By: william P. Muhammad

william P. Muhammad — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 19:50:07 +0000

I respectfully disagree. I do not use the term “African-American” because I do not define myself to a land mass defined by white people: Amerigo Vespucci, the white man of the Western Himisphere was named, and Scipio Africanus, the white man of who the African Continent was named. Just because the white man defines Black as a negative connotation does not make it so. I embrace Black, because BLACK is the essence from which ALL color comes. As such, the Black man is the Original Man,(ho has no beginning nor ending) that the “races” (which have beginnings and endings) come from him. By the way, look up Black in the Arab dictionary: In the Arab dictionary, Black means the epitomy of purity. That is why in Saudi Arabia and Iran the women wear Black (it represents the essence of purity and righteousness. It is only in Western culture where it means something negative. Think about it. It’s time to reclaim our own.

By: Marque Anthony

Marque Anthony — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 08:07:54 +0000

What’s sad is that we African Americans are still calling ourselves BLACK because Caucasian oppressors called us that to contrast their color and to assign to us all the negative things BLACK is equated with in the dictionary. The fact is, like it or not and believe it or not, YOU ARE BROWN and your car tires are black. You can say black is a culture but when they deal with you, they deal with you based on it’s definition – dismal, gloomy, dark, diabolical, treacherous, devoid of light. WAKE UP AFRICAN AMERICANS. We do not call the Asian yellow man because he would not stand for it. We do not call the Native American a red man because he would not stand for it. We do not call the Hispanic man a brown man because he would not stand for it. And many Africans, Haitians and Jamaicans do not accept being called a color they know they are NOT.

Ironically, African Americans are the only ethnic group/race on the planet which allows ourselves to be called a color we are not, allowing ourselves to be defined by color, by someone else and to allow ourselves to be attached to a color we are not – a color they filled with negative denotations. Then we fight to help keep the lie in place. Is it any wonder that cops treat us as BLACK people by the definition of dismal, gloomy, treacherous, evil etc? We will never rise and overcome as a people if we allow other groups to define us, to define us with a lie and we are sadly willing to help them. AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES MATTER PEOPLE. Black is the color of my car tires, not my skin. I am a family and relationship counselor who specializes in deprogramming African Americans from slavery mindsets.

Comments on: The Psychological Dimensions of Plantation Politics.

By: william P. Muhammad

By: Marque Anthony