We have received many comments from new BC Paid Subscribers.  Some of our readers are rather succinct, others quite descriptive, and some, almost poetic.  Whatever form your writing takes, we love hearing from you :

Washington, DC

Yours is an INVALUABLE service!

Platteville, WI

I depended on Black Commentator for dealing with issues in out community.

Brooklyn, NY

Keep up the good work!

Washington, DC

A luta continua!

College Park, GA

Ya'll are the bomb.  Right on target.  When I get more money, I will support you further :-).  Thanks for being another great voice in the wilderness.

Houston, TX

I believe in African people.

Bellwood, IL

Take no prisoners

Durham, NC

I'm just an old white woman, but dang if I ain't FED UP.

Washington, DC

Keep doing your thing BC!

Newbury Park, CA

Many blessings; may all who are able, take it one step farther, get out their plastic or check books, and walk this crucial walk.

Santa Barbara, CA

Your work is essential to antiracist and democratic efforts in the US.  Although already a subscriber, I want to contribute something extra.  Thanks very much.  Don't mourn, organize!

Fort Washington, MD

I enjoy the info and the comments I get from this newsletter - keep up the good work.

Westbury, NY

We must keep our eyes on the prize.

Chicago, IL

Now if you all could just takeover CNN...

Philadelphia, PA

I think $50 annually is a  bit high for me; but then again, we pay something like that for  The Nation  as I enjoy that magazine too.  Keep up the good work; and thank you.

Oklahoma City, OK

I find the commentaries informative and thought provoking, this is truly a necessary tool in the education of our people. Thanks and keep up the excellence that you currently provide.

New York, NY

I have profited from many of the articles. I am particularly interested in anything about Cynthia McKinney who is an embattled African American woman warrior.

Robbins, IL

From one harsh leftist to another!!

San Antonio, TX

I love BC!!!!!  Keep speaking Truth to Power!!!!!

Lanham, MD

Presently, there is no better way to have a voice and to spread the word.  Keep on pushing!

Fort Lauderdale, FL

I am honored to be able to contribute.  I hold Glen Ford in my highest regard and have purchased art from Mari Hall-for which I'll forever be in your aesthetic debt.

Middletown, CT

Keep up the excellent job!!!!

Philadelphia, PA

Been reading for about 6 months, time to sign up.

Crete, IL

Stay on the case. You are performing an important function.

Indianapolis, IN

I support the work the BC does, keep up the excellent work and keep telling the TRUTH!!!

Long Eddy, NY

Essential work; much needed; stay strong and truthful.

Oxnard, CA

Keep up the good work!
Keep your back covered!
Thank You.

Lake Charles, LA

I am 72yrs of age, a member of the BLACK PANTHER PARTY, sent two buses to the march on Washington, participated in the voter registration in McComb, MS, walked with King in Cicero, IL., participated in the Nashville sit-in and still asked to pay my way!!  But that's all right because no good deeds go unpunished!!!!

Riverside, CA

Please keep BC going strong!  The information and opinions expressed on your site are invaluable and they serve as a beacon to reassure us that our political disposition and feelings are well-founded.  I also find the recommendations offered for political improvements and socio-economic changes to be consistently astute and insightful.  Please keep up the outstanding service by disseminating such crucial truthful information and honest analysis to our communities.

Dayton, OH

This is a lot of cash for the sole provider of a family of eight (plus three granddaughters, that practically live with us, too). I wish that I was able to provide $5000.00 to BC. Your site has provided a much need supply of oxygen to a suffocating Midwestern African-American. The Revolution may never be televised; however, it appears on BlackCommentator.com.

Harrisburg, PA

I am a High School reading teacher and love to do articles found on BlackCommentator every so often in my class, about one a month (Russell Simmons Hip Hop readers program, death penalty).

Wilkinsburg, PA

Just to let you fellas know... the $50.00 is a sacrifice... but I really appreciate what you are doing here at BC... and I firmly believe that faith w/o works (in this case... money) is dead.  Keep on keeping us informed.

Brooklyn, NY

Your articles and commentary are astounding. I pass these on to friends, colleagues and the folks that I serve -- homeless and formerly homeless women and men and youth living with AIDS and HIV.  Thank you for your good works!

Jacksonville, FL

Hope that I will soon be able to make a contribution soon, it is well worth it. BC is the only source that tells it like it is. Continue to tell it and expose the one's that are doing what you say they are doing.  I am 74 years old and I have never heard are seen anyone put it out like BC.

Philadelphia, PA

We both value your work and pass many of the ideas on to people we know. As white Jews- who actively work for justice for all - in the USA & in Palestine/Israel we are grateful that Cynthia McKinney put us on your list!  Hope to celebrate justice and freedom for all with you and your staff in the near future!

Seattle, WA

We confuse democracy with capitalism.
We confuse freedom with greed.
Our confusion is killing us.
Please help us grow up and learn how to share.

Milwaukee, WI

I received your current issue from a friend and found it to be extraordinarily educational. The information that is available at BlackCommentator greatly enhances my ability to serve and to educate my members and the local community.

New York, NY

BlackCommentator is not afraid to tackle the tough issues and problems that are affecting Africans all over the world and African Americans.  The article on Tavis Smiley and Andrew Young is one example, so keep up the good work.

Chicago, IL

Bronzecomm is an online newsletter that reaches 30,000 plus mostly Black Chicagoans.  Occasionally, we use a few paragraphs of one of your lead stories in our attempt to introduce our readers to your very excellent publication.  Hopefully some of those readers will also subscribe to Black Commentator as we have done today.  We support you  so that your work can continue.

Baltimore, MD

In every speech I make across the country, I tell my audiences that if they are not reading The Black Commentator, they are missing the *best* editorial opinion in the nation.  Keep them coming!

Philadelphia, PA

BlackCommentator is my absolute favorite site! It is the ONLY site that provides information on point. In my search to explore sites by and for  people who look and think like me , to my delight I found this site. Continue to teach our people and to remind those of us who have a clear concept of the many contradictions in society where oppression is at the beginning and end of ALL policies. I thank BlackCommentator for teaching the truth and for not being afraid.

Washington, DC

I find your commentaries to be interesting and well-informed.  They always provide a perspective missing from other sources.  Your writers have been responsive when I've had a question.  I frequently use articles in the graduate seminars that I teach.  So, thank you for what you do to keep African-American analyses circulating!

Philadelphia, PA

Keep doing what you're doing. I have the utmost respect for you. Please, don't give up! We need voices like yours to let everyone know the challenge and the fight still goes on! Thank you, not just for what you've done for me, but what you've done for us all. Peace.

Emeryville, CA

Thanks for speaking the truth loudly. Sorry I couldn't do more to support you. BC is one of the few places that I can find insightful and meaningful analysis of news and events that affect Black people. To be honest with you I never really thought about supporting you until you reminded me that you do rely on the financial support of your readers.  I compare you to the many corporate sources of information, especially Black information and see clearly that unless you guys stay around there will not be a series of REAL issues that we as Black people need to remain informed about. If anyone reads this letter you can test what I say by typing  Black political Commentary  into Google and you will find WAY TOO MANY of these so called 'Black Conservatives', I call them rent-a-negroes. Keep up the good work and thanks again for forcefully representing my and many other voices.

Oh, and one more thing... I like Counterpunch, as do many other people. It is a shame that so few folks are ready to financially support an operation like BC, perhaps folks are too used to not paying for black produced products and services, especially when they don't have to. Up until recently I would have to include myself in that. Well, back to work for me and thanks again BC for speaking up loudly. Peace.

Laurel, MD

Thank you for your truth, courage, and dedication to exposing those within our community who have mortgaged our mental, physical, economic, and political well being to find favor with white folks. Keep up the good work.

Portland, OR

I discovered your website about 3 years ago.  The first story I read was about how the WalMart heirs were trying to undo public education in the U.S.  I have been a steady reader since then.  Every Thursday I check in to read your articles and I'm sorry to read there is a financial crisis for blackcommentator.com.  I hope my contribution helps - I would sorely miss reading website.

Highland Park, MI

These articles are refreshing and right on target. They wake up those who have been lulled to sleep, thinking progress has been made.  Since King marched. not much has changed, and our condition as a people has gotten worse. These articles keep us focused to what the real struggles are.

Venice, CA

I read and listen on the radio.
The truth is the truth no matter the color of the person.
I do think experience has made more Black Americans able to know what is true.
Harry Belafonte was right!

Mareitta, GA

I wish I could do more.  I'm privileged to help keep your voice available to the uninformed so as myself.  Thank you for caring so intensely for the invisible Americans.

Hampton, VA

I love BC and recommended it to my members at Liberty Underground of Virginia (LUV) in our news group.

I rarely recommend that my members donate to anything, but when I do only those who embrace the highest values.

I live simply, giving my money to homeless and hungry people, but am having a good month so can afford this.

My only suggestion is that you continue what you are doing and don't change a thing.  You are doing wonderful work, keeping to the highest morality.

Brooklyn, NY

I read your magazine every week; very insightful; great writing and serious BALLS!!!  Keep up the good work -- whether the mass of sheep in this country realize it or not, BC is one of the few progressive and  tell-it-like-it-is  voices left in American media.  I hope your circulation grows and grows.  Stay Strong!!

Waterford, WI

I wish I could contribute more. I love this website, it gives me the opportunity to hear another view than those promoted by MSM and to appreciate the in-depth and articulate view of people who really seem to have a positive vision for all people. I would like to emphasize ALL PEOPLE. Because I believe, for better or worse, we are most definitely all in this crazy world together.

Stamford, CT

Glen and Peter,

I think both of you are amazing writers and I count on you to alert me to the goings on in the world near and far.

I have a special interest in the democratic health and well being of my beloved Haitian people, who suffer so much, yet have so much courage. The people were triumphant in February, but we Haitians and Blacks of the Diaspora have to guard very carefully for the rain of misinformation and repression that is being prepared for President-elect Preval.

I am also interested in news accounts about the Black Caucus and their spineless cowering and simpering selfish stance in this time of crisis for Americans; Blacks, immigrants (Glen, I enjoyed your presentation of the facts to the WBA).  I believe that a true democracy is one-man, one-vote, a responsive government, giving diplomacy and peace a chance, a quality education for all citizens, health care for all, a living wage, social justice and giving a hand up to whomever needs it. That's not too much to ask for is it??

Thank you for defending Cynthia McKinney.

Thank you for blasting Representative Harold Ford, Jr., what a sycophant! This guy will do anything to, including sell out his ancestors to gain power in Washington!

I feel as passionately as you guys obviously do about defending against injustice and standing
up to tyranny.  Keep up the wonderful and much appreciated work that you do!!

Bayside, NY

I am a white progressive (union staff). I wholeheartedly support your work for equality and justice. BC is a great voice for clarity and militancy. Thank goodness someone has not lost a sense of outrage at conditions in this country. Sisters and brothers, keep up the good work.

Chicago, IL

During the last 500 years, Europeans have systematically, through savagery, mendacity and genocide, raped the peoples and resources of earth for the greater glory of their God and the greater accumulation of wealth for their elite. From North and South America to Australia and New Zealand; from the northern to the southern tip of Africa; from Hawaii to India; from the north pole to Antarctica, no human group, species or land mass has remained untouched by this scourge. As European market capitalism continues to ravage finite resources, pollute the atmosphere and biosphere beyond safe limits and exploit slave labor world wide, the level of denial within this country grows in proportion to the level of atrocities committed. Contrary to popular belief and mythology, I believe that the positive developments brought about by western scientific and technological development are far outweighed by the negative consequences.  We need as many voices as we can muster, to stand up and speak truths that are ignored, suppressed, and veiled with ubiquitous breads and circuses. Your web site, in my opinion, is such a voice; Stay strong.

Silver Spring, MD

It certainly is refreshing to know that there is still an information source that features REAL journalists who are not simply mouthpieces for power.  The horrendous coverage of the Cynthia McKinney  incident  demonstrates why the mainstream corporate media is simply insufficient to inform us on these type of matters.  The Washington Post, NY Times, CBS, NBC, Fox  News , etc. are shamelessly operating within a White Supremacist/Capitalist/Patriarchal framework, and most of this nation's complacent sheep are none the wiser.  We need BC now more than ever.  Keep up the phenomenal work!

Chicago, IL

The bold, truthful, and insightful commentary provided by the publishers and contributors of BlackCommentator critical to the collective survival of African peoples throughout the world.  Therefore, I must do my small part to sustain this quality institution. Thank you and keep speaking truth to power.  

Dunwoody, GA

Thank you for being the voice for truth and countering the mainstream media and right-wing lawn jockeys that are trotted out to let the greater society forget the unpleasant past. It is that sordid and sorry past that brings to a distorted present. The lawn jockeys and black moderate columnists (a  moderate  is someone who believes in everything and stands up for nothing.) should not be allowed free passes just because they are published or appear regularly--especially the ones who apologize for history.

Chicago, IL

Dear Glen Ford, Peter Gamble, and all the indefatigable and fearless truth tellers at Blackcommentator.com:

I am a recent African immigrant to the United States. During my eight years of living in this country, it has occurred to me that there is a global crisis in Black leadership,  representation, and poverty of independent, progressive, pro-Black, or Black-owned institutions (including the media).

From Aiti to Zimbabwe, we are catching hell, yet we roll from one punch delivered by white supremacy to another, mostly too dazed and uncomprehending of what's hitting us to know how to respond or guard ourselves.

It is so easy to despair in the face of our lack of organization. That's why I think it is important for those of us who understand the necessity of keeping authentic Black voices alive to rally in support of Blackcommentator.com.

You are an inspiration, an eye-opener, and an essential tool for mobilizing Black people. It will be a tragedy for this medium to fizzle out. That's why, despite all the competing needs I have, I am gladly contributing this little I can. I will circulate your s.o.s. to all the comrades, friends, and relatives who I've for the past year and half forwarded Blackcommentator.com articles to.

When I am back in the United States from a business- and family-related travel to Africa, I will figure out some way to gather my friends to raise funds for keeping the bright light of your
publication burning. It's a beacon for us to see the sharks, rocks, and icebergs in the roiling waters we're currently swimming through.

La Luta continua (or as we say in Kiswahili; Mapambano Inaendelea).

Northridge, CA

Your articles are of great value to all of us. Just returned from a month in Europe, Italy and Spain, and witnessed the Prody win. Both countries are healthy left of center countries. We have become so irrelevant compared to most of these countries, yet have become the most decadent and dangerous of all democracies. Americans are definitely out of the loop.

Detroit, MI

You all, like me, are blessed/cursed (depending on how you feel that particular day) to envision a better future, by sacrificing in the present, for African people and I'll be right there next to you walking through the fire. Keep doin' what you're doin'.

Albany, GA

The Black Commentator news and analysis is very important to me as a voice that speaks volumes for Afrikans concerns in the Diaspora. Glen Ford and Radio BC is all about the issues that are about us and for us-Afrikans. You have my support and membership.

Goulds, FL

I thoroughly enjoy your site and look forward to the truth the commentators provide to us all, especially our so-called power brokers, whether they want to hear it or not.  It is refreshing and long overdue.

I know they read it, even if they want admit it.  Hopefully, some of them will grow a couple including the women, remember why they have been put in the places they have, and if they don't eventually there will be many more of us who print and pass on this truth so these people who have abdicated their positions of authority to only concern themselves with each other will be sent back to whenever where they came from.

Decatur, GA

BC is doing an outstanding job!!!

Maplewood, NJ

Stay strong!

Wayne, NJ

You are doing a terrific job!

Piscataway, NJ

I love your web-site, its right on all the time!

New York, NY

KUTGW!

Wichita, KS

Keep up the good work!

Santa Clara, CA

Why do you place an invitation to unsubscribe right on the top, as if you're inviting people to unsubscribe? Yours is a Web site that is much too good for someone to become an unsubscribe.  Seriously, I really dig your material.

Whitmire, SC

Hello, I am a 17 year old high school senior. I stumbled upon your site during a Google search.  I was very impressed with its presentation.  It also shows the issues that affect us in an intelligent way, the best I have ever seen.

Brooklyn, NY

Thank you for the excellent work that you do in behalf of our people.

St. Petersburg, FL

Revolution requires financial as well as political support!

Somewhere in CA

You are the only news source worth paying for.

Ojai, CA

As a non-black person I want to subscribe because I find the BC to be one of the most honest and hard-hitting publications around. What happens to people of color happens to all of us.

Durham, NC

Excellent Job. Keep up the good work.

APO, AE

Keep up the great work!

Wichita, KS

Thank you very much. I very much appreciate your views and values.

Lawrenceville, NJ

As a Nigerian living in the U.S., I find the BlackCommentator invaluable.

Orlando, FL

Wish I could give more, just working part-time right now. However, I will send a link to be a subscriber out to friends.  Thanks for all your hard work!

New York, NY

As a long time reader of BC, I am putting my money where my mouth is.  Thanks for keeping us informed.

Columbus, OH

My favorite website.

Daytona Beach, FL

Keep it up!

Upper Marlboro, MD

I truly enjoy the wealth of true information that comes to me through your articles.  I hope that this token helps and when I can do better, I will.

Pinedale, CA

This is a good investment in our society.

Amaliada

I'm retired but I do enjoy your magazine a lot!

Rumney, NH

We always look forward to your analysis. Thanks for your persistence.

Pooler, GA

This is the only media for black folks who want to stay informed.  I love it!

Soquel, CA

Black Commentator is the source of three of the five best pieces I have ever read either on the net or in print.

Seattle, WA

BC is a great contributor to our struggle - thanks for the opportunity to support a most worthy endeavor

Los Angeles, CA

Please don't go under!!! You are all we have!

New York, NY

Keep  Freedom Rider  riding - she's terrific!

Brooklyn, NY

I like what you say and how you say it!

Norfolk, VA

I'm a sociology professor at Hampton University, and I have regularly assigned your articles to my students for several years.  Your work is a valuable resource.

Jesup, GA

Appreciate your spirited defense of Cynthia!

Tucson, AZ

I really like this site. I've printed many items and shared them with other people.

Bronx, NY

Thank you for your NO NONSENSE reporting.

East Point, GA

You guys are the best. The ideas and information that I've gleaned from these pages give me hope. Keep on keeping on. I will definitely remind my friends to contribute as well.  Peace.

Atlanta, GA

Thanks for the work.  And I know it is work.  We appreciate it!

Mueang Chiang Rai

Please keep up the good work.

Austin, TX

Thank you for such wonderful work!

Saint Louis, MO

Keep up the good work.

Pflugerville, TX

Looking forward to the knowledge...gain Wisdom and apply and share w/others - this site def appeals to a greater number of persons than realize.  Thanx.

Portland, OR

I can count on Black Commentator to speak the truth about the horse manure that is going on in the US today.

Washington, DC

The BlackCommentator is excellent!  It's the truth!  Keep it up!  Let readers know what they can do to support and further the truth-telling mission!

Baltimore, MD

It is with great pleasure that I am becoming a subscriber to the BlackCommentator, a true BlackNews/Analysis publication.

San Francisco, CA

BC is my most frequently used source of real analytical reading for the high school students I teach.  Thank you so much.

Minneapolis, MN

The BC is a great resource that must continue.

Upper Marlboro, MD

Please keep up the good work. You make my Thursdays much better!

Minneapolis, MN

I don't have a lot of expendable income but this is $50 well spent.  Black Commentator is a jewel. Thank you!

Hohhot, MS

This is my first paid subscription to anything at all for more than 35 years.

Atlanta, GA

BC is a precious resource, and I trust you will receive the support you need.

Carry le Rouet,

You speak truth to power and kick ass: let those above us taste fear, your words make them shake.

Brooklyn, NY

I hope the Black Commentator.com is around for years to come. The commentary on your webpage is the best in the business. Continued success!

Little Rock, AR

Thanks for all you do!

Los Angeles, CA

Glad to subscribe. Great work!

New York, NY

I think the BC is terrific - some of the best political analysis/commentary around, black, white, or any shade.

El Portal, FL

I have been constantly searching the web to find a first rate news and information source such as BlackCommentator.  Thank you.

Baltimore, MD

I think this type of discussion is so very important.

Gainesville, FL

Please tell Glen Ford that his work and his voice is essential to the restoration (creation?) of democracy; the same is true for all of you at 'BC'! Thank you for all that you do.

Keller, TX

My apologies for taking so long to do the 'responsible' thing.

Middletown, NY

Heard you over Ron Daniels show on WWRL.

Ann Arbor, MI

BC is indispensable!

Valrico, FL

I have enjoyed reading BlackCommentator for sometime now. Your articles are well written, thoughtful and quite powerful.  Please keep it up.

Pittsburg, CA

Thank you for speaking truth to power!  I see so much more clearly each time I read your articles. Keep doing what you're doing!

Louisville, KY

Often enthralled, sometimes enraged...you care and you serve.
Black institutions deserve Black support.

Jacksonville, FL

Excellent offerings.

Baltimore, MD

Leadership is the ability to take a vision, turn it into reality and sustain it.  Keep on keepin' on BC!

New York, NY

The kind of progressive analysis provided by BC is just what the Black community needs.

Milwaukee, WI

Fifty dollars is a lot so I kept putting off sending you anything. But your work continued to be valuable, so finally, yes, I've sent the money. --a white subscriber

Murphy, TX

You provide an invaluable service to the African American community!

We also receive questions in the reader comments from new BC Paid Subscribers:

Berkeley, CA

I would like to donate 10$.  Will there be a way to donate these smaller amounts?

Silver Spring, MD

Can you make it so that on the subscription site a person may just make a contribution without subscribing?

New Rochelle, NY

For those who might not be able to give fifty dollars at one time, can you allow folks to give in smaller amounts monthly, maybe five or ten dollars a month for 12 months?  Also, you're doing great work please keep it up.

Aston, PA

I would hate to lose access to BC - one of the finest, most important publications on the Internet - but I simply cannot afford $50/year. Nor do I want to ask for  something for nothing!

Is there a way I can combine a complimentary  subscription with, say, a $20.00 donation?

East Point, GA

I am already a subscriber and could not find out how to send and additional contribution, so am trying to do on this form.

Very soon, you will be able to contribute online or through the mail, apart from signing up to become a BC Paid Subscriber.  We are also beta testing an online system for regular BC Contributors that enables you to receive a regular email, and contribute by responding to it - more to come on both these projects.

Oakland, CA

Thank God for BlackCommentator.com.  I look forward to your weekly articles.  Corporate own media is full of s####.  Keep up the good work.  Do you have caps, tee shirts or bumper stickers for sell? 

Thanks for the idea!  You can purchase all these items and more at the BC Online Store.  Click on the link for the BC Online Store.  You'll find it on the right side of every page.  Every purchase helps support BC!

Some of our readers have shared personal experiences, from declaring BC to be the standard-bearers of the Dinosaur Club, to the heart-rending saga of one Katrina surviror and family:

Hillsborough, NJ

GOD Knows there is a critical need for critical thinking in general and in our communities in particular, and it's encouraging whenever you come across a vehicle that promotes the process.  I'm 46 and it has been over 20 years since I whimsically founded what I called  The Dinosaur Club of black thought that revolved around the idea that there appeared to be an ever dwindling number of us who just simply wanted to hear defensible positions that make or made sense.  To my great sadness, what was a pretty facetious undertaking at the time has borne out over time to be a state of emergency today as fewer and fewer of us cling steadfastly to the idea that we need to both hold (and be held accountable) those who are in charge of maintaining our institutions of beliefs, morals, dignity, and purpose, so that we don't allow the shackles of the past to continue enslaving us and our progeny for generations to come!!!  GOD Bless you and consider yourselves officially standard bearers for The Dinosaur Club...

Houston, TX

My African American Studies professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge told me about this website 4 years ago and I have been addicted to your weekly commentaries ever since.  They have been uplifting and enlightening and I have spread the word far and wide.

I relocated from New Orleans to Houston 5 days after Katrina made landfall.  My family had decided to stay and I was on my way to Lafayette, La to stay with a friend the Sunday before the storm; however, for many reasons, I could not leave my family behind. Why?... Firstly, the common belief in the city was that  the storm can't be that bad, right?   After all, hurricanes Betsy and Camille had achieved iconic status and people survived and rebuilt after those. And of course, money was a big issue. There was only room for me in Lafayette.  Where were we to go with limited funds, unsure of how long we would be away from our homes? I could not walk away from them, not knowing if I would ever see them again. I believed that for some reason or another, I had to stay.  As all New Orleanians know, family is the foundation of our culture. We pride ourselves on the large and extensive family networks we have created. 

All but my grandmother and grandfather survived the storm.  My grandparents were born in the lower ninth ward and refused to leave their home. There was nothing we could do to save them and I have struggled with the guilt of not forcing them to come with the rest of my family to higher ground.  I, along with my mother, stepfather, sister, aunt, and cousin, stayed in the American Can Condominiums, where my aunt lived. For four days we cried, laughed, prayed, and joined the other residents daily on the roof to wait for food, water, and any news that we might have missed while we turned off the battery powered radios. It was only after the
residents gathered all the elderly and wheelchair bound White residents that we received MRE's and bottled water.  Sadly, I learned the value of my people to this country: very little and almost non-existent.  I could go on and on about my story, but it would take a long time to do.

I deeply appreciate the focus that you all maintain on our struggle to rebuild our great city and culture.  I am now working again and happy to contribute to your establishment.  I hope that you all continue to highlight our successes as well as our failures as they are extremely important to our story and our futures.

For some of our readers, the $50 BC Paid Subscription fee is too burdensome for them to become BC Paid Subscribers.  BlackCommentator.com is committed to providing commentary, analysis and investigations to anyone wanting to read BC.  For this reason, we offer Complimentary BC Paid Subscriptions.  Here are some comments we have received from folks who have either requested a Complimentary BC Paid Subscription, or expressed an opinion about the Complimentary BC Paid Subscriptions:

Pasadena, CA

I appreciate the information you give about how to change type size when printing thus helping technically limited folks like me, as well as appreciating your offering complimentary subscriptions to people who cannot afford one.

Frisco, TX

I am a full-time student majoring in sociology who thoroughly enjoys reading your online periodical.  I have accessed it over the internet for almost a year and a half.  I was one of the (probably thousands) of readers who alerted you when James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal misrepresented the author of the Katrina study that was featured in your Jan. 5, 2006 issue.

I realize the need to provide financial support to publications such as yours, particular considering the dearth of black, progressive news outlets.  Unfortunately, because of my status as a full-time student, I can not afford the $50 paid subscription.  I intend to begin supporting blackcommentator.com as soon as I am financially able to do so.

University Heights, OH

I learned of your magazine today from Dr. Jeremiah Wright at a lecture in Cleveland.  I found the information valuable and will find a subscription very useful in my efforts to promote social justice in our community, (he shared insights on Walmart).  Thank you for the opportunity to receive a free subscription.

And then there are those who have taken that extra step to become BC Contributors.  You can read many of their names on the Friends of BC Page (formerly the Patrons' Page):

Arlington, TX

I love this site. Black people need their own media - media that informs, engages, & activates. Your site has done that for me & I thank you all for it. I will make it a point to promote your site to my friends & family, & I will do what little I can to support you financially w/ monthly contributions.

Littleton, CO

I am a retired teacher that was fortunate to discover BC two years ago and have become an avid reader. I decided to subscribe and make this additional contribution so that you could provide another subscription for anyone not able to afford it without dipping into your own funds. I wish I could afford to contribute more. I also wish you offered the email-your-friends option (the articles) so we could share BC with others who need to benefit from its perspective, insight and truth telling.

To email articles to your friends, click on the Send Page To Friend link near the upper left corner of any page

New York, NY

God speed in your campaign to capitalize this vital tool for our education and liberation. I will contribute as I am able in addition to my membership and encourage others to join.  Thank you for this truly international forum for black progressive discourse.

West Memphis, AR

My husband and I are retired and on fixed income.  Reading and sharing items on the net are our biggest pastime. We read your articles on Internet radio and direct people to our site.  We are 69 & 70 years of age. We will be glad to contribute from time to time whenever we can.

Bloomington, IN

Freedom must be paid for, and I will send you a check. You are boosting the African intellectual ambiance in the belly of the beast or the heart of the empire.  The heritage of struggle is meaningless to those people who are committed to Negrophobia and slavery. Your publication has been instrumental in making me keep my sanity in this insane epoch in history.  You have shown that you are historical consciousness and you have not betrayed your calling to speak the truth to power like Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells. I love your commitment and the power of your ideas which are transmitted through this medium every week.

Atlanta, GA

The most consistently clear-thinking commentary on today's issues.  If only more people could get the message.  My prayer is that meaningful action based on solid clear thinking such as in BC commentaries will be able to be accomplished.  I wish I could contribute more at this time and maybe will be able to do so in the future.

We are fortunate to have readers like you, the BC Paid Subscribers and BC Contributors.  While you represent every walk of life, ethnic background and economic group, you all share the same vision as those involved with BC on a day-to-day basis:  economic and social justice for all.  Thank you for continuing to support our efforts, and thank you for sharing your thoughts with BlackCommentator.com. You can reach me at [email protected].