Traumatic Confusion. I recently had a friend share an
article by I. B. Nameless[1]. Excitedly,
my friend explained, “Oh! You will love this article. You two think so much
alike!” I was already familiar with Mr. Nameless. His writings were (in my
opinion) a waste of ink, paper, and time. I would not disgrace my rabbits, by
lining their dropping trays with his writings. My “friend” was obviously
confused to equate my commitments with those of Mr. Nameless and I was
traumatized by her confusion. Though traumatized, I understood her confusion.
Many of us take very little time to understand the world in which we live.
Instead we are thoroughly distracted, allowing our minds to live in a world
manufactured by Hollyweird[2].
Our best energies go towards keeping track of the latest manufactured drama, or
the latest manufactured news, or the latest manufactured relationship, or… So
at any rate, in the minds of many there is not much mental energy allocated to
the discernment of racial (social, political, cultural, historical) discourse.
In the minds of many it is all seen as “Black talk” or “that Black stuff.”
We here at Sankoré
Institute are solution-oriented. So, to contribute to the reduction of traumatic
confusion… to help reduce the mental space occupied by Hollyweird… and to help
foster in our people a greater capacity for understanding our condition… we
offer this simple lesson in discernment.
Discernment Lesson, Part One:
Historical Context.
Throughout history (and this distinction goes back tens of thousands of years)
there have been two types of Afrikans. There have been those who
unapologetically, without hesitation, and at any cost place the well-being of
Afrikan people as their primary goal. I will call these Afrikans Freedom Fighters because they fight to
establish and maintain our freedom. These Freedom Fighters do not care about
hurting people's feelings, about being nice guys, or about diplomacy. They only
want good life for us. You can look up Men-Kepre-Ra-Tahuti-Maes as an ancient
example. More recent examples would be Queen Nzingha, Nat Turner, Marcus
Garvey, or Khalid Abdul Muhammad. The second type of Afrikan is different. I
will call these Afrikans "good
slaves" because they are good and useful for the slave monster. These
are compromising, capitulating, go-along-to-get-along Afrikans who prioritize
many things over our well-being. They may prioritize the feelings of our
enemies, a philosophical idea, a religious commitment, or a "good
guy" image. We always suffer because these Afrikans are used by our
enemies to mislead and confuse our people. You can look up Akenaten as an
ancient example. More recent examples would be Lucius Septimius Severus, Toussaint
Louverture, W.E.B. DuBois, and Martin Luther King.
Discernment Lesson, Part Two: Guidelines. Following are three guidelines that
can be used to discern these two types of Afrikans. Guideline #1: Freedom Fighters are extremely explicit in
identifying the enemy. An enemy is anyone who is working to our detriment. The
white race has been, is and by all evidence is going to be the bitter enemy of
Afrikan people. A Freedom Fighting educator identifies white teachers, white
schools, white curriculum, white administrative policies, white disciplinary
practices, etc. as the core source problem in the oppression of Black children.
The good slave identifies the need for diversity, a bloated bureaucracy, a
corrupted educational system, poverty, lack of understanding, lack of
resources, and a whole host of other problems. They never, however, identify
whites as enemies of Black people. Guideline
#2: Freedom Fighters talk straight. When you listen to us speak, you do not
leave confused or seduced by a lot of fancy, high-sounding words. The good
slave's tongue is his weapon. He uses it to trick us into thinking he is an
advocate for Afrikan people while simultaneously reassuring whites that he is
no threat. To accomplish this he uses buckets and buckets of words[3].
When you listen to the good slave don't be seduced by the sweet sound of
nothingness. Listen for the meaning. Rarely will the good slave clearly and
accurately identify an Afrikan problem. And even more rarely do they offer
direct and meaningful solutions. Guideline
#3: Freedom Fighters advocate for Afrikan people based on their
Afrikan-ness. We seek Afrikan solutions to Afrikan problems for the purpose of
benefiting Afrikan people. The good slave advocates for everybody on the basis
of… “who knows what?” As a consequence they are never in a position to lead
Afrikan people as we seek to establish and maintain freedom.
Discernment Lesson, Part Three: Homework. Identify three news stories written
by and about Black people. Pull them from the following sources: War
on the Horizon - War Room,
Your
Black World, Pittsburgh
Courier Online. Read through each
story and practice applying the guidelines to determine what type of Afrikan
authored each.
Jomo W. Mutegi is a husband and father committed to the improvement of the African world community, an author of science-related children’s books, and an Associate Professor of Science Education. To learn more about Jomo’s children’s books, visit www.JomoMutegi.com. To learn more about Dr. Mutegi’s research visit www.ES2RP.org.
