We Are Africans Part 1

The "educated Negroes" have the attitude of contempt toward their own people because in their own as well as their mixed schools, Negroes are taught to admire the Hebrew, the Greek, the Latin and the Teuton and to despise the African.

- Carter G. Woodson

The Miseducation of the Negro

It is evident that Africans in America, also known as African Americans, continue to grapple with an identity crisis. The lack of knowledge of self has resulted in many African Americans being used as a tool for white supremacy. These are people that Elijah Muhammad characterized as dumb, death, and blind; people that are easily led in the wrong direction and hard to lead in the right. This is not an attack on the Black community, but an acknowledgement of the damage caused by European systems of oppression and exploitation. The plight and ignorance within the African American community are the culmination of centuries of miseducation and indoctrination, which have altered the collective consciousness of Africans in America. The severance of Africans from their ancestral homeland and cultural roots has resulted in Africans inadvertently negating their own identities. Malcolm X taught us:

And by the colonial powers of Europe having complete control over Africa, they projected the image of Africa negatively. They projected Africa always in a negative light: jungles, savages, cannibals, nothing civilized. Whey then naturally it was so negative, it was negative to you and me, and you and I began to hate it. We didn’t want anybody telling us anything about Africa, much less calling us Africans. In hating Africa and in hating Africans, we ended up hating ourselves, without even realizing it.

The self-hatred present within the African American consciousness stems from centuries of cultural oppression and is only exacerbated by social media today. European colonizers intentionally severed Africans from their homeland and subsequently miseducated and indoctrinated them regarding the history of humanity and civilizations. Africans were erased from the history of human development, resulting in a huge portion of society today believing that Africans had not contributed anything to history until the arrival of Europeans. It is this distortion or prevarication of history that is why anti-African cognition and sentiment persist today.

In the United States, being of African descent has always been in stark contrast to the colonial foundations of the American system. Once the people of African heritage become cognizant of this contradiction, they will apprehend that their rejection of their African identity is a rejection of themselves, and that is exactly what the colonizers intended. To be African was to be linked to humanity, so a process of dehumanization took place, rendering them inferior. Although Africans were enslaved under the misguided notion of racial inferiority, they were subjected to further degradation, ultimately being reduced to the status of slaves within the institution of chattel slavery.

Throughout African history in the United States, there have been ongoing debates among individuals of African descent regarding their identity. Some sought to achieve equality within the colonial framework by pursuing American citizenship. In the years following the founding of the United States, many Africans predominantly identified as African, with some holding onto the hope that they would eventually be acknowledged as equals by their former colonial oppressors. However, the movements advocating for emigration and repatriation led to significant backlash and ignited discussions among African leaders about the most appropriate ways to define their identity. A movement to disassociate with Africa was ignited in opposition to emigrationists.

Today, fueled by the Pan-African movement, some African Americans are struggling to perpetuate the separation that has been intensified by the legacies of colonialism and chattel slavery. The self-hatred rooted in white supremacist ideologies is reflected in their opposition to Africa and Pan-Africanism. While their viewpoint represents a relatively small segment of the population, its growing presence on social media poses a potential threat to African unity and the broader goals of Pan-Africanism. In his Message to the Grassroots speech, Malcolm X warned us about African Americans identifying with their oppressors more than their oppressors identify with themselves. This phenomenon of self-denial and self-abnegation in the interests of white power is disconcerting, but it is no surprise. Some of these miseducated and indoctrinated Black folks would go as far as saying that they are not descendants of Africans. Instead of embracing their African identity and recognizing the rich diversity among African cultures, there are those who are purposely inflaming dissension. Although their actions in causing dissension will not lead to real progress, they are able to profit from creating confusion and discord. These charlatans and chiselers are the real enemies of Black power.

As Dr. Amos Wilson cogently states:

the self-concept of a subordinate individual or group which has been conditioned and defined by a dominant individual or group provides the means by which the subordinate individual or group is controlled or at least, noticeably influenced by the dominant other. The self-concept of the subordinate party may be said to reflect in its character and behavior the power of the dominant party and , moreover, to serve in effect as the instrument of the other party’s power.

Reframe from supporting those who promote anti-Blackness and Afrophobia. Colonial-capitalism, racism, and patriarchy are the primary bases of the domination of African Americans and other Africans. This should be the driving force behind unity and cooperation among Africans. When two oppressed and exploited groups turn against each other, they only prolong the life expectancy of this flawed system. Do not let misguided Africans on the continent, as well as those in the diaspora, who advocate for separation and division rather than unity and cooperation, impede the movement towards African unity. These people are puppets and instruments for white power and should be avoided at all costs.

Forward forever and backwards never!

Power to the People!

Ubuntu!