The new Civil Rights struggle

During the 1950s and 60s, there was a movement to eradicate civil and  human rights injustices against people of Afrikan descent. It was a very  costly struggle involving loss of life, homes, jobs, the vote, and  every imaginable possession one could own. It was a struggle that saw  the determination of a people that would not bend no matter the  consequences. People of all age groups, economic and educational levels,  put life on the line to actualize the title of a song of that era,  Aintgonna let nobody, turn me around.
The signing of the Civil  Rights Act was a momentous occasion, ultimately changing social life, as  we knew it. Unfortunately, it did nothing to change the history of  Afrikan people. Children are still being taught that Columbus discovered  America, rather than Afrikans were in the Americas centuries before  Columbus.They are also being taught that civilization began with the  Greeks and Romans, when the Nile Valley civilizations existed thousands  of years before both. Having a realistic depiction of Afrikan world  history in the classroom, literature, films, etc., is the new  battleground if the young and adults or ever going to have a clear  understanding of the accomplishments of their ancestors, and for them to  continue.
The agenda of the todays intellectual war is for the  present generations to not to know the progress their ancestors  acheived. Therefore, they will not be inspired to continue that  tradition, and to understand that if determined, there is no force on  earth that can stop them. This is the supreme fear of western  civilization, and the nucleus of the continuance of white supremacy.
Intellectual  slavery is conducted on two fronts. The two greatest diversions are to  keep intellectual discussions concentrated on slavery and race. Not to  dismiss slavery as a legitimate area of Afrikan world history, but to  make it the main focus in the classroom, literature and documentaries is  a planned attempt to hide and obstruct how Afrikan people developed the  foundation for civilization, which the world now enjoys.
Race is the  other diversion. It was a nefarious concept developed by European  anthropologists to divide and classify different cultural groups. No  need to discuss that whites were placed on top, while dark skinned  people were placed on the bottom of the human ladder. What is most  disturbing is that there are academicians and social scientists who feel  race should be the main topic in departments that specialize in various  cultural groups.
The hidden agenda is to stay away from topics that  might inspire students of Afrikan descent from realizing their full  greatness, and that this started with their own ancestors. Walking into  an educational institution knowing that your ancient ancestors, and even  some current people, were and are some of the greatest and most  powerful people on the planet, is a mental shield against those who  would tell you just the opposite, constantly throwing slavery and race  in your face.
Any child of Afrikan descent that attends school, or  young adults who attend a university, have absolutely no idea that the  whole concept of education, schools and universities, faculties and  departments were developed by their ancestors in the Nile Valley. This  is by design.
When they study science, engineering, chemistry,  medicine, law, city planning, architecture, mathematics, and a host of  other disciplines, students, as well as the general public, have no clue  that it was the Afrikans in the Nile Valley and beyond who created  these wondrous gifts. Even when we sit down to write, it is those same  Afrikans who gave us the alphabet and the art of writing. There is  hardly any major area in western civilization that Afrikans did not have  their hands in. That is an inspirational formula for success, and why  slavery and race are used to disguise this knowledge. In fact, anyone  who promotes those two points as the main issues people of Afrikan  descent should focus on, are knowingly and/or unknowingly upholding the  premise of racism/white supremacy.
This is exactly why the new  civil/human rights struggle is for control of the intellect, centered on  history. Without knowledge of self, one may fall in the trap of  following someone elses cultural habits and traditions, ending up in  the abyss of nothingness. In later years, one may still be tripping  around,telling family and friends, Im tryingto find myself, rather  than waking up in the morning, looking in the mirror, and realizing, I  am a child of the Creator, I am beautiful, and my ancestors gave this  world special gifts, so we can make this a better world.
If we do  not control our own intellect, and fail to expose the next generations  to our true history, that will never happen.
– Dr. Kwakus class,  Afrikan World Civilizations (Part II), is conducted on Friday evenings,  7-9 p.m. at Kaos Studios in Leimert Park. For details go to:  www.drkwaku.com.