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

Footage from Kemet

In my previous post, I discussed my experiences during my first trip to Kemet. I was able to take video footage of some very enlightening things. Since one of my reasons for going there was to bring back as much knowledge as possible, it is my objective to share it with everyone. Below are the videos which need no explanation. I will let them speak for themselves.

Visit to a Nubian Village


Visit to a Nubian Village Part II


Luxor Temple


Luxor Temple Part II


Luxor Temple Part III


Karnak Temple


Karnak Temple Part II


Karnak Temple Part III


"Each truth you learn will be, for you, as new as if it had never been written."

My First Trip to Kemet

Before I begin my latest offering, I would like to apologize to all the Udjat readers for my long hiatus. The desire and the topics to write about was there, but the time wasn't. Unfortunately, heavy traveling this past summer kept me too busy to write as often as I would like, hopefully this latest offering makes up for that. I hope you enjoy.

For students of African history, a trip to ancient Kemet is consider a holy pilgrimage back to the land of their mothers and fathers. This past August I had just that opportunity, and it was as if I had traveled back in time. While your scholarship may have educated you tremendously about ancient Kemet and its great accomplishments, personally witnessing what is left behind is the ultimate capstone to one’s studies. After journeying through the land, visiting all the monuments and interacting with the local people, I feel that I have garnered an invaluable multi-dimensional education that expands and reshapes my consciousness. With much conviction, I can assert that all people of the diaspora should one day make a pilgrimage to Kemet, the home of their ancestors.

For me, this trip was the culmination of a year’s worth of planning. I delved deep into my study of African history and learned a great deal about the significance of ancient Kemet. I then decided that I had to see all that I read for myself because my world view and core values were being reshaped and I needed to confirm all that I was learning. I initially planned to make the journey alone, but my younger sister, Cheryll, was interested in going to Kemet as well, so she assumed the tedious task of planning the trip. LOL. The plan was to spend two weeks in the country and see as many monuments as possible.

We left New York on Friday, August 13^th and arrived the following afternoon. After resting for the first day, the next morning our adventure began with a visit to the Egyptian museum. Touring this site first was a great way to begin the trip because the information our guide provided served as a brief overview of Kemetic history. While it was great to see so many beautiful pieces, we were disappointed that visitors weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the museum. Our next stop on the tour was visiting the pyramid tomb of King Teti, the founder of the 6^th dynasty from the Old Kingdom. We subsequently saw the tomb of his wife Queen Ipwet. While her tomb was better preserved, his pyramid looked more like a mountain of sand and rubble because it has deteriorated after its limestone casing was removed. We then closed out our first day with trips to a papyrus shop and an essential oil shop to see how these products were made. Sales pitch accompanied the lessons which we rejected since we realized that these stops were tourist traps.

On day two of the trip, we went to visit the Giza Plateau to see the Mrkhuty (pyramids). While I had done substantial reading about these structures, nothing prepared me for the imposing monuments masterminded by these ancient architects. The exposed inner blocks of the structures served as a testament to the ingenuity and the advance engineering of the ancient Kemites. This statement is also applicable to the Sphinx (Hor-Em-Ahket) which is a living example of negative architecture. After spending the majority of our day in Giza, we made our way to Saqqara to visit the Imhotep Museum and King Djoser’s step pyramid. It was surreal to witness the world’s first stone skyscraper and the template which led to the great pyramids we saw earlier that day.

Day three was the last of our stay in Lower Kemet, so we spent the day visiting Coptic Cairo where we visited The Hanging Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the Monastery and Church of St. George. These buildings had exotic sculptures of saints and Christian paintings. We wanted to visit some of the early Islamic mosques in the area, but due to Ramadan they were all closed to tourists as well as the Coptic Museum. One interesting thing we learned from visiting this area is that Christians and Moslems coexist peacefully. This shattered my assumption that followers of Islam were intolerant of Christianity.

At the close of our last day in Cairo, we traveled south to Aswan but made a brief stop in Luxor to meet Kemetologist, Anthony T. Browder, for a private tour of newly discovered tombs from the 25^th and 26^th dynasties. Earlier in the year, I donated to the Asa Restoration Project which is why I was granted a private tour of the site. It was fascinating to learn about the discovery of the tombs yet upsetting to see the destruction perpetrated by the tomb robbers. Seeing the type of painstaking and tedious labor it takes to restore the site really put in perspective how much this effort needs to be supported. Anthony did a great job of explaining the significance of the find and how important it is to African people that the excavation be financed. We met several African American members of the team and heard their testimonials as to what brought them Kemet. In sharing my testimonial, Atlantis Browder asked me what I was doing with all the knowledge I was accumulating on African history. I explained my involvement with the Center for the Restoration of Ma’at along with my support of other African centered organizations. However, after meditating on that conversation later on, I realized that the most important thing anyone regardless of background can do with this knowledge is change one’s self.

After leaving the excavation site in Luxor, we arrived in Aswan late that night and started early the next day at 3:00 a.m. to visit Abu Simbel three and a half hours away. On that ride, we witnessed a beautiful sun rise which the Kemites would have classified as Khepera on the rise. Like The Sphinx and the pyramids, the two temples at Abu Simbel were monumental and imposing structures. However, they were much more lavishly designed and decorated with beautiful inscriptions. It was easy to see the progression of Egyptian art from the Old Kingdom to that of the New Kingdom during the time of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties.

We left Abu Simbel and later on that day visited the Aswan market to shop for souvenirs. Although the vendors were very friendly and hospitable, we quickly learned that you must vigorously negotiate every transaction to avoid being ripped off. Majority of the vendors offered us hibiscus tea once we walked into their shops. They asked us where we were from, and joked with us about any and everything. It was interesting to learn that Aswan was populated predominantly by Nubians. They were much darker, looked more like us, and they therefore assumed that we were natives. Their temperament was much more laid back and easy going compared to that of the modern day Egyptians we interacted with in the north.

On our second day in Aswan, we visited Philae Island to see the Temple of Aset (Isis). Its location out on the Nile (Hapi) added a serene effect to its beautiful design. Sadly, it was upsetting to see how the site was vandalized by early Christians. We later learned this was the norm during the rise of early Christianity as it began sweeping through ancient Kemet. Later we capped off our day with a Faluka boat ride and visited several islands on the Nile. Our Faluka boat captains actually knew Dr. Yosef Ben Jochannan and Ashra Kwesi. We had an enlightening talk about how they met each of them and all the times they visited Kemet with study tours. The final stop of our ride was a tour of a Nubian village. It was a phenomenal experience walking through the area and seeing how the people lived. While the prevalence of poverty was very apparent, the people appeared very happy and at peace. We met a Nubian brother who had a beautiful spirit, and he allowed us to interview him on camera to learn more about Nubian culture. Although these Nubians live a simple life, it is quite remarkable how happy they are compared to us Westerners who have so much but are far more miserable. This encounter served as a great reminder that we should not take the comfort and luxuries we have for granted.

The following day we left Aswan early in the morning to return to Luxor. We arrived early and made the best of our time by visiting both Luxor and Karnak Temples. Since so many different rulers built expansions to each of these temples, our tour was like a walk through several different eras of Kemetic history. We were able to see monuments at each site from the nation’s imperial age to the Greco-Roman and Christian era to the Moslem period. Subsequently, it was easy to see the marks left by each foreigner whether it was constructive of destructive. One of the most surprising things I learned was that early Christians at one point lived in the temples and later turned them into churches. They also began covering up the Medu Neter with plaster and painted their own images on the walls and even began building their churches in the same fashion as Kemetic temples. Both temple complexes had numerous examples of vandalism perpetuated by early Christians and early Moslems. This information was relayed to us in great details by tour guides at each site.

On our second day in Luxor, we visited the Valley of the Kings. There we entered the tombs of two of the Ramesides and Tuthmosis III. The grandeur with which these tombs were decorated evidenced the spirituality of the ancient Khamites and the high regard they had for the afterlife. Vibrant, colorful images covered almost every inch of the tombs, leaving you in a state of awe. We then visited Queen Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple which was built with the same flamboyance. It was so finely constructed that it looks as if it was built just yesterday, and this is after it was vandalized and robbed. Throughout its chambers, it was clear to see the vandalism that might have taken place under Tuthmosis III. This was a sad reminder that for all their greatness even the ancient Kemites had problems and internal strife. Hatshepsut’s temple turned out to be the final site we would see during our trip.

I wanted to visit the temples of Eduf, Abydos and Denderah, but my sister was burned out and asked “how many temples can I look at?” LOL. We decided to go to the city of Hurghada on the Red Sea to finish our vacation in a more relaxing fashion. To get to Hurghada, we took a bus ride through the desert which made for a very interesting and thought provoking experience. The vastness of the desert made it seem like an ocean of sand, yet there were times our bus drove through very intimidating and eerie mountainous areas. However, the view was so divine and magnificent that my sister said she could feel the presence of God. Seeing the vastness of the desert and the mountainous regions put me in a state of deep contemplation. I thought, “ancient Kemet was so great that despite these obstacles many nations from Western Asia still invaded them for what they had.”

In Hurghada we stayed at a hotel directly on the beach front of the Red Sea. It was shocking to find that the entire beach front was owned by Russians and that we were the only black people staying in the hotel. Surprisingly, that was to our benefit because the Egyptian staff treated us exceptionally well because of our skin color. How ironic that my first week back in the states, I was pulled over by police officers in my own neighborhood in front of my own house for doing absolutely nothing wrong. Nevertheless, even though the atmosphere made us feel like we were no longer in Africa but rather somewhere in Europe, we had an enjoyable stay. It was interesting swimming in the Red Sea after reading about it in the Bible as a child growing up. My sister then asked, “Isn’t this the sea that God parted?” I was awed by its vastness which made me ask, “How could thousands of people have crossed this on foot and outrun an entire army.” Upon my return to the states the latest book I read answered that question.

Now, it is often said that visiting Africa and Egypt in particular changes you forever. I can testify that this is an accurate assertion. While reading about the nation can educate one’s mind a great deal, seeing the monuments built by the Kemites in person is the only way to fully understand their greatness. To paraphrase Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, you learn that these are a people who did not settle for mediocrity. As a result, since we are their descendants, neither should we. For me, this realization reinforces the understanding that Africans still have much work to do to resurrect themselves and regain their place of prominence on the world stage. Subsequently, you also learn that people such as the modern day Egyptians are just as miseducated about their true history as Africans of the diaspora. From speaking with many of the guides and the locals, you understand that they believe their ancestors are responsible for the splendors of ancient Kemet. You then recognize that the other daunting task to accomplish globally is getting the colonizers to admit that the ancient Kemites were “black African people” and our black brothers and sisters to accept this fact with pride rather than shame.

This reshaping and reawakening of consciousness is an important step for the preservation and improvement of especially black people across the globe. By living within the context of truth and historical reality, humanity can work towards being the divine vessels of the creator. Since returning home I have been in a state of slight depression due to the realization that we should not be living life the way we currently are. I also feel that I have graduated to a higher state of consciousness. I am now able to interpret certain scenes and imagery from Kemetic art on a level that I was not able to do before. It is as if a third eye has opened within me. This is what my trip to Kemet has done for me. It has provided knowledge, insight, and lessons that none of my readings could accomplish. An ancient Kemetic proverb states it best, “True learning is not an accumulation of knowledge; it is an awaking of consciousness which goes through successive stages.” Thank you for reading.