Black Man, Stand Up. Pt. 2
What is Black History Month? With the entire repetitive dialog we’ve heard, including February being the shortest month; Valentine’s Day seems to be more important to our society. BHM is still celebrated by many and remains a time of reflection and remembrance for black people, even if not made a big deal out of in media and society and apparently, BHM is sadly becoming more irrelevant to today’s generation of our young Blacks and others, not being recognized to the fullest, as it should, it in this short month. It is quite possible that one may go through the entire month of not even hearing a word mentioning Black History and it is equally disappointing to know that Fort Bend ISD requires it’s schools to recognize BHM as “Cultural History Month” in an effort to ‘include’ the other students who may otherwise feel alienated during this month. If that isn’t blatant hypocrisy, then what is?
Before we can expatiate on the topic at hand, let us first take a brief look at the author of the month, Carter G. Woodson who wrote, “We Are Proud to Be Black.” Carter Woodson was born in 1875, in Virginia, to former enslaved parents. Being forced to grow up fast, Woodson was determined to educate himself at an early age, and then began teaching to do the same for others. He later earned a PhD from Harvard and soon after started erecting African centered programs and holding open dialogs; then quickly realizing the need to address Black issues within the academic arena, Woodson launched the journal of Negro history, which was completed in 1922, being his first full length text book titled, “The Negro in Our
History”. Four years later, he established ‘Negro Week’, which was acknowledged in the second week of February, choosing to pay homage to Fredrick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, who were born in that particular week. Woodson was adamant about challenging contemporary academia for its lack of Black involvement and obvious distortions, so determined to educate the black masses, he married his work, producing, what many consider as his most profound work, ‘The Miseducation of the Negro’, which is considered a must-read by Black/African studies elite. Carter G. Woodson dedicated his whole life to his work, starting in his mature, pubescent years, where he serviced his people and passed with a dream that materialized several years after his death—Encyclopedias Africana.
To begin this next section, I will use a timeless quote from Sista’ Assata Shakur: “No movement can survive unless it is constantly growing and changing with the times; if it isn’t growing, it is stagnant; and without the support of the people, no movement for liberation can exist no matter how correct the analysis of the situation is.” Likewise, the Obama campaign was a movement, where he seized the moment and maximized his potential within the time allotted; hence we all witnessed a flawless campaign and Obama became “A Man of his time.” Now, the same enthusiasm, fervor and determination we all had throughout the campaign, must not only remain, but increase in our own life campaigns, as we too, must seize the instant in time and show what kind of potential we have to make this moment and time work for us!
What happens when we discover ourselves, our purpose; and know who we are historically, culturally and traditionally? Why did Malik El Hajj El Shabazz(Malcolm X)
say, “ At the forefront for Africans in America is the consciousness of our people, and the dominant structure will use every vehicle at its disposal to maintain a grip on that consciousness”? Because when he and others tapped into that consciousness, their true life missions began! They connected with the God given power within themselves and movements were born. I can’t say that enough. Black consciousness doesn’t automatically make you a community activist per se, but it does induce pro-activity and necessitates being pro-life and pro-gressive! It sets us in the right direction to master self and produce more-the result of a heightened sense of purpose, which comes from being conscious and aware. Our outlook on life must be positive and progressive and our values healthy. We must have faith in our abilities, knowledge of self and most of all, belief that a power greater than ourselves supports our efforts! BHM started off as a Black History Bulletin, then Black History Week, then Black History Month. BHM is the result of a reborn consciousness, the brainchild of Mr. C.G. Woodson who discovered the malignant flaws in the education he was receiving in the American school system. Where is our fruit?
In his book, Know Thyself, Dr. Naim Akbar (formally a president of The National Association of Black Psychologists and a long time African Studies Professor) writes about the functions of education, two from which I will expound on here: Legacy of Competence and Acquired Immunities.
1. Legacy of Competence:
When we are able to look at our past and present accomplishments and gain a sense of self-purpose and empowerment because we see how competent we have been throughout history. When this generation and the next can extract from previous generation the active energy propelling the Black soul to endure and the Black mind to wake up, and the people as a whole to Stand Up! In other words, each generation leaves a strong legacy, and in turn, “invites” their progeny to do the same.
2. Acquired Immunities:
This is similar to how the bodies T-Cells and antibodies reproduce to build up the body’s immune system in order to resist and fight off viruses and diseases. Black people collectively make up one body. We are exposed to many social diseases such as poverty, drug addiction, police brutality, teen pregnancy and racism. After being exposed to such social ills, over time, the body develops immunity towards them. We learn from the mistakes and the accomplishments of those who have been exposed to the social diseases that we are faced with today and can deal with them more effectively or even prevent them, instead of allowing them to fester and passing them on and reproducing more self hating, prison prone, school drop-outs!
Why is history beat into our heads so heavily in just about everything that we read, study and are taught about. We should all know the importance of going to the origins or roots of things in order to understand them better. The purpose of learning about our heritage and history is to build up our self worth and appreciation of our culture and present reality. When we view the accomplishments and contributions we have made to the world as being equal to that of others, we too can enjoy the fruit of constructive minds, community cohesiveness and Black Nationalism. So how in the hell did we develop the opposite of all the above? Either there is something wrong with the history being taught or the people it’s being taught to, or both. Those who control the flow of and the actual information regarding the history of themselves and others within their borders, have a considerable amount of power in their hands. Why? Because we tend to believe what the “experts” teach us about ourselves through their own curriculums and sources of information which they created for their own benefit. As a consequence, when an expert from among ourselves steps forward to challenge and/or refute the distortions and incorrect information, we discard it as if our own scholars and experts are the ones being biased or have some sort of deceitful hidden agenda. In the words of South African freedom fighter Steve Biko, “ The greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressor, is the minds of the oppressed!”
In the early history of America, psychologists, “the experts” proclaimed that Black people had smaller brains and were better off under the authority of whites. Earlier than that, the western word considered us savage, uncivilized and in need of White-Christian-Civilized dominion. Aside from being beaten or killed, Blacks and even white women were considered insane for thinking they were somehow equal to white males. Some “experts” concluded that those people who are born with a natural physique, or people considered ugly, are more likely to indulge in criminal behaviors. Point is, over the years, we began to believe we are inferior, ugly, uncivilized, crime prone and not as smart as whites. White Christians even convinced us to “obey our earthly masters” and that chattel slavery was ordained by God and justified because of the curse of Ham and his descendants. As a result, still in 2012, we suffer from lack of self-esteem and self worth, destructive thinking, racial and cultural ignorance and self inflicted annihilation. In her book entitled Yurugu, profound author and motivational speaker Marimba Ani writes,
“The secret Europeans discovered early in their history is that culture carries rules for thinking, and that if you could impose your culture on your victims, you could limit the creativity of their vision, destroying their ability to act with will and intent and in their own interest”.
In conclusion, stand up Black Man and be the example that you want your son to be like, and your daughter to be with. Man up, and act like what you want to be treated like! We must focus more on our priorities, instead of our habits and wants. We must love to be educated, as much as we love to be entertained! We must allay our egos and pride, and have some dignity and integrity! We have more than enough bull-shittin’ ass niggas to last 2 lifetimes! Real Black men must Stand Up!
Hotep! (Peace!)
Kenyatta “Kaa-S” Sadiki signing off
