Riots in the USA

[zoom rader]

Thread gone deep now.

Tuner improving,

wish you all was this deep in getting rid of the PNM problems we have

[bluefete]

See below.

[bluefete]

What has history done for the descendants of slaves other than tell them everything is a conspiracy by the man to hold a 'brotha' down. (Watch the videos above)The Jews used the holocaust to develop one of the most advanced albeit oppressive nations on earth. USA used 911 to strengthen their military and foster patriotism. They used it as an excuse to go after oil in the middle east as well, which while bad was to their selfish benefit. So I ask again what has history done for the descendants of slaves? That's why I said focus on the present and issues like single parents household and why children from board schools do inherently better than the others without using the rhetoric of slavery have it so

[zoom rader]

The police office was charged for killing Mr Brooks.

11 charges

It's serious watch the vid

https://youtu.be/Mnr1CG8tvLc

[redmanjp]

[Redress10]

Alfa

When the jews left europe they essentiay left with their wealth and influences. Jewish history didn't begin with the holocaust. They have always been a powerful and influential group. That didn't stop because of ww2 and Hitler etc. There was no on standing in their way of being a powerful nation when they moved to what is now Israel.

There are black ppl alive today who lived through segregation. That is barely even history. Some even argue that slavery never ended it just evolved hence you have mass incarcerations and judges being paid by prison corporations who are paid by the gov't to imprison people mainly people of african descent. See the pattern here? America's problem is that they have 40 million african americans that they have no purpose for and they can't get rid of.

As much as it is to sit back i TT and discuss american race realities we are not living it. You have no idea what you are talking if you don't understand american history during and after slavery. There were literally massacres of black people and black towns by white people. It is the modern day equivalent of what ISIS was doing a couple years ago. Not to mention jim crow laws, segregation ans redlining. There has been a sustained and systematic attack to keep black people at the bottom in America.

[Dohplaydat]

THE REAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS SQUARE AS WRITTEN BY ANGELO BISSESSARSINGH

As readers may well be aware, there have been recent calls for the removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus from the place it occupies just east of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. There is no denying the fact that through his voyages of discovery, Columbus inadvertently precipitated untold horrors leading to the genocide of entire peoples, almost total decimation of the entire indigenous population of the Americas and eventually evolving into the transatlantic slave trade, the worst atrocity in human history. Even from the outset, whatever the higher-minded goals of the sailor as he made his historic expeditions west, were tempered with ideas of dominion as evidenced by the deals he struck with the monarchy of Spain for his own benefit since he expected to find an immense store of wealth.

Regardless of the varied opinions surrounding the legacy of Columbus, we as Trinbagonians are not exactly flush with historic monuments and artifacts to allow us the luxury of disposing of those we see as ideologically opposed to what we hold to be acceptable. Moreover, it is not left to us to decide what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ history since we cannot boast of any great love for researching and documenting our past. Trinidad is also fortunate enough to be one of the few places with a tangible link to Columbus. When he happened upon the island in 1498 (Discovery Day was an annual holiday on August 1stuntil it was replaced by Emancipation Day), he lost an anchor from one of his ships while anchored off Icacos Point during a tidal surge. This relic was rediscovered in 1877 by accident and after a tour of exhibition in several World Fairs, was eventually donated to the Royal Victoria Institute in 1912 by its discoverer, Francois Agostini. The RVI is now the National Museum and Art Gallery and the huge bronze anchor can be seen there still. Part of the misdirected angst against the Columbus monument is possibly due to a complete lack of knowledge about its history. One faux-news online source even pontificated that it was ‘donated by a big shot in the 1990s’. The following is the fact of the matter on how this antiquity came to be.

In the Port-of-Spain of yesteryear, the dead were interred in a patch of muddy ground by the sea. Near the waterfront cemetery was a rickety wooden chapel which served the Catholics of the town. In 1816 construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception commenced, although the old wooden church continued to be used until 1824 when its severe dereliction began to pose a serious hazard to the safety of worshippers. After the completion of the Cathedral, the old cemetery became a sort of refuse tip and impromptu storage area with rubbish sharing space with old sugar hogsheads, crates, carts, corbeaux and the odd vagrant or two. Meanwhile, Hyppolite Borde, a planter who had immigrated to the island from Martinique as a child in 1810 along with his father and two brothers, had become a very wealthy man indeed. Hyppolyte’s brother Pierre Louis Gustave Borde was a historian and one of the earliest chroniclers in the island. It is perhaps this consciousness of the island’s history as well as innate public-mindedness which prompted Hyppolite to landscape gratis, the land of the old cemetery behind the cathedral and erect a monument o serve as a reminder of explorer, Christopher Columbus who discovered the island in 1498. The memorial, a fountain and bronze statue, was unveiled in 1881 by Governor Sir William A.G Young. A description of the space a few years later (1887) runs thus:

“Columbus Square, to the east of the Roman Catholic Cathedral, is surrounded by an iron palisading. It was laid out and planted with ornamental shrubs by the Corporation, to whom it belongs. The handsome fountain, which was presented by the late Mr. Hypolite Borde, a wealthy cacao proprietor, is surmounted by a bronze statue of one whose memory should be perpetuated in this colony — Christopher Columbus. This statue was unveiled and the Square opened with some ceremony by the late Governor Young in 1881. This end of the town used formerly to be much neglected, but the recent embellishments have greatly improved its appearance, and once a month, on the third Thursday, the Police Band plays at the usual hour, from 5 to 6 P.M.”
We must not run the risk of rewriting history according to our own prejudices or emotions for then we will lose more than we can ever hope to recover.

[bluefete]

Didn't that same DA say that a Taser is a deadly weapon, in another case?

The police office was charged for killing Mr Brooks.

11 charges

It's serious watch the vid

https://youtu.be/Mnr1CG8tvLc

[bluefete]

Alfa

When the jews left europe they essentiay left with their wealth and influences. Jewish history didn't begin with the holocaust. They have always been a powerful and influential group. That didn't stop because of ww2 and Hitler etc. There was no on standing in their way of being a powerful nation when they moved to what is now Israel.

There are black ppl alive today who lived through segregation. That is barely even history. Some even argue that slavery never ended it just evolved hence you have mass incarcerations and judges being paid by prison corporations who are paid by the gov't to imprison people mainly people of african descent. See the pattern here? America's problem is that they have 40 million african americans that they have no purpose for and they can't get rid of.

As much as it is to sit back i TT and discuss american race realities we are not living it. You have no idea what you are talking if you don't understand american history during and after slavery. There were literally massacres of black people and black towns by white people. It is the modern day equivalent of what ISIS was doing a couple years ago. Not to mention jim crow laws, segregation and redlining. There has been a sustained and systematic attack to keep black people at the bottom in America.

Excellent points. This thread is turning out to be a real education. A pity that MaxieP would not see it that way.

[Dohplaydat]

Alfa

When the jews left europe they essentiay left with their wealth and influences. Jewish history didn't begin with the holocaust. They have always been a powerful and influential group. That didn't stop because of ww2 and Hitler etc. There was no on standing in their way of being a powerful nation when they moved to what is now Israel.

There are black ppl alive today who lived through segregation. That is barely even history. Some even argue that slavery never ended it just evolved hence you have mass incarcerations and judges being paid by prison corporations who are paid by the gov't to imprison people mainly people of african descent. See the pattern here? America's problem is that they have 40 million african americans that they have no purpose for and they can't get rid of.

As much as it is to sit back i TT and discuss american race realities we are not living it. You have no idea what you are talking if you don't understand american history during and after slavery. There were literally massacres of black people and black towns by white people. It is the modern day equivalent of what ISIS was doing a couple years ago. Not to mention jim crow laws, segregation ans redlining. There has been a sustained and systematic attack to keep black people at the bottom in America.

I get your points bro, but I disagree with this statement. The attack is on the poor, be it white, arab, Mexican or black.

There are many black people in the US who are successful. Looking at the stats, police do target blacks slightly more, but it's not a strong enough cause to blame everything on.

What I'm getting at is, yes they have legit issues and concerns, but it doesn't explain their level in society. As a 'group' though I hate to categorize them all in one, they are far behind other ethnicities.

Present-day racism they face is not at all worse than what Arabs or Hispanics face. Any form of racism is not ok, but many overcome it and make better for themselves, including many blacks. Racism isn't an excuse for them being poor, turning to crime, and having lower education.

I get that school funding is tied to income levels in an area, but parents can push their children at home and not solely depend on teachers. Lots of blame falls on the fall unit and upbringing, are you gonna blame whites for that too?

I know many US laws were real and affected many, but that was 2 to 3 generations ago. Enough time to build strong stable black communities. I had a black friend from NY, bright as a bulb, but he said he got bullied constantly in highschool (90% black) for being studious. He remembers being told he's an Oreo or into only white people thing etc. Why isn't the root cause of this mindset explored before blaming whites and begging for reparations?

[MaxPower]

[Dohplaydat]

Alfa

When the jews left europe they essentiay left with their wealth and influences. Jewish history didn't begin with the holocaust. They have always been a powerful and influential group. That didn't stop because of ww2 and Hitler etc. There was no on standing in their way of being a powerful nation when they moved to what is now Israel.

There are black ppl alive today who lived through segregation. That is barely even history. Some even argue that slavery never ended it just evolved hence you have mass incarcerations and judges being paid by prison corporations who are paid by the gov't to imprison people mainly people of african descent. See the pattern here? America's problem is that they have 40 million african americans that they have no purpose for and they can't get rid of.

As much as it is to sit back i TT and discuss american race realities we are not living it. You have no idea what you are talking if you don't understand american history during and after slavery. There were literally massacres of black people and black towns by white people. It is the modern day equivalent of what ISIS was doing a couple years ago. Not to mention jim crow laws, segregation and redlining. There has been a sustained and systematic attack to keep black people at the bottom in America.

Excellent points. This thread is turning out to be a real education. A pity that MaxieP would not see it that way.

Interesting debate by you guys with good points on both sides.

I do agree that you can't compare blacks to Jews or Muslims. The Jewish wealth influence in Europe or the Ottomans trading power were both attacked strongly by the English/French/Spanish, but they held onto their wealth and identity. Apples to oranges.

By earlier point though is that enough time has passed since racism isn't common, no laws prevent them from moving up in society and affirmative action is there to help.

Blacks in the USA are mostly having a first world problem that isn't specific to just them, it's a consequence of the wealth inequality in America. But even still there are far bigger problems in the US, and by far bigger problems in the world compared to this BLM issue.

[sMASH]

it usually backfires somehow
for example isis was born out of the iraqi prisoner camps they left behind and we all know how that turned out.

americas “deliverance” of freedom has never worked and likely never will

That term 'backfires' is is subjective. Its only applicable if u think America wants to solve the problem.

Since eisenhower days, they saw the emergence of the military industrial complex. Where the American elites make money from selling weapons.

But the only way to sell weapons is if people want weapons. And they could only want weapons of they have somebody to fight. So u have to keep on creating a reason to fight, and to keep the weapons business going on.




That philosophy has trickled down in to the American prison system where they have private prisons contracts, similar to amalgamated and gortt.

The nest ting is police outfitting. Supplying the police with tech.



Locally, I see the new fangled gadgets that gortt giving ttps as mostly a justification for taking tax dollars to award contracts.

Wtf they need a water cannon for? when will urban tactical digital camo ever have a use? The new badge, not doing anything with respect to properly identifying an officer.

[bluefete]

LOL. I was waiting for you come with something like this.

[zoom rader]

LOL. I was waiting for you come with something like this.

Oh lawd Max

[bluefete]

Alfa

When the jews left europe they essentiay left with their wealth and influences. Jewish history didn't begin with the holocaust. They have always been a powerful and influential group. That didn't stop because of ww2 and Hitler etc. There was no on standing in their way of being a powerful nation when they moved to what is now Israel.

There are black ppl alive today who lived through segregation. That is barely even history. Some even argue that slavery never ended it just evolved hence you have mass incarcerations and judges being paid by prison corporations who are paid by the gov't to imprison people mainly people of african descent. See the pattern here? America's problem is that they have 40 million african americans that they have no purpose for and they can't get rid of.

As much as it is to sit back i TT and discuss american race realities we are not living it. You have no idea what you are talking if you don't understand american history during and after slavery. There were literally massacres of black people and black towns by white people. It is the modern day equivalent of what ISIS was doing a couple years ago. Not to mention jim crow laws, segregation and redlining. There has been a sustained and systematic attack to keep black people at the bottom in America.

Excellent points. This thread is turning out to be a real education. A pity that MaxieP would not see it that way.

Interesting debate by you guys with good points on both sides.

I do agree that you can't compare blacks to Jews or Muslims. The Jewish wealth influence in Europe or the Ottomans trading power were both attacked strongly by the English/French/Spanish, but they held onto their wealth and identity. Apples to oranges.

By earlier point though is that enough time has passed since racism isn't common, . no laws prevent them from moving up in society and affirmative action is there to help

Blacks in the USA are mostly having a first world problem that isn't specific to just them, it's a consequence of the wealth inequality in America. But even still there are far bigger problems in the US, and by far bigger problems in the world compared to this BLM issue.

Affirmative action is both a blessing and a curse. It has allowed people, who do not have the necessary grades, to enter into universities. In other words, they dumbed down the requirements for some and called it affirmative action.

When I was applying to go to university, any school that had "race' or "ethnicity" on the application form was immediately ruled out.

There are no laws to prevent them from moving up and many have indeed done so. However, the system still keeps the majority down.

The strange thing is that if you are from T&T (and not born there), you are more likely to succeed in that system and do very well. I know from experience that once they see your ability for work, they will give you the opportunities.

[MaxPower]

LOL. I was waiting for you come with something like this.

Oh lawd Max

If we can celebrate Floyd,

We can celebrate Burkie...

Amen?

[Dohplaydat]

Alfa

When the jews left europe they essentiay left with their wealth and influences. Jewish history didn't begin with the holocaust. They have always been a powerful and influential group. That didn't stop because of ww2 and Hitler etc. There was no on standing in their way of being a powerful nation when they moved to what is now Israel.

There are black ppl alive today who lived through segregation. That is barely even history. Some even argue that slavery never ended it just evolved hence you have mass incarcerations and judges being paid by prison corporations who are paid by the gov't to imprison people mainly people of african descent. See the pattern here? America's problem is that they have 40 million african americans that they have no purpose for and they can't get rid of.

As much as it is to sit back i TT and discuss american race realities we are not living it. You have no idea what you are talking if you don't understand american history during and after slavery. There were literally massacres of black people and black towns by white people. It is the modern day equivalent of what ISIS was doing a couple years ago. Not to mention jim crow laws, segregation and redlining. There has been a sustained and systematic attack to keep black people at the bottom in America.

Excellent points. This thread is turning out to be a real education. A pity that MaxieP would not see it that way.

Interesting debate by you guys with good points on both sides.

I do agree that you can't compare blacks to Jews or Muslims. The Jewish wealth influence in Europe or the Ottomans trading power were both attacked strongly by the English/French/Spanish, but they held onto their wealth and identity. Apples to oranges.

By earlier point though is that enough time has passed since racism isn't common, . no laws prevent them from moving up in society and affirmative action is there to help

Blacks in the USA are mostly having a first world problem that isn't specific to just them, it's a consequence of the wealth inequality in America. But even still there are far bigger problems in the US, and by far bigger problems in the world compared to this BLM issue.

Affirmative action is both a blessing and a curse. It has allowed people, who do not have the necessary grades, to enter into universities. In other words, they dumbed down the requirements for some and called it affirmative action.

When I was applying to go to university, any school that had "race' or "ethnicity" on the application form was immediately ruled out.

There are no laws to prevent them from moving up and many have indeed done so. However, the system still keeps the majority down.

The strange thing is that if you are from T&T (and not born there), you are more likely to succeed in that system and do very well. I know from experience that once they see your ability for work, they will give you the opportunities.

Lots of trinis of all races succeed across the world. Per population, we are surprisingly smart and successful be it academically, sports, art, literature or music. The problem is most of these trinis leave for good.

I know affirmative action has negatives too. Imagine being poor, black in a very highly competitive mostly white University. You will struggle, your mental health will suffer and you'll probably feel like a fraud.

[Redress10]

Dohplaydat

Again, unless you are living their realities then you can't speak to their experiences. You can't look at it through our lenses here in TT. We are afforded opportunities and freedoms that other people could only dream of which iw why we take things for granted.

The attack is not on the "poor". That is where you are terribly mistaken. The white lower class is poor but they are still made to feel that they are better than the most accomplished african american. That is why they felt it was easy to disrespect Obama. Remember Trump calling for his birth certificate etc. Colin Kapernick made over 150 million USD yet he was removed from the NFL. Lebron James is worth over 500 million us yet woke up to see the n word spray painted on his gate outside his house. America's race problems are real.

There are successful black people everywhere in the world. Same as any other races. But let us go further than just "success". How are black people successful? Jayz is a "billionaire" and is now considered successful. But before he got to this point, he was also a drug dealer in the projects. Same as 50 Cent and other rappers. Look at what black women need to be in other to sell a couple records to become successful. Look at what Nicki Minaj is and represents. Do you think any of those realities bring dignity to the black community and upliftment? Did you know that record labels will quicker give you a record deal if you portray a negative image rather than positive one? Do you think a white record label will give a white artist a record deal if he sang about shooting up a school or kinder garden? So why is the media always so quick to reward and monetise black negativity?

Also having a couple successful blacks or "tokens" in position is meaningless when you are talking about a population that is almost 40 millon. Where are the young black billionaires to rival the young white billionaires. Being "successful" in white america is going to an Ivy League university and possibly forming a billion dollar company before the age of 21. Being successful in black america is living to see 21 and if possible winning a sports contract so you can move your family out of poverty.

As a group, they are not "behind" any other ethnicities. They are right where they are suppose to be. Remember, America technically only have 2 ethnicities, black and white. Apart from the native americans, every other group apart from whites, african americans are all new immigrants. For centuries the battle has been between white vs black. So you can't compare them to any other group that hasn't been there for centuries. In fact it is this very battle that has made america hospitable and livable for immigrants to come to USA.

What you are not getting at is there isn't a sustained attack against arabs and hispanics. Laws were not written to dehumanise those people. In the case of "arabs" post 911 they had it bad. That is only 19 years of discrimination. Let us also remember that arabs most of the time are first or second generation immigrants who can pack up and leave when they are fed up. They have options. Even a holiday would be suffice at time. African americans have had it bad since they came on slave ships since the 1500s. No one in the US as far as I am aware have ever tied an arab to the back of his car and dragged him for miles because he was "arab". That was a pretty regular thing in the US up until the 1950s etc. The racism is systemic and it is sustained. This is what american racism is.

The whole point about family life is moot because the US govt itself sought many times to destroy the black family unit. It was the US govt that introduced drugs into the black community. It was the us govt that gave black men syphillis etc. This was the actions of a gov't. Not some private entity doing this for profit. The actual US govt. So any attempt to form any kind of community and family structure within those communities have always been met with resistance by the powers that be. The school curriculum in america isn't even that simple. A parent can't just push their children forward. There is alot of predjudice involved as well. Unless the parents are educated and knowledgeable then they wouldn't know where to start with helping their children education wise. Not to mention alot of those parents if they are able to work are working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet.

Everytime they tried to advance they met resistance. Have you never heard of the Tulsa massacre. A black town with its own economy that was burnt to the ground by white supremacist? If 2 or 3 the generations were not thriving, you expect the generations today to be good? People who experienced segregation are only in their sixties today. Put that into perspective. That whole oreo talk being used to describe educated black people is the result of propaganda that stated that black people are not educatable and being better off doing "trades" or sports or something. Again, whole purpose of that was to make it easier for white kids to advance in society by freeing uo school space. Ent black folks used to be proud to go to their schools and be educated all during segregation? There was no talk about oreo etc then. Ent when segregation ended and it became more competitive then black people attendance at higher education started to decrease as well? Coincidence right?

Btw didn't Kams call Rowls an oreo recently?

[Redress10]

Alfa

When the jews left europe they essentiay left with their wealth and influences. Jewish history didn't begin with the holocaust. They have always been a powerful and influential group. That didn't stop because of ww2 and Hitler etc. There was no on standing in their way of being a powerful nation when they moved to what is now Israel.

There are black ppl alive today who lived through segregation. That is barely even history. Some even argue that slavery never ended it just evolved hence you have mass incarcerations and judges being paid by prison corporations who are paid by the gov't to imprison people mainly people of african descent. See the pattern here? America's problem is that they have 40 million african americans that they have no purpose for and they can't get rid of.

As much as it is to sit back i TT and discuss american race realities we are not living it. You have no idea what you are talking if you don't understand american history during and after slavery. There were literally massacres of black people and black towns by white people. It is the modern day equivalent of what ISIS was doing a couple years ago. Not to mention jim crow laws, segregation and redlining. There has been a sustained and systematic attack to keep black people at the bottom in America.

Excellent points. This thread is turning out to be a real education. A pity that MaxieP would not see it that way.

Interesting debate by you guys with good points on both sides.

I do agree that you can't compare blacks to Jews or Muslims. The Jewish wealth influence in Europe or the Ottomans trading power were both attacked strongly by the English/French/Spanish, but they held onto their wealth and identity. Apples to oranges.

By earlier point though is that enough time has passed since racism isn't common, . no laws prevent them from moving up in society and affirmative action is there to help

Blacks in the USA are mostly having a first world problem that isn't specific to just them, it's a consequence of the wealth inequality in America. But even still there are far bigger problems in the US, and by far bigger problems in the world compared to this BLM issue.

Affirmative action is both a blessing and a curse. It has allowed people, who do not have the necessary grades, to enter into universities. In other words, they dumbed down the requirements for some and called it affirmative action.

When I was applying to go to university, any school that had "race' or "ethnicity" on the application form was immediately ruled out.

There are no laws to prevent them from moving up and many have indeed done so. However, the system still keeps the majority down.

The strange thing is that if you are from T&T (and not born there), you are more likely to succeed in that system and do very well. I know from experience that once they see your ability for work, they will give you the opportunities.

That's because they don't view you as them. You are not considered a "threat". A lot of it is prejudice as well. So they view you as "you're not like the rest of them". It's the majority that they are fearful of. One or two isn't bad especially if you're an immigrant and can fulfil any minority requirements that they need to fill by law.

There are no laws preventing them from moving up but there are still secret handshakes and loopholes. An application with a white sounding name gets more attention than a black sounding name etc.

[bluefete]

[Dohplaydat]

Dohplaydat

Again, unless you are living their realities then you can't speak to their experiences. You can't look at it through our lenses here in TT. We are afforded opportunities and freedoms that other people could only dream of which iw why we take things for granted.

The attack is not on the "poor". That is where you are terribly mistaken. The white lower class is poor but they are still made to feel that they are better than the most accomplished african american. That is why they felt it was easy to disrespect Obama. Remember Trump calling for his birth certificate etc. Colin Kapernick made over 150 million USD yet he was removed from the NFL. Lebron James is worth over 500 million us yet woke up to see the n word spray painted on his gate outside his house. America's race problems are real.

There are successful black people everywhere in the world. Same as any other races. But let us go further than just "success". How are black people successful? Jayz is a "billionaire" and is now considered successful. But before he got to this point, he was also a drug dealer in the projects. Same as 50 Cent and other rappers. Look at what black women need to be in other to sell a couple records to become successful. Look at what Nicki Minaj is and represents. Do you think any of those realities bring dignity to the black community and upliftment? Did you know that record labels will quicker give you a record deal if you portray a negative image rather than positive one? Do you think a white record label will give a white artist a record deal if he sang about shooting up a school or kinder garden? So why is the media always so quick to reward and monetise black negativity?

Also having a couple successful blacks or "tokens" in position is meaningless when you are talking about a population that is almost 40 millon. Where are the young black billionaires to rival the young white billionaires. Being "successful" in white america is going to an Ivy League university and possibly forming a billion dollar company before the age of 21. Being successful in black america is living to see 21 and if possible winning a sports contract so you can move your family out of poverty.

As a group, they are not "behind" any other ethnicities. They are right where they are suppose to be. Remember, America technically only have 2 ethnicities, black and white. Apart from the native americans, every other group apart from whites, african americans are all new immigrants. For centuries the battle has been between white vs black. So you can't compare them to any other group that hasn't been there for centuries. In fact it is this very battle that has made america hospitable and livable for immigrants to come to USA.

What you are not getting at is there isn't a sustained attack against arabs and hispanics. Laws were not written to dehumanise those people. In the case of "arabs" post 911 they had it bad. That is only 19 years of discrimination. Let us also remember that arabs most of the time are first or second generation immigrants who can pack up and leave when they are fed up. They have options. Even a holiday would be suffice at time. African americans have had it bad since they came on slave ships since the 1500s. No one in the US as far as I am aware have ever tied an arab to the back of his car and dragged him for miles because he was "arab". That was a pretty regular thing in the US up until the 1950s etc. The racism is systemic and it is sustained. This is what american racism is.

The whole point about family life is moot because the US govt itself sought many times to destroy the black family unit. It was the US govt that introduced drugs into the black community. It was the us govt that gave black men syphillis etc. This was the actions of a gov't. Not some private entity doing this for profit. The actual US govt. So any attempt to form any kind of community and family structure within those communities have always been met with resistance by the powers that be. The school curriculum in america isn't even that simple. A parent can't just push their children forward. There is alot of predjudice involved as well. Unless the parents are educated and knowledgeable then they wouldn't know where to start with helping their children education wise. Not to mention alot of those parents if they are able to work are working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet.

Everytime they tried to advance they met resistance. Have you never heard of the Tulsa massacre. A black town with its own economy that was burnt to the ground by white supremacist? If 2 or 3 the generations were not thriving, you expect the generations today to be good? People who experienced segregation are only in their sixties today. Put that into perspective. That whole oreo talk being used to describe educated black people is the result of propaganda that stated that black people are not educatable and being better off doing "trades" or sports or something. Again, whole purpose of that was to make it easier for white kids to advance in society by freeing uo school space. Ent black folks used to be proud to go to their schools and be educated all during segregation? There was no talk about oreo etc then. Ent when segregation ended and it became more competitive then black people attendance at higher education started to decrease as well? Coincidence right?

Btw didn't Kams call Rowls an oreo recently?

I know a lot of what you say is true, I've said it before. In 2020, I just do not feel the obstacles are as bad as BLM is making out to be. This isn't a black and white situation (pardon the pun). Tonnes of gray areas here.

I'll leave it at this, it is not 1950 anymore. As much as white supremacists are to blame for black suffrage, blacks have to take some responsibility now too.

Where are the black leaders who want to be positive role models? Aside from Obama and Neil Tyson Degrass I know off very little.

Resorting to hooliganism, interolance, extremist views and guilting people for being not black will turn people away from supporting them.

Had they resorted to peaceful protests, encourage mask wearing, sharing stories of racism and humanizing their voice BLM would have been far more positive and effective.

I get the rash anger after Floyd's death, but now they're being borderline extremist and baiting Trump. This will just lead to more racism and more polarization.

[alfa]

This video by Ben Shapiro explains a lot about what you guys are currently debating. Hope it clears up misunderstandings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBDfMQ27Asw

[Dohplaydat]

This video by Ben Shapiro explains a lot about what you guys are currently debating. Hope it clears up misunderstandings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBDfMQ27Asw

Informative vid, I've always felt that viral systemic racism video was very one-sided and propaganda'ish.

[bluefete]

This video by Ben Shapiro explains a lot about what you guys are currently debating. Hope it clears up misunderstandings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBDfMQ27Asw

Looks more like class than race.

[Redress10]

We could stay here and nitpick all day but even if you were to compare what a person earns in TT to life in the US or EU it would be eye opening . We basically one big inner city district if we were to take TT and dump it somewhere in the US.

The us poverty line for a single persson is 13000 usd per year. That is equivalent of about 90000 tt per year which is about 7500 tt per month. It have rell ppl not making that when the month come and it have rell ppl trying to raise their families on similar salaries.

Remember that the products that we are consuming are not manufactured here so we all basically earning on a global pay scale.

[bluefete]

Dohplaydat

Again, unless you are living their realities then you can't speak to their experiences. You can't look at it through our lenses here in TT. We are afforded opportunities and freedoms that other people could only dream of which iw why we take things for granted.

The attack is not on the "poor". That is where you are terribly mistaken. The white lower class is poor but they are still made to feel that they are better than the most accomplished african american. That is why they felt it was easy to disrespect Obama. Remember Trump calling for his birth certificate etc. Colin Kapernick made over 150 million USD yet he was removed from the NFL. Lebron James is worth over 500 million us yet woke up to see the n word spray painted on his gate outside his house. America's race problems are real.

There are successful black people everywhere in the world. Same as any other races. But let us go further than just "success". How are black people successful? Jayz is a "billionaire" and is now considered successful. But before he got to this point, he was also a drug dealer in the projects. Same as 50 Cent and other rappers. Look at what black women need to be in other to sell a couple records to become successful. Look at what Nicki Minaj is and represents. Do you think any of those realities bring dignity to the black community and upliftment? Did you know that record labels will quicker give you a record deal if you portray a negative image rather than positive one? Do you think a white record label will give a white artist a record deal if he sang about shooting up a school or kinder garden? So why is the media always so quick to reward and monetise black negativity?

Also having a couple successful blacks or "tokens" in position is meaningless when you are talking about a population that is almost 40 millon. Where are the young black billionaires to rival the young white billionaires. Being "successful" in white america is going to an Ivy League university and possibly forming a billion dollar company before the age of 21. Being successful in black america is living to see 21 and if possible winning a sports contract so you can move your family out of poverty.

As a group, they are not "behind" any other ethnicities. They are right where they are suppose to be. Remember, America technically only have 2 ethnicities, black and white. Apart from the native americans, every other group apart from whites, african americans are all new immigrants. For centuries the battle has been between white vs black. So you can't compare them to any other group that hasn't been there for centuries. In fact it is this very battle that has made america hospitable and livable for immigrants to come to USA.

What you are not getting at is there isn't a sustained attack against arabs and hispanics. Laws were not written to dehumanise those people. In the case of "arabs" post 911 they had it bad. That is only 19 years of discrimination. Let us also remember that arabs most of the time are first or second generation immigrants who can pack up and leave when they are fed up. They have options. Even a holiday would be suffice at time. African americans have had it bad since they came on slave ships since the 1500s. No one in the US as far as I am aware have ever tied an arab to the back of his car and dragged him for miles because he was "arab". That was a pretty regular thing in the US up until the 1950s etc. The racism is systemic and it is sustained. This is what american racism is.

The whole point about family life is moot because the US govt itself sought many times to destroy the black family unit. It was the US govt that introduced drugs into the black community. It was the us govt that gave black men syphillis etc. This was the actions of a gov't. (Great point - History again)Not some private entity doing this for profit. The actual US govt. So any attempt to form any kind of community and family structure within those communities have always been met with resistance by the powers that be. The school curriculum in america isn't even that simple. A parent can't just push their children forward. There is alot of predjudice involved as well. Unless the parents are educated and knowledgeable then they wouldn't know where to start with helping their children education wise. Not to mention alot of those parents if they are able to work are working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet.

Everytime they tried to advance they met resistance. Have you never heard of the Tulsa massacre. A black town with its own economy that was burnt to the ground by white supremacist? If 2 or 3 the generations were not thriving, you expect the generations today to be good? People who experienced segregation are only in their sixties today. Put that into perspective. That whole oreo talk being used to describe educated black people is the result of propaganda that stated that black people are not educatable and being better off doing "trades" or sports or something. Again, whole purpose of that was to make it easier for white kids to advance in society by freeing uo school space. Ent black folks used to be proud to go to their schools and be educated all during segregation? There was no talk about oreo etc then. Ent when segregation ended and it became more competitive then black people attendance at higher education started to decrease as well? Coincidence right?

Btw didn't Kams call Rowls an oreo recently?

I know a lot of what you say is true, I've said it before. In 2020, I just do not feel the obstacles are as bad as BLM is making out to be. This isn't a black and white situation (pardon the pun). Tonnes of gray areas here.

I'll leave it at this, it is not 1950 anymore. As much as white supremacists are to blame for black suffrage, blacks have to take some responsibility now too.

Where are the black leaders who want to be positive role models? Aside from Obama and Neil Tyson Degrass I know off very little. (To get there, you need to dig into history. The contributions by the descendants of slaves to the US economic system are not found in the books children use in schools. They are basically whitewashed - I saw what I did there. Some of the greatest technological discoveries were not made by whom the history books say. I will post it separately.)

Resorting to hooliganism, interolance, extremist views and guilting people for being not black will turn people away from supporting them.

Had they resorted to peaceful protests, encourage mask wearing, sharing stories of racism and humanizing their voice BLM would have been far more positive and effective.

I get the rash anger after Floyd's death, but now they're being borderline extremist and baiting Trump. This will just lead to more racism and more polarization.

[bluefete]

Dohplaydat: This is to answer your question.

https://www.nist.gov/speech-testimony/a ... and-future

This is an excerpt: Kind of long but very informative:

Now let's shift our attention to the Western Hemisphere, where the first slaves were brought about 500 years ago.

To state the painfully obvious, opportunities for innovation among African Americans were exceedingly rare. Most slaves lived in the South, where it was illegal to educate blacks. Slave owners believed that educated blacks were more likely to revolt.

Yet, even under these oppressive conditions, there is evidence of technology transfer facilitated by slaves from Africa. For example, slaves in South Carolina are credited with introducing rice farming methods pioneered in Africa. Dugout canoes that were used in the Chesapeake have been traced to the influences of slaves from West Africa. And in the Caribbean, slaves were prized for their metal-making skills.

Or consider the work of these four early African-American innovators.

Thomas Jennings: Jennings was the first African American to receive a patent. He earned his patent in 1821, at age 30, for a process that is the forerunner of modern dry-cleaning. Jennings was a freeman who was born in the United States. He was an accomplished tailor whose reputation enabled him to open up his own clothing store in New York. Along the way, he devised his patented dry-scouring process. A successful businessman, Jennings was a financial supporter of the abolitionist cause.

Henry Blair: Blair, presumably a freeman, is the second African American to receive a patent. His two harvester patents—granted in 1834 and 1836—are the only ones ever to indicate that they were granted to a "colored man."

Norbert Rillieux: Rillieux patented the device (in 1846) that transformed sugar refining. His father was a French engineer and wealthy plantation owner. His mother had been a slave. Rillieux's father sent Norbert to France where he studied engineering. At age 24, he became the youngest instructor of applied mechanics at a technical school in Paris. After returning to New Orleans, Rillieux developed the multiple-effect evaporator. The invention is credited with greatly improving worker safety and processing efficiency. In fact, Rillieux's evaporator has been ranked among the greatest inventions in the history of American Chemical Engineering. In 2002, the American Chemical Society designated the Rillieux multiple-effect evaporator a National Historic Chemical Landmark.

Benjamin Banneker: Banneker, also a freeman, appears out of chronological order, but he belongs in a category all his own. He was born in 1731, not far from here, in what is now Ellicott City.

Benjamin Banneker distinguished himself in many ways over his lifetime—as a mathematician, astronomer, and surveyor. He created an intricate, all-wood clock that reportedly kept time with "faultless precision" for 20 years. The time piece was considered a mechanical wonder and attracted people from miles around. He published five almanacs that served as useful references for farmers in the mid-Atlantic region. Banneker's almanac is the first scientific book written by an African American.

And, I should add, he had a flair for marketing. Here's what he wrote on the title page of the 1792 issue after listing its diverse content. I nist-quote: "the whole comprising a greater, more pleasing, and more useful variety than any work of the kind and price in North America."

Banneker's reputation grew significantly in 1789. He accurately predicted a solar eclipse far in advance of its occurrence on April 14th of that year. In so doing, he contradicted the predictions of several well-known astronomers.

He was an impressive individual, so impressive in fact that a future president, Thomas Jefferson, recommended him for a job. Banneker was appointed by George Washington to serve as assistant surveyor on the team laying out the new federal district. That made him the first black presidential appointee.

In 1791, the Georgetown Weekly Ledger printed an assessment of Banneker, basing it on his performance as a member of the surveying team for the District of Colombia. The paper described Banneker as–nist-quote– "an Ethiopian whose abilities as a surveyor and an astronomer clearly prove that Mr. Jefferson's concluding that [this] race of men were void of mental endowments was without foundation."

This brings us to some interesting correspondence between these two men, which also occurred in 1791.

That year, the 60-year-old Banneker wrote a 12-page letter to Jefferson, the chief author of the Declaration of Independence.

He skillfully challenged Jefferson to live up to the principles stated in that document and likened slavery to living under the tyranny of the British crown, which stirred Jefferson to assert the "self-evident" truth that "all men are created equal." Banneker's letter is truly a remarkable document, and he published it in one of his almanacs.

Banneker's letter elicited a telling response from Jefferson, then secretary of state. Jefferson's response has been euphemistically described as indicating his "ambivalence" on the subject of slavery.

I should note that, in 1998, Congress authorized a Banneker Memorial. Appropriately, it will stand on L'Enfant Plaza. Unfortunately, however, progress has been slow.

To be sure, conditions were better for freemen, but the window of opportunity was very narrow. And among those who did achieve success, history has had a way of obscuring their accomplishments.

In a metaphorical sense—and for a little comic relief—permit me to illustrate how the popular media also can confuse the matter.

Some of you may be old enough to recall the 1960s TV series The Real McCoys.

Far more interesting is the life Elijah McCoy, inventor of a popular type of oil-dripping cup. This invention made it possible to automate lubrication of train locomotives, ship engines, and other types of heavy machinery.

Born to fugitive slaves who had escaped to Canada, Elijah demonstrated his inventive and mechanical skills while growing up on a farm in Ontario. At age 16, he went to Scotland where he served an apprenticeship and then became certified as a master mechanic and engineer.

After the end of the Civil War, McCoy rejoined his family and moved to a town outside of Detroit. There, he immediately discovered that he was overqualified for the jobs that were open to him. In 1870, he settled for a job on the Michigan Central Railroad as a fireman and oiler. In addition to shoveling about two tons of coal every hour, he jumped out at every stop and, with oilcan in hand, lubricated all moving parts. At his home machine shop, this underutilized master mechanic and engineer devised the prototype of his first lubricating cup. He received a patent on his invention in 1872, and shortly thereafter his employer put it to the test. The result: Locomotives lasted longer and required less maintenance.

McCoy went on to develop a series of lubricating devices with new capabilities or for new applications. Lacking the money needed to invest in full-scale production of his devices, McCoy sold the patent rights, reportedly making millions for others while providing just enough money to sustain his inventive ways. In all, he patented more than 70 inventions. Though often imitated, his lubricators proved superior, convincing purchasing agents to insist on the "real McCoy." While this popular phrase also may have stemmed from a couple of different origins, McCoy's combination of inventive genius and determination is worthy of distinction.

Henry E. Baker, an African American from Mississippi, was an assistant patent examiner at the U.S. Patent Office. Dedicated to bringing recognition to black inventors, Baker conducted a survey in the early 1900s to learn about their creative activities over the half century since the Emancipation Proclamation. He sent letters to patent attorneys, newspapers, company presidents, and leaders of the African American community. Like any good researcher, he lists the constraints and limitations of his methods and the resulting data, but his findings tell a fascinating story.

Though only part of the story, these 800 patents, in the words of the author, "tell a wonderful story of the progress of the race in the mastery of the science of mechanics. They cover inventions of more or less importance in all the branches of mechanics, in chemical compounds, in surgical instruments, in electrical utilities, and in the fine arts as well."

Here's a sampling of early innovations credited to African Americans up until about 1920. I'll elaborate on a few.

In 1893 at a Chicago Hospital, Daniel Hale Williams, a black physician performed the first open heart surgery. His patient was James Cornish, a young man who had been stabbed in the chest. Cornish's wound had been treated, but he was bleeding internally and would have soon died if not for Williams' decision to perform surgery.

In so doing, Dr. Williams pioneered the use of antiseptic techniques. The patient made a full recovery and, reportedly, lived a long life.

Granville Woods is credited with developing the concept of the third rail. The additional rail allows a train to receive more electricity while reducing friction. This concept is still used on subway train platforms in major cities in the United States. Woods was called the "Black Edison." He patented more than 50 inventions including an automatic brake and improvements to other inventions, such as safety circuits, telegraphs, telephones, and phonographs.

Born in Dutch Guiana, Jan Matzeliger developed and perfected the technology that made shoes affordable for the common person. His shoe lasting machine automated the process of sewing the tops of shoes to the soles, and is credited with making shoes affordable for the average American.

Garrett Morgan came up with two inventions: the gas mask and the traffic signal that featured automated STOP and GO signs. Morgan's gas mask was used to protect soldiers from chlorine fumes during World War I.

Now, let's advance the calendar a few decades. These are local heroes, pioneers with ties to our area. Obviously, there are many other examples of African Americans who excelled in the face of adversity or whose accomplishments were overlooked or even suppressed. All have a story worth being told.

Matthew Henson: Henson and four Alaska natives stood with Robert Peary when he reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909. Henson, a Baltimore native, was truly an adventurer and explorer. He was an excellent sled driver and could speak the language of native Alaskans. He accompanied Peary on nearly all his trips to the North Pole between 1891 and 1909. In 1944, Congress awarded Henson a medal honoring him for his role in the discovery.

Charles Richard Drew: A native of Washington, D.C., Drew graduated from Colombia University in 1940, the first African American to receive a doctor of science degree from that institution. He pioneered the development of processes for storing and shipping plasma. Drew became director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank in New York. He was asked to organize a massive blood drive for the U.S. Army and Navy, consisting of 100,000 donors.

However, the military issued a directive to the Red Cross, ordering that blood be typed according to the race of the donor, and that African-American donors be refused. Drew was incensed. For obvious reason, he denounced the policy and challenged it as unscientific. Subsequently, he was asked to resign. In 1977 the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Charles R. Drew Blood Center.

Euphemia Lofton Haynes: Also from Washington, D.C., Dr. Haynes was the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. She received her degree in 1943, from The Catholic University. She taught in Washington, D.C., public schools for 47 years and was the first woman to chair the D.C. School Board. In addition, Dr. Haynes was a professor of mathematics at Miner Teachers College and at the District of Colombia Teachers College.

Katherine Chandler Turner: Mrs. Turner is my mother, and she, too, was a pioneer. She was born in Springfield, Ohio, and earned her degree in nursing education from the Teachers College, Colombia University, where she also did some graduate work. She devoted her career to public health nursing and became the first black public health nursing supervisor in Washington, D.C.

James West: Jim West is your colleague. The microphone technology he co-invented is literally everywhere, an indispensable part of modern life. His achievements and experiences at Bell Labs are testimony to the value of diversity in the innovation process. Dr. West is a renowned expert in acoustics. He holds 47 U.S. patents and more than 200 foreign. Not surprisingly, he is a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and winner of the National Medal of Technology.

All of these individuals came from homes that placed a premium on learning. They had parents who encouraged them to rise above the obstacles of discrimination and to succeed.

For most of the 20th century, African-American scientists and mathematicians were the rarest of anomalies. The vast majority of African Americans were the products of separate and unequal schools. There, they attained the rough equivalent of about a sixth grade education. And when they were done with their schooling, they could only aspire to certain fields. Most were relegated to a certain category of service industry jobs.

Choices among the professions were extremely limited as well. When your own Jim West received his National Medal of Technology in 2006 he summed up the job situation for blacks up until the 1950s and 1960s. He said: "There were four accepted professions at that time for black people: Lawyer, Preacher, Teacher, Doctor, but practically nothing else. Any interest outside of these traditional jobs was actively discouraged. My father introduced me to a number of blacks with Ph.D.s in science who worked in the U.S. Post Office and in the railroad Pullman services. . ."

I can relate to this statement. My own father, the smartest man I knew, never got a job better than one at the post office. Denying educational opportunities and careers choices to segments of our society—to any American, for that matter—translates into lost opportunities for all of America.

That is the key take-home message that I want to convey to you and that we should convey to others. America denies itself when it denies African Americans or any other minority group or individual. And in this most competitive world, to deny opportunity is to ensure failure.

Malcolm X reportedly asked this rhetorical question not long after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. He asked, "Why don't members of the media ask blacks about what they think about the problem of world health or the space race to land a man on the moon?" I think we all know what he was driving at. Discrimination denied African Americans of opportunities. Conversely, adversity deprived the Nation of many more technological contributions and new seeds of knowledge that surely would have sprouted in a free and open society.

Yet, despite this adversity, there is much to celebrate. There have been many, many scientific and technological contributions born from the genius and wrought from the hard work of past and current generations of African Americans.

Today, a question like the one posed by Malcolm X would draw a quizzical stare. Blacks have traveled into space and some have even died there, as have other minorities and women as well. Blacks have led teams that built advanced instruments that peer into the heavens. They are developing new vaccines, working to develop clean sources of energy, building the next generations of information technology, and much, much more.

By comparison with the past, we are fortunate to have many more top-caliber African-American scientists and engineers whose achievements we can all celebrate. Choices and opportunities have grown.

I don't know what kind of poem a modern day Langston Hughes might write. But the accomplishments and pursuits of today's Africa-American researchers and technologists certainly must qualify as inspiration for new poetry.

Now, there is a risk in listing a few examples from an expanding list of good candidates. I made a subjective choice and picked three—all of whom have a family or professional link to our area. And, all three, I should add, are movers and shakers. They are committed to science, to their nation, and to motivating more African Americans to join, as Walter Massey put it, the "uncompromising pursuit of truth . . . the highest achievement of human intelligence."

Shirley Ann Jackson: As described by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Shirley Ann Jackson, the president of RPI, is a "pioneering scientist who is pulling and prodding Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to greater prominence." She is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from M.I.T.—in physics in the U.S. She is both the first woman and the first African American to serve as the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the first African-American woman to lead a national research university. She also is the first African-American woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and the first to receive the Vannevar Bush award.

Walter E. Massey: A physicist, Walter Massey studied quantum liquids and solids. He may be known best for his skills as leader of scientific and educational organizations. As director of the National Science Foundation, he challenged the status quo on efforts to attract minorities to science and initiated programs to meet that challenge.

After serving 12 years as president of Morehouse, his alma mater, he stepped down last year. It's estimated that about 5 percent of the country's black Ph.D.s received their undergraduate degrees from Morehouse.

Willie E. May: Dr. May, a colleague of mine at NIST, has had an impact on almost every analytical chemistry laboratory in the U.S., and across the globe, as a leader, as a teacher, as a mentor, and as a scientist. Early in his career, he was key part of a project to establish baseline hydrocarbon levels in Prince William Sound before construction of the trans-Alaskan oil pipeline. He helped to establish the first protocols for environmental sample collection for trace organic analysis.

The liquid chromatographic technique developed by Dr. May was key to the success of this work. He is a champion, some might say an evangelist, of measurement science and its role in solving problems of national and global importance—from climate change to food safety to trade disputes. He is active in several international bodies and has helped to build partnerships with organizations in Brazil, China, the European Union and other parts of the world.

Like I said, this is a very small sampling.

Ben Carson, the John Hopkins neurosurgeon, and Freeman Hrabowski, the gifted and energetic leader of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, are two of several obvious omissions from our local scientific community.

But the experiences and ascents of Shirley Ann Jackson, Walter Massey, and Willie May illustrate an extremely important point: the critical importance of family, mentors, and supportive institutional environments.

"Without mentors," Walter Massey once wrote, "I would not have been a scientist."

Since the 1960s, the number of African Americans in the pipeline has increased from, shall we say, "trace levels" to a small but steady flow. Today, high-achieving African-American and other minority students who earn science and engineering degrees can, in some respects, write their own ticket when it comes to advanced academic pursuits and placement within industry—and government.

That's one solid indicator of how times have changed. Solid progress has been made. But by several measures, the progress has been uneven and the pace has been too slow—and not just for African Americans. This slide is a "good news, bad news" appraisal.

The graphs serve merely as visual evidence of positive trends. The top one shows trends in shares of science and engineering (S&E) bachelor's degrees for all groups. And shares have been increasing for all minorities. The bottom graph shows that among underrepresented minorities (which does not include Asians and Pacific Islanders), African Americans and Hispanics have more than doubled the number of S&E doctorates awarded annually since 1985.

Today, African Americans make up only 5.1 percent of the nation's science and engineering workforce. That's up from 2.6 percent in 1980. Over the same time span, women have increased their share of S&E jobs to almost 26 percent—or more than double their share in 1980.

The optimist might say that when it comes to attracting minorities and women to careers in science and engineering the proverbial glass is half full.

But our job, as a nation, is to fill the glass. And, at the rate we're going, it's going to take a really, really long time.

Consider this factoid from the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education: Blacks hold 5.2 percent of full-time faculty positions in higher education. That's an increase of one percentage point since 1980. The journal calculates that, at this rate, it will take nearly two centuries (192 years) for the black faculty share to reach parity with the black percentage of the U.S. population.

We need to do better. So much better. I believe we need to work harder and faster. The stakes for the United States, for all of us, are huge.

We are at a crossroads. We have to move aggressively to attract people to science. There have been numerous blue-ribbon-panel studies documenting the need to build and strengthen the Nation's science and engineering workforce.

The consequences of not meeting this need are captured in this statement from the influential National Academy of Sciences Report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future:

We are worried about the future prosperity of the United States. Although many people assume that the United States will always be a world leader in science and technology, this may not continue to be the case inasmuch as great minds and ideas exist throughout the world. We fear the abruptness with which a lead in science and technology can be lost—and the difficulty of recovering a lead once lost, if indeed it can be regained at all.

This report, which captured the attention of the White House and Congress, made four recommendations. Two of the four focus directly on people:

First, "Increase America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 mathematics and science education."

And, second, "Develop, recruit, and retain top students, scientists, and engineers from both the U.S. and abroad."

It is clear that the United States must increase its supply of homegrown science and engineering talent. Other nations certainly are.

Consider, for example, that in the U.S. 15 percent of undergraduates receive their degrees in a natural science or engineering discipline. That's fewer than one in seven.

In South Korea, the corresponding proportion is better than one in three. In China and France, it's half of all degrees. In Singapore, it's two-thirds.

So, where does the United States get the future scientists and engineers it will need to remain a leader in innovation and to grow its economy or—in other words—to remain globally competitive?

Increasingly, they will have to come from the ranks of minorities. By 2050, minorities will make up 52 percent of the college-age population (18-24), as compared with 34 percent at the turn of this new century.

Some people might suggest that the U.S. can draw the needed science and engineering talent from abroad.

Regardless of your views on visas and immigration issues, this option may wither away. More and more foreign scientists and engineers are choosing to pursue careers in their home nations or in other countries besides the U.S. A recent article by a pair of researchers who have spent the last five years examining these trends concludes that—nist-quote—"Clearly the U.S. is no longer the universally preferred home for the global technology elite."1

Let's return to the topic that brought us here today, the technological contributions of African Americans—past, present, future. In the United States, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have been strong positive forces.

In the minds of many, the example that stands out is Tuskegee and the leadership of George Washington Carver, an innovator with few equals. But there are many shining examples among the 117 HBCUs in the United States.

In the science and engineering disciplines, these institutions play an especially critical and nationally valuable role. A few statistics provide the evidence for this claim.

Slightly more than 20 percent of African-American undergraduates earned their bachelor's at an HBCU in 2004. That translates into a big number—more than 26,000. However, the role of HBCUs is even more pronounced in several science fields. For example, 35 percent of blacks earning a bachelor's in chemistry did so at an HBCU, 35% in the biological sciences, 37 percent in math, and a remarkable 61 percent in physics.

My friends at the American Institute of Physics tell me that the role of HBCUs in physics has been at this high level for quite some time. There are 36 physics degree-granting departments in HBCUs and five of them offer Ph.D.s. Conversely, very few African Americans (about 60-70 per year) earn a bachelor's at the 730 physics degree-granting departments in majority schools.

And according to an NSF report, black students completing their undergraduate education at HBCUs are more likely than those from other schools to attend graduate school and to complete doctoral degrees in science and engineering.

So, it's clear that historically black colleges and universities are essential to efforts to build the Nation's scientific and technical workforce.

It's equally clear that predominantly white institutions also are basic to the solution. After all, they award nearly 80 percent of bachelor's degrees earned by blacks. And to find a model to follow, all we have to do is look north of here, to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC). Under the leadership of Freeman Hrabowski, according to an editorial in the New York Times, UMBC "is rocking the house when it comes to the increasingly critical mission of turning American college students into scientists."

It has devised a "university as mentor" approach to attracting and preparing women and minorities to science and engineering. UMBC has become a national model for diversity, and it has the numbers to show that the model works. For example, the university ranks first in the total number of undergraduate biochemistry degrees awarded to African Americans. In overall production of biochemistry degrees, UMBC ranks seventh nationally.

In this new century, difficult problems and tantalizing opportunities abound. Members of the science and engineering community fully recognize the challenging nature of the times ahead. We have a responsibility to serve as role models and to light sparks of curiosity in the minds of American youths. We have a duty, I believe, to become active participants in the recruitment of the next generation of innovators.

We must conduct our own star search, recognizing that creativity shines in many different wavelengths, or colors.

Let's not debate whether our nation's innovation glass is half empty or half full. Let's endeavor to fill it up with new ideas and new knowledge that pour in from every corner of society.

I believe that our nation's diversity is its greatest asset. We need to leverage this asset in the interest of all.

Thank you.

1Leonard Lynn and Howard Salzman, "The Real Global Technology Challenge." Change, July/August 2007

* As prepared for delivery but modified to accommodate for the omission of slides used

[rspann]

Doh be on Burkie nah allyuh . The man doh even have one conviction in his name .

[bluefete]

Doh be on Burkie nah allyuh . The man doh even have one conviction in his name .

That is so true.