Remember the Time: A Tribute to Michael Jackson (8.29.1958 - 6.25.2009)

On Thursday afternoon Michael Jackson, also known as the "King of Pop", died of a heart attack at the age of 50. Jackson spent nearly his entire life in the public eye; first as a member of the "Jackson 5" band with his brothers, and then as the world's most successful solo pop artist. His 1982 album, Thriller, is still the world's best selling album.

Michael Jackson's personal life has always been characterized by more than his share of turmoil. From his relationship with his abusive father, to his continued use of cosmetic surgery to virtually annihilate his African features, to his legal battles fraught with claims of child molestation; Jackson was often embroiled in heated controversy. However, he undeniably stands as one of the greatest influences of both music and popular culture.

Today The Udjat celebrates the life and accomplishments of Michael Jackson through his ground-breaking 1992 song Remember the Time. Jackson took great risk with the song's accompanying video which was set in Ancient Egypt. Directed by popular African American director John Singleton, the video utilizes its title in "double entendre" fashion. The use of an all-African American cast argues that we should all "remember the time" that Africans were the rulers of one of the world's most preeminent formative civilizations. Certainly this image must have been difficult for so many of the proponents of a non-African origin to Ancient Egypt! Perhaps with a few more popular depictions, we might be able to have a genuine public dialog concerning the ancient role of Africans in the ebbing tide of human civilization. Shem em Hetep (Go Forth in Peace)! Enjoy!

Who was Hypatia? Probably not Rachel Weisz ...

You've probably never heard of Hypatia. Nearly 1600 years after her murder, Rachel Weisz will play this amazing woman in the historical-drama, Agora. Perhaps we should be just a little skeptical that the female lead in the Mummy franchize will be playing a woman living in Egypt after its conquer by the Romans. It should be clear where this is going.

Hypatia was actually a remarkable woman. Born in Alexandria in the 3rd century to noted mathematician, Theon, Hypatia was a scientist, mathematician, astromomer, and philosopher in her own right. She was also not prisoner to many of the existing mores for women in Alexandria during her time; she walked the streets without male companionship and wore the clothes of a male scholar.

You would figure you might have heard about her right? After all, Hypatia was one of the first recorded female scientists and also a bit of what we would call a radical feminist/womanist. It has been reported that she rebuffed a suitor by showing him her menstruation rags and warning him about carnal desire. However, Hypatia was a "pagan" who stood in conflict with the bigotry of an early Christian sect. Uncomfortable with her ideas, this group brutally murdered her by sheering the skin from her bones with oyster shells and finally burning her alive. This history is not one that would be easily reconciled in today's Christian world.

There is still at least one other reason Hypatia is not widely popular. I am quite sure Hypatia's racial/ethnic background will not be explored in the new Rachel Weisz film. It is certainly possible that she was ethnically Greek. She lived in Egypt after the Greek invasion and during the subsequent Roman period. It is also possible that she was a Black woman--an argument that historians Ivan Van Sertima and George Sarton both posit. It is likely that Hypatia's father, Theon, was an African. I will eagerly await his depiction in the film.

With all of the reasons Hypatia should be a household name, it is still clear that an honest recounting of her ideas and linage are still uncomfortable topics. I think the words of the Chief Priestess of Shrine of Ptah are appropriate here: "They say our way is dead. They say ou way is no more. That the Nile Valley Legacy all ended thousand of years ago. But we are here ... and we remember." Shem em Hetep (Go forward in peace)!