The Miseducation of the African-American

Americans believe the slogans they are fed. It is not just; "Iraq has weapons of Mass Destruction," it is; "America is the freest nation in the world!" or that "Blacks are oppressed everywhere!" As has been said; "It's not what you don't know,it's what you know that isn't so." The freedoms enjoyed in America are a fraction of those exercised by those in Scandinavian countries. This is only unknown in America. Nations in which the African citizens have never known oppression by Europeans are ignored. When a person who has experienced more than one environment compares them, it is remarkable that those who have never been one hundred miles from the spot they were born expresses an opinion. It is, to be crude, like buying tinned beans your mother bought and never daring to try another brand because your mother told you this one was the best. Over forty years ago, the American comedian and actor, Bill Cosby, landed in Africa and was amazed to see all the Black people. Would he have been amazed if he had landed in China and seen all the Chinese people in charge? Malcolm X went on a haj and was amazed that people from other parts of the world were not prejudiced against him, seeing only another Muslim on a haj. Did he think Islam was only practiced by Blacks? Reflecting on these reactions one might find a bit of humour, but they are indications of the insulation which prevents Black Americans from grasping the simple truth; America is not the only place in the world.

American 'culture' is of limited vintage. American Blacks, overdosing on propaganda rarely identify with Africa. Most have no intention of going there, and know virtually nothing about the continent. How many Black Americans imagine going to Africa under some volunteer program? One is stunned by how many white people participate in these organisations contra blacks. One assumed the situation in Darfur would have had the Black American community marching in the streets. One might assume that the situation in Zimbabwe would be front page news in African American circles. It isn't. Most African-American 'philosophers' concentrate on slavery. The entire understanding of African history, of the role of Africans in the world, is reduced to slavery. Slavery began in America 1609 and was of a very limited vintage.

It took over a hundred years for the rise of labour intensive crops to make it feasible. In the United States, the institution was abolished in 1864. Half of America was already 'free', so it was only a specific area of the South in which it was practised. The passage of time does not effect the mindset of American Blacks. One hundred years from now, if the 'mental slavery' continues, American Blacks will still hold that aspect of their history as the centrepiece of their existence. This is because there is and was a concerted effort to keep American Blacks ignorant of the past, unaware of the present, and shroud the future in self perpetuating inferiority. It is this belief which cripples the American Black. Firstly, it paints Africans as an easily dominated race. Secondly, it seems to describe persons who resigned themselves to their enslavement. Thirdly, it suggests that if compassionate whites had not freed them, they would be slaves today. Is any of this true? Can one actually believe Europeans, who had never been to Africa could so easily invade and capture, not kill but capture Africans alive and transport them for export? If you believe this, and are Black, this is the root of all your problems.

This is where your feelings of inferiority and resentment begin. This is why you see yourself as a victim. If you are White, you believe this because it adds to your glorious power. Your super Rambo image, which is why you invaded Vietnam and lost, failed in your attempts to free the hostages in Iran, and are currently dying in Iraq. The lie of the European as all powerful is accepted by both sides of the equation, and the truth is obliterated. Africans were captured by other Africans. Wars of this nature were not unknown. One tribe would invade another tribe's territory and capture and carry away members. In time, the victim tribe would raid the victor tribe and free the captives, capture and enslave the previous victors. Europeans could not penetrate far into Africa. They would be killed, if not by human then by mosquito. Hence the involvement of Africans in the Slave trade needs to be spotlighted. Not to castigate but to proclaim; if your brother didn't sell you to the slavers, you would not have left Africa. As offensive as the concept may be, the truth of it removes the guise of the 'all powerful' European.