BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member Chuck Turner is writing this column from the U.S. Federal Prison in Hazelton, West Virginia where he is serving a three year term for a bribery conviction.  BC is in contact with Mr. Turner by email and telephone.  Click here to send an email message that BC can pass on to Chuck

Reflections from Behind the Wall:

Topic: How Can We Escape the Emotional Gravity of the Anglo-Saxon Doctrine of White Male Supremacy While Submerged in the Anglo Saxon World View and Knowledge Base?

This is the third and last (at least for the moment) of a series of strategies for our material and psychological liberation from the chains of our 400 year experience in as Elijah Muhammed termed it, "The Wilderness of North America".

In my first reflection on our situation as a people of African descent, I focused on our need to confront the prosecutorial terrorism that is engineering our re enslavement through the criminal injustice system.  In the second, I explored strategies designed to help us move beyond our status as an economic underclass. In this reflection, I will focus on the question of how do we develop in ourselves the mental and emotional freedom necessary to meet the most difficult challenges yet encountered in our experience as African-Americans.

Our ability to survive and move forward as a people of African-descent despite the horrors of chattel slavery and its aftermath, I believe, will be viewed by future generations as an incredible achievement, perhaps unparalleled in the annuls of human history.  Yet, the challenges that confront us as we move into the 21st century in many ways are more daunting than the oppression, terror, and intimidation of the past. As we watch the economic strength of this country crumbling, we have to recognize that a survival strategy will not be enough. We have to build a future for ourselves and future generations rather than depend on the good will of others.

If our future generations are to be able to fully participate in the redevelopment of this country and to be partners in the process of planetary progress, we must begin to lay the foundation now.  In my second reflection, I outlined economic strategies that I believe will be key to our progress. However, without a process of psychological regeneration (spiritual rebirth), we will not be equal to the task.  We must begin this process by acknowledging the psychological scarring that had to result from the horrendous psychological and material experiences, endured by our ancestors that continue in more subtle but equally destructive ways today.

The continuous programming into the culture's consciousness of the idea of white male supremacy and the inferiority of those of African descent leads many of us to doubt our ability and to see whites in general as an all powerful force.  This generalization is not to suggest that all of us have this perception or that all whites see themselves as superior to us, but I think that we have to admit that it is an issue that all of us have to struggle with whether of African descent or white.

If as a people we are to have the strength to build a foundation for our future generations, one of our most important steps will be to sharpen our ability to think critically about ourselves, our situation, and the programming that we have endured for four hundred years.  Without a sharpening of our critical thinking ability, we are in danger of becoming submerged in self pity, swimming in an emotionalism that may feel warm and familiar but will block the flow of analytical and intuitive thoughts that we need to lay the foundation for the future we have to build.

The first step in building our capacity to think critically is to sharpen our thinking about race. The concept of racial superiority entered the western world as the "contribution" of the culture that began to develop in the 6th century in England as the Saxons entered England from Germany. This cultural amalgamation led over the next 1000 years to the emergence of the English as a force moving through the world claiming its right of control through domination, force, and the belief in their divinely inspired destiny to rule and control people of color. They were a force that believed in its innate racial superiority.

It is this perspective that is England's legacy to America. While the American "revolutionaries" sought to break the governmental ties with England, they did not break their psychological ties to the belief in their supremacy as Anglo-Saxons and their racial superiority over the races of color, particularly those of African-descent in this country. While we as chattel slaves received the most inhuman and brutal treatment, from my perspective, an examination of their interactions with the Native Americans, the Mexicans and Chinese showed their belief in their superiority. There is even a term in Webster's Third New International Dictionary that embodies this belief - anglo saxonism. The definition reads, "The belief in the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon characteristics or of the Anglo-Saxon people".

However, from an anthropological as well as a biological perspective, their theory of racial superiority has no basis in science. That is, the anthropological view of the origin of race is that the African people were the first human race on the planet and that the other so called races evolved as the Africans moved to other locations and evolved characteristics based on their environmental circumstances that eventually were used to define race. Today's biological view is that there is no scientific basis for defining separate races given the general mixing of genes that has taken place over time.

Thus, while the Anglo-Saxons have had a period of domination as the English created their empire and as their descendents marched across this continent, this in no way implies there racial superiority. Examine history and you will find that it is the story of the rise and fall of different grouping of people who for a moment in time were the power on the planet. That momentary ascendancy didn't mean that they were racially superior - whether the grouping was African, Asian, or Middle Eastern. It meant that through a confluence of forces, some that we understand and others that we don't, they were able to achieve momentary domination. In other words, their theory of racial superiority is hype despite their "alleged scientific studies". 

Similarly, we need to develop a sharper analytical perspective on the concept of our innate racial inferiority.  When examined objectively, our ancestors' ability to withstand the variety of oppressions experienced from the defiling of our female ancestors, to the selling off of ancestors' children, to using our male ancestors as breeding stock, to defining them as  animals rather than human beings is an awesome demonstration of the power of the human will to survive. It is literally amazing not only that we survived as a people but also that generation after generation passed on the will to drive forward despite the seeming hopelessness of the situation. Despite the degradation, our ancestors' creative genius shown forth through countless inventions, discoveries, and cultural innovations. 

We must not just study our history, we must celebrate it and help our children understand and appreciate the courage, strength, and love that our ancestors displayed in laying the foundation for us. What else did they have to inspire them except the belief that one day their children's children's children would not have to endure the horrors that they faced.

It is now our responsibility to dedicate ourselves to taking the baton to the finish line. Yes, we face obstacles but think of the obstacles that our ancestors faced and yet they pushed forward. Who are we to feel sorry for ourselves when we look at the resources we have to move forward compared to our ancestors having nothing but their determination and their belief in themselves and their Creator.

Often when I hear us bemoaning our fate, complaining about what we don't have, envying others for what they have, I hear a voice out of the darkness saying, "My God, have they forgotten their purpose - what they must do; have they forgotten us and why we endured what we endured; what is going to happen to our future generations if they become trapped in the greed and materialism of the great, great, great grandchildren of those who enslaved us and treated us like we were animals?" Will we allow ourselves to be the generation that fails them; that breaks the chain?

It is time to redefine ourselves and realize the unique role that we are playing in the cycle of race on the planet. As noted above, anthropologists agree that the progenitor of the human race on the planet was African.  Therefore, we as African-Americans bring to an end the planetary cycle of racial development. Our ancestors, the descents of the original people, were brought to this country as African slaves. Yet, through intermixing with all the populations on this continent as well as the world as we marched with the American military machine, we have created a new racial grouping. As African-Americans, we bring to an end the planetary cycle of racial development. We complete and close the cycle of race. When we mentally and emotionally recognize who we are, that knowledge will raise us above the gravity of of the doctrine of white male supremacy, and we will be prepared to fulfill our divine purpose in helping to bring sanity to the earth.

An essential aspect of our preparation to play that divine role is to cleanse ourselves of our psychological adaptation to our captive situation. To do that takes time patience, and dedication. Each of us must individually initiate the process by setting aside time at the end of each day for reflection.  The purpose is to trace the development of your present beliefs about yourself as a person of African descent; about ourselves as people of African descent; and about whites as a power force in our individual and collective lives.

Start from the beginning. Try to remember your earliest memories about race. Did they arise from experiences? What were those experiences? What was the message that you took from those experiences? Or did your original memories of race arise from something a relative or friend said.  Ask yourself for the information you are looking for and patiently await the memories to arise.

As you begin to receive answers to your questions, take notes so that you can build a record of these memories. Over time move your focus from age to age. Do the ideas change? What are the feelings that arise from the experiences? What beliefs begin to form? How do these beliefs fit with the beliefs of those around you? Do their views affect how you see yourself, your family, community in relationship to whites? Don't rush, what is important is to develop clarity. It takes time to deconstruct your memories and then reconstruct your beliefs based upon your new insights.

At the point when you believe you have a picture of the beliefs that have developed out of the experiences, begin to examine the extent to which you still have them and how they effect your interaction with yourself, people of African descent, people of color, and whites. Are your beliefs helpful or harmful? Do they fit with your analysis of the situation that we now face as opposed to the situations of your youth.  This process has no end because you continue to have experiences that test the extent that you are living in the present and focusing moment to moment on reality rather than the shadows of the past.

A second aspect of this process of self reflection is to examine your family's history. The trials, the struggles, the triumphs, the failures and what was learned from the successes as well as the failures, individually and collectively.  Reach out to your elders to gain from them the insights and the knowledge that only they can have. If you are an elder begin to write down your memories and understandings from your family's history. As an elder you have a responsibility to be the link between our past and our future. But at some point, your energy system will leave your material sheath. So you have to put it on paper in order to fulfill your responsibility in continuing as Mel King described it, The Chain of Change.

As you trace this history, try to understand how the family members' beliefs about themselves and the society around them effected the choices that were made and are being made today. Are the family choices of today reflecting a set of beliefs based on today's reality or do the choices of today reflect the shadows of a time gone by.  As a family are you living in the moment of today's reality or do your beliefs take you into the past. We must remember that only we can free our minds and emotions from the shadows of the past. The sun never stops shining. It is our responsibility to stay in the light. We have the power if we use it.

The third aspect of this process of psychological and mental regeneration is to search for the answers to the basic questions of life: Where do we come from, why are we here, and where do we go when our energy system leaves the physical body.  If we are to truly know ourselves, we can not just define ourselves by our experiences here on earth as the descendents of African people. True knowledge requires a search that takes us into space. Each of us is an electromagnetic energy system reflecting the energies that compose the universe, including the lowest level of energy, material/physical energy as well as the highest energy, the creative force from which the universe emanates. If we are to understand our true nature as an energy system we must see ourselves in relationship to the energy system from which we emanated--space.

Obviously, the answer can not be found in the Anglo-Saxon educational framework. Why would a people believing in their divine right to rule desire to help their "captives" understand their true nature, their relationship to the universe, and their relationship to the source from which the universe emanates that which we call God, Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh, etc.? They were so fearful of our ancestors gaining knowledge, they made it a crime to teach a slave to read.  They understood that the best way to maintain their power was to have those they controlled as ignorant as possible. They understood that once a person begins to think and think critically, their power to control through deception vanishes.

My own educational experience affirmed the intellectual bankruptcy of their framework of education. I had the "benefit" of what most would assume is an excellent Anglo-Saxon education. I graduated from a college preparatory public high school in Cincinnati, Ohio with an academic performance strong enough to be admitted to Harvard University in the fifties. I graduated in 1963 with a BA in government.  While many congratulated me for my accomplishment, I felt intellectually empty. Yes, I certainly learned about Anglo-Saxonism. They taught me that I needed to appreciate their history, their conquests, their genius, their culture, their view of the nature of reality but they didn't present any substantive information enabling me to understand myself and my relationship to the universe and the myriad of energy forms it contains.

So I left Harvard with a BA and two burning desires: The first desire reflected the teachings of my family that while we had accomplished much in life, our accomplishments were built on the sacrifices and struggles of our ancestors. I grew to understand that my value as an adult was to be measured not by my individual achievements but by the extent of my contribution to continuing the struggle for the liberation of our people. Given that foundation, my primary desire was and continues to be to repay my indebtedness to my ancestors for the sacrifices they made by dedicating my life to laying a foundation for our future generations.

My second desire was to find the answers to the questions cited above.  As difficult as it was to stomach the racism experienced as a person of African descent, it was even more enraging to hear the stupid arguments as to why we were being treated so badly by people who called themselves Christians. What did Ham seeing Noah's nakedness have to do with what I and my people were experiencing today? I felt like I was trapped in an insane asylum with no escape. In my heart, I knew there had to be answers. How could there not be answers to the basic questions of life given our existence in a solar system that operated with order and precision while providing us what we needed.

Yet, after the best education that Cincinnati could provide and that scholarships could pay for at Harvard, I felt as clueless as I had as a nine year old trying to figure out what was going on. The only answer was to contain my rage and continue the search.  So by day I learned how to organize and advocate and by night I feverishly studied the esoteric teachings of western and eventually eastern religions. I sought the esoteric views since the basic religious teaching seemed confusing at best and my secular Anglo-Saxon education had not lead to the answers I sought.

While my pursuit of truth took decades, I discovered what to me were the clearest answers to my questions contained in the teachings of the oldest religion known to humankind, the 5000 year old Ausarian religion of the people of Kamit (Egypt). What is even more fascinating but logical is that the principles embodied in the Ausarian religious philosophy is reflected in the esoteric writings of every western religion, including Christianity as well as in the eastern religions. While I haven't seen the inner teaching of the Nation of Islam, I believe the Ausarian philosophy was the foundation of Fuad's teaching. This is not the time or the place to discuss those principles in detail. However, for those of you who are searching for knowledge of self; knowledge of your purpose on earth; as well as knowledge of your role as an energy force in the universe read Metu Neter, volume 1 and 2, the exposition of the religious philosophy and practice of the Ausarian religion.

In summary, to meet the challenges of building a foundation for our future in the 21st century and beyond, we have to rise above the the mental and emotional conditioning of our 400 year experience in America of slavery and neo slavery. This process of psychological regeneration (spiritual rebirth)requires us:

a) To strengthen our ability to think analytically regarding:

     1) The Anglo-Saxon theory of racial superiority;

     2) The Anglo-Saxon theory of African-American racial inferiority.

b) To explore our personal as well as family history to understand how the Anglo-Saxon doctrine of their racial superiority and their doctrine of African-American inferiority has affected our present day belief systems regarding ourselves as people of African descent, people of color, and whites.

c)  To search for the knowledge of self that takes us beyond a definition of ourselves based solely on our 400 year history of oppression.

Let me close with the thought that as difficult as the challenge of our future appears, we will overcome our obstacles as our ancestors overcame theirs because of the divine creative spirit within each of us. However, it is our responsibility to reach into our inner space and bring our divinity into the light of today.

A Luta Continua/The Struggle Continues,

chuck

PS: I have been writing steadily since I gained computer access at USP Hazelton.  It has been a very valuable process for me to begin my incarceration by flying over the Wall on the wings of thought. I hope you have gained as much from reading the reflections as I gained from writing them. 

I certainly have more to say, particularly about my case. I had promised when  I was arrested that I would attempt to use my experience as a case study in how Prosecutors and the FBI use their powers "To Get Their Man/Woman". Since my article on Prosecutorial Terrorism, I have heard two figures quoted on the federal conviction rate. One was 92% and the other was 98%; both figures raise questions about whether there is justice in the Justice Department. 

During the two and a half years between my arrest and conviction, i have tried to fulfill my promise verbally and in print to reflect on my case and its relationship to the issue of injustice at the Justice. Now that I have been sentenced and incarcerated, I am able to review, analyze, and comment on the entire drama. I think it should be called "Prosecutors' Gone Wild" or "The Crime that US Attorney Sullivan and Brother Wilburn created."

However, on June 10th, I will begin my 71st year. I think there is value in using the month before your birthday to reflect on the previous 12 months in order to prepare for the next cycle. Given the trial, conviction, removal from Boston's City Council, and sentencing to three years in Jail, I think reflection if not meditation are definitely in order. So this will be my last reflection until the week of June 13, 2011.  Have a great month! Remember - A Luta Continua.

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board  Member Chuck Turner - Served as a member of the Boston City Council for ten years and eleven months. He was a member and founder of the Fund the Dream campaign and was the Chair of the Council’s Human Rights Committee, and Vice Chair of the Hunger and Homelessness Committee. Click here to contact Mr. Turner. Your email messages will be passed on to Mr. Turner by BC. You may also visit SupportChuckTurner.com.

You may also write to Mr. Turner.  The address is:

Charles Turner #80641038
Hazelwood Penitentiary, P.O. Box 2000
Bruceton Mills, West Virginia 26525