Why Do Blacks In America Reject Their Own Culture?
Why Do Blacks In America Reject Their Own Culture?
In predominantly Black neighborhoods throughout America, the ghosts of slavery still lurk in the shadows of the collective consciousness of its African In many American cities, for every five city blocks, one can count at least five to nine churches (mainly on larger streets). Ironically, on most of those same street comers, one can conveniently find liquor stores as well. Research has proven that no other ethnic group can claim such a geographical design in their respective dwelling areas.
The power of indoctrination and assimilation is truly an intellectual phenomenon. The effect of it from a world view can be mind-blowing. For Blacks to ignore thousands of years of their own history and values and accept the "created" history and values of another culture is a perfect example of the distorted mind state that has plagued people of color, specifically Black people, for centuries. It remains virtually impossible for Blacks to embrace their own culture if the logical thought process is governed by imbedded emotions that are subconsciously triggered mechanism against anything that threatens one's ability to find comfort in what one perceives to be his/her true identity. One word can describe this predicament: brainwashing.
Throughout most of the colonial period, opposition to slavery among White Americans was virtually nonexistent. Settlers in the 17th and early 18th centuries came from sharply stratified societies in which the wealthy savagely exploited members of the lower classes. Lacking a belief in natural human equality, they saw little reason to question the enslavement of Africans.
In America, with only a few early and insignificant exceptions, all slaves were Africans, and almost all Africans were slaves. This placed the label of "inferior" on Black skin and on African culture, In other societies, it had been possible for a slave who obtained his freedom to take his place in society with relative ease. In America, however, when a slave became free, he was still an African, and the taint of inferiority clung to him. Not only did White America become convinced of White superiority and Black inferiority, but it strove to impose these racial beliefs on the Africans themselves. Slave masters gave a great deal of attention to the education and training of the ideal slave. In general, there were five steps taken in molding the character of such a slave: strict discipline, a sense of his own inferiority, belief in the master's superior power, acceptance of the master's standards, and finally, a deep sense of his own helplessness and dependence. teaching the slave to despise his own history and culture, the master strove to inoculate his own value system into the African's outlook. The White man's belief in the Africans inferiority paralleled the African self-hate.
People of African descent were the first people to acknowledge forces that are much greater than human beings them- selves. They had the many entities that were responsible for certain areas of existence. The were clearly defined and acknowledged, not only by Africans, but also by many other indigenous globe. This was thousands of years before any of the modern religions were created. This spiritual system was not just a practice, but it was a way of life for all. Having an inclusive relationship with nature and all of its components allowed African people to do many things that enhanced their human qualities, and at the same time, preserve a healthy planet in which to live. Those were the days!
Once colonization came into the picture, everything changed colonizers (Europeans) disrupted what was once a solid civilization that shared the same values, spiritually and socially. But in order for their plan of taking over the world to be effective, they knew it could not happen through war alone. They had to find a way to first pacify the people through what held them together and allowed them to use more of their intellectual capabilities. That vehicle was through their spirituality.
When the colonization process began, missionaries of the religions that Europeans created went to Africa with the goal of converting Africans to worship their god, who had never been in existence before then. Reluctance on the behalf of those Africans that knew what was happening, came with a big price: death. During this period of history. Africans were given two choices: convert or die.
The next step for the colonizers to take was to send in their military to those lands that showed resistance to their conquest. Needless to say, millions of African people were killed in the name of the Christian God that Europe introduced to the world. The colonizers at that time believed all Black people were children of the Devil. This gave them a convenient excuse to say that converting African people was being done to save their souls from damnation! During this time, Africa was not known by that name by its inhabitants. In changing the name, the Greeks referred to the Kemetic language which was spoken by the majority of the continent. In this language, "Afri" means something that is burning/on fire, "ka" means the soul. Hence, the meaning correlates with the view the colonizers had of Blacks on that land: "the land of the burning souls". But this was just the beginning.
During slavery, specifically in America, Blacks were allowed to do only two things; work in the fields and attend church. In the churches, Blacks were being taught by European clergymen. Sometimes they were taught by their own slavemasters. Out of the fear of beatings of death, Blacks saw no other way to continue their traditional spiritual activities unless they were done in secret. But the slavemasters had a very tight grip on the whereabouts of their slaves. In most cases, they would treat certain slaves better in order to gain their trust that if a secret meeting was to take place among slaves, the "chosen" slave would inform the slavemaster of where it would be and who will attend. This tactic cut the channel of communication among Africans in preserving and passing down their spiritual practices to future generations. The result of this loss of values and spiritual identities are what we see today - the blind leading the blind.
The presence of ancestral rituals and activities was at the core of the African spiritual system. They understood that their ancestors played a major part in guiding their destiny. Offerings were made in assuring that their ancestors were well taken care of in the spirit world. and in tum, those who were made ancestors would find favor in their descendants by aiding them on their quest through life. This is just a small example of how it works, but it goes a lot deeper.
Nowadays, because blacks have suffered such a spiritual holocaust, traditional rituals and practices are looked at as something evil, even by blacks themselves. The emotional aspect of it all is what is hindering many blacks from embracing the values their ancestors lived by. Christianity has a history of only 2,003 years. Tens of thousands of years before that, Africans lived harmoniously with each other and with nature. This concept may appear foreign or even impossible to many followers of modern religions, simply because of what we see going on in the world today.
If Blacks research the history of modern religions, one would find an ocean of blood. Ironically, most of this blood once ran in the veins of their own ancestors.
Many religious Blacks will be quick to defend their beliefs. It is not surprising, because these religious doctrines were instilled in their parents, and their parents, and so on. It should be made clear that Blacks strayed from their traditional spiritual practices by force. It was not done on their own free will. But the colonizers did their jobs so well, that now without the use of force, Blacks are conditioned to continuously seck the education of their spirituality from the same institutions that enslaved, murdered and raped their ancestors in the name of the same god that they kneel down to today.
This article is not meant to impose on anyone's beliefs. It is simply trying to shed a little more light on the many reasons Blacks in America reject their own traditional values, spiritual values and culture.