It
is quite clear that African people in America continue to be
miseducated. This problem is discussed in a variety of ways
in conversations everyday in our communities throughout America.
From
time to time we should consult the wisdom of those who have
addressed this problem whom we may have forgotten. One such
person who addressed this problem is the Honorable Marcus Mosiah
Garvey, when he presented his formula for learning in his courses
on African Philosophy in the 1930s. I think it is only appropriate
to review Mr. Garvey’s formula for learning as we continue
to build the Reparations Movement and seek specific guideposts
to our development as a people.
These
lessons and guideposts in learning can be found in Marcus
Garvey, Message to the People, The Course of African
Philosophy, edited by Dr. Tony Martin.
Lesson 1: One
must never stop reading. Read everything that you can read,
that is of standard knowledge. Don’t waste time reading trashy
literature. The idea is that personal experience is not enough
for a human to get all the useful knowledge of life, because
the individual life it too short, so we must feed on the experience
of others.
Lesson 2: Read
history incessantly until you master it. This means your own
national history, the history of the world, social history,
industrial history, and the history of the different sciences;
but primarily, the history of man. If you do not know what
went on before you came here and what is happening at the time
you live, but away from you, you will not know the world and
will be ignorant of the world and mankind.
Lesson 3: To
be able to read intelligently, you must first be able to master
the language of your country. To do this, you must be well
acquainted with its grammar and the science of it. People judge
you by your writing and your speech. If you write badly and
incorrectly they become prejudiced towards your intelligence,
and if you speak badly and incorrectly, those who hear you
become disgusted and will not pay much attention to you, but
in their hearts laugh after you.
Lesson 4: A
leader who is to teach men and present any fact of truth to
man must first be taught in his subject.
Lesson 5: Never
write or speak on a subject you know nothing about, for there
is always somebody who knows that particular subject to laugh
at you or to ask you embarrassing questions that may make others
laugh at you.
Lesson 6: You
should read four hours a day. The best time to read is in the
evening after you have retired from your work and after you
have rested and before sleeping hours, but do so before morning,
so that during your sleeping hours what you read may become
subconscious, that is to say, planted in your memory.
Lesson 7: Never
keep the constant company of anybody who doesn’t know as much
as you or (is) as educated as you, and from whom you cannot
learn something from or reciprocate your learning.
Lesson 8: Continue
always in the application of the things you desire educationally,
culturally, or otherwise, and never give up until you reach
your objective.
Lesson 9: Try
never to repeat yourself in any one discourse in saying the
same thing over and over again except when you are making new
points, because repetition is tiresome and it annoys those
who hear the repetition.
Lesson 10: Knowledge
is power. When you know a thing and can hold your ground on
that thing and win over your opponents on that thing, those
who hear you learn to have confidence in you and will trust
your ability.
Lesson 11: In
reading books written by white authors, of whatever kind, be
aware of the fact that they are not written for your particular
benefit of your race. They always write from their own point
of view and only in the interest of their own race.
Garvey
had many other lessons of learning, in his formula that journalistic
constraints will not allow me to elaborate at this time. However,
I encourage you to read Marcus Garvey, Message to
the People, The Course of African Philosophy, and as we
celebrate begin to internalize and incorporate these “Lessons
In Learning.”
BlackCommentator.com columnist
Conrad W. Worrill, PhD, is the National Chairman of the
National Black United Front (NBUF). Click
here to contact Dr. Worrill.