Making Knowledge The New Black

By Yvonne Sam
Contributing Columnist

Black people have a lengthy and noteworthy history of great kings, queens and warriors, nevertheless, in spite of all that, we still ended up being enslaved.

A simple reason proffered for our finding ourselves in such a state, is that instead of dwelling on the past, Blacks should have been focused on the future, and developing gunpowder, cannons, and armadas to patrol the shores of African.

Therefore, we were enslaved due to a lack of knowledge, and consequently, we will only liberate ourselves through the continued pursuit of knowledge.

Currently, we are suffering from the selfsame problem that brought about our enslavement in the first place. There are far too many of us focused on partying, bull-shitting, getting high on legal cannabis, marching and throwing our fists in the air, when we are abused or discriminated against, and watching status chase quo.

Then we tend to look back on our past, to try to gain a sense of self-worth. While it may be good to luxuriate in that activity during leisure moments, if we are desirous of moving forward, we must spend our time on self-development, so that we can take pride in who we are NOW, as individuals.

Ancestor worship is certainly a feel-good activity; however, it is absolutely worthless when it comes to improving our condition. If that was not the case, we would not currently be trying to dig ourselves out of a hole, because we would be on top already.

In fact, ancestor worship is what is holding us down, because it is causing us to waste time and energy looking in the wrong direction. We should be focusing our time and energy on worshiping the future, not the past. The past is already gone.

In order to grasp a clear understanding of our situation, we only have to look at what we do in our daily lives. In pulling out of your driveway or parking spot, you glance back over your shoulder, before reversing to avoid any obstacles that may be in your way. Once out of the driveway or parking spot, you must look FORWARD, if you want to reach your destination.

Remember that all knowledge is valuable, but what is of prime importance is knowing where you are currently, and where you want to go.

The very same rule is applicable to life in general. You cannot depend on Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, Jean Augustine, Lawrence Mc Larty, or Mary Ann Shadd Cary, to gain the sense of self-worth that would help you to move forward.

You can only move forward and gain a true sense of pride, by developing YOURSELF as an individual. Just because another Black was impressive does not mean that extends to you. You have to make YOURSELF strong, knowledgeable and Black – and sitting around is not going to cut it.

I am certain that some people are going to angrily object to what I am saying, merely because unvarnished truth can be painful. But that’s okay.

I am hearing a lot of talk and phrases that sound catchy and pro-Black, but bear absolutely no relationship to reality. One of those sayings is, “You can’t know where you’re going, if you don’t know where you’ve been.” Sounds cute, but  to quote the British , it is a load of “cotswallop”. If you get lost, it does not matter where you have been. What matters is figuring out where you ARE, and how you can get from there to where you want to go.

You can be the world’s greatest authority on Black history, yet still be on your ass. The reason for that is so much time is spent looking backwards that they haven’t prepared for the future.

There are geniuses in Black history, but they know very little about business, politics, or efficient thinking. They think that the key to life is about quoting Malcolm X and others, but Malcolm has been gone for over 50 years, nevertheless, we are still fighting the same battles. So it is obvious we are doing something wrong — and what that something is, is running around sagging and trying to be cool, or trying to become entertainers or sports stars, and then throwing on a dashiki, to represent Blackness.

Please do not misquote or misunderstand me, sports can be a good thing if it can help you through college and achieve your goals. But the bottom line is, games are for kids, and it is the Toy Department of life. I also like dashikis, but I have long recognized that a dashiki cannot cover up ignorance and a lack of knowledge.

If we fail to recognize these facts, then we will continue to fall prey to the police and be killed for senseless reasons. We need the knowledge and focus to gain political clout. That is the one and ONLY way to deal with White Supremacy, to become a formidable force in society.

We need to pull up our pants and stop trying to play make-believe. The very same brilliance that went into the making of some of our greats , can also be applied to science, politics, and engineering. So we need to get it together, and make knowledge the new “Black”.

Aleuta — the struggle continues.