Maybe some of the I's on the board understand intimately the divide and conquer tactics being used here. I think the dissent stems from the notion that African is a phenotype and yet we are constantly being reinvented as new and improved (ususally lighter skinned) and somehow more palatable if we appear more sympathetic to the white and biracial Rastas. I know from personal experience the innate attitudes of white superiority coming from the so called white Rastas, I married one. Big mistake. The psychology of white supremacy runs too deep to think we are not all practicing it every day on some level. My point is, at this stage in the game, skin tone is a MAJOR SYMBOL amongst us of African descent and it is intelligent for Africans to view this appointment with some suspiscion given our cultural history and our relationships with the European culture. We associate our enemies and our conquerors white this white skin. There is something sick and wrong about putting a (even in appearance) white face on Rastafarianism. I said it, I meant it and came to represent it. I have shyed away from this movement because at what point do we talk about Unity amongst Africans? Race mixing and putting a white face on as African movement is foolisheness and what we get is fighting, acrimony, name calling, back biting but no African liberation. Because, look, those niggers are at it again with mixed race BS, cuz that's all it is. I do not think this is any more of an appropriate appointment than I would think putting a mixed race or black man in charge of any European agency would be, which won't happen any time soon. Yes, there needs to be more black African, big bootied, nappy headed leadership. I'll say it. The problem with having a biracial leader in an African movement is that these people have notoriously played both sides of the race issue and gone where it is convenient, usually to the white side of things. If the brother was real about these issues he would step down and allow one of the real African elders with some real plans up in there. The thing we all know is that you don't have to be white to be a white supremacists and most of the world practices white supremacy including Africans, hence this appointment. The mental slavery is so deep that we have a brother up here arguing about the fact that anyone would ever question the propriety of this appointment. We have a right to disagree and to debate on this issue, deal with it. The guy was appointed to keep the fighting going and to make sure that niggers stay focused on being niggers and not Africans. This is not to say that light skinned African cannot lead darker skinned Africans. The problem is that the realities of global white supremacy will soon have the African diaspora pretending to be more racially diverse BY CHOICE than it actually is. Most mixed race Africans like myself are mixed as a result of rape during the periods of slavery. This is nothing to uphold or be proud of, and part of the struggle is to fortify our genetic Africa roots. If that makes me a Black Nazi, so be it. Black Africans first and foremost. While I am at it, I want to poitn otu that this colorism is practiced in Ethiopia where Addis has straight haired lighter skinned more affluent blacks who we would think were Arabs over here. They put down the darker skinned pooere blacks and exploit them on the basis of light skinned privilege and a mixed Arab heritage. Also, the male supremacy of the Braham tribes and their religions further makes the whole Rasta movement a little tired, but that's another show. My point is this appointment is stupid and clearly VERY SYMBOLIC divisive which makes it extreemely suspect. The appointment basically says, of all you black ass niggas out there, we can't find one with sense or intelligence enough to run your own show, but this half white brother looks like he has the skills to handle it. People ought to say something and to be pissed. You can hollar in defense of this all you want, my gut reaction tell me this is some BS.