The post From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean by Eric Williams appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>The post From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean by Eric Williams appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>The post Black and Gold: Tycoons, Revolutionaries and Apartheid by Anthony Sampson appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>He traces vividly the dramatic confrontations when the diamond and gold millionaires first employed African miners over a century ago, thereby creating a new kind of urban African nationalism. He describes how the ferocity of Afrikaner apartheid was followed in the sixties by the piling-in of Western multinationals, which Africans rightfully saw as paymasters and apologists for apartheid.
In the climactic chapters he tells the inside story of the attempts by businessman to defuse the crisis and to come to terms – culminating in secret meetings following the two emergencies of 1985 and 1986, and the lobbying and passionate arguments over disinvestment and sanctions.
This book does an excellent job at providing the historical context of how Azania (South Africa), despite the valiant struggle of many African patriots, became the illustrious paragon of a neocolonial polity that it is today, thus leaving the African majority still mired in subjugation to a european minority.
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]]>The post Asafo: A Warriors Guide to Manhood by Mwalimu K. Bomani Baruti appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>Self-esteem is a function of self-activation and practice versus constant, often gratuitous, praise from others…The child who comes to feel good about self because every successful and/or unsuccessful little thing/effort is applauded and/or rewarded comes to depend on that praise and/or those things for ego gratification. His esteem is dependence based. When those transitory supports are given less easily and frequently as the child ages, the drive to independently work toward success fades with them (pg.137).
This book is a very important tool in Afrikan men’s efforts to help ReAfrikanize our people. As the table of contents indicates, there is a strong emphasis on building functional educational institutions, developing a dynamic sense of group-consciousness through elevating one’s self-consciousness, male rites of passage programs and a warrior’s mental preparation. Not only does Baruti meticulously and veraciously layout the bona fide objectives of our would-be African warriors, but also details the strategies to employ for the implantation of these objectives. Heed his aplomb regarding the blueprint that our would-be warriors should follow as it concerns defending our community:
These military nationbuilding efforts clearly indicate that the need remains for an exclusive “secrecy” in the political activities of conscious Afrikans. We are not talking about a public secrecy. A conspicuous secrecy where we “have to be seen” (because we are spoiled into needing to be at the center of everybody’s attention and/or have such low self-esteem that we need public applause). It is not secret if everybody knows you are secretly doing something revolutionary. That naturally leads to failure when the enemy is constantly studying you for signs of rebellion. We are discussing a genuine covertness, where only you and other intimately connected Asafo are aware of your nationbuilding work. We have seen that public secrecy is the road to infiltration and destruction. Therefore, organizing in the enemy’s camp requires absolute, uncompromised secrecy. It requires an absolute trust between those holding the secret. It requires the operation of independent cells. We must believe and know that there are already warriors who consciously operate with military intent without being driven by the desperate need to be seen. Those able must begin to contribute to this developing underground movement (pg.184).
In addition, we are taken through the difficult process of being merely other-directed, apathetic, individual consumers to powerful, mission-directed men in thought, word and deed. Asafo closes with an extensive collection of revolutionary quotes that specifically work to define, direct and heal every Afrikan man’s warrior scholar spirit.
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]]>The post RBG: The Ep (Red, Black, Green) by MCE appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>Experience the Red, Black, and the Green!!! From Mce’s numinous RBG: The Ep (Red, Black, Green).
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]]>The post EP.058 MCE: Nationbuilding – Theory and Practice Part 2 appeared first on Conscientization101.
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After an arduous and acrimonious dispute with a housing contractor—oh what a crazy summer and fall—we conclude our two-part series with the multi-genius collective, MCE.
In part two of this insightful and trenchant series we discuss the following:
and, much more!
We also give a blistering, but shrewd and veracious, polemic on housing contractors, and info on MCE’s forthcoming EP Food, Clothes, & Shelter, dropping December 21, 2023.
You cannot afford to miss the conclusion to this percipient, sublime, and highly replayable series!
This episode features music from:
MCE’s social media and affiliated websites:
The post EP.058 MCE: Nationbuilding – Theory and Practice Part 2 appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>The post EP.057 MCE: Nationbuilding – Theory and Practice Part 1 appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>On this 57th episode of Conscientization 101 podcast, we present part one of a two-part dialogue with a collective of artists whose praxis embodies the definition of nationbuilding, MCE. This series is presented in its Unabridged Interview form, as a thank you to those who value Conscientization 101. Our sincerest thanks!
MCE is a collective of multi-talented artists hailing from Pine Bluff Arkansas; and while MCE possess a diverse skill set which ranges from drawing, painting, and the creation of murals, music production is their passion and primary endeavor!
Fueled by the lessons learned from our greatest teachers and scholars, MCE’s sound is the life blood of the people; MCE’s music inspires not merely consciousness but critical consciousness, which particularly focuses on people achieving an in-depth understanding of the world, allowing not only for their perception and exposure of social and political contradictions, but inspirational tools to change those contradictions.
MCE is comprised of emcees Obafemi Kiensiedilele (Magnum), Ced Adamz and soul singer Eshmelek Malakyah. With exemplary wordsmiths, complemented with melodic, harmonious, and ethereal vocals; MCE’s music is not only a paragon of conscientization in terms of subject matter (the quotidian struggles of African people worldwide), but it is also eloquent and euphonious, thus solidifying their status as a veritable and salient music group!
In part one of this perspicacious and epigrammatic series we discuss the following:
and, much more!
In addition to our dialogue with MCE, we also discuss Dr. Walter A. Rodney’s invaluable posthumously released books; The Russian Revolution: A View from the Third World and Decolonial Marxism: Essays from the Pan-African Revolution.
This episode features music from:
MCE’s social media and affiliated websites:
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]]>The post MCE – APEX appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>MCE gots that RBG FIRE!!!!
The post MCE – APEX appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>The post To Educate A People: Thoughts From the Center by Mwalimu K. Bomani Baruti appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>Self-control is a considerable indicator of maturity.
In a state of war where close proximity exists between friend and foe, silence can be considered one of the most important of these values. The ability to be silent, to quietly listen and consciously reflect on what one hears, comes as a result of being able to control self. But, at the same time, self-control is gained through silence. Nonetheless, the silence we are speaking of here is an interactive one. This silence, the silence of a Warrior, involves controlling one’s tongue in the presence of potentially treasonous and enemy ears.
Note, also that spoilage is not conducive to silence because silence requires both a willful acceptance of the instruction of others and a selfless desire to do for the larger community which, during times of war, requires listening for and to the enemy, as well as fulfilling roles which require stealthy observation and movement. Those who are spoiled are respecters of no authority except through force of threat of personal loss. They see no reason to sacrifice their words for the community’s sake. (pg. 130)
Warriors need to know how to think about building and maintaining homeschooling programs and other educational institutions. For it is only within such settings that we can draw out the kind and level of consciousness, intelligence and worthiness of character that will be required of our children in order for them to fulfill their mission of continuing the process of building a sovereign future for us. The Warriors among us know that this education must be fully defined from a visionary Afrikan center. To Educate A People offers a functional foundation for this endeavor. It provides a thinking platform upon which we can positively, productively engage this ReAfrikanization process. Essentially, it looks at how Warriors must think about creating spiritually, intellectually, emotionally and physically sacred spaces in which our children can naturally learn about their power and its responsible use in service to our people. Though the primary focus here is on the children, it is about the education of adults also.
We, as a people, require a comprehensive education, an education that incorporates everyone. More specifically, this book investigates the Afrikan Way of learning by looking to our untainted tradition to ascertain the reason, method and vision of Afrikan education. We look to our source, our center, our ancient self to determine just what we should mean when speaking of education. It also examines the fundamental causes of why we are having this discussion now. We must delve into the problems facing us in this insanity as we work to ensure the proper, empowered education of ourselves, our children, our community and our nation. And, finally, it brings up solutions to these problems. These solutions involve the creation of solvent Afrikan spaces as well as knowingly acquiring and employing the materials and methods required to teach our Warriors-in-Training to become independent, empowered and sovereign. As responsible educators, we must create the conditions which allow Afrikan intelligence and power can thrive without compromise. We must become better thinkers and doers so that our children’s minds can more naturally move closer to those of our Ancestors.
The post To Educate A People: Thoughts From the Center by Mwalimu K. Bomani Baruti appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>The post Distorted Truths: The Bastardization of Afrikan Cosmology by S. K. Damani Agyekum appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>In this work of profound and disciplined research Seba Agyekum levels the fiction fed to Afrikan people surrounding their past and resulting present world condition by proposing a dynamic approach to Pan-Afrikan people winning the future.
In Distorted Truths, Agyekum using a multidisciplinary approach, dismantles that which we have come to accept as Western thought and Judaeo-Christian practice, exposing its racist theft, outright bastardization and usurpation of Afrikan cosmology and history. Covering fundamental areas as archeology, paleo and cultural anthropology, he reevaluates Diop’s Two Cradle Theory and painstakingly unveils Western scholars fraudulent search for racial anteriority, white supremacy, and their obfuscation of Afrika’s origin of, and contribution to, world culture.
After debunking Western claims and miseducation, he examines the development of civilization across time and high-cultures. Through extensive use of Grimaldi outmigrations from Afrika into Europe and beyond, he re-links the present-day customs and rituals of their most direct descendants – today’s Mbuti, Twa, San, and Khoi – with central, southern and eastern Afrika. He profiles two Mande cosmologies, the Dogon and Bambara, as examples of fundamental and existing cosmological systems, cementing how in Afrikan thought, ancestral honor (veneration), body-soul (spiritual) development, and transcendence interweave with land use, human becoming (initiation), animal and earth custodianship to thereby create a balanced and abiding relationship between the human being and Nature. This perspective runs antithetical to the current ecocidal and ethnocidal practices and policies of slash, clear-cut, and burn.
Very well illustrated, this text further courses the reader through in-depth exploration of issues from prehistory to pre- and post-dynastic Nile valley cultures; follows with the period of Greco-Roman-Byzantine domination – incidentally the birth and evolvement of our modern Christ concept – then summarizes with the detrimental impact of Christendom’s rise as punctuated by the closing of fountainhead Nile Valley educational schools (or Egyptian Mystery System) by Roman rulers Theodosius and finally Justinian II in 576 A.D.
Brilliantly researched and annotated, Agyekum conclusively advances a restorative cosmology, one rooted in Afrikan history, consciousness, dignity and purpose, new science, innovative thinking and changing geopolitics. Distorted Truths adds to a growing canon crafted to reclaim Afrikan worldview, promote Afrikan unity, and attain lasting power.
A work of heart, mind, and true scholarship – a work geared toward winning the Afrikan future!
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]]>The post Africans in Brazil: A Pan-African Perspective by Abdias Do Nascimento and Elisa Larkin Nascimento appeared first on Conscientization101.
]]>This is the reason we found Africans in Brazil: A Pan-African Perspective an invaluable tool for the objective of revolutionary Pan-Africanism, for if we are ever to achieve true African sovereignty, we must have a foundational understanding of our experiences as a people in the world. The Nascimentos bare truth to the genocidal lie of racial democracy in Brazil in the chapter “Pan-Africanism and Negritude”:
Brazilian mystifications about race mixture, cultural syncretism, and social democracy culminated in the postulation of a supposedly “universalist civilization” dubbed Luso-Tropicalism, the invention of Gilberto Freyre (1959). It seems that the mirage of this happy civilization said to have been created by the Portuguese led leaders like Leopold Senghor, as President of Senegal, to welcome and honor certain spokesmen of racial democracy at international cultural events. Apparently, these Africans were unaware of the fact that such people build their careers and prestige at the cost of rationalizing the continued exploitation and marginalization of African Brazilians (109).
The vaunted axioms of Brazilian society created by Freyre gets even more asinine:
Freyre is a prolific creator of mirages, coining phrases like metaracial brunettism and similar euphemisms, in his attempt to depict Brazilian racial harmony in the rosiest hues possible. Metaphorically, he goes to the extreme of harnessing Africans to the sinking ship of colonialist illusions, by characterizing black Africans, “despite being slaves, as co-colonizers of Brazil, with considerable acculturating influence over the Amerindian, who was less culturally developed than the African Negro.”
The advocacy of a notion so preposterous as the idea that a people conquered, hunted, captured, and kidnapped from their home in chains of bondage should be considered “colonizers” of the nation that held them captive shows to what lengths the Brazilian ruling class will go to convince itself of its own nonracism (109-110).
As if this malarky propagated throughout Brazilian society is not bad enough, advocates of racial democracy view the literal mass raping of African women as an idyllic civilizing process:
Freyre is not the only writer espousing these ideas in the African world. I have elsewhere recounted the depressing spectacle of Pierre Verger pontificating at faculty seminars at the University of Ife, Nigeria, on the “acceptable social status” enjoyed by contemporary African Brazilians and on the marvels of Brazilian slave society, where the master’s sons were “sexual initiated” in the fields with docile, sweet, and foxy adolescent African girls.
Such hypotheses ignore the white supremacist cornerstones of miscegenation in colonial society. Sexual abuse of African women in slavery is a form of the same rape and pillage inherent in war, with the added dimension of dehumanization supplied by white supremacism. Mulatto populations are the logical product of this violence in any slave society, and their existence is more likely to prove racism’s presence, justifying this collective form of abuse, than its absence (109-110).
Other topics of discussion in this phenomenal work include: the hostility of the Brazilian left towards African nationalism and how they conflate African national oppression in Brazil to that of merely class oppression, how the term “Latin” lends itself as a tool of racial oppression and suppression of African identity, African cosmology, revolutionary Pan-Africanist struggle in the Americas, Quilombismo, coordinated and systematic efforts to manipulate and suppress African demographics in Brazil and other “Latin” countries (i.e. artifice of pardos and pretos classification), and much more.
With a preface by Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Africans in Brazil: A Pan-African Perspective, is a quintessential read for those serious about revolutionary Pan-Africanism as an objective. The Nascimentos sum it up best when they state:
Brazil has the largest African population outside the African Continent, and the second largest in the world, after Nigeria. Drastically underestimated….
The African-Brazilian people’s long history of resistance to European colonial rule makes it a major contributor to Pan-African tradition. Moreover, Brazil is one the most vital and dynamic centers of African culture in the modern world. Also, it is a key factor politically, economically, geographically, and strategically, in South Atlantic affairs (159).
Like we said, A QUINTESSENTIAL REOLVUTIOARY PAN-AFRICAN WORK!
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