What happened to the "African" part of African American?

[water]

Testimony:

Was at a conference this week and was having a discussion with a group of people.

One guy (white) mentioned 3 books up front and was quoting away from them including "Outliers" by MG.

Talking about achievement using the books to reinforce his points.

I said, "I don't understand why we can't be like Imhotep who was a mathematician, a surgeon, being he father of medicine, an astronomer and philosopher. It's like we are digressing instead of progressing since we have people who can only specialize in one thing"


He gave me a blank stare


Why?


I shifted the reference point for excellence to an African, and showed that western civilization is yet to catch up.

End testimony.



As long as we don't explore the "African" part of African American, our frame of reference for our being is an enslaved African and our world view is then shaped from there.

However it is an incomplete worldview.

As long as we fail to connect to Africa before we as Africans landed on these shores, our accomplishments and sense of pride that informs our worldview will always be subjected to the will of white people.

We would have ceded our ability to come up with solutions outside of this current box we find ourselves in.

We CANNOT look for answers within the very box we are trying to escape from.

It will NOT work.

We have to use our innate creativity and there are numerous examples throughout the history of Africans everywhere to valid our ability.


So as we go into a new year, let us resolve to work to connect the dots and free us from the psychological barriers under which we operate.


Bless.

 

[water]

1 star huh

 

[largebillsonlyplease]

5 from me.

the disconnect is intentionally embedded. i was taught this from the time i could remember.

 

[water]

5 from me.

the disconnect is intentionally embedded. i was taught this from the time i could remember.

I don't want to see you here for a month

You grinding sideways or what?

 

[Cock Head Jones]

Preach. Mannnn...

not saying that this is the case in this story but there's definitely a subtle and sometimes not so subtle backlash to the influx of black and brown people entering the sacred world of startups. some of these dudes are silently sick to their stomachs.

they will be dying off eventually and most their kids see the world a lil differently.

and yea i can vouch for bills. grindtime. no days off.

 

[GAMETHEORY]

well...

 

[sammyjax]

I don't want to see you here for a month

You grinding sideways or what?

Preach. Mannnn...

not saying that this is the case in this story but there's definitely a subtle and sometimes not so subtle backlash to the influx of black and brown people entering the sacred world of startups. some of these dudes are silently sick to their stomachs.

they will be dying off eventually and most their kids see the world a lil differently.

and yea i can vouch for bills. grindtime. no days off.

agreed agreed agreed

i been gone for awhile. what you got cookin, young bills?

 

[dasmybikepunk]

You was on fire!


Too bad you was preaching from inside the POT tho' we not even what
they consider an ethnic ingredient

 

[largebillsonlyplease]

I don't want to see you here for a month

You grinding sideways or what?

Full steam ahead sir, full days ahead

 

[water]

Preach. Mannnn...

not saying that this is the case in this story but there's definitely a subtle and sometimes not so subtle backlash to the influx of black and brown people entering the sacred world of startups. some of these dudes are silently sick to their stomachs.

they will be dying off eventually and most their kids see the world a lil differently.

and yea i can vouch for bills. grindtime. no days off.

This week I spoke to every black person at that conference that i could.

I have some brain dump sessions i'm doing right now and will share later.

"No days off" - themainman


love it

 

[water]

Full steam ahead sir, full days ahead

Nice

 

[knightmelodic]

slowly, sometimes one person at a time, but surely, emancipate the minds of our people from the white programing we are exposed to from birth.

indeed, the first thing a person must realize is that they are IN a box in order to seek escape

 

[water]

slowly, sometimes one person at a time, but surely, emancipate the minds of our people from the white programing we are exposed to from birth.

indeed, the first thing a person must realize is that they are IN a box in order to seek escape

And when we see the walls, they expand it that much so that the lions feel that they are free even within the safari

 

[Camille]

Testimony:

Was at a conference this week and was having a discussion with a group of people.

One guy (white) mentioned 3 books up front and was quoting away from them including "Outliers" by MG.

Talking about achievement using the books to reinforce his points.

I said, "I don't understand why we can't be like Imhotep who was a mathematician, a surgeon, being he father of medicine, an astronomer and philosopher. It's like we are digressing instead of progressing since we have people who can only specialize in one thing"


He gave me a blank stare


Why?


I shifted the reference point for excellence to an African, and showed that western civilization is yet to catch up.

End testimony.



As long as we don't explore the "African" part of African American, our frame of reference for our being is an enslaved African and our world view is then shaped from there.

However it is an incomplete worldview.

As long as we fail to connect to Africa before we as Africans landed on these shores, our accomplishments and sense of pride that informs our worldview will always be subjected to the will of white people.

We would have ceded our ability to come up with solutions outside of this current box we find ourselves in.

We CANNOT look for answers within the very box we are trying to escape from.

It will NOT work.

We have to use our innate creativity and there are numerous examples throughout the history of Africans everywhere to valid our ability.


So as we go into a new year, let us resolve to work to connect the dots and free us from the psychological barriers under which we operate.


Bless.

I've spoken to someone else regarding African history and stories, and one of the points made in that violence in our communities panel from BET/TD Jakes was that our history didn't start with slavery, so this has interested me but I haven't pursued it. Have you already posted content on here about this topic or suggested reading? I downloaded the yuguru book you and Billz suggested, but I haven't read it yet. I'd be interested in any resources you have.

 

[water]

I've spoken to someone else regarding African history and stories, and one of the points made in that violence in our communities panel from BET/TD Jakes was that our history didn't start with slavery, so this has interested me but I haven't pursued it. Have you already posted content on here about this topic or suggested reading? I downloaded the yuguru book you and Billz suggested, but I haven't read it yet. I'd be interested in any resources you have.

Check out my #2 book of all time (yurugu is #1)

Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D

 

[Camille]

Check out my #2 book of all time (yurugu is #1)

Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D

Thanx...downloading now.

 

[KingTaharqa]

Check out my #2 book of all time (yurugu is #1)

Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D

The greatest book ever written. Where I got my namesake.

 

[water]

The greatest book ever written. Where I got my namesake.

Ahhhh.....





I have read literally thousands of books and this is my #2

Totally changed me as a young man and gave me the confidence to go thru life with the full knowledge that I do have the capability to impact the world on grand scale.

Never looked back since, can't be shaken

 

[BigATLslim]

Bookmarked, subbed, and this should be a stick all the way to the New Year.

...mods...

 

[spider705]

subbed.....

I came to this realization a few years ago, the fact that we don't know our history and thus don't really have pride for ourselves, family, community, etc. Ever since I've been trying to learn a little more everyday.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

[Alderuhen]

Nzinga spirit possessed your body ...

 

[water]

Nzinga spirit possessed your body ...

Ogun

 

[GAMETHEORY]

Kay,

First of all its a subject that has generated a lot of interest among Africans and African Americans through the years. And it continues to be one of great misunderstanding between the two sides, in spite of increased contacts and communication between Africa and Black America, and between individual Africans and African Americans in the United States and in Africa. Even some people such as Professor Harold Cruse of the University of Michigan in contemporary times, and others such as Professor E. Franklin Frazier of Howard University in the past, contend that after more than 300 years of physical separation since the slave trade, virtually all cultural ties between Africa and black America have been severed, I believe that there are still some elements in African-American culture which can be traced back to Africa. I might as well reiterate the words of NELSON MANDELA when he said that that THE BLOOD THAT UNITE US IS THICKER THAN THE WATER THAT SEPARATE US.

But this argument was also made by other prominent figures in the past. One of them was Kwame Nkrumah when he was a student in the United States. He once debated Professor Frazier at Howard University on this subject, contending that there were still vestiges of African culture among African Americans, proving that slavery and centuries of physical separation had not erased all cultural ties to Africa.

Obviously Nkrumah won the debate, partly because of his oratorical skills which served him well years later when he became a leader of the African independence movement and president of Ghana, but mainly because of his factual presentation. However, on the other hand Frazier maintained his position and the two agreed to disagree.

You've brought a very good thread but unfortunately, from my point of view not all African Americans have abandoned the AFRICAN part in them but rather the dynamics of identity has changed and I'm afraid the 21st Century with its globalization one would have thought we would be closer to African bredren but as time goes by we're becoming more and more apart simply because we've left that job to whites to define our cultural, economic, political and social KINSHIP which is rather sad.

I mean how do you liberate a mind that's more comfortable to call himself a demeaning name such as NIGGA?

I rest my case.

 

[Camille]

Kay,

First of all its a subject that has generated a lot of interest among Africans and African Americans through the years. And it continues to be one of great misunderstanding between the two sides, in spite of increased contacts and communication between Africa and Black America, and between individual Africans and African Americans in the United States and in Africa. Even some people such as Professor Harold Cruse of the University of Michigan in contemporary times, and others such as Professor E. Franklin Frazier of Howard University in the past, contend that after more than 300 years of physical separation since the slave trade, virtually all cultural ties between Africa and black America have been severed, I believe that there are still some elements in African-American culture which can be traced back to Africa. I might as well reiterate the words of NELSON MANDELA when he said that that THE BLOOD THAT UNITE US IS THICKER THAN THE WATER THAT SEPARATE US.

But this argument was also made by other prominent figures in the past. One of them was Kwame Nkrumah when he was a student in the United States. He once debated Professor Frazier at Howard University on this subject, contending that there were still vestiges of African culture among African Americans, proving that slavery and centuries of physical separation had not erased all cultural ties to Africa.

Obviously Nkrumah won the debate, partly because of his oratorical skills which served him well years later when he became a leader of the African independence movement and president of Ghana, but mainly because of his factual presentation. However, on the other hand Frazier maintained his position and the two agreed to disagree.

You've brought a very good thread but unfortunately, from my point of view not all African Americans have abandoned the AFRICAN part in them but rather the dynamics of identity has changed and I'm afraid the 21st Century with its globalization one would have thought we would be closer to African bredren but as time goes by we're becoming more and more apart simply because we've left that job to whites to define our cultural, economic, political and social KINSHIP which is rather sad.

I mean how do you liberate a mind that's more comfortable to call himself a demeaning name such as NIGGA?

I rest my case.

Are you saying because black Americans have been separated from the continent of Africa for so long, we have nothing to learn from the greatness of our ancestors? Or that we CAN'T learn? Please clarify as this is a somewhat negative comment on an otherwise positive thread.

 

[water]

Great video.

However listen from 1:30:00 mark Dr Henrik Clarke






You can kill something by neglecting it - Dr Clarke

 

[GAMETHEORY]

Are you saying because black Americans have been separated from the continent of Africa for so long, we have nothing to learn from the greatness of our ancestors? Or that we CAN'T learn? Please clarify as this is a somewhat negative comment on an otherwise positive thread.

Thanks for your input Camile.

I regard myself as an old member in this forum but rarely comment on issues raised by others on subject such as this unless I have something meaningful to contribute.

First of all, AFRICANS don't feel the same way about everything just like other people don't nor do they think alike anymore than whites, Orientals and others do. But there are some things on which many of them tend to agree or share perceptions because of their common African background and history. One of those subjects is their attitude towards African Americans. But even on this subject one cannot generalize and say that is how all Africans feel or think.

Secondly, most of Africans who us come to the States with little understanding of the history and complexities of the African American experience in AMERICA country. Beside Martin Luther King and Marcus Garvey, very few Africans - even the educated ones - know about the pivotal role played by numerous prominent and other nameless African Americans in the development of America country. Without understanding the history of the African Americans and their relationship with the White establishment, otherwise Africans will forever be wallowing in the cesspool of misconceptions and hearsay.

Yes, African Americans can learn about about the ancestors and history and I never said otherwise in my initial post. Perhaps you can re-read my initial post and know the exact part that you did not understand.

 

[Camille]

Thanks for your input Camile.

I regard myself as an old member in this forum but rarely comment on issues raised by others on subject such as this unless I have something meaningful to contribute.

First of all, AFRICANS don't feel the same way about everything just like other people don't nor do they think alike anymore than whites, Orientals and others do. But there are some things on which many of them tend to agree or share perceptions because of their common African background and history. One of those subjects is their attitude towards African Americans. But even on this subject one cannot generalize and say that is how all Africans feel or think.

Secondly, most of Africans who us come to the States with little understanding of the history and complexities of the African American experience in AMERICA country. Beside Martin Luther King and Marcus Garvey, very few Africans - even the educated ones - know about the pivotal role played by numerous prominent and other nameless African Americans in the development of America country. Without understanding the history of the African Americans and their relationship with the White establishment, otherwise Africans will forever be wallowing in the cesspool of misconceptions and hearsay.

Yes, African Americans can learn about about the ancestors and history and I never said otherwise in my initial post. Perhaps you can re-read my initial post and know the exact part that you did not understand.

The part of your post that concerned me is below

You've brought a very good thread but unfortunately, from my point of view not all African Americans have abandoned the AFRICAN part in them but rather the dynamics of identity has changed and I'm afraid the 21st Century with its globalization one would have thought we would be closer to African bredren but as time goes by we're becoming more and more apart simply because we've left that job to whites to define our cultural, economic, political and social KINSHIP which is rather sad.

I mean how do you liberate a mind that's more comfortable to call himself a demeaning name such as NIGGA?

I rest my case.

That made me think that you thought that the premise and/or purpose of this thread was pointless. Or as though folx who may use the word "nigga" were not worth the effort to educate. If I misinterpreted your thoughts, I apologize, but that's how it reads to me. Amongst my own friends and family in my immediate circle I can count 3 who use the word "nigga" and only one on a consistent basis. I'm sure that I'm not the only black person for whom this is typical.

Very few people are beyond hope at all, but knowledge is not passed on and enlightenment normally doesn't come all at once for the masses. Normally one person is enlightened, they enlighten the people around them, and so on having a ripple effect. Anyone who has a "nigga" mindset for a lack of a better phrase, may or may not be seeking to mentally or spiritually enlighten themselves, there is no way of knowing with out engaging them personally. I think that people who want knowledge will seek it, regardless of the situations they find themselves a product of or living in. Even if that is not the case, just because someone may not seek to avail themselves of resources available, doesn't mean that Kaya and others shouldn't continue to put the knowledge out there. Some will pick it up, some will ignore it. And for the ones who do pick it up, some will take some part of it, all of it, or none of it, or may only find it applies at a future point, but it's not adding any stress on them to drop the info. If someone has questions they will ask and they can be enlightened further, and/or debate and if they don't it's no loss.

 

[SaviorMachine]

They want us to esteem their dichotomy of African/African American
so much, that you can readily see it when they are confronted
with it. Liberal white are more affective in this area. Listen
to how they use the term African American, as if it is a
hypocorism to African.

In their minds, the halcyon days were when they could dictate
such manner of thinking and project it as it is true.

This is a natural consequence to the Information Age.
The lies they told and subliminally uphold are unravelling
before their very eyes.

 

[exiledking]

some of this I agree with

 

[ankhheru]

i got 5 on it...stars that is.

 

[Djmarkxr7]

subbed.....

I came to this realization a few years ago, the fact that we don't know our history and thus don't really have pride for ourselves, family, community, etc. Ever since I've been trying to learn a little more everyday.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

Truth.

 

[GAMETHEORY]

The part of your post that concerned me is below



That made me think that you thought that the premise and/or purpose of this thread was pointless. Or as though folx who may use the word "nigga" were not worth the effort to educate. If I misinterpreted your thoughts, I apologize, but that's how it reads to me. Amongst my own friends and family in my immediate circle I can count 3 who use the word "nigga" and only one on a consistent basis. I'm sure that I'm not the only black person for whom this is typical.

Very few people are beyond hope at all, but knowledge is not passed on and enlightenment normally doesn't come all at once for the masses. Normally one person is enlightened, they enlighten the people around them, and so on having a ripple effect. Anyone who has a "nigga" mindset for a lack of a better phrase, may or may not be seeking to mentally or spiritually enlighten themselves, there is no way of knowing with out engaging them personally. I think that people who want knowledge will seek it, regardless of the situations they find themselves a product of or living in. Even if that is not the case, just because someone may not seek to avail themselves of resources available, doesn't mean that Kaya and others shouldn't continue to put the knowledge out there. Some will pick it up, some will ignore it. And for the ones who do pick it up, some will take some part of it, all of it, or none of it, or may only find it applies at a future point, but it's not adding any stress on them to drop the info. If someone has questions they will ask and they can be enlightened further, and/or debate if they don't it's no loss.

I guess I should have addressed in detail the Globalization, Kinship and the inter-connection between African Americans in the 21st Century. It is saddening that to most African Americans, according to comedian Chris Rock, Africa is far, far away beyond the oceans! True but not so quite exact. A lot of African Americans have been bought into the stereotyping that Africans have perpetually received from the mainly WHITE OWNED mass media in the West: that Africans are all dirt poor, ignorant, uncultured and at various stages of starvation living in the Hobbesian world where life is short, bruttish and nasty.
Well, there might be some truth to that but NOT quite entirely.

I will recommend anyone in similar circumstances to utilize the many opportunities that are available to us in order to bridge this sea of ignorance....in this day and age The internet, is a prime example. There are quality TV programs out there too that are very informative on the African and the African American experience. PBS and C-SPAN as well as National Public radio offer a window of opportunity to those of struggling to achieve this goal. That's how some of our people met contemporary African American thinkers Eric Mike Dyson, Cornell West, Louis Gates jr,Charles Ogletree etc...

It is amazing the number of times, in defending the maintenance of black history month, our folks say things like “We don’t know our history” or “They didn’t teach us African history in school”. It will be irresponsible of Africans to wait each year for Black History Month to learn about their history. There are a numerous and free resources available that provide information on African history from an African perspective. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and our children on African history. We can decide to buy our children books and resources that will raise their self-esteem, or buy them the latest PLAY STATIONS& X-BOX - the choice is ours. Finance is no excuse. There are families on minimum wage or benefits who raise their children with positive African values, history, and knowledge of who they are.

It is important for us to acknowledge what Africans have achieved in spite of the barriers. We should not, like the mainstream, continuously tell the one or two stories, such as the poor and helpless story, or the under-achievement story.

We cannot afford to rob our children of hope by regurgitating the tired story of African Americans in America as powerless victims of the system, who do not own anything. African Americans are the descendants of overcomers, the likes of Nana of the Maroons, Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, , etc.

As far as business is concerned...thats where I completely lost hope for African Americans getting a pie in Africa, but thats a different subject all together...

 

[water]

subbed.....

I came to this realization a few years ago, the fact that we don't know our history and thus don't really have pride for ourselves, family, community, etc. Ever since I've been trying to learn a little more everyday.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

That shit changed my life in a fundamental way.

I now strive for more things way beyond the thought process of european outlook.

The way i conduct myself, the way I observe energy transfer from people around me, I'm much more discerning, intuitive etc.....

Of course it also altered my diet to ensure only premium gas goes into this machine

 

[Camille]

I guess I should have addressed in detail the Globalization, Kinship and the inter-connection between African Americans in the 21st Century. It is saddening that to most African Americans, according to comedian Chris Rock, Africa is far, far away beyond the oceans! True but not so quite exact. A lot of African Americans have been bought into the stereotyping that Africans have perpetually received from the mainly WHITE OWNED mass media in the West: that Africans are all dirt poor, ignorant, uncultured and at various stages of starvation living in the Hobbesian world where life is short, bruttish and nasty.
Well, there might be some truth to that but NOT quite entirely.

I will recommend anyone in similar circumstances to utilize the many opportunities that are available to us in order to bridge this sea of ignorance....in this day and age The internet, is a prime example. There are quality TV programs out there too that are very informative on the African and the African American experience. PBS and C-SPAN as well as National Public radio offer a window of opportunity to those of struggling to achieve this goal. That's how some of our people met contemporary African American thinkers Eric Mike Dyson, Cornell West, Louis Gates jr,Charles Ogletree etc...

It is amazing the number of times, in defending the maintenance of black history month, our folks say things like “We don’t know our history” or “They didn’t teach us African history in school”. It will be irresponsible of Africans to wait each year for Black History Month to learn about their history. There are a numerous and free resources available that provide information on African history from an African perspective. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and our children on African history. We can decide to buy our children books and resources that will raise their self-esteem, or buy them the latest PLAY STATIONS& X-BOX - the choice is ours. Finance is no excuse. There are families on minimum wage or benefits who raise their children with positive African values, history, and knowledge of who they are.

It is important for us to acknowledge what Africans have achieved in spite of the barriers. We should not, like the mainstream, continuously tell the one or two stories, such as the poor and helpless story, or the under-achievement story.

We cannot afford to rob our children of hope by regurgitating the tired story of African Americans in America as powerless victims of the system, who do not own anything. African Americans are the descendants of overcomers, the likes of Nana of the Maroons, Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, , etc.

As far as business is concerned...thats where I completely lost hope for African Americans getting a pie in Africa, but thats a different subject all together...

OK. This still doesn't clarify your previous response but something tells me I won't get a clarification so I'm not going to pursue it further.

Most of the schools here are public schools. There is a small percentage of people who home school, and and an even smaller percentage of those who are black who home school. We weren't writing the history books, so the only mention of blacks you had for the most part were in relation to slavery, not the contributions as inventors, etc. If you've seen any of the uproar the last couple of years, we still have folx in Texas trying to rewrite history to make it seem less brutal. For the most part, teachers have always supplemented, at least in my experience, some info not outside the text books, and I've had a really good black history teacher who would talk about things not in the text book, but not actual history relating to Africa. For the most part the curriculum in the class rooms have to be approved. There have always been those who would teach and discuss black history, but not on a widespread, national scale. We don't really wait until February to discuss black history, but that is a month where this is an intense focus on it. It's be come more commercialized with companies putting out ads celebrating black history month, who can push off as far as I'm concerned if they don't feature and hire blacks during the rest of the year, but that's another discussion. I think not living here and seeing mainly only the images that are put out, which tend to be more negative than how the majority of the population is actually living. If all you see of America is the hip hop, reality tv and idiots arguing on a porn board, then I can understand not having a well rounded picture of what goes on. Not to say there is not negativity, but that isn't the full picture.


As far as business ownership/entrepreneurship I actually think we can learn a lot from blacks from other countries. We tend generally, in my opinion, to have a permissive attitude where we seek permission to do things, where blacks from other countries where the leadership and authority is also black, have an entitlement mindset to ownership. That is in my (admittedly narrow) experience witnessing just general attitudes. Of course that doesn't apply to everyone, I believe we have quite a few business owners here on the board. We do have a history of being literally burned and legislated out of progress we were making and I think some, at least in the past or amongst older folx, have had the attitude that whites won't "let" us advance, so they don't try, or only try to advance so far, but that isn't true of everyone, we've always had fighters who put their lives on the line for rights and freedoms. I think what actually holds us back in this day and age is the lack of knowledge of how to do things, not a lack of willingness or desire. Also a lack of trust in others. I don't think we are powerless, but I don't think we know how to effectively wield the power that is available to us.

Anyway... good discussion, but I'm out.

 

[shaddyvillethug]

Colin