MURDER, as business.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Strathearn in Scotland, departs after officially opening V&A Dundee, Scotland's first design museum on January 29, 2019 in Dundee, Scotland. Photo by Max Mumby. 

"Behind, and beneath the hoopla around the royal house of Britain is the menace of their dark history. It is a foul, bloody history stepped over each time acclaim is raised over the romances of British royalty, but not forgotten by non-whites, who need more than validation. Many recoil in disgust over the way these people's dark history is not addressed, as we are made to feel we should get over it. But, how is that possible when it is still profitable for them their ways of subjugation?" - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 2/7/19

WORK in the FUTURE

25 Dying Professions You Should Avoid

By Dave Copeland on August 8, 2018

John Pugliano, author of “The Robots are Coming: A Human's Survival Guide to Profiting in the Age of Automation,” sees plenty of white collar jobs that will be threatened by automation.

"Bottom line, any routine job that can easily be defined by a mathematical or logic equation will be at risk," Pugliano said. "Opportunity will be [there] for those that can create new produces/services or solve/fix unexpected problems." 

So your accountant may not have a job in the future, but plastic surgeons and emergency room doctors should do well. And plumbers, Pugliano said, will always have work.

Pugliano and other experts contacted by Work + Money offered professions to avoid (not because they will completely disappear, but because the job market will likely be in a state of decline) while also providing alternatives where skills utilized in those dying professions can be applied for a more secure employment future.

Start HERE

He Who Controls the Images. . .

Dove ad released October 2017.

Did Dove Just Call Me Dirty?

The actress Danielle Brooks responds to the company's offensive ad. 

By Danielle Brooks

October 9, 2017

"Scrub your knees. Don't forget your elbows. Use more soap," my mother would say as she checked in on my six-year-old self in the bathtub. She knew my body was dirty from all the sticky germs I'd gathered on the playground or at gymnastics practice. Yet even as she ordered me and my brother to use more soap, she never once made us feel that our skin color was dirty.

You might be thinking to yourself, Well, of course she didn't. What kind of mother would make her children feel that way? But the sad fact is that no matter how much adults like my mom built us up and made us feel pride in who we were and what we looked like, there was always a sneaky, vicious monster out there, determined to knock us right back down. That same monster has been whispering in the ears of little brown and black children since before my great-grandmother's time, telling us that the color of our skin makes us dirty.

As much as I've worked to armor myself, to defang that monster and keep it at bay, it ambushed me again yesterday morning, as if to remind me of my vulnerability.

I was scrolling Twitter, as I do every morning during my rise-and-grind routine — catching up on the latest news from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter; scanning to see what funny video has gone viral in the middle of the night, what crazy rant 45 is on now — when something disturbing caught my eye. An advertisement. Four images. Two women: one black, one white. The black woman happily peels off her brown top, which is the exact same color as her skin, to reveal a smiling white woman in a white top. In the bottom right corner of each image is a bottle of Dove body wash.

I pause. Scratch my head. Think for a minute. Wait. Dove, you want me to believe that using your soap will turn my skin into that of a white woman? No — that can't be it. You want me to believe being black isn't clean? You want me to believe that black = dirt and white = purity and using your soap will make me clean? Got it. You're telling me my skin, the deep, rich melanin that I was born with and cannot change, is filthy. Got it.

That's painful.

That stings.

And Dove, I understand that you've apologized for your racist, "missed the mark" ad. Good for you; we should apologize when we offend others. But do you even know what you are apologizing for? I appreciate your expression of "deep regret," but what is it exactly that you regret?

Do you regret that your ad has caused controversy, that people were offended by the ad? Do you regret the negative publicity? The potential damage to your bottom line?

Or do you regret that you put this racist piece of nonsense out into the world? That, apparently, not one person in your organization even questioned its insidious message before approving it for release? That you put it onto Facebook with its platform of two billion users? That you fed that monster of my childhood and gave it the strength to whisper into the ears of another generation of children born a rainbow of shades? Do you own it?

Do you regret that you've labeled one of your products a "nourishing lotion for normal to dark skin"? Do you even have black people on your marketing and advertising team?

Do you regret becoming the most recent addition to the historical legacy of detergent companies using racist images to sell their soap?

In the past, you have shown your commitment to "thoughtfully representing women of color." I even participated in one of those ad campaigns myself, and I was proud to be a part of it. Do you regret taking that feeling from me?

You were disrespectful, Dove. Thank you for the apology, because I was hurt by this. Thank you for reminding me that it's not only about seeing more representation. The way in which we see representation is what truly matters. And thank you for reminding me that the whispering monster still lives, that it has not been vanquished. Thank you for reminding me that the "Black Girl Magic" and "My Melanin Is Poppin" T-shirts and jewelry I rock aren't just statements of pride. They are armor, armor against the sneak attacks like the one I experienced over my breakfast yesterday.

Danielle Brooks is an actress, singer, activist, and designer.

Elegant lady, Danielle Brooks. photo by Matt Sayles.

PROMOTING: A Lumbee Gershom!

Anita Jo Shifflet, Lumbee author promoting her book: A Lumber Gershom (2018).

Dear Customers...All Orders have been processed and will be shipped out January 27, 2018...All books will be inscribed and signed by JoJo. We apologize for the delay but had many orders to process. If you are interested in taking the journey with JoJo, You can still purchase your inscribed & signed copy for $15.00 at
alumbeegershom.com — with Anita Jo Shifflett.

the Supremacy of White Images.

Sarah Jane Adams in the luxury of India's spiritual heritage.

[White] Americans and Europeans can live so lavishly enjoying the liberating feel of India's spiritual heritages as if they are above the grinding poverty and absolved of their participation in what happened to the country! It is a strange release saying that... But, on the other hand does one need to burst the spiritual bubble another is within?

It is a complex series of stories, and it is an easy thing to be upset about because it is a repetitive occurrence in countries where romance can abound and idealism can reign. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 4/6/18

Superman as played by George Reeves with the Easter Bunny.

I have fond memories about this early Superman! He conveyed something permanently to the unconscious of little boys, black and otherwise. He felt honest, and unassuming as both Clark Kent and Superman. He defined in young minds the importance of integrity in all interpersonal relationships... It was just a TV show some would say, but the sub-conscience is involved in supporting assumptions, and notions of being better than others. This character fit his time on Earth!. . . - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

My cousin, Stan Pat, said, "Republicans think, this is Donald Trump."








the Tail of

Nelara Wild

tail of Nelara Wild.

... a strange thing. I remember being a boy and learning that white Americans had been to every country telling people Black had tails. This is an odd twist. 

Around Asia and parts of the US there is a belief that Blacks have tails and are ape and monkey folks. Like other myths, the stories lives deep in the lagoons around many a community, and only relationships between peoples will throw back the illusions, and expose each to the other. I feel very deeply that the responsibility to change and undue those perceptions of Black Americans rests squarely upon our shoulders. But, if Black people take pride in being niggers, and calling themselves niggers, and defending that 'right' niggers will be perceived as monkeys! - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories April 3, 2013 

One man disagreed with me.

I have a tail, too, and indeed, it likes to stick into pussies, as we see here, yes, fits very well indeed, and that´s what Nelara is communicating quite successfully, I think. Thank you, Darling, for loving yourself and especially how you take tender loving care to your tail. Its really an enrichment to all of us, to see somebody so fond of and devoted to beautiful tails. Keep on the good work and show us more of your art in a future. - Thomas Godehus 

The woman, Nelara Wild, did also. She 'liked' his comment.

Sophia Loren as Cleopatra. 

Sophia Loren was so beautiful I wanted, as did a lot of dark people, Cleopatra to look like her, but alas; it was impossible. Cleopatra was full of melanin. Sophia Loren's role, and others before and since tried to convince themselves and rewritten history to succumb to a false image of the Egyptian woman! - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 4/6/18