(ThyBlackMan.com) Our struggle as Black Americans has been well documented by numerous historians, theologians, scholars, journalist as well as our ancestors who were in the unfortunate position of being in the ultimate form of bondage. During this period atrocities such as, raping of our women, castrations, public lynching for “entertainment” and the separation of families were a daily occurrence in the life of OUR people.
Add on the outlawing our native language, stripping us of our culture, the removal of our GOD and replacement with their god, who is not THE GOD, and suddenly you have a group of people in 2014 in the exact same position as they were since the 1600s. As I am writing this I can’t see how much has changed since then, other then the unemployment rate, but considering we were mostly slaves I doubt it was hard for a brother to find a job. All of these practices would ensure the Willie Lynch Syndrome would be a part of our genetic program and while all of these were damaging the one I find the most devious but effective was to deny and control our ability to Read.
This was unprecedented at the time, because their was slavery before then but never was it to the degree of dehumanizing the enslaved population. The punishment for reading was severe if not fatal. Those who were allowed to read were misinformed to such a degree that they too believed in their own inferiority. With limited reading skills and basically the clothes on their back ,Our ancestors made great strides coming out of the
civil war but with Jim Crow, poor education, a biased political and legal system we now find ourselves in a similar position as OUR ancestors. Working for the good of the Master and receiving no benefits, under educated and disenfranchised.
Yet our literacy skills have improved, but not to the extent of our pre-slavery state where we may have spoken several languages out of necessity in order to deal with different tribes and to be able to move freely. But we have been able to create our own form of communication and dialect ,(which I think we share to much with the white society) which is often mocked in many attempts to degrade US. This is not a big deal for me because we should have our own form of communication which allows US to speak to each other as Black People. But our reading habits and in some cases the lack there of has been a huge set back and handicap in our struggle for OUR freedom.
I look at all the true Revolutionaries and listen to them speak about Books by Richard Wright, Franz Fannon , Carter G. Woodson and Elijah Muhammad. These books gave us Malcolm X, Kwame Ture’, Kathleen Cleaver, Assata Shakur and Louis Farrakhan. Illuminating books and writings such as; The Souls Of Black Folks, The Miseducation Of The Negro, The Wretched Earth and Exterminate All Brutes gave insight to future leaders and participants to help bring and end to what has become the longest lasting holocaust in history, The Black Holocaust. As did newspapers such as Frederick Douglas’s North Star and the Black Panthers weekly paper. Actual comprehensive reading helped bring us out of servitude, reading of intelligent and critical thinking writers who were unapologetic in speaking power to truth.
Fast forward to 2014, Blacks are being phased out via guns, drugs, legal system, education and economic inequality but yet our lust for Jordan’s, Cars and clothes still gets fulfilled. We have easier and faster access to information then Our ancestors ever did yet many of our brothers and sisters are YouTubing Real Housewives of who the Hell Cares or worried about what some entertainer ,who doesn’t give a damn about you, is doing or screwing.
Many of US don’t read anything of retainable value if we do its the Metro Section or the Bible. No disrespect, but the answer to fighting white supremacy isn’t in either one of those. Many of US who read novels are reading stereotypical Zane type novels which have some of the flair of Donald Goines but none of then street cred. Meanwhile Our oppressors are reading the works of Napoleon to learn strategy, Makiaveli to learn trickery, they even read Our scholars and leaders writings to learn the truth, all used to help better their grip on US. Now by no means am I saying you can read your way out of oppression, but to better understand how to accomplish a task you have to read the manual or at least watch the video.
So if you wonder why Our kids are overly concerned with sex, clothes,cars and tight jeans. Check what or if the parents are reading or watching and you will find the root to the problem. That’s why we have failed to produce and add on to the gains of our parents. That’s why we settled for a birthday. That’s why we are fighting the same fights as our parents, parents. That’s why the state of Texas is trying to take the fact that slavery existed out of the text books all together.
Along with the words “transatlantic slave trade” and “Native American Genocide” and if all we read and watch is ignorance and foolishness, who is going to tell them different!?!? Or better yet , who will they respect . The answer is nobody the answer to exactly how many of us will be left if we don’t make a conscious effort to educate ourselves by doing more comprehensive conscientious reading. Its therapeutic, it’s enlightening, its educational , informational and entertaining. But most of all…………… Its Revolutionary!!!!!!!
Staff Writer; LeVar Smith
