# Does this forum have any African American members?



## Guest (Nov 4, 2004)

There is a black beekeeper a few miles
away from me. I met him at the local
beekeeper assocation meeting. He's
the only one I have ever met. 3 or 4
hives, and wife that is not crazy about
the idea.

In Virginia, we consider everyone to be
just plain "American".


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## SippyBees (Feb 17, 2004)

There's a rather large honey man out in Ca that buys queens from Russell apiaries that is African American. He likes Russell's queens much.... just came all the way to Ms to see Russell's operation this summer.... been buying queens from Russell for several years. I think he just wanted to try to make sure Russell was going to fill his orders for queens next spring... : )) A nice guy.. and I assume he knows what he is doing as he has done bees for several years now....


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## Kurt Bower (Aug 28, 2002)

For the record, I know of 2 African American beekeepers here in Guilford County (Greensboro) North Carolina.

regards,
Kurt


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

My son said to thank everyone who answered. 

Magnet-man

Curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought him back.


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## dickm (May 19, 2002)

Now that you mention it I don't recall seeing a black person at EAS or the ABF meetings. Since I'm a little colorblind I may not have noticed.

dickm


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## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

The only black person I have seen at any of our meetings was from South Africa. He was looking for someone to donate 200 hives for him to take back to Africa.


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## Tia (Nov 19, 2003)

One of our members at the Onslow County Beekeepers Association is black.


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## Sharkey (May 27, 2004)

Well,

Ona SORT OF related note......... lol. I recently read a very nice "chick-flicky" book about a young girl who runs away and ends up living with a beekeeper who is a black woman. Good story.
"The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd.
:->


------------------
It's Not The Destination, It's The Journey. We Cannot Change The Wind, But We CAN Trim The Sails.


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## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

Of course there are black beekeepers, there are Asian beekeepers, there are Indian (both India Indians and U.S. Indian) beekeepers, there are all races of beekeepers. Wasn't the question about being represented on the forums? If there are (or were), they are probably just sitting at their computer screens shaking their heads at the white folks who are discussing this.


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

My son has dark colored hair and is always getting stung on his head. I have grey hair and never get stung on the head. He figured that an African American might have a similar problem too. I told him it might not be an issue as long as they did not have buckfast bees. He had this problem when I was keeping buckfast. My black wennie dog is scared of bees now!

[This message has been edited by magnet-man (edited November 04, 2004).]


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## mark williams (Jan 19, 2003)

funny that you mentioned that I've also got a small black dog & they eat her up when she get's around them.never thought about it until now.>>>>Mark


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## DCH (Aug 30, 2004)

>Ona SORT OF related note......... lol. I recently read a very nice "chick-flicky" book about a young girl who runs away and ends up living with a beekeeper who is a black woman. Good story.
"The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd.
:->

My wife read that book. She liked it, too.


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## wayacoyote (Nov 3, 2003)

Mag-man, 
what a preceptive son. Have you two discussed what "African African" beekeepers do on that continent or the other countries where the black skin-tones prevail? Do their bees behave differently?

Interesting things to discuss.

WayaCoyote


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

Yes we have, but right now he is trying to figure out a way to kill the AHB and not the EHB. 

He is aware of the aggressiveness test that uses a black felt ball and the stings are counted. He has also observed that the buckfast stung the black weenie dog from hell, Lizzie, more than our little white dog with black spots, Sparky Barkie, and that Sparky got stung mostly on the black spots. 

He asked why anyone with dark skin would want to keep bees. He speculates there is a smaller percentage of the African American (AA) population who are beekeepers than in the White population. His main reasoning is stings are not enjoyable and an AA would likely be stung more; therefore AAs might find other hobbies more enjoyable. 

He asked what African beekeepers do. He did some research on the web and came up with a lot of pictures of dark skinned beekeepers wearing bee suits. He even found a picture of a native honey hunter dated to the beginning of the previous century. The man was climbing a tree with a torch and was covered in mud, dung and leaves for protection from the bees. The second picture showed him wrapping comb in leaves. 

He thought the hunter was crazy. I told him at the time that was likely the only sweet available and likely very valuable. He studied the picture some more and decided the hunter was quite ingenious and would be well protected from stings. 

We do need to keep in mind he is thinking of more aggressive bees.


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## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

>My son has dark colored hair and is always getting stung on his head. I have grey hair and never get stung on the head

Im follicle challenged and also never get stung on the head.


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2004)

If the "dark-colored hair" theory had any
merit, I would get stung ONLY on freckles.
(Those who have met me know of my impressive
collection of freckles - one of the larger
collections on the planet.)

That said, black tee-shirts are a VERY
bad idea when working hives.


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

When I say dark colored hair, I mean a very dark brown. Both my wife and son get stung mostly in the head. I think there is merit to the theory.

[This message has been edited by magnet-man (edited November 05, 2004).]


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

Who are some of the World's Famous Beekeepers?

Charles Henry Turner - In about 1890, Dr. Turner was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. His 30-plus research papers were written during breaks from teaching high school in St. Louis, as racial prejudicism barred him from working, teaching, and researching at colleges or universities. His work on colour-vision of bees and their recognition of patterns and shapes (and his ability to time bees' appearance for feedings) predated von Frisch's similar work and Dr. Turner's many published papers probably influenced the Nobel winner's work.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Beekeeping/fame.htm 

His research ties into this thread. http://www.beesource.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002745.html 

[This message has been edited by magnet-man (edited November 05, 2004).]


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## Darrel Wright (Jun 30, 2004)

I doubt the lack of dark skinned people on this thread would have anything to do with the increased risks of stinging, if that's what we are driving at here. I think it would have a lot more to do with the fact that blacks are an extreme minority in rural areas, and that people tend not to join clubs where they are an outlandish minority like 1 or 2 out of 50. This might be especially true considering the history of race relations between rural whites and blacks-- a history that is probably much more alive within the age group that traditionally tends to dominate beekeeping (old farts.) 

I would bet that the rate of beekeepers in Africa, India, and South America is probably higher than it is in the States, mostly because labor is cheaper and rural land and small farming operations more plentiful.


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

Darrel my son said maybe there were fewer blacks in the country. I was raised the South and I am not sure that is true. One thing we did discuss is the cost of beekeeping. It is not the cheapest hobby to get into. A garden is a whole lot cheaper and you reap your rewards a lot sooner. In New Orleans I could raise vegetables almost year round. Unfortunately it is not like that in Tulsa.

My wife reminds me how expensive the bees are every time I buy something for them. I then remind her of the $700 chicken coop I built for her three chickens. That is right three chickens. You have to jump through hoops to keep chickens in the city.


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## Darrel Wright (Jun 30, 2004)

Well magnet, your son is right, but not by as much as I would have thought. According to the census, 15% of blacks live in rural areas as opposed to 24% of whites. Still, these numbers would mean blacks are outnumbered by whites about 16-1 in rural areas, as opposed to 7-1 in metropolitan areas. Cost is probably another factor, though interestingly rural blacks are not much poorer than rural whites. One thing that is very clear from looking at the data is that rural counties are far more segregated than urban ones. 

I wish they had the figures for semi-rural areas, because my sense is that a lot of the people on here and in clubs actually live in less dense suburbs as opposed to true rural areas. I'd bet blacks are much less represented in these areas than either the city or the country.

I think the principle stands--minorities of all types are unlikely to join clubs in which they will remain a minority--perhaps be an even smaller minority than the society at large.


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## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

Hi Guys,

I too had noticed the same lack of ethnicity in photos in the bee mags. You can tell your son that a prominent bee reasearcher was black. He died about a decade ago and I can't for the life of me remember his name. When I do, I will post it.

Beekeepers are a minority all their own. Although beekeepers claim hundreds of thousands, the mags have less than twenty thousand subscribers. And of those, only a few hundred get their photos publish. So, there may be a larger unseen proportion of African American beekeepers.

Living in Casper, Wy there are few African Americans and even fewer beekeepers. My sons could have become very unique here, but after working bees commercially with their father, they didn't want anything to do with the bees. 

Regards
Dennis
Knowing bees are just lots of nasty work and no fun for my boys:> )


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

I am amazed at the number of members of my local bee club that dont subscribe to any bee publications.


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## Hillbillynursery (Nov 13, 2003)

Hey guys as a red head I sure have the freckles. Never noticed if the sting was in one or not. Most of my sting are thru my blue jeans. Of course that is not counting my intentional stings in my bad back for pain relieve. There was only 2 blacks that graduated the year I did of 300. My area is nearly all white. I saw a town just the oppisite in Missisipi. I love to drive and not care where I am going. I knew I would reach the coast somewhere as I was heading south. I came to this small rural town which had a gas station across from a McDonalds at the only red light I saw. I pulled into the McDonalds and got out of the car with the family. As we walked in the door it suddenly got quiet. Everyone was staring at my family. It was like they had never saw a white man before. On our way back to the car another car load of whites showed up. They to were from out of state. They asked me was it safe and if I knew the way to the interstate. I have to say that MCds was a very clean and had great service. The people did seem nervous around us but were friendly. From that day I have thought about how blacks around here must feel.


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## Geez (Oct 22, 2004)

Freckles don't count, lol. I was taught long ago that bees attack large dark objects out of self preservation instinct. ie: bears. This is also why they usually go for the eyes, as with large furry creatures, this is usually the most vulnerable area.


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