t starts with loving yourself as a people; while helping others learn to heal. The Honorable Marcus Garvey understood that. He worked diligently at improving our self-image. He chose to share his life with us—concerning himself with the issues that concern us—addressing our needs as a people by using himself as the example of how conduct should be; in an attempt to build a more welcoming society for us. "There is no sacred ground for the conquered. . ." We came here as slaves—and in traditional Africa—slavery is designated for the ones who lost wars. For years, we have been at America's doorstep vying for social acceptance from its' mainstream—seeking bread, clothing and a home—and found ourselves constantly being shunned by American society. Needless to say, our people have been relegated to the bottom of America's social barrel; without a thorough understanding of how we've gotten there—where we originally came from—or what our people were doing before we got here. Arguably, when some of our own people sold their brothers [meaning other Black tribes] into "White slavery," the act itself did not give caucasians a very high impression of us. The act of selling our own into slavery (combined with Europe's under-handed colonial politics) has given the Western world the opinion that since we were at one point America's servants without real social protest from Africa, and that we ourselves never chose to struggle for our own sovereignty right here within America; makes us discarded, dim-witted, inferior, individualistically minded people. That's a pretty tough moniker to take; especially when the reality is, you descend [Black people] from the original inhabitants of this earth, and are the fathers and mothers of civilization—who are being placed in the bowels of the Western world [with many of our own people not having a clue how this came to be or its' social significance]. One could get the impression that America thinks along similar lines to the traditional African thinker concerning servitude, slavery, and those conquered. . .
Black people in America have set many of America's trends and traditions. Blacks have altered America's language with ebonics; dominated American sports with their athletic prowess, and gave birth to what "cool" looks like—and yet, as Black people, we are still under appreciated by America for our contributions. So much so, I would dare say, that if a Black person is successful in American society, he or she does so—despite the public opinion of the rest of American society. Our people have put our lives on the chopping block for America; we have put our lives on the line for the colonial man for less than half-the-rights and possessions he has; and yet we are treated 'lower than dirt' [inferiorly] by American society; as though we were part of a class of losers in some war of significance. Anyone in America who thinks any different, are welcome to trade places with our kind and see how the rest of America treats Blacks [for more information on the subject of camouflaging oneself as a Blackman to see how America feels, should read the book; Black like Me, by John Howard Griffin]. My main question to you is: Why do we try so hard to be socially accepted by these eternally ungrateful people? Are we that naive to believe things might change after more than a hundred years?
History is mainly told by marauders who are victorious in their upheavals; but chronology is a synchronous account of events which have occurred during the passing of time. People can choose to believe anything they wish to believe, but it is the chronicle which tells the story of the synchronous blend of experience with the analogous passing of time. Many of our people may be trapped in a fantasy, believing that they are accepted by the upper crust of mainstream White society, thinking they have just as much of a chance to achieve the full "American Dream"—while possessing little tolerance for the underprivileged within their own lot; But that doesn't change the chronological facts that right now Western society in America are burning the fires for Bill Cosby, it is judging our people and executing Black twenty-somethings by prejudice police in several states; then finding the cops not guilty in typical fascist fashion within their courts of apartheid and public opinion. Their bigoted elements are planting stories in the press concerning Cosby; trying to find women who will testify against him (while debunking his family oriented image), as well as blaming our young Black men for their own wrongful deaths—all while wearing a mask of politically correctness, and an appearance of being totally uninvolved or associated with such events. The bad part of this scenario is, some of our own people believe that part of our own people are worthless—or worst yet—that when they are betrayed by their rich neighbors, the rest of our people should come to their aid during their persecution. . .
Just because a person has the skills to navigate around the bigotry, doesn't mean that same person is exempt from getting treated like scum by the rest of society at some other juncture: What happens to me, could happen to you and vice versa; at another place in time. These are other people looking at us as a separate entity from them. Among those mentioned, are the ones who are running this country and making decisions concerning our livelihood. Those who don't know Black folks intimately, believe all the stereotypes and rumors concerning our people. When this happens, none of us are safe, wherever this is concerned; because whether it is acted upon or not, there is a general distrust of us as a people. There is also a reluctance to hire Black men, due to a fear of empowering a supposed "enemy." So many of us go out of our way to prove ourselves to those types of Whites, that we are not like the others [the stereotype of Black people], as a means or attempt to allay their fears. The problem is, some of us bought into this bigoted stereotype, discriminating against our own as though they are the enemy—and at times working against the rest of the group; thinking themselves to be free and accepted into theirs. What we must realize is, we are not the enemy or the menace to society. We must also acknowledge that not all of us have the ability to navigate around the bigotry in America, while keeping a pleasant demeanor—and for those who are unable; life can be very frustrating. And it is not that I am making an excuse for politically incorrectness or incorrect behavior; but when pushed to the breaking point, most folks will push back in the best way they know how; and surely everyone can appreciate that (whether the response is correct or not). My question to those of us who seem to enjoy the glamorous life among the social elite is; Would you still be in good with your influential 'friends' and affiliates, if it suddenly became disadvantageous for them to be associated with you or you lost your usefulness?
You would think, after going through all these hard times and circumstances together, Blacks would be able to rely on one another more than we are currently capable. We've been through the same 'hard-times' and humiliations—so why aren't we able to achieve more camaraderie?
Well, some of those reasons are expounded upon above. So rather than using what they got to get what they want from Western society—some of us take on their cultural standards and prejudices as well. In other words, to the so-called African, Blacks in America act more Western than the White man himself! So I can really identify with Saladin and my brother Unikue when they say, "I want the loot, not their lifestyle." The point is, we have our own culture—and it is evolving—even in the diaspora, and most of us should work more diligently at recovering it. One of the reasons why it is not more actively pursued in America by Blacks, is that the benefits are more psychological than lucrative; and in some cases, many of us have not identified the source of the issue. The truth of the matter is, Black thinking is vastly different from our European counterpart—and even though knowing their culture is lucrative for trade and employment; we do not see "eye to eye" on a number of things—concerning life and existence. Beyond these points; when the Western man colonizes a place, he promotes his culture as the dominant culture and judges everything from that distorted point of view, because he feels he is totally in charge. Understanding where this is coming from, we should preserve the trading of our labor for the employ of those whom we somewhat agree with—on some level(s); since the real gold in the trade is the submission of labor to a cause, and not the money that you work for.
When I look at a "manufactured country," such as the state of Israel, I see a state formed by the Allied powers in 1947; a state surrounded by her elder neighbors in the Middle East: What I see is a group of people that was once oppressed; trying to oppress or intimidate others within the newly formed environment: This type of behavior is similar to the children of abusive parents which eventually become parents themselves—only to become abusive to the next generation of the family's children: This is a behavior which develops into a pattern or culture of cultivated abusive behavior—which in the case of Black people that live in America—it is a culture of 'self-hatred' or 'blaming the victim' of such abuse. Many of the "well to do" Blacks blame the "less-cultured" Blacks for the type of ill-treatment perpetrated upon them by the culture that certain Whites have in American culture; a perception which has White people treating Black people this way, as though they deserve that type of treatment because of how they behave or how they are as a people—and those who can escape from such evilness, are ashamed to admit that they come from such weak and lowly people which could be subject to such abuse. When our people were released from slavery in America, many of us were only released with the "clothes on our backs" or the things we were wearing [which is one of the reasons why those words appear so much in Rhythm and Blues songs, not to mention Blues]. Not all of us were as fortunate as others to rise above such adversities and actually acquire great wealth; nor could all of us be. And not all of us are as honorable as to rise from a living hell with our dignity in tack; i.e., without compromising our integrity as Black people or as a man or a woman.
In my earlier years of upbringing, it was Malcolm X who took on the challenges of our people—acting like a loving father—who taught us how to love ourselves. And we learned these things concerning his views on life—not from one-on-one contact—but from watching him; hearing him on tapes and albums and watching him in debates with renown critics and certain news celebrities around the world. We admired Malcolm as a teacher, but the real teacher was Malcolm's father, Earl Little. He led by example. Malcolm spoke about him in his autobiography. Both Malcolm and his father were victims of racism but were never racists themselves, they merely stated the chronology of Blacks in White America. Never could be Civil or Human Rights activists, if the treatment towards Blacks were civil or humane. Malcolm was "schooled" by a father who believed in the teachings of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey. It was he who set the posture and tone for young Malcolm concerning manhood, leadership and nationalism. Garvey, Earl and Malcolm were people who believed in diaspora as a concept [When I say belief, I don't mean "belief" as in faith, I mean resoluteness in the sense of steadfastness to a cause]. Their steadfastness was passed down to my generation by Malcolm X. The only way we Blacks who were taught by White teachers in Black schools—knew about the magnitude of the Honorable Marcus Garvey was through the impact of Malcolm's presence with the Nation of Islam: It was Malcolm who started Muhammad Speaks; (the Nation's newspaper) and it is newspapers which influences readership. Each seed for each generation. . . [The problem is America has a bigger media machine and more espionage to bury things.]
Well, some of those reasons are expounded upon above. So rather than using what they got to get what they want from Western society—some of us take on their cultural standards and prejudices as well. In other words, to the so-called African, Blacks in America act more Western than the White man himself! So I can really identify with Saladin and my brother Unikue when they say, "I want the loot, not their lifestyle." The point is, we have our own culture—and it is evolving—even in the diaspora, and most of us should work more diligently at recovering it. One of the reasons why it is not more actively pursued in America by Blacks, is that the benefits are more psychological than lucrative; and in some cases, many of us have not identified the source of the issue. The truth of the matter is, Black thinking is vastly different from our European counterpart—and even though knowing their culture is lucrative for trade and employment; we do not see "eye to eye" on a number of things—concerning life and existence. Beyond these points; when the Western man colonizes a place, he promotes his culture as the dominant culture and judges everything from that distorted point of view, because he feels he is totally in charge. Understanding where this is coming from, we should preserve the trading of our labor for the employ of those whom we somewhat agree with—on some level(s); since the real gold in the trade is the submission of labor to a cause, and not the money that you work for.
When I look at a "manufactured country," such as the state of Israel, I see a state formed by the Allied powers in 1947; a state surrounded by her elder neighbors in the Middle East: What I see is a group of people that was once oppressed; trying to oppress or intimidate others within the newly formed environment: This type of behavior is similar to the children of abusive parents which eventually become parents themselves—only to become abusive to the next generation of the family's children: This is a behavior which develops into a pattern or culture of cultivated abusive behavior—which in the case of Black people that live in America—it is a culture of 'self-hatred' or 'blaming the victim' of such abuse. Many of the "well to do" Blacks blame the "less-cultured" Blacks for the type of ill-treatment perpetrated upon them by the culture that certain Whites have in American culture; a perception which has White people treating Black people this way, as though they deserve that type of treatment because of how they behave or how they are as a people—and those who can escape from such evilness, are ashamed to admit that they come from such weak and lowly people which could be subject to such abuse. When our people were released from slavery in America, many of us were only released with the "clothes on our backs" or the things we were wearing [which is one of the reasons why those words appear so much in Rhythm and Blues songs, not to mention Blues]. Not all of us were as fortunate as others to rise above such adversities and actually acquire great wealth; nor could all of us be. And not all of us are as honorable as to rise from a living hell with our dignity in tack; i.e., without compromising our integrity as Black people or as a man or a woman.
In my earlier years of upbringing, it was Malcolm X who took on the challenges of our people—acting like a loving father—who taught us how to love ourselves. And we learned these things concerning his views on life—not from one-on-one contact—but from watching him; hearing him on tapes and albums and watching him in debates with renown critics and certain news celebrities around the world. We admired Malcolm as a teacher, but the real teacher was Malcolm's father, Earl Little. He led by example. Malcolm spoke about him in his autobiography. Both Malcolm and his father were victims of racism but were never racists themselves, they merely stated the chronology of Blacks in White America. Never could be Civil or Human Rights activists, if the treatment towards Blacks were civil or humane. Malcolm was "schooled" by a father who believed in the teachings of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey. It was he who set the posture and tone for young Malcolm concerning manhood, leadership and nationalism. Garvey, Earl and Malcolm were people who believed in diaspora as a concept [When I say belief, I don't mean "belief" as in faith, I mean resoluteness in the sense of steadfastness to a cause]. Their steadfastness was passed down to my generation by Malcolm X. The only way we Blacks who were taught by White teachers in Black schools—knew about the magnitude of the Honorable Marcus Garvey was through the impact of Malcolm's presence with the Nation of Islam: It was Malcolm who started Muhammad Speaks; (the Nation's newspaper) and it is newspapers which influences readership. Each seed for each generation. . . [The problem is America has a bigger media machine and more espionage to bury things.]
Garvey took on the challenge of changing our opinion about our self image (far ahead of what he was efficient at); because he was vehemently committed about forging our people into a solid group—no matter where the European scattered or colonized us, his presence was there attempting to change it. On this topic, Garvey was a very charismatic, possessed with an unconquerable persona. The reason why little is taught about him in American schoolbooks (or when it is discussed it is more an emphasis of how the Universal Negro Improvement Association failed) is to discourage any attempt of nationalism on the part of Black people in America. Yes, the Honorable Marcus Garvey and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad took on many risks; but their overall objective was to forge a love for Black people—wherever we may find them—creating an industry and allegiance to those of our skin. This is something which neither never gave up on: The belief in our people as a whole. And for some of us, that's all we need—someone to have faith in us—something which is far from anything you can expect from American society and it's cultural practices; but definitely something invaluable.
The Honorable Marcus Garvey's dedication was connected to his vision of us as a people—but in erecting the UNIA, he also realized that not all that followed him had the same level of imagination, vision and foresight he possessed; Therefore he kept a great many things close to the vest, where others felt he should have delegated more. Maybe that is true; but in my view, his accomplishments would have not been as far reaching, had he done so. His plans were understood by him and consolidated by him; and in order to do so with others, the others had to be on the same wavelength. We are all here to learn lessons in life—but all of us are not as submissive to our findings as one might need to be; Many of us are often blindsided by our egos; and it's a known fact that e-g-o almost always means Edges-Godliness-Out. Not seeing this level of awareness amongst his willing members, Garvey worked with the various levels available by guarding the mindset of the United Negro Improvement Association like a mother hawk protects its' nest, or a founder/scientist safeguard his or her experiments; making it a landmark and goal of his followers.
The Honorable Marcus Garvey's dedication was connected to his vision of us as a people—but in erecting the UNIA, he also realized that not all that followed him had the same level of imagination, vision and foresight he possessed; Therefore he kept a great many things close to the vest, where others felt he should have delegated more. Maybe that is true; but in my view, his accomplishments would have not been as far reaching, had he done so. His plans were understood by him and consolidated by him; and in order to do so with others, the others had to be on the same wavelength. We are all here to learn lessons in life—but all of us are not as submissive to our findings as one might need to be; Many of us are often blindsided by our egos; and it's a known fact that e-g-o almost always means Edges-Godliness-Out. Not seeing this level of awareness amongst his willing members, Garvey worked with the various levels available by guarding the mindset of the United Negro Improvement Association like a mother hawk protects its' nest, or a founder/scientist safeguard his or her experiments; making it a landmark and goal of his followers.
Malcolm X's father was a Garveyite. Malcolm used this knowledge to form the internal structure of the Nation's newspaper, Muhammad Speaks; as well as the internal structuring of the Nation of Islam's facilities. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad was very shrewd at incorporating other people's insights into his plans. But there's one thing shown here, amongst these leaders worth noticing above all other Black religious leaders or leaders who have religious backgrounds: Most of us do not know the religious affiliation of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey. Malik Al Hajj Shabazz (or Malcolm X—as he was previously known) is also known as our shining Black Prince because he put his love of our people before our religious differences. We may not agree with everything they said, but most of our people harkened to the wisdom in Malik's words—overtop of his religious affiliations—for his love for his people was the dominant factor; not his religious beliefs. No one in Christianity or Islam since these persons, has ever attempted to forge us into one Black nation within America. There are plenty of nations with more than one religion, but somehow Blacks in America act like one religion and one leader has to be the only way we can get together; and most believe he must be a Christian [although no Christian in this country ever advocated our own sovereignty].
The sense of belonging and a love for our people is a key concept in the liberation of our people. None of us will ever agree about everything anyone advocates, that's just not in the cards, so they say: Such is the same concerning men's beliefs. We often talk about God being behind this and that; but the only proof we have is men inspired by God. Now what a man believes and what we know, has always been a bone of contention with me. I can reason and debate with a man or woman in search of the facts, knowledge or truth, but I will not waste too much time with people and their beliefs: I seen people willing to go against things, despite the overwhelming evidence proving otherwise, simply because of how they feel. I am a committed man, but not to organized religion or beliefs: I am a true scientist—one devoted to knowing; not believing.
Sure, everything cannot be singled down beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I keep belief to a minimum. The funny thing about belief and feelings is that feelings are fickle—meaning today you might feel like doing this, tomorrow you may not; today you might be Christian, tomorrow you may claim Hebrew Israelite, Muslim or Pan Africanist with a traditional African religious belief. Most people don't know love; they just have a feeling of love. When you love someone, you never stop loving them—you never stop being concerned, caring, or wanting the best for them—whether you are together or not; you don't fall in and out of love. Love is what unites us, under God and as God. It is Godliness which controls love and civilization which reflects it [2/1-14]. I know that the Creator created All, and that we are consciousness dwelling within a form, but if we are made in his image and likeness, then he must be consciousness dwelling within the universe and his evidence is the science which governs it; my practice is the application of that knowledge which comes to me within its' own good time, through experiences, and through circumspection. What you believe in, is your own private matter, but as much as possible, you should know and not believe. What we need, as a people, is to put our religious differences behind us; for the sake of something bigger. That something bigger is the truth that has happened to us in time: Our Book of Life.
Sure, everything cannot be singled down beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I keep belief to a minimum. The funny thing about belief and feelings is that feelings are fickle—meaning today you might feel like doing this, tomorrow you may not; today you might be Christian, tomorrow you may claim Hebrew Israelite, Muslim or Pan Africanist with a traditional African religious belief. Most people don't know love; they just have a feeling of love. When you love someone, you never stop loving them—you never stop being concerned, caring, or wanting the best for them—whether you are together or not; you don't fall in and out of love. Love is what unites us, under God and as God. It is Godliness which controls love and civilization which reflects it [2/1-14]. I know that the Creator created All, and that we are consciousness dwelling within a form, but if we are made in his image and likeness, then he must be consciousness dwelling within the universe and his evidence is the science which governs it; my practice is the application of that knowledge which comes to me within its' own good time, through experiences, and through circumspection. What you believe in, is your own private matter, but as much as possible, you should know and not believe. What we need, as a people, is to put our religious differences behind us; for the sake of something bigger. That something bigger is the truth that has happened to us in time: Our Book of Life.
Marcus Garvey taught me about the importance of diaspora. In Philosophy and Opinions, Garvey pointed out, as he travelled around the world, wherever he saw the Blackman within a land that Whites occupied or controlled, the Blackman played the role of servitude. But he also saw that most Blacks from the motherland and from Jamaica kept abreast concerning the politics in the place where they lived. They never forgot their alliances; despite religious differences. We were a group of people with a common homeland and similar heritage; the only reason why we are not still engaged with each other, is because of the colonization of our people by various European or Western powers influencing our ideology and opinions concerning each other.
In other words, there is nothing different between me and my brothers and sisters who live in South America. Their native language is not Spanish or Portuguese; these are languages of the European people who brought them over here and forced their way of life upon them (the indigenous people in that land). Colonization is like a corporate hostile takeover. The language my people are speaking is Spanish, because the Spaniards literally came in and seized political control of their land. In North America, the indigenous people are what we call the Native Americans and the Westerners called Indians. The European colonizers in America were many at first; but in the end, it was the English and French whose politics dominated over the will of the natives in America. Their Western way of doing things polluted our way of thinking. In South America, it was the Spanish and Portuguese. In Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico, the natives are speaking a language called Chicano; which is a hybrid of Spanish and indigenous languages and mixed understanding—the reality is—it is a learnt language and not indicative of how we originally think or look at life. Most of us do not think much about it; because we're caught up in the process of everyday survival, advancement and expectations in the newly formed world—the politics of which are controlled by an informally European/formally Western conceptualization of life and reality.
Factual proof of this, is the Western concept of Alternative lifestyles versus Blacks in America in both north and south regions. Even removed from the continent for over four hundred years, we still retain many of our African ideologies. Anyone studying Greco-Roman and viking lore, know of the early acceptance of alternative lifestyles within mainstream Western society. Traditional Africa is Kabbalistic; which is gender specific: There is no room in the system for ambiguity. Am I saying there were no gays, lesbians, or bisexuals in Akebulan? No, I'm saying, that type of sexuality was not incorporated or made part of the Kabbalistic system on which our societies operated; similar to Native Americans and their totems, which didn't even have a word for such behavior. Nonetheless, it comes as no surprise to me, that after many years of resistance, America is coming up to speed with its' colonial parent, Europe; by embracing equal rights for the LBGT community. What is problematic however, is the political attempt made by mainstream America to have the Black community accept their Western views on the subject. It has used politics, the media, and DHS, but to no avail. Blacks who are not part of LBGT, accept that everyone has the right to decide their own destiny; However one can respect and honor another's rights—both civically and human-wise—and yet disagree about one's decision concerning that choice and how it impacts on their family.
The only religious culture Blacks had during slavery was the one that the slave master allowed. This religion originally came from Abraham [Ibrahim], through Noah [Nwah] and the descendants of his sons. The scripture was Hebrew and so was its' covenant. Ptolemy II Philadelphus, during his colonial reign in Khamit [so-called Egypt in 283 BC-246 BC] ordered seventy-two translators to work independently to produce the first translation of Torah called Septuagint. The Roman version of the Bible came later. That version was called the Vulgate. After the Holy Roman Empire was formed, all of Europe became ruled by this transplanted Hebrew Wisdom for approximately 2,000 years; eventually changing from Catholicism to the Protestant faith. The word, Semitic, is defined as a major branch of the African-Asiatic language family. This alone shows that our ancestors were not unfamiliar to the Semitic people, nor their scriptural text. Although Jesus [Isa] was Hebrew and his teachings were not called Christianity, the translation of Hebrew text became invaluable as a remnant of African-Asiatic teaching for transplanted enslaved Africans. And this form of governing oneself speaks against LGBT practices as an accepted way of life. Europe, on the other hand, prior to becoming part of the Christendom consisted of Scandinavian or Viking tribes, French culture, Roman Culture, Greek Culture, German Culture and British Culture—and all of these cultures have long standing histories with LGBT behavior. As a matter of fact, it is already an accepted way of life over there. So by the time our ancestors received the teachings from the slave master, the caucasian man was already starting to turn away from Hebrew influenced politics, claiming no religion in general and towards his more native roots and these types of current practices. Europe has long since abandoned Catholicism and Protestantism as the major form of government for Western people. America, during the drafting of its Constitution, separated church politics from that of the state. I guess American politics depends on the suit that the White man wears at the time. We just don't appreciate them telling us how to view things.
The bottom line is: American politics support its European roots and its cultural values and interests. European expansionism included colonization. Colonization means to send a group of settlers to a place and establish political control over it. Anywhere the European goes, he protects his own interests. As Garvey travelled around the world, wherever he saw the Blackman within a land that Whites occupied or controlled, the Blackman played the role of servitude. We are united by the fact that, where ever you may find the Blackman within the Western civilization, he is a subjugated being, whose interests are not served adequately by the countries he may be living in. Individually, members may move away from this economic condition, but stereotypically he or she will always be subjected to it; he or she will always be viewed as the underdog who beat the odds, but is still the underdog. We are unified by factors like this around the world, where the White man's culture is the dominate culture. As long as we try to fit into their culture, we will never be its leaders without being appointed or allowed as such.
Right now, most of us do not look at each other like we came from the same place—we think we are all different. We don't consider that we originated from somewhere else, we are all caught up into now and trying to make a buck—survive, you know. It took Garvey's speeches and the presence of the UNIA to help us put it all together and put things in perspective; but he was only a brief blurb in our American History class—something removed. Malcolm X was closer and someone I saw on TV but I was in First or Second grade when his rapture was in effect. As time goes on, even the most effective movements, like the Civil Rights Struggle, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King's Non-violent Movement, The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton can quickly become blurs; if we do not keep their memories in the minds of the next group of people. A whole movement can be forgotten about in a ten year span, if it isn't being reinforced in media or public opinion; and America simply isn't interested—unless they consider it a threat—in which case, it will get negative publicity. In this multi-racial society (which practice a mild case of bigotry as the status quo), our people have taken on the ways and prejudices of our colonizers. Even the religion they allowed us to have during slavery and beyond—although it did not originate from Europe; they have given us their way of perceiving its' concepts.
Their sexual ambiguities, alternative lifestyles and subsequent rights, privileges and insurance coverages; their sense of morality, the so-called Battle Of The Sexes, their ego centered actions—their ways are becoming more and more a part of us—generation by generation. They are following their interests; not ours. The sexual revolution of the sixties in America and the inevitable destruction of the nuclear family, was something that occurred in White America, but contaminated us and the rest of the people who live here. My parents made much more of a distinction between what Black people do and believe, versus what Whites subscribe to—then I; my children make even less; the Y's and Millennials pay less attention to their parents, just like White children of the same age. This type of food is definitely wrong for consumption.
As I said, a sense of belonging is what we must develop: One which allows us to see that we were scattered around the world by Europe: One which allows us to see that we are from the same homeland and suffer the same affliction and be part of our own redemption; like the determined ideas of the Honorable Marcus Garvey; or the love like Malcolm X had for Black people in America and around the world. Love will find a way. A sense of awareness which knows that you cannot count on the colonists to protect your own interests. A sense which knows we have to repair the man/woman/family issues that we have as of a result of living in America—along with the self-hatred of our people. An awareness which knows that we must support our efforts where ever we are in the world; a sense of diaspora. One which leaves the colonists to their own devices.
Thank you for your consideration,
C. Be'er la Hai-roi Myers
Peace.
