Reforming Black Life in America
The critical issue is how to restore the value of human life.
The black experience in America is a living monument to the enduring nature of the human spirit. A collective that exemplified the miraculous ability to adapt, survive and overcome under the most dehumanizing, subhuman conditions ever conceived.
The middle passage that began in Africa as a historical betrayal led to exile and evolved into a road leading to chains, shackles, auctions to the highest bidder in markets, hard work with no pay, rape, murder, name & language stripping and ultimately cultural annihilation. These atrocities committed were acts of cultural genocide and the complete stripping away of cultural identity.
These factual acts leave generational ramifications.
Slaves in other cultures were "NOT" stripped of their cultural identity.
They were allowed to keep their names, language, religion and social customs. Their humanity remained intact because their culture was not deposed and disposed.
The purpose of the aforementioned words was to create disruption in the mind and foster disunity in the thought processes of how American culture views its own history. Stripping away cultural identity destroys cultural bonds and creates a state of cultural oblivion. Then....the impossible seemed to arise; cultures came into existence when leaders applied tremendous intelligence to create systems of language, religion, justice, diet, economics, architecture, music, art, agriculture, medicine, education, self-defense and science. All of these were employed and deployed in developing African American culture. Perhaps, W.E.B. DuBois' words ring true: "There is nothing so indigenous, so completely made in America, as we."
Equality is not an external condition to fight for; it is an internal condition that can only be realized by those who value human life.
Slavery (as an economic force and theological framework) destroyed the value of life; there will be no liberation until that value is completely restored. To achieve this ideal of experiential reality,more is required than a new identity: a new civilization predicated on developing the totality of human potential.
What ideas do you have to reform Black humanity in America?
The answer is simple, I think, but is “gene linked” to a difficult and abstract concept: claiming a nationality. Locate “Black” on a map...”Africa America”? Not going to find it. Blacks have no rights. Period. Consult any law dictionary and it is manifest. With all due respect and in humility, I disagree that the de jure constitution need any revision. It is the de facto constitution that is the issue...because most have not claimed a nationality. We are treated poorly because we have not sought remedy, of which there are several. However, these acts invoke cognitive dissonance and extreme discomfort, unfortunately. We are lost as a people and until we stand on our square, we will see more of t…
@Chiquita. Yes the how questions require forethought based on insight of the why people are in the state of mind they possess. There are no guarantees when setting expectations with humanity, nonetheless human dignity internal views require massive radical overhauls of mentalities leading to humans actions toward black humanity.
Seems to me that the dismantling and deconstruction of the constitution will have to take place. How does it happen? What starts the conversation? Who argues the points? As long as there are amendments they serve as appendages and not the uprooting of the foundational text. And let us not forget this thing alled the American Creed setting forth the definition of an American Identity if such a thing exist. " A government for the people by the people etc etc . to also include concepts like liberty, justice. " Having said all of that, how can we guarantee a people once seen as inhumane adapt, cling to and embrace all these principles given the past and current atrocities. …
@Kim yes the distinction of sound must resound. Appreciate and draw from the cultural distinctives. Thank you so much for leading this charge.
I absolutley love this! The root causes of our culture's disabilities wrapped up in that sign! Wanted, desired, sought after but for no other reason than to destroy us. As an artist, I'd like to see the appreciation for our distinct sound and look be more standard instead of a passing fad. Also, is it absolutely necessary to call us, "minority"?! Ijs...