Dr. Ivan Van Sertima Remembered

By Kwaku Person-Lynn, Ph.D.
 

Anthropologist, linguist, educator and author with global influence.

We just lost one of the most significant Afrikan world scholars to walk this earth. He leaped on the scene in the late 1970s, early 1980s with the publishing of his major pioneering work, They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence In Ancient America. It demonstrated that Afrikans were sailing and settling in the Americas during the period 1200 BC–600 BC. This virtually eliminated any story of Columbus discovering America. The national uproar the book caused reached the highest levels. Scholars were attacking him from every corner. The book was so controversial; he was invited before a congressional committee to present his findings.

“Let me mention and clarify my presentation before congress, and how it relates to this work. I appeared on July 7th, 1987, before a Congressional Committee that was overseeing the work of the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Commission. I was called upon to show due cause why they should not refer to Columbus’ accidental stumble into the Caribbean as a discovery. I pointed to the fact that Columbus was the first to suggest there were Afrikans in the Americas before him. The Afrikan voyage is significant.

“I also pointed to the fact that the International Congress of Americanists, meeting in Barcelona as early as 1964, had ruled ‘there cannot now be any doubt that there were Old World visitors to the New World before 1492.’” (Interview with author.) This caused congress to change the terminology of Columbus’ adventure from “discovery” to “voyages.”
After his book was published, changing the course of American history and how it was taught, Van Sertima realized he would not be published again. Knowing there was so much more information to be researched and published on the Afrikan presence in the world, he created what are now considered the most important journals on Afrikan world history and culture.

“I got involved in The Journal of African Civilizations, which has produced more than a dozen volumes, nine of which are titled. I have stretched tentacles into Europe, into Afrika, into the Caribbean, all across America, to draw from the very best of our scholars. We, and I really mean we, have developed a kind of school. It has made a tremendous difference.
“There’s the book Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern, which is now accepted by nearly a hundred schools and universities. There is African Presence in Early Europe; African Presence in Early Asia; African Presence in Early America; Great Black Leaders, Ancient and Modern; Black Women in Antiquity; Great African Thinkers; Nile Valley Civilizations; Egypt Revisited; and Golden Age of the Moor.” (Interview with author.)

Van Sertima was one of the few scholars who dared to address our relationships, related to history. “We must realize that scholarship is not a separate entity from our relationships. You see, one of the things that leads to extremely difficult relationships, and this is not something that is going to vanish overnight, is self-contempt. This is very deep among Afrikan-American and Afrikan Caribbean people. Our historylessness (and by that I mean our assumption that we have no significant history), our lack of belief in ourselves, our lack of belief in having something of value, something substantial of value to support us leads to all sorts of anxieties, angers, insecurities that are bound to affect relationships.

“No relationship, therefore, in a highly troubled psyche, a shattered psyche, no relationship with people who nurse or nurture troubled or shattered psyches can be easy relationships. That is why it is so critical to use history to rebuild, to bring a healthier wholeness to that psyche. So even though, directly, no one could come and tell you, ‘Well look, if you study this history you are going to have a better relationship.’ The study of history can give you a sense of wholeness. Can give you a different quality of mental health. It will almost inevitably lead to healthier relationships.” (Interview with author.)

Dr. Ivan Van Sertima will live throughout the ages. He left us a plethora of work that will be significant during any period. He was one of the most prolific scholars we had in the modern era. His scholastic impact on American history and the Afrikan world will be studied as long as there are educational institutions of higher learning. On top of all of that, he was a beautiful human being.

- Dr. Kwaku Person-Lynn can be contacted at www.drkwaku.com.

The following essays are from a new book in progress, Revolution In History, Culture & Critical Issues: Quick Notes. It will include several of my best works.

Beethoven: Revealing His True Identity

In the 15^th and 16^th century, written history underwent a massive campaign of misinformation and deception. With the European slave trade in full swing, Afrikans were transported to various parts of the world and were stripped of every aspect of their humanity, and in most of western civilization, were no longer considered human. This triggered a wholesale interpretation of history that methodically excluded Afrikans from any respectful mention, other than a legacy of slavery. This can result in being taught, or socialized, from one perspective. In this instance, historical information tends to flow strictly from a European perspective. No judgment of right or wrong is being made here, only that the breadth was very narrow in scope.

In an age where history is seriously being rewritten, new information is coming forth that is shocking intellectual sensitivities. What was once considered written in stone is now melting away with the discovery of facts that heretofore have been hidden or omitted; things so different that they are generally classified as controversial or unusual.

What specifically is being referenced, is the true identity of Ludwig van Beethoven, considered Europe's greatest classical music composer. Directly, Beethoven was a black man. Specifically, his mother was a Moor, that group of Muslim Africans who conquered parts of Europe--making Spain their capital--for some 800 years.

In order to make such a substantial statement, presentation of verifiable evidence is compulsory. Let's start with what some of Beethoven's contemporaries and biographers say about his appearance. Frau Fisher, a close friend of Beethoven, described him having the blackish-brown complexion. I Frederick Hertz, German anthropologist, used these terms to describe him : Negroid traits, dark skin, flat, thick nose."

Emil Ludwig, in his book "Beethoven," says: "His face reveals no trace of the German. He was so dark that people dubbed him Spagnol [dark-skinned]." Fanny Giannatasio del Rio, in her book "An Unrequited Love: An Episode in the Life of Beethoven," wrote "His somewhat flat broad nose and rather wide mouth, his small piercing eyes and swarthy [dark] complexion, pockmarked into the bargain, gave him a strong resemblance to a mulatto." C. Czerny stated, "His beard--he had not shaved for several days--made the lower part of his already brown face still darker."

Following are one word descriptions of Beethoven from various writers: Grillparzer, "dark"; Bettina von Armin, "brown"; Schindler, "red and brown"" Rellstab, "brownish"; Gelinek, "short, dark." Newsweek, in its Sept. 23, 1991 issue stated, "Afrocentrism ranges over the whole panorama of human history, coloring in the faces: from Australopithecus to the inventors of mathematics to the great Negro composer Beethoven."

Of course, in the world of scholarship there are those who take an opposite view. In the book The Changing Image of Beethoven by Alessandra Comini, an array of arguments are presented. Donald W. MacArdle, in a 1949 Musical Quarterly article came to the conclusion that there was ìno Spanish, no Belgian, no Dutch, no Africans in Beethoven's genealogy. Dominque-Rene de Lerma, the great musical bibliologist, came to the same conclusion.

Included in this amazing discussion is a reference made of Beethoven's teacher, Andre de Hevesy, in his book, Beethoven The Man. ìEveryone knows the incident at Kismarton, or Eisenstadt, the residence of Prince Esterhazy, on his birthday. In the middle of the first allegro of Haydn's symphony, His Highness asked the name of the author. He was brought forward.

"What!" exclaimed the Prince, "the music is by the blackamoor (a black Moor). Well, my fine blackamoor, henceforth thou art in my service."

"What is thy name?"

"Joseph Haydn."

We have all been fed false information for reasons previously mentioned. It is no secret that scholars, writers, critics, advertisers and Hollywood have changed history for their own specific reasons. What is uniquely different in the intellectual landscape, people of color now have an army of sophisticated scholars to combat the continuation and dissemination of false information that has been accepted as standard, as well as the canon in academia.

It is hoped that the revealing of this information will motivate others to critically look at all data flowing in their brains for authenticity. Hollywood is notorious for changing facts. No suggestion is made to hate Hollywood, but we do have to hold it accountable for disseminating inaccurate depictions, especially when it changes the course of history, by which our children are influenced.

Graphic credits:

1.) Louis Letronne, Beethoven, 1814, pencil drawing.

2.) Blasius Hofel, Beethoven, 1814, monochrome facsimile of engraving after a pencil drawing by Louis Letronne.

3.) Engraving by Blasius Hofel, Beethoven, 1814, color facsimile of engraving after a pencil drawing by Louis Letronne. This engraving was regarded in Beethoven's circle as particularly lifelike. Beethoven himself thought highly of it, and gave several copies to his friends.

©2003Kwaku Person-Lynn

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Count Constantine Francis Chassebeuf DeVolney, a world traveler and author, disturbed by the hypocrisy he observed, later wrote in his book, Travels Through Syria and Egypt in the Years 1783,1784 and 1785, "How are we astonished…when we reflect that to the race of negroes, at present our slaves, and the object of our extreme contempt, we owe our arts, sciences, and even the very use of speech; and when we recollect that, in the midst of those nations who call themselves the friends of liberty and humanity, the most barbarous of slaveries is justified; and that it is even a problem whether the understanding of negroes be of the same species with that of white men."

During this period, it was morally problematical justifying enslaving the same people who were viewed as the creators of the world's first civilization. However, the argument by European theologians and scientists came down to two perspectives, "One was that he (Afrikans) was the result of 'degeneration' due to various environmental conditions. The other and more frequent view was that he was a separate creation, subhuman in character." (Edith R. Sanders "The Hamitic Hypothesis; Its Origin in Time Perspective")

Dr. Charles B. Copher, the godfather and pioneer among American Afrikan biblical scholars on this subject calls the latter view, the "Pre-Adamite Theory," whereby Afrikans were said to be the offspring of a union between Eve and the beast in the Garden of Eden, not Adam and Eve. Ironically, Dr. Copher states that there are many ministers who still preach that Black people were cursed, which he adamantly states is not in the Bible at all.

The Christian church stepped heavily into this discussion, solidifying the belief that Afrikans were cursed. The Noah, Ham, Canaan curse story in the Bible, with the Biblical passage referring to Ham's descendents, "A servant of servants shall he be," had been publicly interpreted by theologians to mean that Ham's descendents were turned black because they were cursed and destined as servants. Graves and Patai, in Hebrew Myths state, "That Negroes are doomed to serve men of lighter color was a view gratefully borrowed by Christians in the Middle Ages; a severe shortage of cheap manual labor caused by the plague made the reinstitution of slavery attractive."

This was the exact support Christians needed for a moral defense while enslaving Afrikans and instituting segregation/apartheid. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) used it as its philosophy to terrorize people of Afrikan descent. Racism, through slavery, became a very profitable business in America, and accordingly reached its zenith with the 'Master Race Theory' promoted by Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany. Scholars at Harvard and Yale wrote long thesis’s on the justification for slavery, which supplied the scholarly support. Abolitionists at both universities, though outnumbered, wrote against the institution of slavery.

The answer to unraveling this horrendous problem may be the most difficult task the western world has to face. Racism's marriage with economics places it at America's nucleus, a capitalist economy. Being dominant is profitable. The profits from the Atlantic slave trade virtually financed the development of the western industrial/scientific revolution. Everybody was in it, one way or another. There are corporations existing today that found their beginnings during the slave trade.

The tenants of racism are dug very deep in the American fabric. The solution may not be found among the descendants of the beneficiaries, but among those who endured the most brutal form of racism. They know what freedom is.

Until there is a psychological absorption of world history and how western civilization owes its beginnings to Afrikan ingenuity, this problem will never go away. Consequently, the academic world and the media giants fight vigorously to prevent such knowledge from reaching wide dissemination. This is the state of things today.

©2004Kwaku Person-Lynn

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The Moors Bring Civilization To Europe

The story of the Moors in Europe is one of the greatest stories in world history. Europe would not have advanced as it has if not for the Afrikans, who originated in the Nile Valley, trekked into Europe, and were known throughout the world as the Moors. Their sojourn into Europe began in 711 A.D., when an Afrikan general named Tarik ibn Ziyad, of which Djabal Tarik (Tarik’s mountain), or the Rock of Gibraltar is named after, crossed the Iberian Peninsula from Afrika into Spain.

Europe was in the crux of the Dark Ages, suffering from a massive intellectual, scientific, social and cultural decline for almost a 1000 years. This primarily occurred when the Anglos and the Saxons defeated the Roman Empire and destroyed whatever gains Europe enjoyed from Roman ingenuity.

When the Moorish Afrikans entered Spain, they brought Europe up to a level of civilization it had never experienced. Jose V. Pimenta-Bey, in his article “Moorish Spain: Academic Source and Foundation for the Rise and Success of Western European Universities in the Middle Ages” states, “For behind Europe’s ‘Scientific Enlightenment,’ we find many African Muslims. In fact, we find that the very foundation and structure of ‘Western’ Science and Academe is built upon the erudition of these people known as Moors. (See Golden Age of the Moors edited by Ivan Van Sertima)

The influence of the Moors spread throughout Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and England. Twelve of Europe’s greatest known universities were established during the Moorish occupation to translate and study Moorish texts. The universities of Rome, Oxford, Cambridge, Lisbon and Salamanca are among this group.

The totality of what the Moors contributed to Europe’s revival are too numerous to list here, but an attempt will be made in order to visualize the scope and breadth of how they brought Europe back to life.

Starting with basic survival, the Moors showed the Europeans how to increase the fertility of their soil to sustain larger growth and harvest. They introduced such items as: rice, cotton, oranges, bananas, coconuts, maize, medical herbs and introduced food preservation and storage in order to survive the harsh winters. The Moors introduced the use of water wheels, aqueducts, paved streets and windows. The houses in Cordova were “air conditioned in summer by ingeniously arranged draughts of fresh air drawn from the garden over beds of flowers, chosen for their perfume, and warmed in winter by hot air conveyed through pipes bedded in the walls.” (See “The Moor: Light of Europe’s Dark Age” by Wayne Chandler in Golden Age of the Moor) Bathrooms were supplied with hot and cold running water.

In fact, the Moors established hundreds of bathhouses in Spain. Cleanliness was almost as important as eating, but also for health reasons. “Europeans offered no scientific reason for 'infection.' Let us again remember that the Catholic masses did not view bathing and personal hygiene as vitally important to good health and the prevention of disease.” (Pimienta-Bey)

Europeans were accustomed to drinking out of gold and silver goblets. The Moors introduced crystal glasses and plates. They also introduced a technique used today, where to place plates, glasses and silverware on tables for meals.

Science was primitive and undeveloped in Europe. They were still debating if the world was flat, until the Moors showed them that the world was round. The Moors brought chemistry. The Moors brought medical science to Europe. “For seven centuries the medical schools of Europe owed everything they knew to Moorish research. Vivisection as well as dissection of dead bodies was practiced in their anatomical schools, and women as well as men were trained to perform some of the most delicate surgical operations.” (Chandler)

Chandler continues, “Cordova had 417 mosques and 300 public baths. The number of houses of the great and noble were 63,000 and 200,077 of the common people. There were upwards of 80,000 shops. Water from the mountains was distributed through every corner and quarter of the city by means of leaden pipes into basins of different shapes, made of the purest gold, the finest silver, or plated brass as well into vast lakes, curious tanks, amazing reservoirs and fountains of Grecian marble.” This was accomplished no where else in Europe.

During their leisure time, the Moors introduced the intellectual game of chess to the Europeans, the guitar, the classical style of guitar playing, flamenco dancing, added an extra string to the lute giving it a more vibrant sound and changed fashion from two seasons to four seasons. Miles Davis, in his autobiography, comments on the music. “The Black Moors were over there in Spain because Africans had conquered Spain a long time a go. In the Andalusian area you have a lot of African influence in the music, architecture and in the whole culture and a lot of blood in the people. So you had a black African thing up in the feeling of the music in the bag pipes and trumpets and drums.” (See Miles: The Autobiography).

As an aside, William Shakespeare wrote an ode to his Moorish mistress, Lucy Morgan of Clerkenwell. (See “African Women in Early Europe” by Edward Scobie in African Presence in Early Europe)

The Moors advanced medicine to its highest form. “Moorish physicians used drugs, surgery, and cauterization; medicine was a highly techn ical profession complete with extensive training and a code of conduct. European healing practices at the time still largely relied upon charms and amulets; socially and politically powerful clergy frowned upon and repressed medicine, thereby leaving the field in the hands of quacks and barbers.” (See Muslim Spain by Anwar Chejne) “The Moor s were the first to trace ‘the curvilinear path of rays of light through air,’ this discovery in about 1100 is a prerequisite to the design of corrective eyeglasses.” (Chandler) For centuries the mastery of Moorish medical works was required for obtaining medical degrees at Europe’s most prestigious universities. They also brought quadratic equations, geometry and trigonometry to Europe. Their architecture and interior decoration of houses and palaces was of the highest standard in the world. (Pimienta-Bey)

When the Moors were defeated in 1492 A.D., the Christian Europeans, who resented the threat of the Moors advanced civilization, plundered most of the progress the Moors had established. For instance, when the Moors were driven out of Europe, they left 70 libraries in Spain alone. The European Christians destroyed everything, burning thousands of books and decades of knowledge. The same as when they destroyed the great library, with thousands of volumes, in Alexandria, Kemet (Egypt). But even in defeat, it was the Moors who sparked European exploration in the world by bringing them the compass, astrolabe, rudders and sails of the large ships.

Europe and the world are supremely indebted to the contributions the Moors have made. Unfortunately, this is not reflected in the history books or classrooms. It is a history that cannot be denied.

©2004Kwaku Person-Lynn

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California Named For Black Woman

It is well documented that of the 44 people who founded the City of Los Angeles, 26 were of Afrikan descent. What is amazing, and not taught in California schools, the majority of the founders of San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego were of Afrikan descent, or that Orange County, Beverly Hills and Malibu were once owned by people of Afrikan descent. The Picos, Black Spanish speaking brothers, Pio and Andres, the former twice California governor, owned San Fernando Valley, Whittier and the Camp Pendleton area.

California is in the media everyday. It is incredible most California residents know nothing about the state being named after a mythical Black Woman Queen. The genesis of the name begins with a story read by Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez, who conquered Mexico, killed Montezuma, ended the Aztec empire before entering Baja California, continuing his search for gold.

The 17th century best-selling adventure story was written by a Spaniard named Garci Ordonez de Montalvo and published in Seville in 1510. The name of the book was "The Exploits of Esplandian," and it was written as a sequel to the popular Portuguese poem, "Amadis de Guala." (Wanda Sabir, San Francisco Bay View)
The following is an excerpt from the epic that inspired Cortez, featuring a nation composed entirely of fierce, powerful, wealthy black women. "Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island named California, very close to that part of the terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women, without a single man among them, and that they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body, with strong and passionate hearts and great virtues. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account of the bold and craggy rocks. Their weapons were all made of gold. The island everywhere abounds with gold and precious stones, and upon it no other metal was found." The commanding Queen Califia ruled this mythical island.

Conducting an interview with John William Templeton, California historian and author of the four volume set, "Our Roots Run Deep: The Black Experience In California," started on the journey of digging up the history of Blacks in California through a conversation with a San Francisco radio host. “I was doing a story on Rodney King for the Mercury News, and while I was down there someone said that a black man used to own the San Fernando Valley. That was Pio de Jesus Pico (1801-1894). And then I found out that he was also the last Mexican governor of California. I didn’t know of any black governors or anything, so I called into the Ray Taliaferro show (on KGO news radio, San Francisico) and said to him, 'Did you know that there were four black governors of the state of California?' He said, 'That ain’t nothing, the whole damn state is named after a black woman.'"

According to the story, California was an island where only Black women lived, gold was the only metal and pearls were as common as rocks. The women were the most powerful and could be ferocious women in the world. They had beasts that were half men half birds. After mating with men, the women would feed the men to these beasts called griffins. When Cortez arrived in California, searching for this mythical queen, her influence on him was so severe, he paid tribute to this powerful Black Woman Queen Califia by naming the state after her. California literally means, "the land where black women live."

Her painting can be found in the state capitol California Senate building in Sacramento; a mural painted in 1926 by Maynard Dixon and Frank von Sloun in the Hall of the Dons at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco; and in all places, a large painting of her resides on the wall of the Golden Dreams building at the Disney California Adventure in Orange County. Unfortunately, on the Great Seal of the State of California, we have Miniver instead of Queen Califia, because Miniver was the Greek goddess who was born full grown, and more acceptable to the Europeans who settled in the state. None of this matters though. At the end of the day, when all the historians and anthropologists attempt to spin this story in another direction, the conclus ion will still come down to one dynamic detail: California was named for a Black Woman Queen.

©2004 Kwaku Person-Lynn
 

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Genius Of The Great Pyramid

One of the fiercest, most brutal battles in academia is whether Afrikans were the original inhabitants of Kemet (Egypt). Kemet of today is not like Kemet of old. Arabs invaded it during the 7th century A.D., and continue their occupation. The reason the debut of the original inhabitants is so vital, the Nile Valley, which reached its zenith in Kemet, is the birthplace of civilization, whereby world civilizations evolved. It is the place where philosophy, science, mathematics, technology, engineering, religion, education, architecture, astronomy, parenting and a host of other human creations began. For Black people to garner the credit for these innovations goes against everything ever taught in Western civilization.

Careers have been ruined for defending such a position. Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan, known as Dr. Ben, one of the world's leading Afrikan Kemetologists (Egyptologists), has been dismissed from several universities for teaching this perspective. Dr. Chiekh Anta Diop, the world's greatest scientist in this area of study, and the scientific father for Afrikan World Studies, had his first doctoral dissertation rejected at the University of Paris for addressing this subject. However, his book, Civilization Or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology, though a very scientific and scholarly work, is perhaps the best literature available outlining unequivocal proof that Afrikans were indeed the original inhabitants of Kemet, and created all of the above.

Part of the physical proof stands in Kemet today, the great pyramid of Gizeh, built for the Pharaoh Khufu (2589-2566 B.C.E.), called Cheops by the Greeks. It was the tallest building on planet earth for 4000 years (481 feet). What makes this structure so magnificent is the philosophy, thought and planning that went into creating it. For instance, astronomically, it is a replica of the northern hemisphere. It would take a very complicated mathematical explanation to show this, but the book Secrets Of The Great Pyramid by Peter Tompkins, one of the best researched books on this topic and very difficult to find, reveals a simple mathematical explanation. He states, "Each flat face of the Pyramid was designed to represent one curved quarter of the northern hemisphere, or spherical quadrant of 90?."

In order to make such an exact measurement, the designers would have had to be knowledgeable of advanced mathematics, engineering and astronomy. Tompkins further shows us the pyramid's relationship to the earth, "The apex of the Pyramid corresponds to the (North) pole, the perimeter to the equator, both in proper scale."

One of the great misnomers in history was giving Archimedes, the noted ancient Greek mathematician, credit for the value Pi (p = 3.14159+), the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. He lived around 287 – 212 B.C.E. The problem with the way this is taught, the great pyramid was built around 2,665 B.C.E., give or take a few decades either way. Most honest mathematicians familiar with the construction of the pyramid will empirically state that Pi was incorporated with its construction.

In fact, the doorways of many of the massive temples in Kemet are shaped in the symbol of Pi. According to mathematician Deborah Maat Moore, "Problems number 48 and 50 in the Ahmose Mathematical Papyrus (called "The Directions For Knowing All Dark Things," one of the oldest mathematical documents in existence) shows how the Egyptians derived the formula Pi." (The African Roots Of Mathematics) Today it is called the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus.

The same myth is taught about the Greek philosopher/mathematician Pythagoras, trained in Kemet for 22 years, which the Pythagorean Theorem was named after, though it was originally known as the "Kemetic Theorem Of The Right Triangle," it was used 1800 years before the birth of Pythagoras in the construction of the great pyramid.

One of the fascinating facts of the pyramid's design, it took 2,500,000 huge blocks of stones, each weighing 2.5 tons, yet the four corners of the base were near perfect right angles. When calculated accurately, the base measures a near perfect number of degrees of a complete circle: 359. 45?. The stones were mathematically placed at accurate angles, with no use of mortar, or the use of modern day cranes. No building today is built with such skill.

To further illustrate the genius of the Afrikan builders, "The Egyptians had measured the base of the Pyramid in units to fit a solar year of 365.2322 days (a complete year). They intended for the base of the Pyramid to indicate the value of a degree at the equator (where they apparently considered the earth to be a true circle [hundreds of years before Europeans discovered this] and a degree of latitude to be equal to a degree of longitude). The ancient Egyptians knew that a degree of latitude is shortest at the equator and lengthens as it approaches the (North) pole." (Thompkins)

Although it is evident that Afrikans of the ancient Nile Valley possessed an inherent genius and precision for their developments, it is also apparent they were planning for future generations, in life and in death. What should be plain and obvious to the conscious mind, the duty of all adults, parents and teachers, is their fundamental responsibility to pass the knowledge of this genius to the younger generations, alerting them that this ancient brilliance was established for them, and that they are accountable for continuing the legacy of their ancestors. To do less would be a failure for themselves and humanity.

©2004Kwaku Person-Lynn

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I’m Not Afrikan, I’m Negro

To analyze the above statement would take volumes of books on philosophy, history, economics, psychology, biology, slave studies and a host of other disciplines. It is the nucleus of a problem that has caused a whole people to change the concept of who they were, their status in the world, and effectively erased the history and culture of their original homeland. The Afrikan was literally written out of the history books from the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade onward. Adjoining those realities, Afrikans were brutally forced to abandon every tradition, custom, ritual, religion, culture, languages and names they used for thousands of years. Names given to them were fashioned after the names of plantation slavers who owned them, or names the owners gave them.

In essence, what occurred was the total, complete erosion of being full human beings. What ranks as one of the most bizarre debates in world history is the founding government of the Unites States actually debated what percent of a human being Afrikan people were.

After a vigorous and heated congressional discussion, the so-called founding fathers settled on a compromise of 3/5ths of a human being. Since Afrikans were no longer considered full human beings, they were not entitled to any of the rights or privileges afforded Europeans who migrated to America. Even European indentured servants had more rights and were not only restricted to primarily seven year or so contracts, but many were given land at the end of their service. Afrikans, for the most part, were committed to slavery for generations. If the mother was a slave, the child was also considered a slave. This transitions us to the genesis of how the term ‘Negro’ became common usage to describe enslaved Afrikans.

Spain and Portugal, in the 15th century, were battling over newfound territories that almost caused all out war between the two. At the time, the Pope in Rome was perceived as the supreme ruler over Europe. To settle the dispute between the two nations, the Pope divided the world between his two most powerful Catholic nations; the East went to Portugal, while the West went to Spain. Portugal had already settled in the West with Brazil, so a separate arrangement, the Treaty of Tordesillas, allowed Portugal to continue ownership of Brazil. Later, England, Germany, France, Sweden, Holland and Denmark decided not to respect the Pope’s decision and began their world exploration, ultimately involving themselves in the Atlantic slave trade.

As they all came upon new lands, assessing the value of their resources: human labor was required to turn these new lands into profit making ventures, establish new settlements and convert the so-called indigenous ‘pagans’ into Christians. The indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere did not work out for various reasons: unable to adapt to European diseases and labor regimen, unwillingness and/or inability to do the work, uprisings, runaways and suicides.

To solve this problem, in 1455, the Pope passed the papal bull edict stating, “You are authorized to reduce to servitude all infidel people.” Infidel people were defined non-Christians. This sentiment hit the continent of Afrika very hard, with the process later becoming a racial enterprise. This set in motion the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade; illegally transporting millions of Afrikans to the Americas and West Indies for almost three hundred years.

The Spanish, who dominated the West for a time, did not call their enslaved Afrikans by the name of the nation or continent they belonged to, accept to record where they were captured or bought. They described them by the color of their skin. In the Spanish language, ‘Negro’ means black. Over the centuries, enslaved people of Afrikan descent, who were completely transformed into the human beings plantation owners wanted them to be, adopted many of the same terms used by Europeans to describe themselves. Negro was used to describe a slave; being a slave was Negro; being Negro was a slave.

Unfortunately, people of Afrikan descent, up until the last three decades, knowingly and unknowingly, used this term as a symbol of pride, even naming some of their most cherished organizations with this term, giving witness that a slave mentality still existed. Collective descriptions of people are usually associated with their land of origin. There has yet to be found a Negroland. Every term possible has been used to avoid the only term that properly describes Black people, Afrikan.

Centuries of negative propaganda, books, articles, and films related to Afrika and its people caused this. While of elementary school age, a white boy, thinking he was cursing me, called me a “Black Afrikan.” At the time, that was equivalent to the infamous ‘n’ word. Even today, many people of Afrikan descent will cringe if called an Afrikan. This is due to lack of knowledge. Of course, if born in America, one is considered an American citizen, today that is; this was not always true for Afrikan people. It does not define one’s ancestral origin. The term American Afrikan, American born Afrikan, accurately describes the twoness of the geographical realities.

Every level of scholarship, not necessarily in this manner, states that the Creator decided that the original human beings would be Afrikans, and that all human beings evolved from Afrikan people. Realizing that civilization started in Afrika: philosophy, science, mathematics, medicine, architecture, agriculture, spiritual thought, along with a host of other human gifts, can restore a person of Afrikan descent’s concept of self, and completely eradicate any se nse of collec tive inferiority or low self-esteem. Knowing that virtually all world cultures owe some aspect of their existence to Afrika, can resurrect a worldview entirely different from a European-centered orientation most have been educated in. Those facts allow the mind to open to the possibility of feeling what it is like to begin to understand what it is to be Afrikan, while also understanding that this begins with a spiritual core. Until that happens, too many of us will grin and shuffle along actualizing the world’s most meaningless term, Negro.

©2004Kwaku Person-Lynn

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Examining The Virgin Birth/Resurrection Story

One of the most difficult discussions one can engage in is the subject of religion. Powerful internal beliefs, no matter ones spiritual persuasion, can illicit very intense emotions. It can sometimes end a friendship or association. However, it can also stimulate a very positive bond.

Where one is born, what culture one is raised in, and the consistency of spiritual direction given while young can strongly influence what religion one chooses to involve her/himself in. Some change as they age, but true believers are unshakable in their chosen faith.

Looking at this issue from a western perspective will almost always lean one towards a Christian understanding. Investigating from a worldview will allow one to inspect practically all belief systems with a balanced and open mind. Attempting to break away from one perspective thinking and analyzing, every effort will be made to discuss this topic from a world perspective. Being born and raised in the West can sometimes blind one from comprehending other realities. What is most times labeled as controversial or unacceptable is simply looking at one subject, religion, from different cultural and/or intellectual attitudes.

Before proceeding any further, let it be understood that in absolutely no way is there any suggestion of no existence of a Creator or Supreme Being. That is not even a thought. It is the various religious human creations where the mystification is fashioned. This reveals itself just in the conversation on human origin.

On one side, particularly in the West, though there are thousands of stories from various cultures, is the Creationist view (Adam & Eve). This is a view based on faith in the accuracy of Christian scriptures. Although recently, the terminology has been gradually leaning towards a new term, ìIntelligent Design." This is seen as an effort of being more convincing.

However, on the other side of this discussion is the 'Theory of Evolution;' that humanity evolved from several life cycles starting with a single cell. This is usually depicted as the scientific view, based on empirical evidence; something that can be proven. As mentioned, there are several other views. These are the most prevalent in the western world.

Debating human origins is only the beginning. Probably the most volatile topic in the discussion of religion is how one approaches the subject of a Savior. In most of western culture the subject of a Savior centers on Jesus, the Christ. There is a clear explanation for this.

When the Emperor of the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, that reverberated throughout the territories under Roman control. In far too many cases, you either converted or faced death. That meant a widely enormous influence in Europe, which colonized the western world. When the Europeans settled in the Americas, they brought their religion with them. Practically everyone under their control had to convert to Christianity, sometimes by very brutal force, as witnessed during the Crusades and Inquisitions in Europe, and the genocide of Native Americans. Christianity, aided by Judaism, were in full control during the initiation of the Atlantic slave trade. Under the banner of Islam, approximately 1000 years before the Christians, the East Indian Ocean slave trade was created, and still exists today.

When assessing the validity of a Savior or Messiah, two major events are consistently mentioned, the Immaculate Conception or virgin birth, and the Resurrection or rising from the dead and ascending into Heaven or Paradise. Nothing supercedes these two occurrences as the most important in classifying one as a Savior. The problem we face here, particularly in the western world, is associating these events with only one being, Jesus, the Christ.

Things become very difficult for the western mind when looking at these two events from other parts of the world, during different historical periods, even before the birth of Jesus. These two events have been associated with various other beings in different cultures.

The first hu man recording of these two events are found in northeast Afrika, Kemet, which the Greeks called Egypt, around 4100 B.C.E. It focuses on Ausar (Osiris), Auset (Isis) and Heru (Horus), reputably known as the original trinity; the father, the mother, the son [parentheses indicates Greek names]. There are temples in Kemet where these events were drawn in stone thousands of years before the birth of Jesus. The Temple of Luxor, inscribed by King Amenhotep III (1538-1501 B.C.E.) shows four scenes on the birth of Heru (Horus): The Annunciation, The Immaculate Conception, The Birth and the Adoration. In the Temple of Seti I, in Abydos, the home of Ausar (Osiris), and in the temple at Denderah, one can see The R esurrection of Heru (Horus).

Books such as: The Egyptian Book of the Dead (originally titled The Book of Coming Forth by Day and by Night) by E.A. Wallis Budge; The Coffin Text and The Pyramid Text; The Worldís Sixteen Crucified Saviors by Kersey Graves; and Christianity Before Christ by John G. Jackson, among others, have recorded these various stories. Some Egyptologists feel that the triad of deities: Amon, Mut and Khonsu, at the temple in Karnak, was copied by the early Christians to form the present Holy Trinity.

As a side note, according to most Christian scriptures, Jesus was said to have been born in Bethlehem, or Nazareth. In the Coptic writings, where the oldest Christians called Copts still reside (Kemet and Ethiopia), and according to Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan, a Kemetologist, born in Ethiopia, Jesus was said to have been born in Kemet (Egypt). In Matthew 2:15, it still says, "Out of Egypt shall I call my son!" This could have a completely different meaning. Contrary to written sources, Kemet (Egypt) is where Christianity was born, while Ethiopia built the first Christian Church and was the worldís first and oldest Christian nation. Christianity was originally an Afrikan religion, as was the Hebrew Afrikan religion called Judaism.

When the Roman Empire converted to Christianity (312 A.D.), and wrestled it from Afrika, the story was changed. This was further confirmed at the Council of Nicea, on May 20^th, 325 A.D., called by the Roman Emperor Constantine, and attended by 318 bishops and religious scholars. Together, they formed a new Imperial State Religion, k nown today as The Roman Catholic Church.

Eighteen books were removed from the original scriptures at this conference. They are called the Apocrypha. The first book in particular, ìThe Book of Mary," states that Mary was born of a virgin birth, giving her divine status, which was stripped during the conference. Also, it states that she had a son before Jesus by a virgin birth, James the Lesser. Most Christian denominations do not lend any credence to the Apocrypha. After much editing, it remains in the Catholic Bible.

As mentioned earlier, other beings were associated with the Immaculate Conception and Resurrection story. Their life stories parallel that of Jesus, which parallel that of Heru (Horus). In Mexico, in the Codex Vaticanus, this being is called Quexalcote. In China, in the History of the Rajahs, the name Xaca is mentioned, and also Yu. In India they are called Buddha and Krishna. Sakia, Scipio, Arion, Zulis, Bacchus, Alcides, and Hesus are some of the beings associated with the two events previously mentioned. In actuality, the virgin birth/resurrection story has floated all over the world, in various cultures, various interpretations, before, during and after the Mary Jesus version.

The information revealed here is simply an effort to show that where one is born and the culture one is raised in can influence the story and belief one subscribes to. When surveying world religious views, we find that each culture has its own rituals, realities and beliefs. No effort is made here to suggest which or what is the one truth, other than to say that one story, virgin birth/resurrection, is told different ways with different names all over the world. What is suggested is that the summation of all that has been discussed solidifies the global belief in a Supreme Being, and that the human mind has created numerous interpretations. It begins with Auset (Hathor/Isis), she was the worldís first known deity, and repeated throughout the ages in various forms, ìI Auset (Isis) am all that has been, that is or shall be." Belief in her was so strong the city of Paris, France was named after her.
 

©2003Kwaku Person-Lynn

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When entering graduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles, there was some doubt if the work could be handled or having the intelligence to keep up. Yes, there was some uncertainty of entering something never done before. This was a top university, interpreted that the work was going to be rough. It was the ultimate intellectual challenge of that time. The immediate environment in South Central Los Angeles provided encouragement but little support. It came down to being an individual effort. On top of that, being the first person of Afrikan descent to enter the Individual Ph.D. Program in the history of the university, meaning it was interdisciplinary, requiring two majors in two different departments, comprehensive exams in two departments, a minor, a top grade point average, and having the pressure that if not successful, no other person of Afrikan descent would be admitted for a long time; a strong determination was established early.

Later, based on the volume of work assigned, the perspective of being in a war, and being a warrior that would not be defeated, became a way of life. No matter what was assigned, it was going to be handled with the highest level of accuracy and quality.

Not being nurtured as a child in that direction, self-belief was ultra mandatory. After getting through the personal issues, a method of study had to be created. First, a working philosophy was formed, which came down to being very disciplined, very focused and understanding the importance of time management. No one, family or friends, were allowed to interrupt the study regimen. Earning A's were the only grades considered; what ever it took was going to be done.

Once that was mentally and firmly set, a study technique had to be decided on. After much thought, a plan was revealed. Those courses where a reading assignment was given, reading started that day. Starting the next day or on weekends was not allowed. Procrastinating was never allowed to enter the brain. While reading, all items considered important were highlighted with a yellow marker, including lecture notes. The highlighted portions were read everyday, except weekends. The weekends were free, unless a day during the week was missed. Three or four days before an exam, the highlighted sections were read twice a day: once when waking up, even before brushing the teeth, once before going to bed.

The day of the exam was highly anticipated. The preparation was so thorough a Muhammad Ali complex was developed. The exam was going to be knocked out with no hesitation. After the first two quarters of receiving straight A's, there was no doubt that the technique was full proof. In fact, the confidence was so high, while taking doctoral comprehensive exams, prior to advancing to candidacy, when half the exam was completed, took a break, went down the hall, flirted with the sisters in African Studies, this was prior to marriage, went back, completed the exams and walked out smiling.

Being convinced the formula worked, the technique is now given to students to help them do well. This is especially emphasized with incoming freshmen. One adult student, returning to college after a long absence, who was a single mom with three children and working a full time job, mentioned that she tried t he technique and it worked for her. She started getting A's right away, along with other students who said the same thing. The unfortunate part, those who said they were going to do it, but could not establish the discipline, focus or time management to do so, were unsuccessful.

Those students who feel they are not smart enough to get A's are fooling themselves. A verbal exchange of a couple of students typifies this. Two students were standing outside a classroom talking before going in to take an exam. One student said to the other, "I know you're going to do well, you're smart." The other student replied, "I'm not smart, I just work hard." And that is what it takes. Being lazy, procrastinating, waiting until tomorrow will not get it done. It does not matter whether one is a slow or fast learner, the technique works the same for all those who are diligent enough to follow through.

Something students can look forward to, the work does end. It is not forever. Semesters and/or quarters end with a few weeks vacation in between. Sort of like having time to rest one's mind, and party, before the next level of courses begin.

What has been explained does work and has been tested over a number of years. For those who want to be successful in their academic careers, there is no substitute for sticking to a plan, whatever that plan may be. College years are the most fun years of a young adult's life. Being successful in it gives one the confidence to succeed, for when graduation comes, and all those long vacations end, everything that was acquired will be needed, when entering the real world.

©2003Kwaku Person-Lynn

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