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Day in and day out we can observe the increased
number of African people killing each other, mentally and
physically abusing each other, stealing from each other, being
dishonest with each other, and the list goes on and on. These
negative incidents occur, in part, because segments of the
African community in the United States are disconnected from
the moral and ethical traditions that have characterized relationships
among African people in the past. It is critical that we repair
ourselves as we build the Reparations Movement.
The problem with segments of African people
in this country being disconnected from the great contributions
of African people to the civilizations of the world has resulted
in far too many of us believing that the current situation
in which we find ourselves cannot be changed. Many African
people believe that the condition of African people in America
is permanent and there is nothing we can do to change our
circumstances. Therefore, this disconnected group of African
people has chosen the easy road. They travel on the road of
cooperating and collaborating with the forces of white supremacy
who continue to demonstrate they will do any and everything
in their power to keep African people in this country, and
the rest of the world, on the bottom. This has resulted in
many African people in America (and the world community),
developing a “bottom mentality.” In other words, many of our
people buy into whatever the white supremacy forces feed us
through the media, (mis)educational institutions, and religious
institutions.
What we are constantly being fed is that we
are on the bottom and we will remain on the bottom. What the
white supremacy forces offer individual African people in
America, is that as an individual you can get off the bottom
if you join us, if you “pull yourself up by your bootstraps.”
Never mind your group, your family and your cultural ties,
“there is nothing that can be done with those people. Join
us and everything will be all right.” If you join us, “you
can obtain a good job, buy a nice house in a good neighborhood,
buy a nice car, take nice vacations, and some of you, whom
we chose, can even live with us.”
We were not always like this as a people. We
did not have a “dog eat dog” mentality and this is what we
must examine as we continue to struggle to overthrow the system
of white supremacy and its impact on us as a people.
The Creative Force of the universe has endowed
us with the capacity to make great contributions to the world.
A simple inspection of the ancient Nile Valley civilization
of Kemet (Egypt) should inspire all African people to respect
their history and to hold themselves in high esteem. Kemet
and the Kemetic people, our ancestors, were the creators of
math, science, architecture, writing, governance, astronomy,
astrology, medicine, art, and so much more. The Kemetic people
amassed great wisdom that was left as instructions written
in Medew Netcher (Divine Speech) or what Europeans call hieroglyphs.
One place we can examine this ancient Kemetic
wisdom is in a book titled, Selection From the Husia: Sacred
Wisdom of Ancient Egypt. The Husia gives insight into
how our ancestors viewed life, death, human relations, marriage,
parenting, use of power, God, family, and the standards of
moral and ethical conduct. Reading these spiritual texts elicits
strong feelings in and for African people in a most profound
and spiritual way. Peruse these words from The Husia: The
Book of Ptah Hotep:
"Do not terrorize people for if you do,
God will punish you accordingly. If anyone lives by such means,
God will take bread from his or her mouth. If one says I shall
be rich by such means, [he] she will eventually have to say
my means entrapped me."
"If one says I will rob another, he will
end up being robbed himself. The plans of men and women do
not always come to pass, for in the end it is the will of
God, which prevails. Therefore, one should live in peace with
others and they will come and willingly give gifts, which
another would take from them through fear."
Written about five thousand years ago, the
wisdom of these words of instruction should cause African
people to reflect on their significance as we struggle to
create a greater good for our race. The wisdom of our ancestors
should give us the inspiration to rededicate ourselves to
the continued struggle for the liberation of African people
worldwide.
As a race of people, our survival and development
is dependent upon each other. A greater responsibility is
placed upon those of us who proclaim the African Way after
the ravaging of African civilizations, African culture, African
minds, and African lands.
As I have repeated many times in previous columns,
we have a responsibility and a duty to our brothers and sisters
to build institutions based on African spirituality, ethics,
and morals, and give back that which the Creator has given
us, “All Life, Power, and Health, like the Sun Forever.”
I urge all African people to take a meditative
moment and look deeply inside themselves, as part of a people.
Let us restore what the ancient Black people of Kemet called
Maat: Divine Order, Harmony, Balance, Truth, Justice,
Righteousness, and Reciprocity.
We had, and lived by Maat before the
coming of Europeans. We must return to the ways of Maat
so we can survive the white supremacy genocidal onslaught.
We must look deep into ourselves! And as our respected ancestor
Dr. John Henrik Clarke often said, “If we did it once, we
can do it again!” In view of what is happening in the world,
we must never lose sight of who we are and our condition.
We say, “REPARATIONS NOW! THEY OWE US!
BlackCommentator.com
columnist
Conrad W. Worrill, PhD, is the National Chairman of the National
Black United Front (NBUF). Click
here to contact Dr. Worrill.
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