Mis-Education Of The Negro then....African American Today

In his 1933 book Mis-education of the Negro, Carter G. Woodson largely criticizes the educational system and the wicked cycle that results from mis-educated individuals, graduating from school and later teaching the mis-education to others.  It's largely a critique of history taught in schools with little to no mention of the accomplisments made by the Negro.  Woodson believed the lack of Negro history would crystalize into deep insecurities, intra racial divides and greater racial hostilities.  Certainly, this has become a reality in recent history and evident in our dissolution as the "top" minority, if you will.  However, the concern at hand is the continued mis-education of the now African American by those that look just like us.

 We are at a time of utmost vigilance due to our condition in the U.S., our relevance to white America, more aptly our postion with the U.S. government as to how meaningful our existance is within the country.  I submit, that we need not concern ourselves with how relevant we are to the government, but how relevent we are to each other and to the rest of the world that world be referred to as 'black."  This would require re-evaluating ourselves, who we are and what we know.  What we know about history in general, and know about ourselves historically.  Not only historically, but legally who we are in this country and the western hemisphere.   As Woodson points out, it  is crucial for our collective social consciousness and mental well being as a group to have a true understanding of ourselves.

 Education should be an ongoing process.  What Dr. Woodson learned and knew should no longer be a mainstay of our "curriculum" so to speak.  Or, more accurately, we should now utilize his knowledge and understanding as part of an educational foundation, but no longer the cornerstone, since we have learned of our status here before the advent of Columbus.   All too many "leaders", ministers, teachers, educators and speakers are mis-educating African Americans by tying them to certain labels and classifications.  These labels that were acceptable at one point in time of our history, should now be dispensed with.  I submit, that by classifying ourselves with such misnomers we are paving the way to our own mental subjugation and political/economic demise.

Immediatley, we should dispatch such labels and terms as descendents of slaves, African diaspora, slaves, minority, middle passage, maafa, Negro, African American, Afro American, Black, or even African unless you were born and raised on the continent.  And, even calling one's self an African, being native to the continent is questionable.  These labels and terms like slave, descendents of slaves, Negro and African American tend to bind people to just that, and some of which we never were.  This infection is so deeply entrenched, that when mentioned to a sister that there were free "Black" people during the times of the enslavement in the United States and western hemisphere, she exclaimed in disbelief that such was true.  Unless we surpass the former education we will wallow in the muck and mire of ignorace and remain enslaved to this system.