(ThyBlackMan.com) I was raised by my father (Gerald Smith),my aunt (Patricia Smith), and my Great Great Grandmother (Leatha Henson) after my mothers death in 1980. The benefit of being raised by a woman in her 80s’ was priceless. I gained a vast amount of morals,history,knowledge of self and wisdom that I find as valuable in adulthood as it was in my adolescent years. Like many black men raised by elderly women in a Kkkonfederate territory, I had an early indoctrination into religion. My Grandmother was a devout Jehovah’s Witness and we would attend service 3 times a week, 2 Kingdom Hall sessions and 1 group bible study. At age 4 I was able to read well better then expected and my Grandmother quickly gave me “My First Book Of Bible Stories” an illustrated version of the Bible equipped with pictures from Genius to Revelations. I quickly jumped into the book because of all the pages.
I knew this would take much longer to read then Dr. Suess but the pictures of Jonah in the whales stomach, David slaying Goliath and Joshua at the Wall of Jericho (And, I don’t mean no Damn Y2J), among others made me anxious to read. I noticed my Grandmother took a liking to my reading and she was always there to answer any questions I may have or help me pronounce words correctly and always was mindful that I understood what I read. In hindsight it is remarkable how well my Grandmother read, considering her Grandmother was a slave and her parents, as well as her, were share croppers in Plum Point, Maryland.
I would stay with my father on the weekends,holidays and summer. While he worked and went to Plumbing School during the week I would stay with Grandma Leatha and go to school. My Dad would come by after work to help me with homework, sign permission slips and just hang out together. He noticed me reading my book and although he had strayed away from the strict regiment of my Grandmother, he still wanted me to gain both spiritual enlightenment and a strong vocabulary.
I would always ask my Dad, Aunt or Grandmother if I ever had any questions but for the most part I got it. I had no issues with faith, knowing to live by the commandments or the resurrection of Christ,even with my mom being dead. But one issue that I had throughout my year long discovery I felt I could not ask my Grandmother. Not for fear of her being angry but for fear she could not answer. I would constantly read my book, carefully flipping back and forth through pages to be sure I had not missed what was clearly not there. One weekend I was with my Dad going to the mall and finally I had to ask “Dad, where was I in the bible?”.
My Dad,like most of you are, was confused and asked me what I meant. This time I got the words right “Where are the Black People?” “Did we come later?” My father who always told me the truth smiled and simply said “Son, the whole book is about Black People and everyone in the book is one of US.”
PREACH!!!!!!!
With those simple words my father freed my mind from white supremacy and opened my mind to its dangers and the effects. My questions then began to be about the color of Jesus and why was I told a lie all these years. My Dad explained that it has always been hard for certain Blacks and that Jesus and Moses were from that same tribe of Black People that I was. Now one can imagine at six years old how I felt. My religion taught me Santa wasn’t real, bunnies don’t lay chicken eggs and don’t pledge allegiance to a flag. All of these are true and noble but ,it also said I don’t exist and white people can make Black Babies ,and I know albinos who live in the neighborhood are black. I can just look at how multicolored my immediate family is and see how we can change complexions with the same parents.
Which led me to study Kehmet, Kush, Timbuktu and other civilizations that served as a mold for this twisted version of a civilization. When you began to read you see that our history of religion predates that of your slave master and infact the same story ,from the virgin birth, to the resurrection was already in place before the white face and name of Jesus was forced down your throat. Now millions of Black People are waiting for a white man to come out of the sky and Save you (pun intended), while a white man on the ground is stealing everything but sound. We keep citing The Word to the people who forced us to learn it as if they don’t know what’s in the book. Meanwhile they use it to justify murder, poverty, prejudice and white supremacy the world over. I find it funny people like Bill Maher and Sam Harris ,in their white arrogance, demonize Islam as the most dangerous religion. As if that was used to colonize, enslave, dehumanize and murder people of color the world over.
Meanwhile they become biased cheerleaders for Christianity while claiming to be atheist. What is even more ironic he sits there with a Jewish name and the true people who are descendants of Hebrews are still being persecuted and ignored in the very country he lives in, and he doesn’t condemn Christian killer cops. He makes the ridiculous claim that he is atheist because religious people or spiritual people who believe in God do not believe in science. But actually that isn’t true the Bible and science work together. It is the man who chose to spin religion to fit his agenda that does not work with science. When you realize that science and The Bible work together you understand that the first person came from Africa and had to be Black.
You begin to understand that Moses could hide in Egypt, in Black Africa, because he was black. You begin to understand that civilization began and ends with You the Black Man and Black Woman. When you realize these important factors you no longer are consumed with the religious diet of disenfranchisement and disrespect, but you began to develop a voracious appetite to free your people and return them to their proper status. You no longer question what Jesus would do because you do as He did. You walk the world telling the real to your people trying to free them and you’re NEVER afraid to speak truth to power. Even if it means death because, it began and shalt end, with US.
PREACH!!!!!! CHURCH!!!!!!!
Staff Writer; LeVar Smith