Garvey, a man of vision and visionary eloquence Western ideas color our conscious and unconscious thoughts to such a degree that even when we think we are safe in sleep, we dream Western dreams. Western likes and dislikes, phobias and prejudices, aesthetics and values, including sexual appetites, are presented to the world as universal standards. Thus Western or European (inclusive of white America) cultural chauvinism imposes upon the entire world its political, economic, religious and social systems as the only legitimate forms worthy of investigation, study and practice.
Western dualism pits Western man against every other member of the human family: Human historical records demonstrate his level of “inhumanity to man” remains unsurpassed by “others.” Considering the devastation the European visits and has visited upon the people of this planet, if he does encounter life on other planets, we pity their denizens. Western dichotomous logic especially contraposes Western man against the race he perceives as his genetic opposite, the Afrikan. This form of “logic” compounded with the European-created concept of race dictates that if the white race is the most superior, then, “logi- cally,” their racial opposite—the black race—must be the most inferior.
Dichotomous thinking always reductionistically distorts reality. An early justification for the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was the creation of a “Negro myth” by which Europeans decided that a branch of human- ity (the Afrikan) was “subhuman,” and subsequently in need of enslavement for their own good (development). Distorting human history by making fiction into “fact,” the “Negro myth” was so effective that it worked on the psyche of whites and blacks alike, creating superiority complexes in dominant whites and subordinate complexes in blacks. In an attempt to undo the damage incurred by this Eurocen- tric imposition we must fundamentally reorient our thinking, reexamine and redefine words, understanding and concepts, replacing those that we find offensive and harmful wherever necessary.
One of the biggest mistakes we as Afrikans can continue to make is to persist in following the Western philosophical/intellectual tradition. It encourages individualism, egocentrism, divisiveness, and most importantly, the reliance on a flaw methodological approach to the acquisition or attainment of knowledge, one based on their historical experience and worldview. Our tradition was predicated on cosmology; a system based on the ordered patterned of the various cycles of life forces (plant life, animal life, human life, planetary cycles, mineral properties, etc.), all integrated into a unitary worldview that synthesized our acquired knowledge with our cultural traditions, customs, artifacts, architecture, and art forms. The human being was perceived as a microcosm of existence and served as the model for cosmology. Unlike philosophy, our thinking was not based on the ideas of any one individual, such as Moses, Jesus, Mohammed or Buddha but transcended human intellection and was based on the collective experience of the people passed down generationally through the knowledge protected by the heads of shrines houses, associations of healers, chief diviners, elders of initiation societies, master craftsmen, the king's handlers, and societies of secrets. It was a unitary knowledge based on microcosmicism and anthropocentrism. Our system(s) never deviated from these premises. This is our truth!
Afrikan systems of knowledge were not open to philosophical debate. Knowledge was formulated using microcosmicism and anthropocentrism, ascertained and corroborated in trance or through divination, and confirmed by experience. Only knowledge put through these rigors was integrated into cosmology or considered valid. Afrikan thought never turned into a debate or pluralistic discourse; it remained a wholistic, intuitive methodology that inspired a balanced existence relying on time tested, practical experiences and knowledge derived therefrom. One reason the Dogon cosmology speaks with such certainty is its basis is incontestable. The Dogon, like other Afrikan people, use the observed laws of nature and the totality of human life and experience as foundations for their cosmological knowledge. Since the foundations of cosmology are constants, there will be little to no ideological or methodological variation within the reservoir of accumulated societal knowledge. Whereas philosophy lends itself to disagreement and debate, cosmology leaves little for such divergences, because it always remains true to plant, animal, human, environmental, and astrological cycles and patterns. As these patterns do not change based on human perception or intellection, nor does cosmology. Moreover, these patterns and cycles have remained consistent from time immemorial and form the basis of what the people of Kemet called Maat.
History has shown that Afrikan people have lived harmonious wholistic lives; whereas, history has also shown that Europeans have never lived wholistically. While all people throughout their histories have sporadically exhibited extreme behaviors, behavioral extremities are cultural norms for European societies. Europeans lack a period they can look back to, to establish as a precedent for living wholistically. Afrikan people must completely reject the Western worldview, Western culture, and the Western conception of the human being. Therefore we can not look to them for guidance—we must look to ourselves. Humans originally identified based on culture and since cultures differed, people naturally viewed themselves as different. Racial unity was nonexistent prior to the European’s creation of the concept of race. However, today humans are divided into racial groups. Europeans are perhaps the most unified race while Afrikans are among, if not the most disunited. Our apparent lack of racial unity obstructs our development as other races feed on our disunity. But we do have a genuine basis for unity. Though Afrikan cultures are differ, and our enemies love to point this out, Afrikan cultures share the same worldview assumptions and cultural intentionalities. Thus, our worldview assumptions, and our unique racial history at the hands of other races, are two of the most powerful rallying points for Afrikan racial unity. Unity, which has always been a theme within Afrikan cultures, our shared history and our racial survival, dictates that we develop Pan-Afrikanism. Pan Afrikanism must become the eternal theme of Afrikan existence; it must be instrumental in the development of global Black Power. Pan-Afrikan unity cannot simply be a territorial unity but ought to express the solidarity of Afrikan people based on our distinctive racial, cultural, linguistic and historical identity; it must offer means for Diasporan inclusiveness and participation; it must provide for the collective security and ultimate survival of Afrikan people. We must champion it with a passion that exceeds European cultural chauvinism, modern Zionism, and Asian ethnocentrism. But in order for our Pan-Afrikanism to be real, it must be Afrikan centered based on the Afrikan worldview and cosmology.
Western dualism pits Western man against every other member of the human family: Human historical records demonstrate his level of “inhumanity to man” remains unsurpassed by “others.” Considering the devastation the European visits and has visited upon the people of this planet, if he does encounter life on other planets, we pity their denizens. Western dichotomous logic especially contraposes Western man against the race he perceives as his genetic opposite, the Afrikan. This form of “logic” compounded with the European-created concept of race dictates that if the white race is the most superior, then, “logi- cally,” their racial opposite—the black race—must be the most inferior.
Dichotomous thinking always reductionistically distorts reality. An early justification for the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was the creation of a “Negro myth” by which Europeans decided that a branch of human- ity (the Afrikan) was “subhuman,” and subsequently in need of enslavement for their own good (development). Distorting human history by making fiction into “fact,” the “Negro myth” was so effective that it worked on the psyche of whites and blacks alike, creating superiority complexes in dominant whites and subordinate complexes in blacks. In an attempt to undo the damage incurred by this Eurocen- tric imposition we must fundamentally reorient our thinking, reexamine and redefine words, understanding and concepts, replacing those that we find offensive and harmful wherever necessary.
One of the biggest mistakes we as Afrikans can continue to make is to persist in following the Western philosophical/intellectual tradition. It encourages individualism, egocentrism, divisiveness, and most importantly, the reliance on a flaw methodological approach to the acquisition or attainment of knowledge, one based on their historical experience and worldview. Our tradition was predicated on cosmology; a system based on the ordered patterned of the various cycles of life forces (plant life, animal life, human life, planetary cycles, mineral properties, etc.), all integrated into a unitary worldview that synthesized our acquired knowledge with our cultural traditions, customs, artifacts, architecture, and art forms. The human being was perceived as a microcosm of existence and served as the model for cosmology. Unlike philosophy, our thinking was not based on the ideas of any one individual, such as Moses, Jesus, Mohammed or Buddha but transcended human intellection and was based on the collective experience of the people passed down generationally through the knowledge protected by the heads of shrines houses, associations of healers, chief diviners, elders of initiation societies, master craftsmen, the king's handlers, and societies of secrets. It was a unitary knowledge based on microcosmicism and anthropocentrism. Our system(s) never deviated from these premises. This is our truth!
Afrikan systems of knowledge were not open to philosophical debate. Knowledge was formulated using microcosmicism and anthropocentrism, ascertained and corroborated in trance or through divination, and confirmed by experience. Only knowledge put through these rigors was integrated into cosmology or considered valid. Afrikan thought never turned into a debate or pluralistic discourse; it remained a wholistic, intuitive methodology that inspired a balanced existence relying on time tested, practical experiences and knowledge derived therefrom. One reason the Dogon cosmology speaks with such certainty is its basis is incontestable. The Dogon, like other Afrikan people, use the observed laws of nature and the totality of human life and experience as foundations for their cosmological knowledge. Since the foundations of cosmology are constants, there will be little to no ideological or methodological variation within the reservoir of accumulated societal knowledge. Whereas philosophy lends itself to disagreement and debate, cosmology leaves little for such divergences, because it always remains true to plant, animal, human, environmental, and astrological cycles and patterns. As these patterns do not change based on human perception or intellection, nor does cosmology. Moreover, these patterns and cycles have remained consistent from time immemorial and form the basis of what the people of Kemet called Maat.
History has shown that Afrikan people have lived harmonious wholistic lives; whereas, history has also shown that Europeans have never lived wholistically. While all people throughout their histories have sporadically exhibited extreme behaviors, behavioral extremities are cultural norms for European societies. Europeans lack a period they can look back to, to establish as a precedent for living wholistically. Afrikan people must completely reject the Western worldview, Western culture, and the Western conception of the human being. Therefore we can not look to them for guidance—we must look to ourselves. Humans originally identified based on culture and since cultures differed, people naturally viewed themselves as different. Racial unity was nonexistent prior to the European’s creation of the concept of race. However, today humans are divided into racial groups. Europeans are perhaps the most unified race while Afrikans are among, if not the most disunited. Our apparent lack of racial unity obstructs our development as other races feed on our disunity. But we do have a genuine basis for unity. Though Afrikan cultures are differ, and our enemies love to point this out, Afrikan cultures share the same worldview assumptions and cultural intentionalities. Thus, our worldview assumptions, and our unique racial history at the hands of other races, are two of the most powerful rallying points for Afrikan racial unity. Unity, which has always been a theme within Afrikan cultures, our shared history and our racial survival, dictates that we develop Pan-Afrikanism. Pan Afrikanism must become the eternal theme of Afrikan existence; it must be instrumental in the development of global Black Power. Pan-Afrikan unity cannot simply be a territorial unity but ought to express the solidarity of Afrikan people based on our distinctive racial, cultural, linguistic and historical identity; it must offer means for Diasporan inclusiveness and participation; it must provide for the collective security and ultimate survival of Afrikan people. We must champion it with a passion that exceeds European cultural chauvinism, modern Zionism, and Asian ethnocentrism. But in order for our Pan-Afrikanism to be real, it must be Afrikan centered based on the Afrikan worldview and cosmology.
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