"Looking Back to Look Forward" by Poetic Life Allah
Looking Back to Look Forward
By: Poetic Life Allah
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| The Pinnacle- tallest tower in Africa under construction. |
I would like you to imagine for a second that you had been approached by someone & they asked you to design and manage the construction of a 30 story building. In return for designing & managing the construction of this building they would pay you $30 million. Would you accept this opportunity? Of course you would, it's $30 million! Now, here's the catch. You knew there had to be a catch, it's $30 million. Here's the catch. The only thing you are allowed to design & construct is from the second floor up. You are not allowed in any way to deal with the design or construction of a foundation, first floor, basement or anything of that nature. Now, with this added catch, has designing & constructing this building become impossible? Think about that for a minute because I'm going to come back to it later.
I came up with this scenario in my attempt to explain the significance of Black History. History is defined as a chronological record of significant events as affecting a Nation or institution, often including an explanation of their causes. So history is basically a timeline of important events accompanied by an explanation of how & why these events took place. Then we as people or Nations use this info to establish our institutions. Our institutions being anything from our forms of government, our educational systems, even our religions are heavily affected by history. How we keep track of time, why we celebrate certain holidays, even why we get married in the manner that we do all have their origin in history. When we begin to realize how many different aspects of our lives are affected by history, it becomes easier to see that history can also affect our opinions, our beliefs & even how we perceive ourselves. Because history can affect how we see ourselves, what history we receive & how we receive it becomes very important. If you were to read a Vietnamese history book regarding the Vietnam war, it would read a little different from what you would read in a U.S. history book regarding the same war. And I don't mean just the language. I mean the perspective. This is because history is often used as a tool to motivate & inspire. When history is used in this way, it is projected in a manner that is favorable to the people it is intended to motivate & inspire.
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There is an old saying, "Until the lion gets a historian, the tale of the hunt will always favor the hunter."
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Winston Churchill once said, "History is going to be kind to Great Britain because I'm going to write it." He understood the power of history.
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History sets a tone & then affects everything after it. Now, let's get back to this $30 million building. The only way to construct this building is to design it to fit a previously laid foundation & 1st floor. The disadvantage of this is that the foundation was not constructed to support the building you envisioned. It was constructed to support an entirely different building. Therefore your building has to be changed from its original design because the foundation has already set a tone.
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| Click to learn how to teach BLACK HISTORY BEYOND February |
My reason for using this analogy is because I see Black children in the U.S. as that building from the second floor up. I say that because when a Black child goes to history class, the first thing they are taught is about the European settlers who came to America & made it their home. Then they are taught about the "founding fathers" who were brave, intelligent people to be admired. Boom! A tone is set. The first time that same child learns about his own people, they are in a position of bondage, servitude, & inferiority. On top of that, they are held in that position by the same people they were just taught to admire. Boom! Another tone is set. This is the foundation & 1st floor we receive as Black children in this school system. This is not a history designed to inspire a Black child & make him feel connected to something great. This should be the purpose of Black History.
Black History shouldn't be limited to February or slavery & the Civil Rights movement. Black History should teach the child that their history didn't begin in 1555 or in 1619 in chains. It should teach about the numerous Black civilizations, learning institutions & cultures that existed thousands of years before the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. It should emphasize how Black people are the Mother's & Father's of civilization, agriculture, architecture, astronomy, religion, animal domestication, government, etc.
Black History in this sense creates a foundation & a state of greatness that a Black child can feel connected to & proud of. And any Black man, woman or child who wishes to learn about his own people first, should never be looked at like a rebel, radical or a racist. We are the only people who are expected to learn about another people before we learn about ourselves.
Now, I have two questions I want you to think about:
1) If you said it was impossible to construct that building from the 2nd floor up without being able to construct the foundation & the 1st floor yourself, wouldn't it be just as impossible for Black people as a whole to elevate to our highest level of potential when the foundation we are building on was not constructed by us or for us?
2) If you agree that history influences our customs, institutions, opinions, beliefs & how we see ourselves, in what way would these same things be affected if Black History was put in as a foundation as opposed to what we've always received?
Black History is more than one month out the year when Black people should talk about & celebrate Black accomplishments. Black History is the nutrient filled foundation needed to provide our youth with the necessary elements to grow & develop a reality & a world that is beneficial for themselves. Black History is a constant reminder that all Black History was/is made in a Black present to ensure a better Black future.
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| Click to learn more about the BLACK FUTURE MONTH MOVEMENT |
P.E.A.C.E.
Poetic Life Allah - Hon. Jefferson Elie
State # 1057268
LVCC 1607 Planters Rd.
Lawrenceville, Va. 23868
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