‘America I Am’: Omission of Resistance:

By Chenhotep Freeman

I want to tell you about the touring museum exhibition that covers more than

13,000 square feet and will visit a total of ten major (African/Black) cities during it’s

four year campaign across the U.S.  It is supported and presented by broadcaster and author Tavis Smiley and organized by the Cincinnati Museum Arts Center, and the Arts & Exhibitions International, the exhibit displays more than 200 artifacts from 1600 CE to Present day. This exhibit was inspired by a quote from the late African intellectual W.E.B. Dubois, “Would America be America without her Negro Peoples?” By the conclusion of this reading I plan to clearly answer this question, and also to expose the misleading content that comprises this campaign.

Being a proud member of the African Diaspora, when I heard about this traveling exhibition in the celebration of our ‘imprint’ on American society, like so many others I was excited. As any honest and freethinking human being should be aware of America’s history with Africans is full of lies, genocide, and fierce resistance on behalf of the Africans who were kidnapped and dehumanized by the European ‘Americans’. Although, there were still many events to be celebrated during the last 500 years of African peoples struggle to reclaim our self-determination. The modern day lavish lifestyles of American living were built and still exist on the murderous exploitation and oppression of African people. Before entering the exhibit I began to think critically about the involvement of Wal-Mart, seeing as they are notorious for their profits over any and EVERYTHING, business policy included. My next observation was during my first trip to view the exhibit when I recognized that there were NO people of African decent who were hired in order to operate this exhibit (no ticket taker, janitors, security, etc.) not a SINGLE one of US.

The entrance to the exhibit is a hall filled with the faces of many of the finest son’s and daughters of Africa covering a span of five centuries, even though there were no names to identify each individual or their great accomplishments. Some of the artifacts in the museum were accompanied by an audio description with both Tavis Smiley and Kornell West, and these description were petty-bourgeoisie explanations for the behavior of Euro-Americans and their brutality towards Africans. Now we move into the room in reverence of pre-colonial African society, a few sculptures of warriors from great African nations. The first segment of the exhibit concludes with the enslavement of the Africans that includes slave dungeon doors from Ghana and displays a map that uncovers the global triangle trade of slavery and how Europe and America robbed the African land of its human and material resources in the pursuit of profit. From there we enter the era during which the peak of the western hemispheres slave trade was lead by the United States. This room consisted of the various torture tools used against the captured Africans, at this point notice that there has been no mention of the Africans constant resistance to institution of Capitalism and its products slavery and racism.

The next body of the exhibit is where the majority of the information is compiled, which is intended to stir up a feeling of ‘American Identity’ or patriotism within the captive peoples of African decent kidnapped for centuries. Now we enter a room with the document of hypocrisy ‘Declaration of Independence’ on one wall and the over coat of Fredrick Douglass. From here we advance through a hall that displays various anti-slavery activist and artistic poetic expressions, now is the first time that any light is shed onto the fierce resistance to American imperialism. A handful of slave revolts are mentioned, and then we are taken into the era of the ‘Civil War’ and reconstruction and bombarded with images of Black soldiers fighting in the ‘American Revolutionary’ war. This is where in the exhibit we view the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th (reconstruction) amendments to the U.S. Constitution, these are misleading, these three documents are what have evolved into the American Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) as well as the welfare state that Africans in America are so well familiar with. From here until the end of the exhibit it’s as if the historical timeline of events moves into fast forward. Next we enter an adjoining room dedicated to the ‘Jim Crow’ era of modern oppression, when states passes laws to restrict Blacks (Africans in America) from sharing public spaces with Whites (Euro-Americans).

As the museum steps forward we enter the room dedicated to the impact that religion had on the Africans, and how it was used to keep the descendent of African slaves docile and subservient. Here is where we find the personal diary and Quran of El Hajj Malik (Malcom X) as well as the M.L.K. Jr. and a replica of his ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ holding cell. This room also displayed a video montage of the music and influence of the Black church on the masses of suffering oppressed African children in America. On the conclusion of the section dedicated to religion there is a display of a large white hooded KKK uniform along side some chess pieces, in the same room as some of the first historically Black Colleges and Universities, this also is misleading and confusing for the viewers of the exhibit. Now we enter the final gallery, this one is dedicated to the many Africans who have dominated the entertainment industries, everything from Muhammad Ali’s Royal Rumble boxing robe, a hand written poem from Tupac Shakur, and the performance outfits from various singers. Finally, the exhibit ends with the compilation of multimedia clips that display the hijacking of Black culture in entertainment by the copycat entertainers of then and now.

In conclusion, and response to the W.E.B. Dubois question, No, America was born from the murderous enslavement of African peoples, this country would not exist if it were not for Africa (the land) and its children being kidnapped, killed and exploited. We must recognize that the exhibit was organized by various ‘black elite’ neo-colonial forces in partnership with a few monopoly capitalist enterprises. This fact uncovers the campaigns true intentions to further mislead the Africans in America to believe in the idea of a post-racial American society. I would recommend to all of my fellow peoples of African decent invest your time and money into building awareness of our constant and continuous struggle against the system of European and American (white) capital imperialism.

QUOTES:

Atlanta Civic Center

 - Atlanta

, GA

 - Sun, Sep 6, 2009

Posted 09/07/2009

by Akil

The exhibit was absolutely excellent. Tracing the African American experience from African to America was presented in a very factual and chronological way. However, I do not recall seeing any form of presentation or representation about Elijah Muhammad, Minister Louis Farrakhan and The Million Man March or Miles Davis. Why?

Atlanta Civic Center

 - Atlanta

, GA

 - Sat, Sep 5, 2009

Posted 09/06/2009

by stewkhandi

The expectation our family had upon arriving was a history lesson that would help fill in the gaps on historical things we did not know. As it turn out we knew more history than what was shown. The beginning of the exhibit was impressive. The room of the Ghana slave port castle was great. Once we left there it was down hill the rest of the way. The rooms that followed were filled with artifacts, some real ,some replicas and other that made no sense. Each room had a theme, which most of the time went off track. The most confusing being the "Music Room"? The best part of the exhibit was the ending short film. In whole it was as if the exhibit was not completely done. Too many people and contributions were left out. Especially in the fields of medicine and science.It was as if Dr. Charles Drew, Dr. Ben Carson, Benjamin Banniker, Eli Whitney and George W. Carver did not exist. We could have done better taking our children to the library. We didn't pay for the audio tour guides, and it was a good thing we didn't. People around us were having problems getting them to work properly. An audio loop for each room would have been better. Oh and by the way, WHY CAN'T YOU TAKE PICTURES!

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Overcoming the Colonial Education System

By Chenhotep Freeman
Most people who live in this country feel that the nature of politics is to have dishonest representatives and inflexible partisan conflicts and disagreement. But I would like to raise the question to everyone what if politics did what it is really in place to do, that is to aid in the general welfare and natural equality of a group of citizens. Government and politics are supposed to represent the interest and ideas of the citizens through the elected officials, but as we have seen elected officials have been bought out by the big businesses interest on increased profits.

The political atmosphere is shaped by education and youth involvement and both are central to maintaining the historically racist status quo of America. Young Black peoples lack of concern and participation in voting is a cocktail of institutional barriers, lack of education on the political process and socioeconomic issues. Our African youths cannot go along ignoring politics while being played as the victims of political policies in everyday life.

During the 2008 presidential election of Tomahawk Obombya (statistics from CIRCLE staff) the youth voter turnout was 52% of all registered voters, with 27% of those Black youth that overwhelmingly elected Americas first neo-colonial African President. Political youth organizations will be fundamental to the advancement of the African liberation movement into a vanguard force in society. Political organization combined with youth involvement in education could aid us to combat the oppressive colonialist educational process.

The aging bourgeoisie ‘Baby Boomer’ population of this country will soon pass away and the political power is now the responsibility of the millennial generation (18-29 years old). The Black youth that make up this generation are growing more and more aggravated with the racist, anti-African undertone that is American society. Recent youth census statistics inform that 39% of Millennial identify as non-white, making them the most diverse generation in American history. The vast majority of young people are not in college; in fact, only an estimated 25% of 18-24 year-olds attends a four-year college full time according to the youth census statistics of 2008. Youth Community involvement and engagement is the only solution to the problems that plague our Black Communities all across this hostile global environment.

The youth of yesteryear are growing up to inherit the political successes and failures of their parents generation, so now youth participation in politics is fundamental to any successful progressive movement. Youth in American public schools and working class African youths in particular have been failed by the oppressive colonial mis-education process in this country. Youth have always been central to all styles of revolutionary organizing, for example the youth of Montgomery, AL in 1955 bus boycott or the 1960 Birmingham, AL Jim crow segregation sit-in protest and the more recent Occupy movements sweeping across the nation. Solutions to the problem of educating our African youth will come from within the communities who own the problem, not from the outside institutions driven by a profit motive.

In conclusion, the Black youth of today have little or no faith in the present political environment of this country. The politics and politicians of today are not representative of the genuine interest to resolve the problems of its constituents. Politicians today distort information or misinform voters in order to protect their lavish lifestyles as “public servants”. Black youths in America are fed up and tired of having their intelligence insulted, and now our African youth eyes have been opened to the influence and power of unconventional political participation and grassroots movements both globally and domestically.

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Failing Amerikkkan Public Schools & KC Dist. Accreditation

By Chenhotep Freeman

There is a serious crisis with the condition of public education in Amerikkka, and to understand this situation we must uncover the ruling class benefit in the under education of the working class & African youth in our Communities. The current public education system of this country was given birth in response to the industrial development of this country. During the transition from the unpaid forced agricultural slave labor that built this country into a technologically advanced society, workers needed to have a simple low level of education in order to maximize capital extraction (profit).

The public educational institutions that compose Amerikkkas ineffective system was never designed to educate its subjects into being independent thinking, productive, members of society. During the early 1800’s the agricultural economy of Amerikkka was giving way to industrialization and the enslaved Africans began to amplify their struggles for freedom & self determination. Now the ruling class recognized the changes in the economy and needed to develop an industrial working class to replace the highly illiterate agricultural working class. Public education in this country was created to produce workers for the wealthiest top percent of citizens to exploit their skills and labor for profit and personal gain.

The economic system of capitalism has to have a working class to mistreat and exploit in order to maximize profits. Public schools act as the tool to keep the masses of the people undereducated and dependant on selling their labor to provide the food, clothing and shelter we need to survive. There have been many half-assed solutions to the problem of failing public education such as magnet, alternative, and charter schools but, none of these offers a long term sustainable solution to the exploitation of the working class and African youths. There have been policies updated and reauthorized by the O-bomb-ya administration to “reform” the failing public education system the No Child Left Behind Act from 2001 as well as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Both of these actions were passed as a part of the “War on Poverty and Crime” proposals that have proven extremely ineffective at solving the problem of inequality.

Here in Kansas City, MO there has been a crises around the issue of educating the working class African youth that comprise the majority of the Kansas City School District. During the past two years, the KCMO school district has had their former superintendent Dr. John Covington close nearly one-third of schools and overcrowd the remaining schools in the district. Recently Dr. Covington resigned prior to the end of his contract to take a job at another predominately African, failing, school district in Detroit, MI.

There is a practical alternative to this crisis in Amerikkkan public education and it is to create a contending home school community controlled educational institution. Working class peoples across this nation should organize ourselves to provide the solution to this dilemma.

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The Mis-Education of Our Youth

The education gap that plagues the African Communities in Amerikkka is not a new story. Every since the kidnapping of our people from our Motherland, Black youth have been alienated and knowingly mis-educated inside an educational system created by the white ruling class of Europe and the U.S. History is best qualified to teach us that the white ruling class of this country is invested in and will forever attempt to keep the masses of working class and African people impoverished and subjected to hostile conditions. The current sweep of educational reform, from the local to national stage, functions to further this truth under the glaze of a “post-racial” or “colorblind” society. Even with all of the empty partisan rhetoric the conditions on the ground have not changed significantly for the majority of African youth trapped inside the mis-education camps of the western world known as institutions of primary, secondary, and “higher” education. The solution to our collective problem must and will come from poor and working class people’s ability to organize ourselves to provide the education for our youth.

The problem that we are faced with today is a legacy of a social status quo in this country that perpetrates the idea that an educated African is a dangerous one. This philosophy comes from the wealthiest one percent of this country and is the underlining reason for the manufacturing of the ongoing educational gap. In April 1965, under the regime of then U.S. President Lynden B. Johnson, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law, one of the many laws in Amerikkka’s “war on poverty”. The ESEA was created to target schools and school districts where forty percent, or more, of the students came from low-income families and was originally only intended to be in effect for five years. Title I of this bill mandates the distribution of funds to schools and school districts that are in obvious need of better funding, and low achieving schools and school districts that need improvements on tests scores. Every five years since the initiation of this decree it has been continually reauthorized and or amended to ensure that the public education system would continually turn out new generations of laborers to exploit for capital gain.

There is a class interest in the under-education of working class people and their children and this interest is what generates the continuous mass incarceration of the poor, working class, Native and African peoples of this country. The most recent national statistics on education from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that almost seventy percent of state educational students are proficient in reading or math skills. The student dropout rate represents youth between ages 16 and 24 years old who have not received a high school diploma or equivalent GED certificate. This dropout rate has declined from 14% in 1980’s to 8% in 2009, but note that this figure does not include youth who have been captured and imprisoned inside the concentration camps of Amerikkka. High school dropout rates have been on the decline across all demographics between 1980’s and 2009, although rates for European Amerikkkan students have remained the lowest among all groups. The dropout rate among Hispanic students has remained nearly twice that of the African students whose dropout rates have lingered at nearly twice that of European Amerikkkan students. The decline in dropout rates during the last two to three decades is directly related to the mass incarceration of youth in this country. The "land of the free" holds less than 5% of the world’s population, but hold over 25% of the world’s prisoners. We, as poor, working class African people must recognize that this education gap will be perpetuated as long as we send our youth to be mis-educated by the ruling class of bourgeois capitalist in educational institutions which teach bourgeois ideals.

The culture of lies taught in Amerikkka attempts to confuse working class, Black and Brown people into believing that the educational disparity is not dependent on just on social or economic causes. The truth of the problem is that we do not control the education of our youth, and we depend on the oppressor to educate our children. We must recognize our common enemies' agenda and a part of its result is the educational under-achievement that continues to plague poor, working-class, Brown and Black Communities. Direct community organizing is the solution to keep pressure on the elected officials to place working class interest first on the political agenda. We, the people with the problem, must organize ourselves to resolve this issue and regain our self determination.

Brother-Comrade Chenhotep Freemam

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