In honor of Black History month

[BDBoop]

Amazing guy...

Amazing interview about an amazing project.​

Neil deGrasse Tyson on the New Cosmos - YouTube

Everybody I know adores the man.

 

[BDBoop]

I completely understand the reason for this request. In truth however, I can't really think of any black people that I would want to honor in such a fashion. I'm not being racist, just truthful.
Therefore if I have a choice, I'll pass and retain my present avi. If the change is mandatory, then I'll see you all in March.

So who is your current avi honoring?

And don't be silly about the mandatory. Any excuse to fall on one's sword, I assume.

 

[BDBoop]

I was going to maintain my Boop. But having seen the reactions of so many here, I'm going to go ahead and tribute in February.

 

[AVG-JOE]

My initial thought......

​

Of his influence there can be no doubt. And as a typical Monkey, living at that moment of this Timeline along the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, I believe the man existed, and I believe Jesus of Nazareth, circa 0001, was a man of color.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqzSi-hEjWo]101 Studly Middle Eastern Men - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Statistikhengst]

[MENTION=18988]PixieStix[/MENTION]

Good choice!

Smart woman, well, actually, brilliant.
Fluent in at least seven languages.
Concert pianist
Former SOS, and a good one at that.

Were Condi Rice to run for President, I would seriously consider voting for her.

 

[Statistikhengst]

It's just a symbolic tribute. Don't take it serious. What are we going to do when April rolls around when it's "confederate history month" and "child abuse month"? How will we celebrate "steel industry month" in June?

If people don't take it seriously, then that defeats the purpose of the tribute itself. If you don't want to contribute, fine. But if not, then why are you here?

 

[Tank]

It's just a symbolic tribute. Don't take it serious. What are we going to do when April rolls around when it's "confederate history month" and "child abuse month"? How will we celebrate "steel industry month" in June?

If people don't take it seriously, then that defeats the purpose of the tribute itself. If you don't want to contribute, fine. But if not, then why are you here?

It's interesting to watch libs praise people because of the color of their skin

 

[westwall]

It's just a symbolic tribute. Don't take it serious. What are we going to do when April rolls around when it's "confederate history month" and "child abuse month"? How will we celebrate "steel industry month" in June?

If people don't take it seriously, then that defeats the purpose of the tribute itself. If you don't want to contribute, fine. But if not, then why are you here?

It's interesting to watch libs praise people because of the color of their skin

People are praised for their accomplishments. The color of their skin is why we're doing it THIS month in particular. Their accomplishments speak for themselves. As do yours.....

 

[Ernie S.]

It's just a symbolic tribute. Don't take it serious. What are we going to do when April rolls around when it's "confederate history month" and "child abuse month"? How will we celebrate "steel industry month" in June?

 

[Two Thumbs]

no

I don't support things that divide Americans into sub groups.

It's demeaning to think that blacks need a month to learn American history

I agree with Morgan Freeman.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s]Morgan Freeman on Black History Month - YouTube[/ame]

How are we going to get rid of racism?

Stop talking about it.


fukken a right Morgan.

 

[Intense]

I can't decide between Brook Benton, Curtis Mayfield, and Marvin Gaye.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIibfZWuF5U]Rainy Night in Georgia - Brook Benton - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nH3fKH10oM]PEOPLE GET READY / THE IMPRESSIONS - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9BA6fFGMjI]Marvin Gaye - Mercy, Mercy Me - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Two Thumbs]

any of these men are a good choice though;

The Tuskegee Airmen? Brilliant!

I got to meet one in the Philly area about 13 years ago along with his wife and youngest daughter.

Co I worked for was hired to clean parts of his home. He wouldn't say two words to me, until he learned I served. We traded some stories, with his daughters help since he couldn't speak clearly anymore.

It was something else.

 

[Connery]

Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit

"Strange Fruit" is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday, who first sang and recorded it in 1939. Written by the teacher Abel Meeropol as a poem, it exposed American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans. Such lynchings had occurred chiefly in the South but also in other regions of the United States"
Strange Fruit


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs]Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Foxfyre]

no

I don't support things that divide Americans into sub groups.

It's demeaning to think that blacks need a month to learn American history

I agree with Morgan Freeman.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s]Morgan Freeman on Black History Month - YouTube[/ame]

Morgan Freeman has it exactly right. As long as we focus on black history, even as well intentioned as black history month might be, we will never allow our society to become color blind; i.e. to assign no more importance to skin color than we do to hair color or eye color. Black people are part of their national histories, American history, our cultural history just as all other ethnic and racial groups are.

To single out a black person for special recognition for no other reason than he/she is black is to presume this person is unusual because he is a black person who succeeded. We should be way past that by now, and should be looking at PEOPLE who succeed regardless of their skin color. I want to get past racism and get to a society that Martin Luther King envisioned--a society in which people would be judged on the content of their character and their accomplishments rather than by the color of their skin.

For that reason I will respectfully decline to change my avatar. Hope ya'll understand. I do accept that the motives here are good ones. I just have to go with my own gut and heart about what is the right thing to do

 

[Statistikhengst]

no

I don't support things that divide Americans into sub groups.

It's demeaning to think that blacks need a month to learn American history

I agree with Morgan Freeman.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s]Morgan Freeman on Black History Month - YouTube[/ame]

How are we going to get rid of racism?

Stop talking about it.


fukken a right Morgan.

@Two Thumbs -

IMO, there is validity to your argument, I would not even consider shooting it down.

However, honoring the achievements of outstanding black Americans, many of whose bios fell though the cracks of history due to the blatant racism of their time, is not talking about racism. It is talking about those people and their accomplishments.

That is a HUGE difference.

 

[Connery]

any of these men are a good choice though;

The Tuskegee Airmen? Brilliant!

I got to meet one in the Philly area about 13 years ago along with his wife and youngest daughter.

Co I worked for was hired to clean parts of his home. He wouldn't say two words to me, until he learned I served. We traded some stories, with his daughters help since he couldn't speak clearly anymore.

It was something else.

I knew a man, a Tuskegee airman, when I lived in Florida. He had come back from Holland where he chose to live after WWII, met a woman and had a great career in aviation. I would see him often for coffee and I would listen to his stories. This thread brought back a very nice memory.

 

[Foxfyre]

I agree with Morgan Freeman.

Morgan Freeman on Black History Month - YouTube

How are we going to get rid of racism?

Stop talking about it.


fukken a right Morgan.

@Two Thumbs -

IMO, there is validity to your argument, I would not even consider shooting it down.

However, honoring the achievements of outstanding black Americans, many of whose bios fell though the cracks of history due to the blatant racism of their time, is not talking about racism. It is talking about those people and their accomplishments.

That is a HUGE difference.

But that can be done without singling people out for recognition for no other reason than their skin is black as if that is somehow unusual. IMO, seeing a successful black person as remarkable just because he or she is black perpetuates racism. It perpetuates the appearance that black people must be treated differently because they are not yet capable of taking their rightful place in 'regular society'. I think we have progressed to the point we need to be color blind and not emphasize differences in skin color in ways that separate us into racial groups.

 

[Derideo_Te]

How are we going to get rid of racism?

Stop talking about it.


fukken a right Morgan.

@Two Thumbs -

IMO, there is validity to your argument, I would not even consider shooting it down.

However, honoring the achievements of outstanding black Americans, many of whose bios fell though the cracks of history due to the blatant racism of their time, is not talking about racism. It is talking about those people and their accomplishments.

That is a HUGE difference.

But that can be done without singling people out for recognition for no other reason than their skin is black as if that is somehow unusual. IMO, seeing a successful black person as remarkable just because he or she is black perpetuates racism. It perpetuates the appearance that black people must be treated differently because they are not yet capable of taking their rightful place in 'regular society'. I think we have progressed to the point we need to be color blind and not emphasize differences in skin color in ways that separate us into racial groups.

Perhaps we should just call it "Celebrating the Accomplishments of the Descendants of Ex-Slaves Month" instead.

 

[Coyote]

James Earl Chaney...

 

[Foxfyre]

@Two Thumbs -

IMO, there is validity to your argument, I would not even consider shooting it down.

However, honoring the achievements of outstanding black Americans, many of whose bios fell though the cracks of history due to the blatant racism of their time, is not talking about racism. It is talking about those people and their accomplishments.

That is a HUGE difference.

But that can be done without singling people out for recognition for no other reason than their skin is black as if that is somehow unusual. IMO, seeing a successful black person as remarkable just because he or she is black perpetuates racism. It perpetuates the appearance that black people must be treated differently because they are not yet capable of taking their rightful place in 'regular society'. I think we have progressed to the point we need to be color blind and not emphasize differences in skin color in ways that separate us into racial groups.

Perhaps we should just call it "Celebrating the Accomplishments of the Descendants of Ex-Slaves Month" instead.

Except that all black people do not descend from slaves. And even those who do are now 150 years past the last of the slave era. No other group is forced to see itself as confined to the legacy of its ancesters of 150 years ago. Nobody living today has been a slave, owned slaves, condoned slavery, or has been affected by slavery. Let's stop emphasizing racial differences and start treating all people as Americans who share a common history, good and bad, commendable and non commendable, but which is history and does not define who and what we are required to be now.