The Black internet community discusses issues and history on websites and in discussion groups. These items are indeed very informative. However, the people who are apt to visit the sites and engage in the discussion groups are the people who are already interested in those items. Therefore, the discussion then deteriorates to quibbling over semantics or minor details instead of engaging in meaningful discussions that would raise the respect and understanding of black culture and community in the eyes of others. Why? Because the ones that everyone is trying to reach aren't listening.

The masses of black people are poor and under educated. They are the ones who need to be exposed to black history the most, so we don't have such atrocities as shootings during a King Day parade. But they are not on the internet and therefore not getting exposure to the information. And for those who do have access to the internet, the question remains, do they care? And isn't it true that those that are interested and do care are the very one's who have the websites and the information anyway.

Moreover, these efforts are insufficient to engage people who have negative images of black people. They have no incentive whatsoever to go to these sites or discussion groups and engage in dialogue or to learn new information. And of the people with negative images of blacks, those that do go to these sites or discussion groups for one of two reasons. Either they have turned the corner so to speak and now want to learn more or they go simply to cause disruption and to be derogatory. So what then is the net effect of our efforts?

It seems to me that the majority of the websites are under used. Or more specifically, they are underutilized. Instead of being used to facilitate communication and understanding between the races, they are more commonly used as forgotten bookmarks or repositories of links. They are not, however, used to promote dialogue or to expose people to black culture. Most people who visit do so because they are interested, but do not engage in more than a cursory glance, unless they are looking for very specific information. However, they are almost never used to broaden people's minds about black culture. This phenomenan is repeated in the context of discussion groups, particularly Social.Culture.African.American.Moderated. (I use this particular group because it is moderated and therefore void of the derogatory elements). This newsgroup is visited by people who already have a good foundation in the history and culture. Therefore, discusssing a particular subject is often reduced to a discussion of details as opposed to eye-opening relevation.