Power is Virtue

The Essence Magazine article entitled “Fighting Back,” by Lisa Armstrong, communicated very compelling arguments. “[Men] feel powerless?” How could so-called experts unabashedly and audaciously insinuate this asinine and erroneous proposition of powerlessness as a means to justify the revolting exploits of these rapists? What’s even more unnerving is the reality that their horrendous violation was once referred to as a “crime of passion.” Learning of the Haitian Government’s dismissive and misogynistic stance towards women did not quiet the exasperation and immense hurt I feel knowing that my sisters are forced to live in a society that blatantly trivializes an act that defiles and traumatizes them and all sufferers of rape.

The ravaging exploitation our Haitian sisters are forced to endure reverberates with an undercurrent that is all too familiar to African Wombmen throughout the Diaspora. These Wombmen of Divine Quintessence, the inheritors of Ancient African wisdom, are gravely afflicted with disrespect and disregard; they are typically blamed for the violent acts they bear. Displaced and desolate, rampaged by diseases, environmental catastrophes, poverty and hunger, our Haitian sisters still strive to live with a sense of gratitude, love, joy and peace in order to survive and build a future for their families. Nevertheless, as if their predicament could not be more dismal, they have to face yet another slap in the face since “until 2005, rapists were not imprisoned, but instead” the government “simply offered monetary compensation or marriage as restitution.”

Ancient Kemetic Spiritual Philosophy enlightened our ancestors and many of us today about The Ten Virtues, also known as The Ten Soul Attributes. Many of us, as the eloquent and masterly scholar Ayi Kwei Armah, in his works of art, Two Thousand Seasons and The Healers states, have lost our way. The egocentrism that has taken over many of us has dimmed our capacity to hear the call to higher consciousness. Instead, many of us indulge in debilitating gratifications knowing of the irreversible consequences. Investing quality time to introspectively cultivate our selves and our livelihoods according to the principles of these univer-soul attributes—justice, fortitude, temperance, to name a few—is secondary to the enticing carnal delights the mind perceives for the body and abides. What the body desires, even if those desires stem from a deficient, unnourished mindset of decrepitude, many impulsively leap into because once more, we have forgotten “the way ” of our Ancient Kemetic Ancestors.

Unfortunately, the choices these men have made to orient themselves with non-virtuous practices becomes compounded when they have a government that supports the peril they penetrate into the lives of their mothers, sisters, daughters, and significant others. Instead of being prosecuted for the wickedness they impregnate, they are rewarded with villainous capes that function as superconductors—essentially giving them permission, power, and an impetus to rape our women again.

Who can measure the amplification of a woman’s trauma when she becomes the laughing stock of a contemptuous police force asserting that her genetic make-up caused her to be raped? “[Her] behind is big” so she “must have provoked them.” Or, nudity, “having a shower in front of everybody…” is “like [you’re] provoking the men.” One word…ineffable.

Educator and Holistic Wellness Coach Sandra Friday posed the following questions: “Where are the men—the fathers, sons, uncles, cousins— to protect their women—daughters, sisters, mothers, significant others? Are they so excruciatingly mentally disabled that they cannot do anything to protect their families? How did the women become single and so severely abandoned?” It’s ironic that some ‘experts’ are quick to rationalize and perpetuate their virulent beliefs that “gender-based violence increases…three-fold… after disasters” without offering a complete analysis of factors that create this uncanny circumstance. We have been so completely brainwashed, indoctrinated with dreadful statistics for so long, many of us do not question the fallacies embedded in the information implied by these ‘experts’ on the African mind, condition, and behavior.

Fortunately, authors like Tom Burrell of Brainwashed, and compilations such as the Willie Lynch Letter, have intelligently and scientifically deconstructed the crises manifests by many peoples of the Diaspora. The brilliant, precise and strategic way these analyses trace the cause and effects of hundreds of years of slavery, offer tremendous insight into the behaviors that continue to plague African peoples like a malignant specimen of destruction, breeding within our psyches.

Furthermore, the fact that a vast number of people not only accept but advocate that it is the nature of a man to behave like a stud, to be rewarded for his sexual prowess—procreating with different women, abandoning his children within fatherless homes—etc, has catalyzed horrific behaviors like that in Haiti and other areas of the world. Where did this sickness originate from, that some men could even think such perverse thoughts of being pedophilic, of molesting his and/or other children, of raping and running trains on women? What were the factors that caused so many of us to lose our African Righteous Minds—minds that were holistically aligned, lives that were spiritually in sync with the essence and effervescence of righteousness, truth and justice—and repeat some of the same heinous crimes, assimilate with the same belief systems of the diseased, notorious, vile and hateful deviants that enslaved our ancestors?

Being who we are—creators of great Temples such as the Temple of Luxor –a temple that represents the blueprint of the Divine Human Being, seven Haitian men should not have had the opportunity to conceive the notion to rape a Haitian woman along with her two Haitian daughters at gun point—eight children in total, housed within this tent they called home. Being who we are, luminous masons of every imaginable skill to be mastered, United Nations peacekeeping patrol officers could be relieved of night duty and our women could tend to their needs and the needs of their families; a parent would not have to fear that an “18-year-old man” who had previously “sexually assaulted a 1-year-old baby girl” would attempt to assault an 8-year-old girl; a mother would not have to experience having to “persuade police” to keep this perpetrator in jail. And, rapists who are arrested, would not be able to “walk in the front of the police station and right back out.”’

Can one measure the damage a wombman—adult or child—has to surmount, subjected to the dire instance of being “infected with a sexually transmitted disease during her rape”? This same wombman, as if her life could not be ridden with more heartache—has to live in a cultural society that devalues women because “the courts will often negotiate a financial agreement between the rapist and the victim’s family, rather than prosecute the case?

I ask these questions to stimulate the mind because it burns my vascular system to know that so many of us have been conditioned to be so desensitized, some pompously ignorant, others utterly terrified, indifferent and void because of the pervasive acceptance and the pervasive silence regarding actions that should never occur amongst a people who can tap into the intuitive clairvoyance of Ancient Ma’atian Principles that will eternally resonate as our DNA?

Can we really excuse our men—any man—for these crimes because they claim to exhibit manifestations of “psychological strain of not being able to assume normal cultural and economic roles” so they “may become aggressive toward women” simply because they are angry, frustrated and plagued by the uncertainty of their future? ” Never. Power comes from within, from self-control, from knowing that you are accountable for being able to process the moral implications of your behaviors, from innerstanding the conveyances of our Udjat (third eye) that our proclivity to exist in the essence of Heru/Heru-em-akhet, lives within our ability to harmonize our internal state in a fluctuating external environment…that the stressors of your predicaments will never validate your regression to victimizing another.

THE BIBILICAL EXODUS REVISITED

For individuals who subscribe to the Christian faith, the account of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt (Kemet) is one of the most outstanding stories in the Christian Bible. We are taught that this event is a true historical occurrence and one of the many examples of the power of “GOD” on Earth! The Holy Bible is held as the supreme authority dictating this assertion and it is reinforced by spiritual leaders of the Christian faith. Since this Western religion is one of the three dominant spiritual forces in the world today, billions of people across the globe accept this teaching without questioning it. The end result of this belief is that Kemet has been demonized to the masses for centuries. However, anything that is asserted to be true should be put to the test, so for this blog entry I will be putting to the test the historicity of the Biblical Exodus, and presenting factual historical information along with questions that we should all consider regardless of background and spiritual affiliation.

According to the Bible, the Israelites went into Kemet under their patriarch Joseph to escape a famine plaguing the land of Canaan. The famine subsequently passed, Joseph died at the age of 110 while the Israelites remained in Kemet. They multiplied exponentially, eventually outnumbering the Kemites, and a new King enslaved the Israelites out of fear that they would join with outsiders to oppress his people. They are ultimately liberated by Moses after God subjects the Kemites to several plagues including, turning the Nile into blood, calling forth infestations of frogs, lice, swarms of flies, hail, locusts, three days of complete darkness and the death of all of Kemet’s first-born sons. The Israelites leave the land but are pursued by Kemet’s army who are destroyed when they attempt to follow the Hebrews through the Red Sea which was parted by God for their safe passage and then closed on their pursuers. The Hebrews then travel for forty years in the land of Sinai where they also receive the ten commandments from God. (Note: 9 of the 10 commandments are also found within the 42 affirmations of Ma'at)

This story sounds fantastic and amazing, however, the only account of it exists solely within the Bible. As it currently stands, there is no historical record of it to be found anywhere in Kemet and they were a very literary nation having three writing systems. They documented their history in papyri, all over their temples and in their tombs, and to this date, no reference has been discovered detailing the occurrence of this enormous event. Scholars place the occurrence of the Exodus during the New Kingdom period of Kemetic history, based on information given in the Bible. While the Israelites do not give the name of the two kings who oppressed them, they are considered to be Seti I and his son Ramesses II.

The reality which should be considered is the numerous plagues attacking Kemet would have affected other nations in the Nile Valley because they were so close in proximity, interacting with the Kemites regularly. The Nile is the longest river in the world, stretching 4,132 miles into the interior of Africa, comprised of the White Nile which originates in Rwanda, and the Blue Nile originating in Ethiopia. It flows from south to north through nine countries ending at the Mediterranean Sea in Lower Kemet. If this river was turned to blood, people from all these other nations would have been affected and as a result recorded it, either in their written documents or oral traditions. Exodus 7:20-25 explains that the Nile changed into blood for seven days, killing all fish in the river. The length of such damage would have been enough time for other nations to witness and take note of this event. In addition, all water tributaries on the planet are connected beneath the earth, so if the Nile changed to blood it can be argued that possibly, all water on the planet was changed to blood.

It must also be kept in mind that at this point in history, other African nations were under the rule of Kemet as their empire had stretched its tentacles to other parts of the continent, Western Asia and Europe. The Kemites were also engaged in on-going wars with the Hittite Kingdom for several years. At the battle of Kadesh, Ramessess with a force of 20,000 soldiers, the largest infantry in Kemetic history at that time, fought the Hittites to a stalemate, ending in a peace treaty of “mutual non-aggression and support.” Both nations have records of this treaty and a copy of it currently sits within the United Nations. If all these plagues struck the nation and all the first born sons in the land mysteriously died, the country would have been incapacitated and would not have been able to engage their enemies or defend its self from invasion.

Exodus 12:37-38 states that six hundred thousand men marched out of Kemet on foot with all their belongings. If the women and children are counted in this movement, an estimated 2 million people would be the final figure. At this time the population of Kemet would have been between 3.5 million to 4 million people. Such a mass migration would have created a huge chasm in the political, economical and social structure of the nation! The empire would have ultimately collapsed!

Exodus 14:5-9 states the following, “And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.” Based on this information the question must be asked, realistically, if such a large population left the country after it was subject to so much devastation at the hands of the Hebrew God, how on earth can a force of 600 plus soldiers subdue and recapture 2 million people? It must also ask be asked, how can the Israelites have passed through such cities Pi-Hahiroth and Baal-Zephon when they were not in existence during the New Kingdom period of Kemetic history. Even if the Kemites had superior training and weaponry, such odds are just too great for such a small unite to overcome.

The Bible further articulates that this entire army was destroyed by the Israelite God when they attempted to pursue the Hebrews through the parted Red Sea. In regards to this event, consider the following facts about this body of water. In antiquity it was known as the Erythraean Sea; it is 1,450 miles long and approximately 225 miles wide. It is 7,000 feet deep and has dangerous coral reefs at the bottom. To cross such a long distance and overcome such obstacles while outrunning a pursuing army is an insurmountable task. However, according to Exodus 14:19-24, the Israelites accomplished this all in one night!

In this event the king and army of the most powerful nation in the world at that time drowned in the Red Sea. However, it is a historical fact that Ramesses ruled Kemet for 67 years and lived until 92 years old, fathering over 100 children and building numerous monuments during his reign. His mummy is currently on display in the Cairo museum for all visitors to see. In ancient times the Red Sea was an important trade route and the Sinai area was apart of the Kemetic kingdom. Since ancient times they excavated stones for the building of their temples and precious minerals for the making of their Jewelry. One such stone is turquoise which was used in the design of King Tutankhamen's gold funeral mask. The Kemites even built several temples dedicated to the Neter (diety) Hathor who was personified as a holy cow. With such facts presented, the Israelite destruction of Kemet and its army and migration to Sinai is equivalent to a group of people destroying the U.S. army and going to hide in Puerto Rico. It is just outside of rationale reasoning.

The fact that this momentous event was not documented anywhere at that time except within the Hebrew literature is one of history’s greatest mysteries. During this age, Kemet was engaged in trade with many other nations in the world and many of them were literary nations as well. The Phoenicians who were the sea merchants of Kemet had their own writing system and would have been able to learn about and document the events of the Hebrew Exodus. Kemet also was not a monolithic society and was populated by people from other nations and ethnic groups besides the pre-dominant, ruling indigenous Africans. This news would have spread throughout the Mediterranean world and Western Asia where nations such as the Hittites and the Indus Valley Civilization would have documented it.

It is important to keep in mind that while the Bible mentions Egypt or Mizraim some 700 times, there is only one reference ever made to Israel in all of Kemet’s documented history. A large stone tablet erected in the funerary temple of Ramesses II’s son Merneptah details a military campaign against Canaan listing the names of cities and people conquered. This document dates back to 1222 B.C. Line 27 at the bottom of the stele reads, “Israel is made desolate and no longer has any crops.” Senegalese multi-genius Cheik Anta Diop presents the entire text to this document in “The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality.” This stone tablet is also on display in the Cairo museum for viewing.

Furthermore, there is no record of any people being enslaved in Kemet for 400 plus years. The institution of slavery is foreign to the social and political construct of quintessential African civilizations which shared a cultural unity with Kemet. In “Introduction to African Civilizations” John G. Jackson addresses the subject of slavery in Kemet by quoting European scholar W. M. Flinders Petrie who states the following in his “Social Life in Ancient Egypt,” “Slavery never attained the serious and infamous proportions that it had in Greece, or in Italy. The serfage, which probably continued throughout the history, prevented the requirements of slave labor on large estates. It was a mild and comparatively harmless obligation, which did not prevent ability from rising, and it saved the land from the ruin which slavery brings.”

An ancient Kemetic proverb states, “Popular beliefs on essential matters must be examined in order to discover the original thought.” Since historical evidence contradicts the Biblical account of the exodus, an examination of the text must be done to ascertain if what has been presented to the world is accurate. In “Chronicle of the Pharaohs” author Peter Clayton discusses the Exodus during the Reign of Ramesses II. He states the following, “when all the first born Egyptian children mysteriously died in the night, Ramesses took fright and expelled the Hebrews. But on hearing of their actual flight, he regretted the loss of his work-force, and set out to recapture them. With a vast army, he caught up to them by the “Sea of Reeds” (perhaps one of the inland lakes between the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Suez.)”

The encyclopedia Britannica corroborates Peter Clayton’s assertion in an entry discussing the life of Moses in a segment dedicated to the Exodus. It states, “The Egyptian army cornered them at the Sea of Reeds (papyrus), which barred their exit to the east. Later Jewish tradition understood the body of water to be the Red Sea, and this erroneous interpretation persists today, even in some of the most recent English translations of the Bible. Scholars disagree as to the precise location of the Reed Sea, but, since papyrus grows only in freshwater, it was most probably a shallow lake in the far northeastern corner of Egypt.”

The online Jewish encyclopedia validates both of the above arguments in an article discussing the Red Sea. It states, “References to the Red Sea under that name are not found earlier than the Apocrypha (Judith v. 12; Wisdom x. 18, xix. 7; I Macc. iv. 9). The name refers to the body of water, termed "Yam Suf" in all other passages, crossed by the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt (Ex. xiii. 18; xv. 4, 22; Num. xxxiii. 10 et seq.; Deut. xi. 4; Josh. ii. 10; et al.). It denotes, therefore, the present Gulf of Suez, which at that time extended considerably farther north, reaching, according to Greek and Latin authors, as far as the city of Hero (= Pithom), in the Wadi Tumilat. The meaning of the word "suf" in the name is uncertain, although it appears from Ex. ii. 3, 5 and Isa. xix. 6 that it meant "reed." According to Ermann and others it is an Egyptian word borrowed by the Hebrews, although the Egyptians never applied that name to the gulf. While it is true that no reeds now grow on the salty coast of the gulf, different conditions may have prevailed along the northern end in ancient times, where fresh-water streams discharged into it. Other authorities translate "suf" as "sea-grass" or "seaweed," which is supposed to have been reddish and to have given that body of water the name "Red Sea." Seaweed of that color, however, is seldom found there.”

This revelation that it was in fact the Sea of Reeds and not the Red Sea which was crossed by the Israelites gives us a better understanding of the original text. However, since this body of water is in the north of Kemet, it is still questionable how the Hebrews could have taken that route without being spotted by the Kemetic army? All along the northern border stretching through Sinai to Western Asia, were garrisons set up for the protection of the nation. The temple of Karnak in Kemet has reliefs indicating the existence of these garrisons. In their flight the Israelites would have most likely been spotted by soldiers at one of these locations.

With so much damaging evidence to the historicity of the Biblical Exodus, the only two conclusions that can be drawn is that the event did not occur or did not transpire in the fashion presented in the Bible. In the reading of history one will come to realize that fact is stranger than fiction. One would be amazed to find that many events from the past did not transpire the way presented to us, or that people are not who they have been presented to be historically. Such comments relate to this topic in that in Ivan Van Sertima’s “Egypt Revisited,” Wayne B. Chandler sheds light on the Israelite presence in Kemet. He states, “Josephus, (37-100 A.D.) Jewish statesman and historian commented that the Hyksos were the ancestors of the Israelites, “The Egyptians took many occasions to hate and envy us: in the first place because our ancestors, the Hyksos, or shepherds had dominion over their country…..” As modern historians will now attest this fact is undoubtedly true. The Hyksos invaded Lower Egypt following the Thirteenth Dynasty. They pillaged and destroyed thousands of statues, maimed and killed an undisclosed number of Egypt’s inhabitants and mercilessly raped the women of the kingdom. This domination of Lower Egypt persisted for two centuries! How ironic; the Jewish people identify themselves as he former slaves of Egypt, when in fact their ancestors, the Hyksos, ruled and enslaved Egyptians for 200 years.”

Now, many cold, hard, painful and shocking facts were just shared and individuals will find them difficult to manage if they subscribe to Christian theology. This revelation shakes the foundation of the core beliefs of such teaching. However, it is important to learn to live in historical reality. As stated in the beginning of this article, anything asserted to be true must be put to the test. If something that is believed to be true is proven otherwise, it must be discarded or subject to its proper interpretation if possible. As Dr. Leonard Jeffries states, “we must learn to follow the truth wherever the truth may lead us.”

Even though we can no longer believe that the Biblical Exodus is an historical event, and thus falls into the category of a myth, the story can still be interpreted to teach a positive lesson from which many can learn. To do so, one must understand that the ancients dealt with the esoteric, and told stories from a metaphorical point of view. While myths are not historically true, they convey a universal truth that can transcend time. To understand many of the ancient myths and the purpose they served requires a certain level of spiritual maturity. When this is achieved the individual will be better prepared to deal with reality. The Kemites recognized this importance and it was infused into all aspects of their culture. For them, all of humanity was an extension of the creator and thus served a higher purpose, but to achieve that purpose individuals had to be able to understand and deal with all aspects of the reality in which they lived. And according to the late Dr. Ishakamusa Barashango, “Whether that reality is pleasant or unpleasant, we must be able to deal with reality in order to be rational and sane and to reach that place for which we are being called to go.” Thank you for reading.

SOURCES:

Holy Bible: King James Version

Clayton, Peter A., “Chronicle of the Pharaohs,” Thames & Hudson, 1994

Van Sertima, Ivan, “Egypt Revisted,” Journal of African Civilizations, 1989

Jackson, John G., “Introduction to African Civilizations,” Citadel Press, 1970

Diop, Cheik Anta, “The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality,” Lawrence Hill Books, 1974

Beegle, Dewey M. “Moses,” Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/393555/Moses

Hirsch, Emil G., Benzinger ,Immanuel, “Red Sea” Jewish Encyclopedia http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=158&letter=R&search=red%20sea#ixzz18b6t828S

How the Nile River Works by Alia Hoyt: http://history.howstuffworks.com/african-history/nile-river.htm/printable

McArthur ,Tom, "Alphabet,” Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language 1998: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/alphabet.aspx#1-1O29:ALPHABET-full

"Red Sea." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 17 Dec. 2010: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Erythraean_Sea.aspx#1-1E1:RedSea-full

Bible: History or Hoax II – Moses & "Exodus" From Egypt – 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrrzzHOhr8Y

Bible: History or Hoax II – Moses & "Exodus" From Egypt – 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1eO5Dd6WgY&feature=related

THE DEVELOPMENTAL POWERS OF TRADITIONAL AFRICAN EDUCATION

The acquisition of knowledge is an endeavor which has been a part of African tradition since humanity developed the capacity for thought. This has led to the development of both informal and formal ways of acquiring the desired knowledge sought. Education at various stages of life facilitated the imparting of knowledge necessary for the development of the individual on various levels. This cultural norm was the rich heritage of many African societies going back into antiquity up to the pre-colonial age. It is thus sad to see the present depressing performance of African Americans, and specifically young African American men in the country’s school system. The low performance rate calls for a serious look at the way Africans in the United States are educated and compare it to how they were originally developed when they operated under their own cultural paradigm.

On Tuesday, November 9, 2010, CBS published on its web site an article titled, “Shocking School Achievement Gap for Black Males.” The author Bill Whitaker discussed the details of a new study showing that African American male students “languish at the bottom of every educational category.” Painful statistics were presented displaying the low performance of black males at multiple educational levels. When compared to that of white males, their aptitude level was depressing. It was stated that, "Researchers call these dismal numbers a call to action for scholars across the country to study this problem and come up with real solutions."

Surprisingly, one Chicago school seems to have found a way to get teenage African American males to excel in academics. In June of this year Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men had its first graduating class of 107 seniors get accepted to college. The school was opened as an experiment to cater to the scholastic needs of African American boys in Englewood, one of Chicago’s roughest neighborhoods. The students at the school predominantly come from economically disadvantaged households but have performed exceptionally well in this unique academic environment. “Urban Prep's mission is to provide a comprehensive, high-quality college preparatory education to young men that results in graduates succeeding in college.” The school has three campuses, Englewood, East Garfield Park and South Shore which were respectively opened in 2006, 2009 and 2010. Urban Prep’s success this year is reaffirmation that African people can rise again if the right circumstances are facilitated.

Sadly, there just aren’t enough Urban Prep’s all around the nation and it is still uncertain if it will stand the test of time. It is thus important to look at the deficiencies in the current education system by comparing it to that which existed in Africa before its many societies were interrupted. When we look at the education system of ancient Kemet, you will find that it is the foundation of western education. Within the walls of its many temples students were educated in areas such as “(1) Mystery Teachers of Heaven (Astronomy and astrology); (2) Mystery Teachers of All Lands (geography); (3) Mystery Teachers of the Depths (geology); (4) Mystery Teachers of the Secret Word (philosophy and theology); and (5) Mystery of Pharaoh and Mystery Teachers who examined words (law and communication).” In addition, the Kemites had simple and practical ways of calculating advance math problems without the use of a multiplication table. This method is known as Relational Mathematics and Jabari Osaze does a phenomenal job explaining the concept in his lecture titled, “Echoes of the Ancient Mind.” Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan also discusses this mathematical method in “Black Man of the Nile.”

Kemetic education was a system focused on wholistically developing and transforming the pupil into a God-like being. It was a combination of theory and practice which fostered progressive growth through successive stages. This education system had open admission for all students which meant that the king’s child and the pauper’s child were subject to the same rigorous training. Their education system truly left no child behind because they believed everyone was a reflection of the creator and thus all are destined to serve a higher purpose. Students began their formal education by training as scribes where from the outset they were exposed to copying serious text of the mdw ntr which detailed the nation’s great historical and spiritual tradition. Challenging and development of the mind was imperative for the Kemites. Dr. Na’im Akbar presents this information in a lecture titled, “Ancient Kemetic Science of the Mind.”

This tradition of human development for the benefit of the individual and the society prevailed throughout Kemetic history as well as other African nations up to the pre-colonial era. In “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa,” Walter Rodney states the following about Africa’s educational system, “The following features of indigenous African education can be considered outstanding: its close links with social life, both in a material and spiritual sense; its collective nature; its many-sidedness; and its progressive development in conformity with the successive stages of physical, emotional, and mental development of the child. There was no separation of education and productive activity or any division between manual and intellectual education. Altogether, through mainly informal means, pre-colonial African education matched the realities of pre colonial African society and produced well-rounded personalities to fit into that society.”

With all this information on the table, we can now see what important elements Africans in America are missing in the current education system. They are not being wholistically developed, not being given skills that benefit them or their communities and not being taught history and theology to which they can relate. In an interview with Listervelt Middleton, Dr. Asa G. Hilliard states, “If we always read the history of someone else, we will become psychologically imbalanced.” This is all a fall out of the destruction of black civilization and the historical amnesia from which the African population suffers. It is thus urgent that an education system be created that can provide the type of development to resurrect the excellence of African people. This is a responsibility which must be taken up by African people themselves because no one else will do it for them. It is dire that this is done to restore the balance of Ma’at to the world. An ancient Kemitic proverb states, “Social good is what brings peace to family and society.” An empowering education system is a social good that no civilization can live without if it hopes to achieve higher levels of development and greatness. Thank you for reading.

Sources:

Shocking School Achievement Gap for Black Males: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/09/eveningnews/main7038804.shtml

100 percent of school's first class college-bound: http://www.urbanprep.org/media/apArticle_June2010.pdf

Rodney, Walter, “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa,” Howard University Press, 1982

Van Sertima, Ivan, “Egypt: Child of Africa,” Journal of African Civilizations, 1994

Ancient Kemet Science of The Mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToqxoWXLdBE

Free your mind, return to the source, African Origins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhenAPlY4Ek

AFRICAN POLITICAL TRADITION

Tuesday, November 2^nd was a huge election day for us living in the United States. Many political offices were up for reelection while others were open to elect new officials. Dependent on the political affiliation of the candidate elected meant that different groups of people would be affected in distinct ways. African Americans or more specifically, Africans in America played a vital role in this year’s election process. Many petitioned others to vote because they recognized the significance of the election. Such political activism and involvement is nothing new to African people and has always been a part of their tradition. This tradition has been forgotten by many Africans and needs to be remembered for the sake of their social, political and economical advancement in the world.

Now while many African people were heavily involved with the election process this year, there were many others who wanted nothing to do with it. Their reasons for being bystanders in this event were understandable and justifiable. For the many centuries that Africans have been in this country, they have been subjected to harsh circumstances due to the legislation of politicians. The United States constitution in its original form before the many subsequent amendments is testament to this reality. The legally enforced segregation, black codes and Jim Crow laws that prevailed post slavery is further evidence to this truth. The Three Strikes laws that became popular in many states in the 1990ies additionally support the aversion of many blacks to politics because they adversely affected the African community. However, it is the prevalence of racism throughout all chapters of American history and the lack of change after so many years of voting that is the biggest fuel for the avoidance of many blacks to politics. With so much historical information and memory available, it is easy to see why so many African people avoid the election process all together.

However, for an oppressed people trying to change their standing in the world, is this the correct course of action? If we take a look at other ethnic groups within the country, you will find they have no aversion to politics and have used the system to obtain what they want socially, economically and politically. The modern day Euro-American Jewish people are a good example of this. While not at a level comparable to African people, they have been subject to a holocaust and discrimination, yet they wield tremendous power in this country and have achieved a significant level of opulence despite being a very small minority in the United States. Why have they been able to achieve such things and not African people in the country?

While their Caucasian heritage plays a large role in this circumstance, they also recognize the importance of unity/kinship, knowing the law, understanding the political system and taking advantage of it for their own benefit. They also recognize that economics and politics are very closely related. As a result the financial power you wield can also be used as an implement to influence political decisions. The larger population of Africans in the U.S. fails to realize this reality. Your vote should come at a price, and a very high one that will lead to decisions from which your people can benefit. On election day I spent much time contemplating this issue, and via Facebook I observed arguments for and against getting involved with voting and America’s political system. I came to the conclusion that voting is one thing, but influencing political officials to do as the people desire is another thing. All tools available must be implemented to further the status of African people in the country and in the world.

If we now go back in time to quintessential Africa, you will find that political involvement by the people was a natural way of life. Political decision making and democracy was engrained in the culture of the many societies that existed, and that power flowed from the bottom upwards to the leaders. In “The Destruction of Black Civilization,” Chancellor Williams details how these societies were stratified into political groups according to age range for governance. Such organization meant everyone had to be involved in decisions that affected their immediate circumference and the nation on a whole. Dr. Williams gives an example of such decision making by relaying the experience of a European who visited an African nation and wanted to be granted access to tour the various regions of the land. He complained that he had to wait several weeks before the king would agree to meet with him while other Africans who arrived after he did, met with the leader immediately. What this European failed to realize is that, those other Africans were the king’s advisors who had to get the people’s approval to allow the explorer to tour the land. The king could not grant an outsider the right to tour the nation without the population’s consent. Such political involvement in all aspects of government is a tradition African people have forgotten and need to remember. In kingdoms such as ancient Kemet, kings were supposed to carry out the desires of the people. If they didn’t they would be removed. This holds true for modern society so political involvement is something that “must” be actively practiced because it is the common sense and African thing to do.

It is thus important to know history, one’s own and that of others, because those memories serve as learning tools that can be used for political action. I will close with the following excerpt from Ivan Van Sertima’s essay on “History as a Guide to Modern Political Action.” “We should drink deep from the well of our history but in a way that nourishes rather than simply titillates us, poisons us, or divide us. History is a critical complement to contemporary reality and it is particularly helpful to those who have lost their way in the world because the footprints of their past have vanished or been erased……….It should be a dynamic beam of light in daily motion across the sky of our minds. It should charge us not only with a surge of new pride but the electric energy of creative action.” Thank you for reading.

My Divine Reflection

Is infinite patience for Black men an irrational postulation? I have asked myself this question innumerable times whenever the epiphany of being in a degenerating relationship became impossible to neglect and/or justify. Recently, I had had an opportunity to thoroughly reflect on this question with keen depth and truthful introspection when I had almost diverged into the grips of victimization, despondency, and anger. Before my sudden and final realization that my relationship with my former love would never work, the power of these extraordinary emotions had invaded my being like a viral plague. The aggravation, despair, hurt, doubt and betrayal so many Women of African Descent (Black Women) experience, besieged my heart because this was not the first time that I have been mistreated and lied to by someone I’ve loved. The consistent and persistent battle for harmony, reciprocity and truth Black women seek, is voided, exploited, misinterpreted and manipulated by societies and mindsets cajoling us to forget that we were and still are the source, fortitude, intuitive third eye, the backbone of every civilization—and the intelligent civilizations, like that of Ancient Kemet (Egypt), honored and respected the Divine essence of Wombmen; men within these societies were so knowledgeable of the divine reflection and compliment of a Black Wombman, their powerful and magnificent colossi—Queen Tiye and Amenhotep III—was constructed to impart one of Ancient Kemet’s most profound teachings—Isosephile: Eye to Eye, Soul to Soul. Men chosen to serve as the Nsubit (King/Pharaoh), through a Matrilineal order, in Ancient Kemet, knew that aligning with the soul of the source from which all of life emanates is the key to his enlightenment and the substance of their infinite, holistic union.

Unfortunately, though I’d parted the Red Sea, unclothed my vulnerabilities, inhibitions, and fears, compromised clairvoyance for reigning self-doubt, and accepted callous words, accusations, and behaviors by my Black Man, the soul-shattering depletion and frazzled state of which I’d become was a clear sign that I had to let go. I felt that, in spite of all of the head-way my former love and I had apparently made, he still did not get it; he did not get me and the level of his immaturity, egotism, underdevelopment, and pride was too immense for me to withstand; I could not bare to sacrifice the Ma'at I unrelentingly cultivated in my life simply because, I thought, this brother showed promise. The voice of my Divine Ancestors, Neter, Neteru aided my realization that although I should always love and remember the phenomenal and magical moments I’d shared with this person, compromising who I am, my values is equivalent to the death of my soul.

Many of us are familiar with the science of Dr. Joy DeGruy's Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, The Willie Lynch Letter, Brainwashed, to name a few, but when does recognition of the heart-wrenching reality of the Black woman’s plight, our ability to surmount vast catastrophes, and our victory over stupendous tribulations acknowledged? When can the mechanisms of our resilience serve as the blueprint for Black Men? When will exclamations of the unparalleled affronts imposed on Black Men no longer function as a viable excuse for the behaviors they justify and are justified for them? Recently, a very wise elder who is a studious traveler, martial arts practitioner, initiate of Ancient Mysteries Systems, historian and researcher, proposed a thought. He brilliantly contended that everyone, within the cosmic scheme of things, has their turn. We African people attained self-actualization thousands if not millions of years ago, yet here we are. How we got here is significant. What we are doing to resurrect self is paramount?

Fortunately, my cognitive awareness of the pertinence of holistic metamorphosis enables me to recognize that we exist to be challenged. These existential experiences, whether we perceive them as catastrophic or exhilarating, construct the very fiber of our physical and esoteric beings and consequent manifestations.

Although African peoples are bombarded with an onslaught of negativity from nearly every societal compartment—personal, familial, political, social, and so forth—it is up to us, right here, right now, to choose to instigate or to eradicate the crises we have been subjected to and tend to perpetuate. Instead of harboring anger and resentment towards the men who have been grave disappointments, I am refining myself; I am cultivating the sacred and inherent prowess of my entire being; I am recognizing the reasons why I attract negativity and challenging myself to courageously move away from counterintuitive thoughts and actions; I am radiating love because I am constantly affirming my passion to learn, grow, develop, transcend and ascend as an enlightened being.

To conclude, I have no intention to denounce Black Men in spite of current and dire circumstances. To me, the connection and procreation between a Black Man and a Black Woman is the epitome of perfection. The vibration of a Black Man’s tone, the power of his touch and the gravitational magnetism of his soulful eyes, thoughts and mind, supersede common understanding. Black Women knows of his intrinsic capacity to be whole, so it is not that we are emotional whenever we see and experience discontinuity, as if we are merely having a carnal response; we, the progenitors of life manifestations, feel incomplete because the spirit our divine compliment is dim and lost in darkness.

GENDER WARS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY: A CALL FOR PEACE

“The union of man and woman is like the mating of Heaven and Earth. It is because of their correct mating that Heaven and Earth last forever. Humans have lost this secret and have, therefore, become mortal. By knowing it, the path to Immortality is opened.” The preceding quote comes from Chapter 5 of Wayne B. Chandler’s phenomenal work, “Ancient Future, The Teaching and Prophetic Wisdom of the Seven Hermetic Laws of Ancient Egypt.” In just three sentences it encapsulates ancient perception of gender relations, humanity’s fall from such profound wisdom and the benefits of remembering it. From observing the current landscape in regards to the relationships of men and women in modern society, it is easily discernable that countless people are negatively affected by the loss of this knowledge. It can be argued that of that group, African people are the most adversely affected.

Along with the rest of the world, the African man and woman have been placed in adversarial roles instead of the complimentary ones that existed in ancient times. Evidence of this can be seen in the various articles and videos that have gone viral all over the Internet the past four weeks. It all began on September 27^th with an article on madamnoire.com by LaShaun Williams titled, “8 Reasons to date a White Man.” There was then a response to LaShaun’s article by Boyce Watkins titled “8 Reasons you might consider dating a White Woman.” The November issue of Essence also features an article by Demetria L. Lucas titled “Us VS Them” which also addresses interracial dating and the friction between black men and women.

Following the articles were several cartoon satires of black male and female relationships. There was Black Marriage Negotiations, Black Marriage Negotiations (Women’s Perspective), Black Marriage Negotiations Pt II (With a white woman in the mix), The Miseducation of the Black Man: What do women want?, Dating the Modern Mid-Twenties Black Man and Black Dating in a Hip Hop Society. This has got so out of control that last week I practically saw a new video every day!!! There’s probably someone putting the finishing touches on another one right now.

Sadly, this gender war reached a new high on October 20^th when AOL Black Voices’ entertainment reporter Jawn Murray tweeted the following, “All those militant-nappy headed Angry Black Women who didn’t think Tyler Perry was worthy of doing For Colored Girls can kick rocks.” When black women responded in uproar he followed up with, “So a few militant-nappy-headed angry black women are mad I used nappy headed earlier. Do me a favor = get a LIFE & get a PERM! How’s that?” With so much venom being spewed back and forth between both sides, it can be said that the animosity and friction is reaching critical mass.

When I first read “8 Reasons to date a White Man” I thought the author lacked a full knowledge of her history and suffered from serious hate for black men. She indicated that physical beauty is the best thing that today’s black man has going for him. As a result she gives her eight reasons to date white men, and they go as followed:

1. Gay white men are more open about their sexuality compared to all the down low black men

2. White men are not looking for someone to take care of them

3. White men attend and graduate college

4. White men at least attempt to marry before making babies

5. White men don’t glamorize ignorance

6. White men make better decisions when it comes to managing money

7. White men have the ability to look beyond your past and have no problem turning a hoe into a house wife

8. White men don’t take everything as a challenge to their masculinity.

Now, everyone is free to date whomever they please, and I understand that we all have no control over who we like or love, but to choose to date outside of your race for such stereotypical reasons is quite disturbing. It is not necessary for me to refute each and every single one of LaShaun’s assertions here because they have already been bludgeoned into the ground by individuals such as Boyce Watkins, Lydia Cotton and Tariq Nasheed. However, I will say that LaShaun is being unrealistically critical of black men without considering the circumstances that contributed to the present situation.

There is an ancient Kemetic proverb that states, “Judge by cause, not by effect.” Focusing on causes provides solutions that can permanently eliminate problems that plague us in the present. If African people were not uprooted from their homeland and had their African character ripped out of them, would black men be in their present state? This question along with others should be the focus of LaShaun’s investigation instead of spewing negative racial stereotypes about black men.

Her assertions are just as offensive as the premise of the Broadway musical Aida, which tells a love story between a “white” Kemite and a black Nubian. The hidden message of LaShaun’s article parallels this play in that it conveys the idea that there aren’t any black men good enough for black women so a white man must come to their rescue. We’ve seen this theme played out in literature and in films countless times and it is damaging to the psyche of all who buy into it. For this reason and numerous others, such messages stigmatizing black men and women need to stop.

Unfortunately they aren’t, because following LaShaun’s article came numerous black relationship cartoons appearing all over YouTube. However, the difference in the messages of these videos is that they mostly demonized the characters of black women with few shots also taken at black men. They painted black women as demanding, unrealistic, overbearing, hostile, gold-digging individuals who make extremely bad decisions when it comes to their partners. While the cartoons are hilarious to watch, they can serve as thought provoking educational tools to foster positive dialogue between the sexes in the black community. Sadly, I feel they do more harm than good because the subject matter of many of these videos opens painful old wounds for many viewers and are just too offensive on many other levels.

To add more fuel to the gender war bonfire, Entertainment reporter, Jawn Murray escalated the attack on black women with his Don Imus like comments about black women. As a black man I am ashamed of this journalist. How can black people improve their social, economic and political standing in the world if the males in the group are degrading the females? Such actions are becoming so prevalent in the black community that women from other races are placed on much higher pedestals than black women. This was the main focus of Demetria Lucas’ article in the November issue of Essence. Boyce Watkins fed into this circumstance in his response to LaShaun’s article. Such disrespect for black women by black men opens up the gates for other ethnic groups to do the same. This friction among black men and women perpetuates the social engineering of “The Willy Lynch Letter” to which enslaved Africans were subjected for hundreds of years. If black men don’t defend and value black women, then who will?

This present circumstance is a far cry from the way the ancient Kemites viewed the relationship between men and women. For them, males and females were divine compliments that could not exist without one another. They recognized that all things in creation had both male and feminine aspects which provided the balance that governed the universe. As a result, it was important for man and woman, who were the microcosmic reflection of the macrocosm (the creator) to work together in harmony. This understanding is something that is easily recognizable in studying the social order of ancient Kemet. The roles served by men and women in the society and within the family were interchangeable and at times the same. This order fascinated visitors to ancient Kemet such as the Greek historian Herodotus. In her essay on women’s rights in ancient Kemet, in “African Women in Antiquity, Beatrice Lump quotes Herodotus stating the following, “The Egyptians themselves, in their manners and customs seem to have reversed the ordinary practices of mankind. For instance, women attend market and are employed at trade, while men stay at home and do the weaving.”

Even during times of war the African man and woman of ancient Kemet supported each other to the very end. During Kemet’s revolutionary war to oust the invading Hyksos from the land, it was Queen Aahotep who fought with her husband and even after he was killed on the battlefield, she still continued the fight until her people were liberated. Such love and devotion between men and women were prevalent throughout ancient Kemet. The love that Ramessess II had for his chief wife Nefertari is testament to that. He loved her so much that he built a temple dedicated to her, and the tomb were she was buried was so lavishly decorated that it is considered the most beautiful one in Kemet today. This template of how African men and women can relate to one another is currently missing from the historical memory banks of the vast majority of the population. As indicated by Wayen Chandler in “Ancient Future,” the rise of male patriarchy has played a detrimental role in the friction that plagues gender relations today. However, if the lessons left by the ancient Kemites are remembered and adopted to modern times, then the relationships between African men and women can be repaired and shared with the entire world to create societies where egalitarianism or Ma’at dictates the social order.

In closing I would like to share the final remarks of Dr. Ivan Van Sertima in a 1991 interview conducted by Dr. Kwaku Lynn, “One has to see in what way the new historical information that can heal or help heal the black psyche can be used to help the family……To think this historical information stands as a separate area of knowledge and that it can only peripherally impinge on relationships is not true. It’s just that nobody could come and map out your relationship for you. They can give you certain information that can change your consciousness. A changed consciousness automatically remaps its relationships.” Thank you for reading.

Sources:

“8 Reasons to date a White Man,” http://madamenoire.com/22660/8-reasons-to-date-a-white-man-30188/

“8 Reasons you might consider dating a white woman,” http://madamenoire.com/23370/8-reasons-you-might-consider-dating-a-white-woman-22222/

Reporter Jawn Murray Calls Black Women Militant and Nappy Headed: http://www.forharriet.com/2010/10/reporter-jawn-murray-calls-black-women.html

Lucas, Demetria L., “Us vs Them,” “Essence,” November 2010

Chandler, Wayne B., “Ancient Future, The Teachings and Prophetic Wisdom of the Seven Hermetic Laws of Ancient Egypt,” Black Classic Press, 1999

Van Sertima, Ivan, “Black Women in Antiquity,” Journal of African Civilizations, 1984

Van Sertima, Ivan, “Egypt Child of Africa,” Journal of African Civilizations, 1994

Black Marriage Negotiations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb3XLBKq4NE

Black Marriage Negotiations (Woman’s Perspective): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oXsUVWnrTQ&feature=related

Black Marriage Negotiations Pt. II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mHoTmSdrkY&feature=related

Miseducation of the Black man – What do women want?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBhz1cK_f9A

Dating The Modern Mid-Twenties Black Man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFneIlFXPEk

Black Dating in a Hip Hop Society: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uehF-S5UB_g