“When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions” – Dr. Carter G. Woodson
If we trace our biological evolution through our ancestral birth record, we will ultimately find out that our descendants and family history come from the continent of Africa.
Thus, our history starts with a continent, not a country. A mighty continent of about 1500 ethnicities and languages that has made stunning contributions to world history. Columnist and arch segregationist James J. Kilpatrick targeted the wrong brother, James Baldwin. Baldwin is the subject of the award-winning documentary; I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO. Kilpatrick asked Baldwin, “What has the Negro contributed to world history?” By Negro, he meant a Black person. To say Black is to say African.
All of us must know that Baldwin had a never-ending quest to expose racial secrets and we have the same duty as Baldwin. We must expose and defeat the ignorant bigots so that America can develop to the America that it was meant to be.
Kilpatrick and his kin bear the moral responsibility for the present sickness of America. How did he not know that the brilliant Greeks had “stolen a philosophical and scientific legacy “from the Black-skinned Ethiopians, Nubians and Egyptians?
How did he not know that Africa had a presence in America prior to Magellan and Columbus? As a scholar, had he not consulted with Dr. Sertima at Harvard. Dr. Sertima wrote, “They Came Before Columbus.’
How did he not know that our ancestor’s mitochondrial DNA traces all human lineage to LUCY? Mitochondrial DNA is traced only through the egg of the mother. Poor Kilpatrick did not know that this African Eve was his mother’s great grandmother. May God Bless him.
For all of us, to know nothing is bad but to learn nothing is worse. Carter G. Woodson, founder of Black History Month, was aware that the physical shackles were off, but the mental shackles remained. BLACK HISTORY MONTH aims to release the mental chains by correcting the omissions, lies and distortions. Professor Woodson’s parents were enslaved, and this spurred him to follow Dr. W.E.B. Dubois and become the second person of African descent to achieve a Ph.D. from Harvard University and become a dean at the great Howard University in Washington, D.C.
In Houston, during the 1950’s and 1960’s, a diminutive intellectual giant, Ms. Pearl Suell took up the mantle and legacy of Dr. Woodson. She was formidable by offering rebuttals to the dwarf historians. Ms. Suell matriculated at Texas Southern University and began the celebration of Black History Month in the Houston Independent School District. Whenever Ms. Suell encountered a young Franco Lee or Omowale, she would give them an assignment. Her authority was the Woodson’s Journal of Negro History and Association for the Study of Black Life. Ms. Suell and her colleagues were responsible for the popularity of the Black History Month.
This event evolved from a week into an entire month. It flowed from a joint celebration of Frederick the Great Douglass and President Lincoln’s birthdays.
A few days ago, members of the United States Congress recommended that Opal Lee “grandmother of Juneteenth” be honored for the Nobel Peace Award. We join tens of millions in Africa and the Pan African diaspora in celebrating this important holiday and the African Eves, Pearl Suell and Opal Lee.
