Believe it or not, there was a time where a good portion of hip-hop artists were uplifting, encouraging, educationally-thinking, and embracing the positive attributes of African-American culture. To go with that, there was even a respectable portion of artists who integrated their religious beliefs and principles in their music. Possibly because of the militant and/or ethnic nature of Black Islam (not necessarily the same as Islam), Islamic beliefs and sects associated with Islam pretty much dominated raps' landscape. From the times of Rakim Allah (Eric B. and Rakim) all the way up to the Wu Tang Clan, knowledge of self from a 5 Percent point of view was prevalent. And if you were reared in Christianity while having a fondness for hip hop, you might get confused about what was true. I remember friends of mine, following the trends that many of these artists ignited, would ask me why I go to church every Sunday to pray to a "white Jesus". This was far before the time I had done any research on the Hebraic race circa 100 B.C. - 100 A.D. But at the time, because this was the extent of my knowledge, I accepted it as truth. This, my friends, is the never ending saga of African American history.
For the most part, there has been a popular American society since 1776 (probably a few years earlier) that has made conscious efforts to provide skewed historic accounts regarding any other society living in America. Things such as the [initial] praise of Barack Obama as the first Black president, but the neglect of John Hanson, a black man, who really was the first black president in 1781; are common. Or take the admiration of Rosa Parks. A great woman whose single move (or lack thereof) hugely contributed to the cause of African Americans in the 1960s; so much so she has been labeled with the title "the mother of the Civil Rights movement". However, a more appropriate title should refer to her as a daughter; because in 1944, 11 years before Mrs. Park's historic stance, Baltimore's Irene Morgan was arrested for refusing to give up her seat here in VA. Many do not know that her act of defiance and her following lawsuit moved the U.S. Supreme court to rule state laws that upheld segregation on interstate travel illegal, and unless you are persistent in knowing the truth, you won't know about that. Why?
Well, one theory is that because Ms. Morgan was not "southern" enough, she didn't garner enough attention from us Negroes and hence the rest of the country. Another suggestion is a little more believable. State records show that when the ticket was handed to her she immediately tore it up, and went kicking and screaming all the way to lock up--obviously much too radical for whites then (and now) to admire. Still, others believe that because Rosa Parks was a secretary of the NAACP, her refusal to move was somewhat staged. From personal experiences with the NAACP, I can see some validity in this. Yet I find the looming reason for this is because those who knew about this in 1944, for whatever reason, did not do enough to make sure that their children decades later remembered the intricate details of the struggle.
Sure America will hold Martin Luther King, Jr. in high esteem and allow that a statue [finally] be built in D.C.--saluting him as a freedom fighter. But don't expect America to even mention Nat Turner, who was literally fighting for freedom in the 1800s; when African Americans were not free by any stretch of the imagination. And we shouldn't expect them to. Instead, we as intelligent young adults should not only research the stone cold facts of our residency in the New World, but we should be salivating at receiving information from our grandparents about where we come from.
Why is this important? Well, Jesus tells us that a house divided is not even a house; but eventually a pile of rubble (Mark 3:25-26). With the clear division of, let's just say Blacks in the church, what is our future house to be? I mean, there is even division on the most important aspect of Christianity--the coming of Christ. How is this possible? From divided houses, you achieve these disputes. From division you get arguments as foolish as "who was right, MLK or Malcom X", or issues even more dire such as the huge Black population in prison. I would love to see the stats of how many new inmates understand what the Black Panther Party or the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was all about--or even if they know who they are. Perhaps if our youth truly could understand our accomplishments from the brutal slave trade, and how millions really suffered for Christ's sake as southern property, just maybe that real black pride would exist. But division is rampant; and one major contributor of that is the lack of historical truth, on a variety of subjects, being taught to our offspring.
If you can, teach someone about the strength and love of us.
Peace
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