Peace!
I wanted to touch on a previous post regarding the population of the "Original Nation" here in the wilderness of North America, specifically (and the Americas in general)- the Africans and the Indians. It is very important to understand our relationship to each other and that we are really all one- we are all of the black family. We, however, exist within distinct degrees of melanin, which we call 'shades of black' within the Nation of Gods and Earths, which we define as: black, brown and yellow.
"What is the total population of the Original Nation in the wilderness of North America and all over the planet earth?
The total population of the Original Nation in the wilderness of North America is 17 million, with 2 million being Indian, making it a total population of 19 million. And all over the planet earth- 4 billion 400 million." - 3rd degree, Student Enrollment 1-10
This degree is very important when understanding that the relationship between the African and Indian is what brought forth the "so-called Latino." While there are many black and brown 'Latinos' and Native Americans, a large segment of our population is 'yellow'. This, unfortunately, has been exploited and has contributed to the masses of people's lack of understanding of who they are. This we are psychological diced up and seperated from ourselves. For the most part we are told we are a tri-racial peoples, consisting of African, Indian and Spanish (European) blood. However, the focus is sually put on the 'Spanish' lineage due to self-esteem/hatred issues and culturally conditioning, we tend to associate with that which is 'lighter' or that which is seen as closer to 'white'. At the same time pushing ourselves away from 'blackness' because our education stipulated it as a 'sin' and equated it with inferiority. This is by-product of the mental and physical slavery we endured. A compartment of Yakub's world manifest.
"Tavis: I've heard you speak in Venezuela and I've heard you speak here in the United States. I've never heard you speak once without referencing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I happen to believe that Dr. King is perhaps the greatest American we have ever produced and, for whatever reason or reasons, his work has impacted your life and you are a student of him and reference him rather consistently. Why is that? What's that about?
Chávez: I share your opinion. He's not perhaps the greatest. One of the greatest Americans ever is Muhammad Ali. He's the greatest (laughter). I admire Muhammad Ali enormously. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s - he was assassinated in what year?
Tavis: 1968.
Chávez: I was born in 1954. In the 1960s, I'm just a young child, a youngster fourteen years old when he was killed. Kennedy was also assassinated in that period. Che Guevara also passed away in that period. I was opening my eyes to life when those events happened. We remember a lot of the 1960s. Among those events, that youngster I was in high school already, and one of the events that truly marked me was that Black man, as black as my father. He was the same color. My father was Black, my grandfather was Black and I am half Black, half Indian. I'm very proud of my color, of my roots.
My grandmother was an Indian, and my grandfather was a Black man, so I was truly touched by that courageous man, those crowds, the rebirth of the Black movement. My father used to mention that movement, the quality of the Black people, the Black people with the white people. I started to read and study the history at that time and started to admire the Black men with the Latinos and marches, and how the Black people joined the army of Bolivar. Bolivar freed the slaves and transformed them.
So I was impacted by him when I read the oration of "I Have A Dream." It is scarred in my soul, a world of peace, a world of equals, of social justice, and the way he was assassinated, it broke my heart"- from a transcript of the "Tavis Smiley Show", interview with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, September 22nd 2006
Many brothers and sisters who are Indigenous and are of the Pan-Indigenous diaspora actually exist within the African diaspora as well. With this truth in mind, while someone may chose to embrace one people over the other (usually due to upbringing or life experience), we must strive to embrace both, as both peoples are who we are. The beauty of the above 'degree' that we study from our lessons as Five Percenters the opportunity and ability to appreciate both of these peoples as 'one people', with a supreme understanding. As I have stated in my first posting to this blog, the perspective of the Pan-Indigenous worldview doesn't exclude Africans or any other people's, who are 'indigenous' to their native lands. It is a reality that bonds us all. The perspective of Latinos as being 'native American' is the perspective of the Nation of Gods and Earths b-u-t does not limit us solely to that category. It is a perspective that links us all to an underlying factor, a common point of reference. It is a rallying cry to all my Indigenous brothers and sisters. A rallying cry of unity and solidarity, as expressed through the understanding of Allah and his will to unite 'all the seeds.'
"Ellos son personas Originales..."- (regarding the 'Indians') 3rd degree, Lost Found Muslim Lesson No.1, 1-14
With that at hand, my righteous brother C'BS Alife Allah has posted an article relating to this subject, on his blog www.allahsfivepercent.blogspot.com, which I have reposted below. Please, do the knowledge.
Who is Black?
By Rosa Clemente-Guest Columnist-Updated Jul 10,2001 http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2283.shtml
"Yesterday, an interesting thing happened to me. I was told I am not Black.
The kicker for me was when my friend stated that the island of Puerto Rico was not a part of the African Diaspora. I wanted to go back to the old skool playground days and yell: "You said what about my momma?!" But after speaking to several friends, I found out that many Black Americans and Latinos agree with him. The miseducation of the Negro is still in effect!
I am so tired of having to prove to others that I am Black, that my peoples are from the Motherland, that Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, Panama and the Dominican Republic, are part of the African Diaspora. Do we forget that the slave ships dropped off our people all over the world, hence the word Diaspora?
The Atlantic slave trade brought Africans to Puerto Rico in the early 1500s. Some of the first slave rebellions took place on the island of Puerto Rico. Until 1846, Africanos on the island had to carry a libreta to move around the island, like the passbook system in apartheid South Africa. In Puerto Rico, you will find large communities of descendants of the Yoruba, Bambara, Wolof and Mandingo people. Puerto Rican culture is inherently African culture.
There are hundreds of books that will inform you, but I do not need to read book after book to legitimize this thesis. All I need to do is go to Puerto Rico and look all around me. Damn, all I really have to do is look in the mirror every day.
I am often asked what I am-usually by Blacks who are lighter than me and by Latinos/as who are darker than me. To answer the $64,000 question, I am a Black Boricua, Black Rican, Puertorique'a! Almost always I am questioned about why I choose to call myself Black over Latina, Spanish, Hispanic. Let me break it down.
I am not Spanish. Spanish is just another language I speak. I am not a Hispanic. My ancestors are not descendants of Spain, but descendants of Africa. I define my existence by race and land. (Borinken is the indigenous name of the island of Puerto Rico.)
Being Latino is not a cultural identity but rather a political one. Being Puerto Rican is not a racial identity, but rather a cultural and national one. Being Black is my racial identity. Why do I have to consistently explain this to those who are so-called conscious? Is it because they have a problem with their identity? Why is it so bad to assert who I am, for me to big-up my Africanness?
My Blackness is one of the greatest powers I have. We live in a society that devalues Blackness all the time. I will not be devalued as a human being, as a child of the Supreme Creator.
Although many of us in activist circles are enlightened, many of us have baggage that we must deal with. So many times I am asked why many Boricuas refuse to affirm their Blackness. I attribute this denial to the ever-rampant anti-Black sentiment in America and throughout the world, but I will not use this as an excuse. Often Puerto Ricans who assert our Blackness are not only outcast by Latinos who identify more with their Spanish Conqueror than their African ancestors, but we are also shunned by Black Americans who do not see us as Black.
Nelly Fuller, a great Black sociologist, stated: "Until one understands the system of White supremacy, anything and everything else will confuse you." Divide and conquer still applies.
Listen people: Being Black is not just skin color, nor is it synonymous with Black Americans. To assert who I am is the most liberating and revolutionary thing I can ever do. Being a Black Puerto Rican encompasses me racially, ethically and most importantly, gives me a homeland to refer to.
So I have come to this conclusion: I am whatever I say I am! (Thank you, Rakim.)
(Rosa Clemente is the youth organizer for the F.R.E.E. Youth Empowerment Program of Central Brooklyn Partnership. She is also an organizer with Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the co-host of WBAI’s "Where We Live" public affairs program.)"
- For further information and research on the long standing history and relationship of Indians and Africans, please look at the following books for reference:
Africa and the Discovery of America- Leo Weiner
African Prescence in Early America- Ivan Van Sertima
Early America Revisited- Ivan Van Sertima
They Came Before Columbus- Ivan Van Sertima
Africans and Native Americans: The Language of Race and the Evolution of Red-Black Peoples by Jack D. Forbes
Palante Siempre!
PAZ!
"What is the total population of the Original Nation in the wilderness of North America and all over the planet earth?
The total population of the Original Nation in the wilderness of North America is 17 million, with 2 million being Indian, making it a total population of 19 million. And all over the planet earth- 4 billion 400 million." - 3rd degree, Student Enrollment 1-10
This degree is very important when understanding that the relationship between the African and Indian is what brought forth the "so-called Latino." While there are many black and brown 'Latinos' and Native Americans, a large segment of our population is 'yellow'. This, unfortunately, has been exploited and has contributed to the masses of people's lack of understanding of who they are. This we are psychological diced up and seperated from ourselves. For the most part we are told we are a tri-racial peoples, consisting of African, Indian and Spanish (European) blood. However, the focus is sually put on the 'Spanish' lineage due to self-esteem/hatred issues and culturally conditioning, we tend to associate with that which is 'lighter' or that which is seen as closer to 'white'. At the same time pushing ourselves away from 'blackness' because our education stipulated it as a 'sin' and equated it with inferiority. This is by-product of the mental and physical slavery we endured. A compartment of Yakub's world manifest.
"Tavis: I've heard you speak in Venezuela and I've heard you speak here in the United States. I've never heard you speak once without referencing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I happen to believe that Dr. King is perhaps the greatest American we have ever produced and, for whatever reason or reasons, his work has impacted your life and you are a student of him and reference him rather consistently. Why is that? What's that about?
Chávez: I share your opinion. He's not perhaps the greatest. One of the greatest Americans ever is Muhammad Ali. He's the greatest (laughter). I admire Muhammad Ali enormously. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s - he was assassinated in what year?
Tavis: 1968.
Chávez: I was born in 1954. In the 1960s, I'm just a young child, a youngster fourteen years old when he was killed. Kennedy was also assassinated in that period. Che Guevara also passed away in that period. I was opening my eyes to life when those events happened. We remember a lot of the 1960s. Among those events, that youngster I was in high school already, and one of the events that truly marked me was that Black man, as black as my father. He was the same color. My father was Black, my grandfather was Black and I am half Black, half Indian. I'm very proud of my color, of my roots.
My grandmother was an Indian, and my grandfather was a Black man, so I was truly touched by that courageous man, those crowds, the rebirth of the Black movement. My father used to mention that movement, the quality of the Black people, the Black people with the white people. I started to read and study the history at that time and started to admire the Black men with the Latinos and marches, and how the Black people joined the army of Bolivar. Bolivar freed the slaves and transformed them.
So I was impacted by him when I read the oration of "I Have A Dream." It is scarred in my soul, a world of peace, a world of equals, of social justice, and the way he was assassinated, it broke my heart"- from a transcript of the "Tavis Smiley Show", interview with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, September 22nd 2006
Many brothers and sisters who are Indigenous and are of the Pan-Indigenous diaspora actually exist within the African diaspora as well. With this truth in mind, while someone may chose to embrace one people over the other (usually due to upbringing or life experience), we must strive to embrace both, as both peoples are who we are. The beauty of the above 'degree' that we study from our lessons as Five Percenters the opportunity and ability to appreciate both of these peoples as 'one people', with a supreme understanding. As I have stated in my first posting to this blog, the perspective of the Pan-Indigenous worldview doesn't exclude Africans or any other people's, who are 'indigenous' to their native lands. It is a reality that bonds us all. The perspective of Latinos as being 'native American' is the perspective of the Nation of Gods and Earths b-u-t does not limit us solely to that category. It is a perspective that links us all to an underlying factor, a common point of reference. It is a rallying cry to all my Indigenous brothers and sisters. A rallying cry of unity and solidarity, as expressed through the understanding of Allah and his will to unite 'all the seeds.'
"Ellos son personas Originales..."- (regarding the 'Indians') 3rd degree, Lost Found Muslim Lesson No.1, 1-14
With that at hand, my righteous brother C'BS Alife Allah has posted an article relating to this subject, on his blog www.allahsfivepercent.blogspot.com, which I have reposted below. Please, do the knowledge.
Who is Black?
By Rosa Clemente-Guest Columnist-Updated Jul 10,2001 http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2283.shtml
"Yesterday, an interesting thing happened to me. I was told I am not Black.
The kicker for me was when my friend stated that the island of Puerto Rico was not a part of the African Diaspora. I wanted to go back to the old skool playground days and yell: "You said what about my momma?!" But after speaking to several friends, I found out that many Black Americans and Latinos agree with him. The miseducation of the Negro is still in effect!
I am so tired of having to prove to others that I am Black, that my peoples are from the Motherland, that Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, Panama and the Dominican Republic, are part of the African Diaspora. Do we forget that the slave ships dropped off our people all over the world, hence the word Diaspora?
The Atlantic slave trade brought Africans to Puerto Rico in the early 1500s. Some of the first slave rebellions took place on the island of Puerto Rico. Until 1846, Africanos on the island had to carry a libreta to move around the island, like the passbook system in apartheid South Africa. In Puerto Rico, you will find large communities of descendants of the Yoruba, Bambara, Wolof and Mandingo people. Puerto Rican culture is inherently African culture.
There are hundreds of books that will inform you, but I do not need to read book after book to legitimize this thesis. All I need to do is go to Puerto Rico and look all around me. Damn, all I really have to do is look in the mirror every day.
I am often asked what I am-usually by Blacks who are lighter than me and by Latinos/as who are darker than me. To answer the $64,000 question, I am a Black Boricua, Black Rican, Puertorique'a! Almost always I am questioned about why I choose to call myself Black over Latina, Spanish, Hispanic. Let me break it down.
I am not Spanish. Spanish is just another language I speak. I am not a Hispanic. My ancestors are not descendants of Spain, but descendants of Africa. I define my existence by race and land. (Borinken is the indigenous name of the island of Puerto Rico.)
Being Latino is not a cultural identity but rather a political one. Being Puerto Rican is not a racial identity, but rather a cultural and national one. Being Black is my racial identity. Why do I have to consistently explain this to those who are so-called conscious? Is it because they have a problem with their identity? Why is it so bad to assert who I am, for me to big-up my Africanness?
My Blackness is one of the greatest powers I have. We live in a society that devalues Blackness all the time. I will not be devalued as a human being, as a child of the Supreme Creator.
Although many of us in activist circles are enlightened, many of us have baggage that we must deal with. So many times I am asked why many Boricuas refuse to affirm their Blackness. I attribute this denial to the ever-rampant anti-Black sentiment in America and throughout the world, but I will not use this as an excuse. Often Puerto Ricans who assert our Blackness are not only outcast by Latinos who identify more with their Spanish Conqueror than their African ancestors, but we are also shunned by Black Americans who do not see us as Black.
Nelly Fuller, a great Black sociologist, stated: "Until one understands the system of White supremacy, anything and everything else will confuse you." Divide and conquer still applies.
Listen people: Being Black is not just skin color, nor is it synonymous with Black Americans. To assert who I am is the most liberating and revolutionary thing I can ever do. Being a Black Puerto Rican encompasses me racially, ethically and most importantly, gives me a homeland to refer to.
So I have come to this conclusion: I am whatever I say I am! (Thank you, Rakim.)
(Rosa Clemente is the youth organizer for the F.R.E.E. Youth Empowerment Program of Central Brooklyn Partnership. She is also an organizer with Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the co-host of WBAI’s "Where We Live" public affairs program.)"
- For further information and research on the long standing history and relationship of Indians and Africans, please look at the following books for reference:
Africa and the Discovery of America- Leo Weiner
African Prescence in Early America- Ivan Van Sertima
Early America Revisited- Ivan Van Sertima
They Came Before Columbus- Ivan Van Sertima
Africans and Native Americans: The Language of Race and the Evolution of Red-Black Peoples by Jack D. Forbes
Palante Siempre!
PAZ!
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