Hello Martin.

Thanks for the compliment.

Let me clarify that I think that there may indeed be other African Americans who have posted on Mudcat as Guests...but it certainly appears as though I'm the only 'acknowledged' African American who regularly posts here.

I'd love to know why...

I know that I encouraged an African American girlfriend to join Mudcat. She lurked for a while and she posted a couple of times. But she told me that the Darkie Days thread turned her off..and said she was through..

If people would pardon my saying so, Mudcat is not the most aesthetically appealing website..and if people are unfamiliar with text based discussion forums and aren't knowledgeable about British folk music the music threads are rather daunting to get through.

The first time I came to this site, I didn't get it..It took me two years coming back and forth a couple of times before I got Internet savy enough to figure out what it's all about. I finally figured out that 'threads' were like conversations that you could join..or you could check out the subjects of older threads and re-start the conversation again..or you could introduce a new subject that you are interested in and others might also be interested in.

I KNOW that I not the only African American who is interested in engaging in intellectual exchanges..Or witty funny exchanges, or the dozens or...well you get my drift...

And more and more Black people have home computers..so that can't be it...

Bottom line, I think this is a matter of letting people know about Mudcat.

I'm tellin other people I know and I have a hyperlink on my website Cocojams..not that very many people know about that either.

???? so who knows????