You're right, BF. But let me play Devil's Advocate here. How come it seems that when Black people express pride in their background, it's considered noble? Yet if White people do it, they're often assumed to be racists?

I mean, can you imagine the uproar in the liberal media if there was a White History Month? And I'm not looking to rabble-rouse here. I hope you know me better than that. But there's a clear double standard in this country when it comes to expressing your roots (or as you aptly put it, tribalism).

And being that racism is going nowhere (again, you're right, and it's unfortunate on BOTH sides), how long do Black folks hang onto that as a crutch, and use it as an excuse to not assimilate? Because you know as well as I do that some Black people don't want to climb the social ladder.

Now, there are certainly Ethnic Whites that feel the same way. I'm Italian American, and we did it for years. But Ethnic Whites seem to finally give into the "American Way," if you will, and assimilate in a generation or two anyway. Whereas there are some Black families that have been here for ten generations, and they're still living down to the same stereotype that keeps pulling them back down the social ladder. Vicious cycle if you ask me.