial hegemonies when some leaders get political power & give positions of power/show favoritism to relatives/friends/those in their ethnic group(s)...
that being said i'm not sure corruption is the problem in the main, because after all corruption is not unique to african nations (it does likely have a greater effect there), but the mismanagement & neglect of simple infrastructure is the glaring problem
It's psychologically damaged the world. All the events we talk about, the tragedies, the laws put in place, etc stems from damaged psychology. I think someone posted here that black youth are seen/perceived as being a whole lot older than they actually are....psychological. When you have people walking down a street and clutch their purse only to realize that's Marshawn Lynch, a doctor, a college student, etc....psychological.
Of course black people are the ones that still need to "overcome" plights and obstacles, so the psychological damage magnifies itself with us and makes it that much tougher.
But the world, humanity, society is almost on pause right now. Humanity has been interrupted with this whole slavery and racial caste system in place.
point taken, existing with a world that has the lingering ethos of supposed white superiority will effect people some type of way...i'll make this point though, throughout the course of humanity violence has been on a downward trend, and as more cultures have come in contact with one another there has been more understanding of one another. granted it hasn't been linear, and there have been point of regression along the way, i won't use the word progress as it kind of a loaded term, but generally i'm not sure there would be a better time to be alive than right now no matter what ethnicity? if you look at most every civilization, caste systems have existed to various extents, you might call the specialization of humanity that has followed is a form a caste system, a much looser one where roles can shift, so there hasn't been a pause; only a constant morphing of the system...i could cite stats that once you control for income, all people do just about as well/bad at every level (the wealth disparity does persist, which given the disadvantaged position blacks started with is, maybe not justifiable, but understandable), which points to a conclusion that class and where one starts in life is maybe more important than anything else, so the question seems to be how do we ensure that most people, if not everyone, can start from a place that gives them a reasonable chance at succeeding?
here is the question:
what, do people here think, is the biggest problem facing blacks in america today? as of the last census the poverty rate for blacks in the states is a staggering almost 30% (compared to 10% of whites, 27% of hispanics, & 12% of asians), maybe add another 5-10% for those who may not fit the technical threshold for poverty but are struggling and it is in the 35-40% range (if taking the optimistic view, other than the wealth disparity, it could be taken to mean the majority of blacks are doing ok-to-good)
i would say it is housing, education, & maybe economics/employment in that order, i don't claim to have any special insight; if ireally had the answers to how these could be solved other than finding a more equitable way to break down the pie so that such large disparities do not exist, i'd find a better forum to communicate those solutions than on a message board dedicated to sneakers...the thing that is so surprising about this thread & what impelled me to try to contribute after observing was that the view of black people in this thread is laced with a certain negativity (even the more positive notes are tinged with pessimism) that seems to claim there is something especially pathological about black folk rather than flaws in the human experience (after all, a good deal of the people on the planet believe that they were created in the image of a god, who answers their prayers, cares what they do, and created a world that exists soley for them) and maybe that says something about why things are how they are to some extent? the divide created by those who think they know and those whom they deem not to know #wordtocharlesbarkley
and Naija Princesses (which come with two outfits, two accessories, and cost 500-1,000 naira, or $2.60 to $5.19). Each doll represents a different African tribe (Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa).
