I was reading Nile Contributions to Civilization, by Anthony T. Browder, and I wanted to share something with you all so that we could talk about it.
Dr. Asa G. Hilliard, III (who wrote the introduction of Browder's 1st book), describes the 10 most prevalent impediments to African unity by stating:
Consider these things carefully and realize that they account for our overall lack of unity and direction.
1) We let our names go. The first step towards disorientation is to surrender your name.
2) We have surrendered our way of life (culture). We have stopped speaking the language we knew and we have stopped behaving as African people behave. We have lost our way of doing things and we have adopted the ways of people unlike ourselves.
3) We have lost our appetite because we have lost our names and our culture. Even when those among us recreate our culture and present it to us, we no longer have an appetite for it. We have a greater appetite for the culture of people other than our own.
4) We have a general loss of memory. Few of us can tell the story of African people without beginning it with slavery. It is as if slavery were the only thing that happened to African people.
5) We have created false memories. Not only have we lost the true memory of African people, we now have a host of other memories which are totally removed from the truth.
6) We lost our land. Anytime you lose your mooring on the land, you lose your capacity to protect your possessions.
7) We have lost our independent production capacity. We have become consumers, rather than producers.
8) We have lost independent control of ourselves. We have little or no control of our educational process, our economic situation, our communications, or our politics.
9) We have lost our sensitivity. We have lost the ability to perceive when people are doing things to us which are detrimental. We accept inaccurate perceptions without criticisms.
10) As a cumulative result of all things, we have lost our solidarity...our unity. When we lost our unity, we lost our political advantage, economical advantage, and even our mental orientation. We lost a sense of self and a clear sense of belonging. We also lost a clear sense of wholeness, continuity, and purpose.
There is no amount of information alone which can correct all of the problems that I've just identified. A large part of what we must do is to get our memories back in tact and regain our orientation.
Food for thought . . .