Roots African or American, El fin

 Indigenous Garifuna of Guatamala

Being Black in America is an interesting journey enhanced only by our perceptions of ourselves and the stories that accompany our lives as denizens in the western hemisphere. What and who we are is to be determined by us, and how we view ourselves. And our perceptions of ourselves can drive beliefs and actions about how we live our daily lives. In part one I mentioned reading several books and attending lectures on our historical greatness and accomplishments. One commenter noted “Eventually, I grew bored with all of that because it didn't move me any closer toward "doing for self." I and others read the books, attended the lectures, and then went back to our various jobs working for White-controlled entities. As a Nation of Islam minister put it, we WEREN'T learning the science of providing "food, clothing, or shelter" for ourselves, or for our people.”

This is an excellent and well taken point. Unfortunately, the science of providing food, clothing and shelter has been dissected and re-mixed to become “if it don’t make dollars it don’t make sense” thus the science has been removed from the concept. Now, we have a business world that has become devoid of reciprocal living and true social economics that can be expressed in the indigenous American term found in Louisiana, lagniappe, to give a little something extra, or in a sense to give something back. The science of providing food, clothing and shelter is to “want for your brother what you want for yourself“ and create business’s along the lines of this concept as taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. This one element, that’s now missing makes it an incomplete formula, without it, it becomes a tool for destruction.

Part of my thought process in presenting this series is to impart some knowledge that’s being hidden and since being hidden when presented, appears to be “secret origins“ of Black people. See, we only believe these are secret origins of Black people because those that teach and those that accept the standard teachings will continue to view our indigenous origins in places other than Africa as “secret origins.” One commenter wrote “

Vasco Nuñez de Balboa crossed the isthmus of Panama in 1513,he came across both indigenous and black skinned people. He was so surprised when he saw tall black people that he asked the indigenous people who the blacks were or where they were from. The indigenous people in Quarequa, did not respond to Balboa's question.”

She notes that Balboa encountered “both indigenous and black skinned people…” drawing a distinction calling one group of people “indigenous” and another “black skinned” alluding that the “black skinned people were not indigenous to Panama. Yet, she goes on to say “when Balboa saw the tall black people he asked the indigenous people who the blacks were or where they came from. The indigenous people in Quarequa, did not respond to Balboa’s question.” I simply say, because the indigenous (lighter skinned people) thought Balboa’s question was ridiculous and not worthy of an answer. The people of Quarequa knew the “black skinned” people were right from the land they were standing, Panama. The belief that the black skinned people were not indigenous to the land is based on the European Balboa’s question and not the response or non response by the so called “indigenous” people.

When we accept the belief that the black skinned people were not indigenous to the land we are accepting the view, and propagating the view of the European and not the people of color, the lighter skinned indigenous people of Panama!

We are a diverse people and not just the descendents of slaves. Dr. Jose Pimienta Bey says, if you only think of yourself as descendents of slaves, you will view yourself as slaves, and act as a slave.  We are actually, the descendents of prisoners of war and are forced into enslavement.  A war that started in Al Andaluz, (Spain) and spread to Africa then to the Americas. If we look at our history as a 500 hundred year history as being showcased by Tavis Smiley and his America I Am exhibit, limited to his concept of American Slavery. This is far from where my history begins and ends, and I can no longer support such a theory.

Dr. Ivan Van Sertima said it best when asked why he presented the Egypt Revisited lectures. Dr. Van Sertima entimated ’…our ancestors thought of themselves in a certain way and had an extraordinary sense of wholeness and incredible sense of spiritual powers, a sense of majesty of spirit.  So they attempted things that seems beyond the imagination…they had a sense of wholeness and an awareness of consciousness…I do this so that we can get a sense of ourselves, so that we can reconstruct on the glorious past, to project ourselves into a new future.’  I concur. As we get a sense of ourselves and our greatness in the western hemisphere before and after the advent of Columbus, war and eventual enslavement we can grow, loosening the shackles placed on the mind. My wish is that we can come to accept ourselves in the various color, hues and tone that the Great Spirit saw fit to decorate us and stop the divisiveness among us.

“I have met many blacks who claim to love the black race but as I listened to their views of other blacks they had a contempt for the diversity of the black race.

The only loved blackness that met their own criteria!

They only loved blackness that was packaged the way they preferred!

They dismissed any categories that didn’t fit into their tiny box of what constitutes black identification. I believe that this is rooted in a contempt for blackness."  Rev. Lisa Vasquez.

I don’t know who she was referring too, but I do know it’s a lessen for us all.

Warren Ballentine and Rev. Al Sharpton back on the air in Atlanta!

Warren Ballentine and Al Sharpton will be returning to the air waves here in the ATL.  WAOK 1380 AM, a CBS affiliate, have picked up the programs and will air them beginning Wednesday April 29.  At 10am will be Warren Ballentin and his Truthfighters and at 1pm comes Rev. Sharpton.

Much, much more could be said about this transition, however at this time I will just be content with the fact that a radio staion in the Atlanta area will run the shows.   

Book Review: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

This year is going to be a year of reading for me. Last year I mostly read blogs peppered with a couple books, but nothing to write home about as far as books are concerned. I'm resolved within myself to make sure I read a minimum of 10 books. I’m sure I’ll surpass that goal, but none the less it’s a goal to be attained. I was a bit late in starting my reading, yet I did finish my first book for 2009.  The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.

The Jungle was written in 1904, and by 1906 because of the book, Upton Sinclair had and opportunity to meet with President Theodore Roosevelt, which later lead to a change in laws to the meat packing industry. Some of the wording and poetic license taken by authors of the time would cause us, in this era, to want to toss the book into the fireplace with the quickness and be done with it riight then. Yet if you hang in there, you will see the story unfolds into a world that blurs the lines between 1904 and 2009.

The story begins with the protagonist Jurgis Rudkus and his family making their voyage from their homeland of Lithuania to the good ole U.S. of A. to seek their fortune in the new world and lavish in the freedom of America. Jurgis and the family quickly find out that freedom has many nuances including all the scams that come along with “freedom” after landing in Chicago.

Jurgis and his fellow compatriots go through tribulations not unlike Black people of the time, yet without the threat of lynchings, at one of the most severe times for African Americans. But, be sure Jurgis could go and “hobo it” across the nation without repercussion because his skin was white. Jurgis and his family start work in the slaughter and packing houses used to butcher and can cattle and hogs in the Packingtown, commonly called the “Yards”, a district of Chicago.

Many of the ills plaguing the packing and slaughter industry that exist today are not new, but have been part of the meat packing system since 1904.

“One day a man slipped and hurt is leg; and that afternoon, when the last of the cattle had been disposed of, and the men were leaving, Jurgis was ordered to remain and do some special work ehich this injured man had usually done. It was late, almost dark, and the government inspectors had all gone, and there were only a dozen or two of men on the floor. That day they had killed 4,000 cattle and this cattle had come in on freight trains from far states, and some of them had got hurt. There were some with broken legs, and some with gored sides; there were some that had died from what cause no one could say; and they were all to be disposed of, here in darkness and silence. “Downers,” the men called them; and the packing house had a special elevator upon which they were raised to the killing beds, where the gang proceeded to handle them, with an air of businesslike nonchalance which said plainer than any words that it was a matter of everyday routine. It took a couple hours to get them out of the way, and in the end Jurgis saw them go into the chilling rooms with the rest of the meat, being carefully scattered here and there so that they could not be identified…” wrote Sinclair in in 1904.  Jurgis’ story of using downers is no different than stories that can be found today. Remember in January of 2008 the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., of Chino, CA beef recall.

Not withstanding Sinclair’s obvious Socialist slant, the book is a great insight into how working class/merchant class continue to be locked in a daily struggle for better working conditions and living wages. The struggle for living wages continues.