President Obama unleashed a storm of condemnation with his May 9 public statement in support of gay marriage, and changed the political conversation. But with the American economy in free-fall, police brutality reaching epidemic proportions, and the military and prison industrial complex operating at full steam, shouldn’t we be talking about something else? Is the gay marriage debate just a distraction from the real issues that should be talked about?

Yesterday, I started a Twitter conversation discussing the issue of gay marriage (if you arent already, follow me @BlackAmericaU).

Mr.Gunn (‏@TheSophistGuy) came back with “It’s the right thing politically”.

Pompieus Magnus ‏@pompieus said “its progressive considering that more are becoming gay…thanks BPA and Eugenics for your population control”

easy, Bakes (@cerca87) ”Gay” is not an economic, financial, or political circumstance so politically Y Is anyone giving a damn? #moreimportantissues

p.m.Chloe ‏@sapioamor threw out “support isn’t enough. he doesn’t take initiative … with anything. All hype but no action

I partcularly liked Kushite Prince’s comment ( ‏@KushitePrince ) All the Obama dick riders go along with whatever he does. Nothing but sheeple.

Following the announcement, a poll was taken of likely voters to get their thoughts on Obama’s announcement. Sixty-seven percent said they thought Obama’s announcement was made “mostly for political reasons,” while 24 percent said it was “mostly because he thinks it is right.”

Im glad to see more citizens are becoming increasingly more aware of the facts: President Obama’s actions are transparently political, and laughably irrelevant to real life. Its not what he IS talking about that matters to me – its whats NOT being talked about thats important – and dangerous.

Beyond Politics – Is Supporting Gay Marriage the “Right thing to do”?

After making his announcement, President Obama told gay and lesbian supporters at a LGBT Leadership Council fundraiser that legalizing gay marriage was “…the right thing to do.”

In my opinion, the powerful gay rights lobby in Washington D.C. is guilty of holding real political discourse hostage with the non-issue of so-called gay rights.

So was this the right thing to do? Sure, if youre accepting campaign donations from gay rights lobbies.

Obama professes to be a Christian. However, in light of his faith, was supporting gay marriage the right decision?
One of my favorite bloggers, Denmark Vesey published a post with the following Bible passage: “Woe To Those Who Call Evil Good, And Good Evil; Who Put Darkness For Light, And Light For Darkness; Who Put Bitter For Sweet, And Sweet For Bitter”. In it, DV did the knowledge on this quote from Manny Paquiao:

“God’s words first … obey God’s law first before considering the laws of man…It should not be of the same sex so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah of Old.”

For those of you who have forgotten the story:

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” … Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” …. They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. … The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” … By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. (Genesis 19)

Later, the Bible makes its position even clearer:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders. (1 Corinthians 6:9)

So was this the right thing to do? Sure, if youre not really a Christian. “But Obama was a Muslim, right?” The Quaran s also clear on the issue:

Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds. And his people gave no answer but this: they said, “Drive them out of your city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!”" (Qur’an 7:80-82)

and in another passage:

“Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males, And leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing (all limits)! They said: “If thou desist not, O Lut! thou wilt assuredly be cast out!” He said: “I do detest your doings:” “O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!” So We delivered him and his family,- all Except an old woman who lingered behind. But the rest We destroyed utterly. We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and evil was the shower on those who were admonished (but heeded not)! Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe. And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an 26:165-175)

So how was Obama’s support of Gay marriage the “right thing to do?”

Here come the House Negroes

Jay Z rode the Presidents dick on CNN when asked about his personal feelings on gay rights.

In an interview with CNN on Monday (May 14), the Brooklyn born rapper and entrepreneur was asked for comment on Obama’s same-sex marriage and shocked many by saying, “I’ve always thought it as something that was still, um, holding the country back. What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple.” – The Grio

Jay, who recently made Forbes’ list of the Top 5 earning rappers in hip hop, joins celebrities like Mariah Carey, Russell Simmons and Janet Jackson who are in support of gay marriage.

Then out comes Michael Eric Dyson.

Georgetown professor and MSNBC analyst Michael Eric Dyson has gone on a tear, excoriating the black church and its leaders, members, and supporters for not standing on the right side of history or theology, referring to them as bigots and “sexual rednecks.” In that way, it’s not so strange that Jay-Z has also voiced his favorable opinion of same-sex marriage.

Just as Obama’s behavior is politically transparent, so is the ignorance and house negro mentality behind these celebrities. These are the same steppen fetchits that try to ride the wave of every new social trend that pops off, without any thought behind the negative repercussions of their actions.

Rather than using their platforms to discuss relevant and important issues, they use their mics to promote ignorance and ride some Presidential dick.

Other Examples of Mass Distraction

I have said it before, and will say it again: GAY RIGHTS IS A NON-ISSUE. The real issues are OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, ECONOMIC MANIPULATION, GOVERNMENT SPONSORED MURDER, AND THE REPETITIVE EXPLOITATION OF BLACK MEN AND WOMEN AT HOME AND ABROAD.

The definition of insanity is repeating the actions of the past and expecting different results. We will continue to face destruction and decline by falling for the “dummy issues rather than looking at the wizards behind the curtains.

Here are three other examples of Non-Issues that have attempted to hide real issues.

Kony 2012

Joseph Kony has been described as "worse than Hitler and Osama Bin Laden"

Did that overnight viral campaign seem fishy to you? Just like with this gay marriage non-issue, celebrities came out of the woodwork to jump on the bandwagon.

The Non-issue: Protect the poor children of Uganda from this bad Black guy!

The Real Issue: Kony 2012 was a crude hoax to legitimize re-colonization of Africa. Ugandan authorities, backed by the World Bank and British carbon trading companies, are slaughtering Ugandan villagers and stealing their land in a brutal new form of neo-colonialism that has gone largely unnoticed.

“Not surprisingly, the [film] is seriously misleading, falsely implying there’s war raging in Northern Uganda when there’s not. In fact, Kony has not been in the country for six years; his group is a much-depleted rump, numbering a few hundred people at most,” writes ABC Australia’s Jeff Sparrow.

Read on here.

Bin Laden

Im not even touching the 9/11 issue again. Do the knowledge. However, at a time when the country was facing complete economic collapse, Obama kills a man and tries to direct everyone’s attention to that, rather than the real issue. 

The Panama Deception

This one might be a little old school for some of you, but it shouldnt be forgotten. It was a key point in America’s “War on Drugs”.

On December 19, 1989, most Americans were glued to their televisions in disbelief as thousands of U.S. troops prepared to attack Panama with the stated purpose of ousting the man the media loved to hate, General Manuel Noriega. By early morning, they were reassured that Operation “Just Cause” had achieved its goal of hitting twenty-seven targets, thus making Panama safe for Americans living in that country as well as those safely at home in front of their televisions.

The Non-Issue: Killing Noriega would make America safer and reduce the flow of drugs into the United States.

The Real Issue: The corruption of the country. Noriega was funded and supported about the CIA and President Ronald Regan. Also, in the mid 1980s, the CIA created an intelligence unit in Haiti, known as SIN, whose purported purpose was anti-drug activity, but was in reality “used as an instrument of political terror”, and was heavily involved in drug trafficking. The members of the unit were known to torture supporters of populist leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and threatened to kill the local head of the DEA who had investigated them and exposed their operations. According to one U.S. official, the unit was trafficking drugs and never produced any useful drug intelligence.

In 1989, the United States invaded Panama as part of Operation Just Cause, which involved 25,000 American troops. Gen. Manuel Noriega, head of government of Panama, had been giving military assistance to Contra groups in Nicaragua at the request of the U.S.—which, in exchange, allowed him to continue his drug-trafficking activities—which they had known about since the 1960s.

When the DEA tried to indict Noriega in 1971, the CIA prevented them from doing so. The CIA, which was then directed by future president George H. W. Bush, provided Noriega with hundreds of thousands of dollars per year as payment for his work in Latin America.

However, when CIA pilot Eugene Hasenfus was shot down over Nicaragua by the Sandinistas, documents aboard the plane revealed many of the CIA’s activities in Latin America, and the CIA’s connections with Noriega became a public relations “liability” for the U.S. government, which finally allowed the DEA to indict him for drug trafficking, after decades of allowing his drug operations to proceed unchecked.

The U.S. invaded Panama illegally. Various regional and international human rights commissions estimate that between 2,500 and 4,000 Panamanian civilians were killed in the invasion, a far cry from official U.S. reports of only several hundred.

I say all that to say this:

• Gay marriage doesnt matter when Black men, women, and children are being gunned down in the street by members of the U.S. government.

• Gay marriage doesnt matter when we are on the verge of man-made mass extinction.

• Gay marriage doesnt matter when more Black children suffer from malnutrition in the U.S. than in Libya (at least until the U.S. invaded Libya to “set its people free”)

• Gay marriage doesnt matter when Haiti, Africa, and Black America are under attack.

• Gay marriage doesnt matter when politicians refuse to act on the illegal mass incarceration of Black men and women.

• Gay marriage doesnt matter when the cost of college has skyrocketed to the point of being a luxury. The child whose parents can no longer afford tuition will instead find a job in a restaurant, telemarketing, or working in a warehouse to make ends meet. That same child could have discovered an HIV vaccine, walked on the surface of Mars, or uncovered a lost civilization.

But y’all dont feel me, tho.

 “Follow in the footsteps of your ancestors, for the mind is trained through knowledge. Behold, their words endure in books. Open and read them and follow their wise instruction. For one who is taught becomes skilled. Do not be evil for kindness is good. Make the memory of you last through love of you. Multiply the people whom the city shelters, then God will be praised for your donations.” 

It is an unfortunate reality that collectively we as people of Afrikan descent do not pay the proper respect to those who came before us in the manner in which they deserve. In a time when the majority of our children are literally living in a “state of emergency” it must be evident to the cognizant observer that the former religious expression is no longer applicable to the survival and continuing existence of a people who are the descendents of the architects of civilization and God-consciousness.

Our children’s deteriorating condition results from the transgression that exists from our failure to return to the ways to commune with God that understood we are one with the Universe and our actions are reciprocal and should reflect as such.

It is imperative for our children’s healing that we call upon our Ancestors and ask for their assistance and guidance. But we have been taught by this society not to remember them. This lack of respect resides in the fact that we were force fed a culture by spiritually immature people whose way contrasted to the original spiritual belief systems that our Ancestors possessed. Therefore we have been induced to forget the cultures, accomplishments, and names of those who gave us life. Many suffered through unimaginable horrors yet we are the living testimony of their knowledge of God. Their innate spiritual essence fortified the family which in turn solidified the community. That combined strength was able to survive slavery, rapes, murders and many other human rights abuses.

In this day our children face many problems but one specific cyclical infection is rampant in our community. The “babies having babies” syndrome has diluted many of the “old school” lessons of raising children that aided in our survival. Many of the young parents today refuse to follow the ways of the past and are creating degenerate future generations. It is heartbreaking when many of our children are more concerned with playing video games all day or walking around in a smoke filled haze instead of developing the skills to become better parents to their offspring.

Ancient wisdom written by our fore-parents from Africa approximately four thousand years ago in The Book of Kheti says, “Follow in the footsteps of your ancestors, for the mind is trained through knowledge. Behold, their words endure in books. Open and read them and follow their wise instruction. For one who is taught becomes skilled. Do not be evil for kindness is good. Make the memory of you last through love of you. Multiply the people whom the city shelters, then God will be praised for your donations.”

It is because of our Ancestors that we strive to become better people. Their presence in our lives will help us build great individuals, great communities and great nations. We love our children, we love our Ancestors and we cannot fail either of them. Let us become the bridge so that the two may unite to rebuild the family for those yet to be born.

Police Brutality against African-Americans Reaching Epic Proportions

“What kind of a human being kicks a pregnant woman? I mean, forget whether or not it is a police officer that is supposedly protecting people,” Dozier’s attorney Mark Bullman said.

When Dekalb County, Ga., police officer Jerad Wheeler tased her brother, Raven Dozier started crying and demanding to know why. Wheeler kicked the heavily-pregnant woman in the stomach. then charged her with obstruction of justice.

While he is now under criminal investigation, his superiors on the force were quick to explicitly approve of his conduct.

“At the time of the altercation it was very dark and Ms. Dozier had a larger shirt on,” Wheeler wrote in his report. “I could not tell by the sight of her at the time that she was pregnant.”

Wheeler placed Dozier in the back seat of his vehicle and brought her to the police station. Authorities gave her a choice.

“They asked me did I want to go to jail or to the hospital,” Dozier later wrote in a complaint filed with the DeKalb County Police. “I said I wanted to go to the hospital.”
Doctors could already see contusions and spotting, according to Bullman. The attorney says that the infant became ill within the womb as a result of defecation from the impact.

Dozier’s son, Levi, was born prematurely by emergency C-section 2 weeks later.

The Hypocrisy of our Police State

“They put their club upside your head, then turn around and accuse you of attacking them. Every case of police brutality against a negro follows the same pattern, they attack you and then take you to court and charge you with assuault…what kind of freedom is that? Brothers and sisters, we have to put a stop to this, and it wont stop until we stop it ourselves.” – Malcolm X

Nearly two months ago, we also reported on Kendrec McDade, who was killed by Pasadena cops while they were responding to a robbery. McDade’s autopsy revealed some particularly brutal and disturbing details:

• McDade was shot seven times at close range and handcuffed AFTERWARDS
• McDade was shot in the back at least four times. “No matter how you want to twist it there were one, two, three and a possible fourth shot” to the back, the attorney for the family said.
• Some of the bullets had a downward trajectory, indicating that he was either falling or on the ground when he was shot.
• According to the lawsuit filed by McDade’s parents,”…McDade was shot multiple times in the chest but did not die immediately. McDade tried to speak with the officer but was handcuffed and started to “twitch” and was left on the street for a prolonged period without receiving first aid.”

Both Newlen and Griffin- the officers who shot young McDade went on record, stating that they realized McDade was unarmed after they had already shot him. Of course, Pasadena Lt. Phlunte Riddle quickly defended the officers’ actions of handcuffing the teen after he had already been shot.

On March 24th, Carillo lied to 911 call dispatchers, telling them that two armed Black males had robbed him. Carrillo allegedly lied about the robbery because he thought it would encourage a speedier response. It worked, and resulted in the death of another one of our Black children.

Gay Marriage is a Non-Issue. Talk to Me About Stopping Police-On-Black Crime

The big news for everyone last week was Obama’s support of gay marriage. Personally, I still dont understand why this issue is getting so much play. Gay marriage is a non-issue, its a distraction – and not a very good one – when every day, a Black man or woman is tased or shot to death by police officers.

In our article entitled The Mental Disease of White Supremacy, I wrote:

Trayvon was the victim of white supremacy, plain and simple. He is one of hundreds of millions whose blood was spilled as a result of the mental sickness that this country and the world is infected with. Unfortunately, until we stop participating in the system of white supremacy that is destroying us, there will be hundreds more Trayvon Martins.

Whether you are a Jew, Christian, Muslim, or whether you live in the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, or Africa – remember, that if you are Black then you too could be Trayvon Martin. And until we build, love, unify, and take care of our own, we will continue to see our destruction at the hands of white supremacy.

Gay marriage is a non-issue in a day and age where our children, our children for God’s sake!, are being gunned down in the streets by police. The real issue is the fact that we still have not effectively brought an end to the legal, wholesale slaughter of innocent Black men and women.

When faced with these same threats from the government that is supposed to protect us, we formed the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Today, we would rather turn the other cheek and act as if there is nothing that can be done.

What Can We Do?

Rather than asking the question “what can we do?”, perhaps the correct question is “What should we do?” Here are some answers:

1. Put pressure on the system

Police brutality against Blacks is a NATIONAL EPIDEMIC. However, the numerous incidents are hidden in local news reports. Two of the highest offices in this country are held by Black men, and yet incidents of police-on-Black murder are skyrocketing.

Help us publicize these attacks and use them to put pressure on President Obama and Attorney General Holder, as well as your locally elected officials. Retweet this article, share this information and join or create movements in your area. What they attempt to hide in the dark must be brought to light.

A new effort on our part includes exposing what is going on in America to foreign news agencies, including Al-Jazeera. Why? America is all about keeping up appearances, and this type of coverage will increase the amount of pressure on lawmakers to address and solve the issue.

2. Revive the neighborhood watch.

It is perfectly legal to watch and record the activities of police in your neighborhood. On August 26, 2011, the First Circuit Court of Appeals–the highest federal court below the U.S. Supreme Court–handed down a ruling that defends our right to videotape the police and other public officials as they engage in their official duties.

Our organization has issued a press release to local police departments informing them of this law, and of the fact that they are being watched. In addition, these videos will be released to the public prior to filing complaints with the police department.

3. Join or create local movements.

Have the courage to stand up, recruit, occupy, and create a local movement. The Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, United Black America, and the Occupy the Hood movement are all examples of organizations started by individuals who give a damned.

Things wont change unless you change them yourself.

You are Malcolm X. You are Angela Davis. You are Nelson Mandela.

Fucking act like it.

Peace.

We know that the current state of hip hop is bull crap.

We know that we need better options than trap music, hoe music, and club bangers that rot the brain with poisoned, ignorant lyrics.

We know that there is a psychological covert War on Hip Hop that keeps real conscious music off the airwaves.

Mainstream hip hop makes me dry heave.

The problem is that it can be hard to find conscious rappers that you want to support (you DEFINITELY wont find them on BET). A few of these rappers make mainstream (Jay Electronica, Common), but for the most part hip hop has become a sewer (admit it, you know I’m right!)

But the art and the artist are far from dead.

Here are the top 10 greatest black conscious hip hop artists of all time. I keep these MCs on heavy rotation as an alternative to the poor quality of mainstream music being forced down our throats.

At the end of this list, I will tell you where you can go to support these artists, find out about thousands of other conscious hip hop artists, and buy music. Check this list out, and if I have forgotten your favorite rapper, leave a comment at the end. 

The 10 Greatest Conscious Hip Hop Rappers of All Time

KRS-One

KRS-One

“I’m suggesting that in 100 years, this book will be a new religion on the earth… I think I have the authority to approach God directly, I don’t have to go through any religion [or] train of thought. I can approach God directly myself and so I wrote a book called The Gospel of Hip Hop to free from all this nonsense garbage right now. I respect the Christianity, the Islam, the Judaism but their time is up. …In a hundred years, everything that I’m saying to you will be common knowledge and people will be like, ‘Why did he have to explain this? Wasn’t it obvious?’” – On his self-published book, The Gospel of Hip Hop

This man is a powerhouse of Black conscious hip hop. Since 1977, KRS has been dropping bombs on the hip hop industry, producing 27 collaborative and solo albums, winning the 2004 VH1 Hip Hop Honors Award, the 2007 BET Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2009 Urban Music Living Legend Award. KRS-One has kept his message pure over the years, becoming known for his furiously political and socially conscious rap, giving him the nickname “the Teacher.”

Some things you might not know about KRS – One:

• KRS-One has written and published 4 books, including the hard-to-find 1996 classic, The Science of Rap.
• He has appeared in 25 films and documentaries
• His name is an acronym for Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone
• In 2012, KRS-One endorsed Congressman Ron Paul for President over Barack Obama
• KRS-One has been a vegetarian since he was a child

Mos Def

Mos Def: Prolific conscious hip hop artist turned actor and activist.

“Old white men is runnin’ this rap sh*t,
Corporate forces runnin’ this rap sh*t,
Some tall Israeli is runnin’ this rap sh*t,
We poke out our asses for a chance to cash in.
Cocaine, is runnin’ this rap sh*t,
‘Dro, ‘yac and e-pills is runnin this rap sh*t,
MTV is runnin’ this rap sh*t,
Viacom is runnin’ this rap sh*t,
AOL and Time Warner runnin’ this rap sh*t.“

- 2004,  A New Danger

Mos Def has been rapping since the age of 9 and professionally acting since age 14. He has been nominated as the Best Supporting Actor, is a 7-time Grammy Award nominee, and won Best Indie Actor for his role in The Woodsman.

 His dedication to his musical craft has paid off for him and for the conscious community. These days, Mos Def is more of an actor/activist than a rapper , but he still blesses the industry from time to time with albums like  The New Danger in 2004. His classic breakthrough albums — Black Star (1998), was a collaboration with Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek; and Black on Both Sides (1999), his solo debut — is legendary in the underground hip hop community.

Mos Def has used his fame to protest in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Jena Six incident in 2007, for instance.

Sa-Roc the MC

Chances are you havent heard of Sa-Roc, and if thats the case – Im sorry for you. Her lyrics are divine and all encompassing: SA-ROC music is the sound track for what she calls the “GOD HOP MOVEMENT.”

Her musical soundtrack was a klash of sounds, from gogo, to rock, to hip hop. This foundation began an aural quest for different sounds and concepts in music. Her sound is 1 part hood poetry, 2 parts otherworldly, and totally new and fresh. From subject matter ranging from melanin to pyramids, Saroc spits metaphysical ideas over melodic hip hop beats, seeking to fuse knowledge of self with great music. She seeks to create not just a couple of albums, but a full-fledged musical movement.

Listen to Electric Elekes featuring Stic Man of Dead Prez:

SA_ROC_andamp_STICMAN_dead_prez_ELECTRIK_ELEKES_PR

This is my second time mentioning Sa-Roc ( check out Conscious Culture Friday: NYOIL, Kalik Scientific, and Sa-Roc). She is one of the most talented, creative, and under-appreciated female lyricists of our time. Beauty, talent, intelligence, spirit – there is nothing this Queen is lacking. Support her at http://godhopmovement.org/

Professor X and the X-Clan

Remember The Box? Remember when Rap City was dope?

These are the first two places I can ever remember seeing Professor X and the X-Clan. If you are younger than 24, you dont even know what the X-Clan meant to music in the 80s and 90s.

For you younggins, X-Clan is a hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York, that consisting of Grand Verbalizer Funkin’ Lesson Brother J, Professor X The Overseer, Paradise the Architect, and Sugar Shaft the Rhythm Provider. The current incarnation of the group features leader Brother J, Master China, Kumu, “Ultraman” Ra Hanna, ACL, Lord Cza, DJ Fat Jack and Zulu. Professor X passed into legend in 2006, and the group continues to inspire and produce MCs along the same lineage.

They dont make music like this anymore. This is hip hop. This is the beginning. This is the language of the Black Conscious soul. Listen and learn.

M1 and Stic Man of Dead Prez

Ayo my life is like Roots it’s a true story
It’s too gory for them televised fables on cable
I’ma a runaway slave watching the north star
Shackles on my forearm , runnin with the gun on my palm
I’m an African , never was an African-American
Blacker than black I take it back to my origin
Same skin hated by the klansmen
Big nose and lips, big hips and butts, dancin, what
-I’m A African

Any rap or hip hop list that doesnt have Dead Prez on it is an incomplete list. The Dead Prez duo (M1 and Stic Man) was a product of Florida A&M University (FAMU). Their first album, Let’s get Free , became an instant classic, and threw them onto the national scene. Most people hadnt even heard of Dead Prez until they heard the Hip Hop instrumental on the Dave Chappelle Show.

Like all the artists listed here, the duo uses their lyrical superpowers for the good of our community: their 2002 compilation CD, Red Hot + Riot raised money for various charities that fight AIDS in Africa.

Recently, while most rappers are rocking blood diamonds, and pretending that they’re the first N*ggas in Paris, Dead Prez used their fame to discuss issues that actually matter – like the injustices surrounding the Trayvon Martin case. Teamed up with Mos Def and Mikeflo, the group recently came together to discuss the murder and record a tribute track which addresses the issue of what happened to Trayvon Martin as well as how blacks should best respond.

M-1 and Stic.man epitomize the spirit of 21st century Black consciousness. Listen and Learn.

Rakim

We were children of the most high, so we fell
From paradise to holy hell
Probably descendants of the Holy Grail
Another part of history they won’t reveal
Times’ll only tell
You waiting for Judgment? It came
In the form of a thug in the game
To create a strong position, there’s blood in my vein
The chemical is identical, we one and the same
With seven letters in all three of my government names
Walk on water? Nah, neither did Jesus
It’s a parable to make followers and readers believers
From Egypt to Budapest, Rakim is the truest left
Understand the Scriptures like the minister Louis F
I told you who God is, you ignored me like most the prophets
Jesus, Solomon, Abraham, Moses and Muhammad
I showed the scholars, we’ll fulfill the broken promise
I spit this truth to predict the future like Nostradamus
Like Revelations, I’m hoping my quotes reveal
The seven spirits of God when I open the seal
Interpret the holy Qu’ran, these flows will guide you
Translate the Torah, and decode the Bible
-Rakim, Holy Are You

Rap pioneer Rakim infused the teachings and symbols of the Five Percenters throughout his music and videos. This reputation brought fans of Rakim in particular to refer to him as the God MC. Early on in his career, he paired up with other Gods, including the Brand Nubians, the Poor Righteous Teachers, the Wu-Tang Clan, Killarmy, Sunz of Man, Gravediggaz, Public Enemy,Godbliss and Gang Starr. The music became a message that sparked a boom of new NGE students.

So much has been written about the God Rakim that it would be useless to try to include it all here. All I can say is hearing is believing.

IF CHILLS DIDNT RUN THROUGH YOUR BODY WHEN YOU HEARD THIS, CHECK YOUR PULSE!

Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian

Yes, last Sunday of the month, so to Harlem we went
No clubbin’, for parliments and Harriett Tubman
Peace to the Gods, peace to the Earths
Peace to the Seeds, peace to the Birth
Of the Nation of the Five Percent, rap sent
Intelligent brothers, to represent
Allah Justice made the knowledge born
You find the Gods from the jails to the colledge dorms
You got to ‘know the ledge’ to ‘wise the dom’
-Lord Jamar – Original Man

Another obvious inclusion into the The 10 Greatest Conscious Rappers of All Time. Lord Jamar is 1/3 of the group, Brand Nubian, which also consists of Sadat X and Grand Puba.

You might remember him as playing role of Supreme Allah on the TV series Oz. Since then Lord Jamar has turned to acting with roles on the Sopranos, Law And Order SVU and the series, Rescue Me. He is really making an impact on the screen, but I doubt it will be bigger than the impact he has made on conscious hip hop.

As a confirmed and committed member of the Nation of Gods and Earths, Lord Jamar co-authored the book that lead me to the Nation: Knowledge of Self. He is a spiritual mentor of mine, and a supreme lyricist. Listen and learn.

Jean Grae

South Africa-born Tsidi Ibrahim, known to us as Jean Grae, moved to New York shortly after birth. As a young protege, she learned to read at the age of 3 and, following in her parents’ footsteps, developed a love for music and the performing arts. Jean was also an excellent dancer, and by age 13 she had become the youngest person accepted to Alvin Ailey’s renowned second dance company. She studied Vocal Performance at the LaGuardia School of Music & Art before majoring in Music Business at New York University. She later dropped out after 3 weeks of class because she already knew what her professors were teaching her…and she was right.

In 2002, she collaborated with the likes of The Roots, Talib Kweli and the Herbaliser, Atmosphere, 9th Wonder, Pharoahe Monch, Styles P, Masta Ace, and Immortal Technique moving Jean into the public eye. Her second album, This Week, was released in 2004.

Immortal Technique

Nostradamus was a white man’s prophet who predicated European supremacist logic
Because the pilgrims and conquistadors columns killed more innocent people than Hitler and Stalin (Yes)
I guess the fortune teller skipped an Antichrist or two
Brother give this to the OG’s doing life with you and
Pray for the problems with the popes psychology so the Vatican will offer an apology, (for what?!)
for destroying the peoples liberation theology
Snatching the spirit of Jesus from people in poverty
Business decisions like keeping people in prisons but had the opposite effect incarcerating religion
That type of crooked politics imposed on a populous is obvious if you read the Northwood documents
Forget the compliments for what I recorded
And live the revolution instead of always dying for it
Remember a bullet can never stop me
My legions are led by the spirit Haile Selassie watch me

-Immortal Technique, Sign Of The Times

Immortal Technique was born a revolutionary – literally – being born in a Peruvian military hospital. His family emigrated in 1980 to Harlem, where he would face multiple incarcerations. Honing his rapping skills in jail, and unable to find decent wage-paying employment after his release, Immortal Technique began selling his music on the streets of New York while battling with MCs whenever the opportunity arose. After winning numerous freestyle rap competitions of the New York underground hip hop scene, he developed a reputation for his ferocious and politically conscious lyricism.

Fast forward to today, and Immortal Technique has gained international acclaim because he truly speaks truth to power. For instance:

This vid sounds like he’s reading straight from United Black Americas archives!

Im new to Immortal Technique, but Im quickly catching up. He is proof that the indigenous people all over the Earth are waking the hell up.

Professor Griff of Public Enemy

Now that you’ve realized the prides arrived
We got to pump the stuff to make us tough
from the heart
It’s a start, a work of art
To revolutionize make a change nothin’s strange
People, people we are the same
No we’re not the same
Cause we don’t know the game
What we need is awareness, we can’t get careless
You say what is this?
My beloved lets get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
(Yo) bum rush the show
You gotta go for what you know
Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say…
Fight the Power

The question: “Who is the face of hip-hop today? Whoever says ‘Jay-Z’ is an idiot,” Prof Griff of the legendary hip-hop group Public Enemy bluntly responded during a recent forum in Muskegon Heights. Griff was addressing more than 150 people who attended the event, which was held Saturday at the Muskegon Heights Boxing Club. The program, sponsored by local radio station 103.7 The Beat, is one of a series of culturally related workshops that the station is hosting this year. “The face of hip-hop today is white — white, corporate America,” added Griff.

Professor Griff is directly responsible for making Public Enemy the titan that it became. Public Enemy took hip-hop to new places, combining enormous beats and hooks with politically-charged and intelligent lyrics to create music that moved people and frightened the suburban parents of America in the early ’90s.

When Public Enemy spoke, people listened, and they used that platform as fully as they could while also delivering straight-up great hip-hop.

Support Conscious Hip Hop!

Above I mentioned books and CDs, but I didnt tell you where to get them. Click on any of the images on the widget below to buy them from Amazon. 

If you cant see the widget, use this link: Conscious Hip Hop List

By supporting these artists and conscious hip hop, you are raising your consciousness by taking control of your media. We need better options than Gucci, Boosie, and Nikki, so support these artists with your time and your dime.

Peace!

P.S. Did I forget your favorite conscious rapper? Is there somebody out there that the world needs to know about? Do you rap or freestyle? Leave a comment below for some free publicity. After you leave your first comment, you will be automatically approved for future comments anywhere else on this site.

In 1976, author Robert Temple published a book that would rock the academic world, and baffle NASA. The Sirius Mystery  presented the hypothesis that the Dogon people of Mali in West Africa preserve a tradition of contact with intelligent extraterrestrial beings from the Sirius star-system.

After spending decades studying Dogon traditions, Temple learned that not only were they able to chart the paths of stars that couldnt be seen with the human eye….and weigh them(!), the Dogon were also well aware of Saturn’s Rings, the moons of Jupiter, and the existence of astronomical bodies that wouldnt be “discovered” by the West until centuries later.

The Mysterious Origins of the Dogon

Sons of Egypt: Evidence shows the Dogon are direct descendants of the original people of Kemet

When you look into the face of a Dogon man or woman, you could be looking at the descendants of the Ancient Egyptians…or Ancient Aliens. When Arabs invaded Kemet in the year 616 A.D., man Egyptians fled to the south to avoid being forced to convert to Islam and abandon their traditions. The Egyptians that fled encrypted their language to avoid being understood by their persecutors, and preserved what knowledge they could in oral traditions. These men and women went on to found other civilizations in Nubia, Kush, Axum, and throughout Africa.

The Dogon originally settled in Mali in Among the Dogon several oral traditions have been recorded as to their origin. One relates to their coming from Mande, located to the southwest of the Bandiagara escarpment near Bamako. According to this oral tradition, the first Dogon settlement was established in the extreme southwest of the escarpment at Kani-Na, arriving in the Sanga region in the 15th century. Other oral histories place the origin of the Dogon to the west beyond the river Niger, or tell of the Dogon coming from the east. It is likely that the Dogon of today combine several groups of diverse origin who migrated to escape Islamization.

While we can physically trace the origin of the Dogon peoples back to Kemet, their oral traditions tell of origins much older and much farther away.

The Dogon talked of alien beings called Nummo or Nommo, a race people from the Sirius system that visited Earth thousands of years ago. These immortal and amphibious beings that resembled mermen and mermaids were responsible for human creation through genetic engineering. The Egyptian Goddess Isis, who is sometimes depicted as a mermaid, is also linked with the star Sirius.

The Nommos were said to have landed on Earth in an “ark” that made a spinning decent to the ground with great noise and wind. It was from these beings that the Black men and women of Africa first learned of Sirius B, and the origins of humankind. The Dogon placed a heavy emphasis on the “word” as the source of human exceptionalism. To the Dogon, speech was synonymous with intelligence and the only way the Earth animals were able to speak was when their DNA was combined with the DNA of the Nummo. Several of these early biological experiments conducted by the Nummo failed, producing unintelligent bastardized forms of humanity (homo neanderthalis, homo habilitis, et. al.).

To correct these mistakes, A “Master of Speech”, a first son, was created to provide hope for humanity and correct the mistakes made from the first failed biological experiments. This saviour was eventually turned into the male Christ figure of Christianity.

Early anthropologists who first came into contact with the Dogon dismissed these stories as myths. When the Dogon pointed to a star in the sky that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, White explorers rolled their eyes.

And then radio astronomers pointed their telescopes to the exact location of the Dogon’s “home” star…and there it was.

The Sirius Mystery

Sirius is actually a binary (double) star system located about 8.61 light years from the Earth. Sirius A and B rotate around one another in 50-year orbits that have only recently been observed. In fact, it wasnt until the Hubble Telescope that Sirius B was even photographed. The Ancient Egyptians knew of the larger brighter star, Sirius A, and in fact aligned the pyramids with it. The Sirius system is directly “upstream” of our solar system within the galactic arm of our Milky Way Galaxy.

Sirius A creates an axis of rotation with Earth relative to the stellar background, and so because of this, of all the stars in the sky, only the annual heliacal rising of Sirius precisely matches the length of our solar year, 365.25 days. The Ancient Egyptians were somehow aware of this unique relationship between our system and Sirius A, and marked the heliacal rising of Sirius as the first day of their calendar year (more on what a heliacal rising is later).

Unbeknownst to most people, the New Years Celebration is a tradition that has been passed down to us as a continuation of an ancient ritual honoring the return of Sirius to the midheaven position at midnight. Occurring down through the ages around January 1st, this midnight alignment marks the moment when the energy of Sirius A, directly overhead, rain down on us in its most singular purity.

The Dogon placed Sirius B, which they referred to as Digitaria, at the center of their belief system. Every 50 years, the Dogon honor the completion of the rotation of the two stars with Sigui: the most important ceremony in Dogon tradition. The Sigui ceremony symbolises the death of the first ancestor until the moment that humanity acquired the use of the spoken word.

What baffled anthropologists and astronomers is how did the Dogon know this, particularly since the smaller Sirius B is a white dwarf – a dead sun that cannot be seen with the naked eye.How did the Dogon gain this knowledge thousands of years ago without any known ancient telescopes yet to be found? Could there be some truth to their claims of extra-terrestrial intervention? Or did the Dogon once possess technology that we dont know about?

Not only were the Dogon able to describe the exact location of Sirius B, they knew it was a dense, white-dwarf star, and were able to trace the path that each star travelled in.

Anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop writes:

The density of a white dwarf is such that a volume that will fit in a thimble weighs around 40 tons. This is a star that has used up all of its energy and has collapsed in on itself. The colossal pressure that accompanies such a collapse pushes the electrons of the stars atoms into its nucleus, and the empty space that separates atoms disappears. Therefore, matter, which is usually presented as hollow, becomes solid and dense.

It is certain that the Dogon have acquired specific knowledge od the existence of this white dwarf star, invisible to the naked eye, and of its enormous density; similarly, they know of its trajectory and that of Sirius A: Digitaria is the smallest of all things. It is the heaviest star,” say the Dogon. The vivid language used by the Dogon must not lead us to devalue their comprehension of this phenomenon, for it could not be otherwise.

The Mystery Deepens

Earlier, we used the term ‘heliacal rising.’ This is an event that takes place, according to both Dogon and Kemetic tradition, every 1,461 years. This marks the occasion upon which the Sirius star is eclipsed by the Sun. From this point, that’s one cycle. The next time that happens, it completes another cycle. It’s 1,461 years between those two cycles. And this cycle has been observed by the Kemetic cultures, including that of the Dogon, for millennia; we’re talking at least 73,000 years ago. This is the only cycle in history that has been observed, consistently measured, and has not changed or wavered.

So, it becomes more than just a theory when dealing with the heliacal rising and the Sirius star. And this is something that they maintained records and based everything on, as far as time division, based it on that particular aspect of the celestial bodies and movements of those celestial bodies.

So far, we have only discussed the findings of one particular Dogon tribe. There are other tribes that specialize in the study of a particular region of the sky. The Ono tribe study Venus, the Dommo study Orion’s shield, the Aru study the moon, and the Dyon the sun. Thus the Dogon have the lunar, solar, and sidereal calendars – just like the Egyptians.

Somehow, the Dogon also knew of the rings of Saturn, or the existence of the asteroid belt, and of the four largest moons of Jupiter. This knowledge had been passed down in the form of encrypted oral tales from generation to generation. One can only imagine how they came to this knowledge (long before the arrival of whites in the area) without modern technology, or why such knowledge was important to them. The imagination runs wild.

Those who forget their past shall be doomed to repeat it!

‘If we want to survive, we must unite’. – Dr Hassy H. B. Kitine, Tanzanian Pan-Africanist 

In his famous book, Africa Must Unite, Kwame Nkrumah stated emphatically that; “No single part of Africa can be safe or free to develop fully and independently, while any part remains unliberated or while Africa’s vast economic resources continue to be exploited by imperialist and neo colonialist interests.”

Africans must redefine themselves and believe in themselves. If we don’t stick together, we will fail and fall. Unfortunately, South Africa, Nigeria, Gabon, and silent Black men and women all over the world betrayed the African cause by giving NATO the license to decimate and destroy a sister African country. I believe it is only through a UNITED AFRICA, would we, as a people overcome the numerous challenges. No one ethnic group or one tiny nation created by the Berlin clique can stand it alone. A United Africa is the best defense of our resources which Europeans have coveted (which are also now coveted by the Chinese) over the centuries.

‘This is my plea to the new generation of African leaders and African peoples: Work for unity with the firm conviction that without unity, there is no future for Africa. That is, of course, if we still want a place in the sun. A new generation of self-respecting Africans should spit in the face of anybody who suggests that our continent should remain divided and fossilised in the shame of colonialism, in order to satisfy the national pride of our former colonial masters.” Julius Nyerere

The NATO/AFRICOM Attack on A United States of Africa 

“The African continent must recognize that NATO’s lashing-out is a sign of desperation, of impotence, of its inability to stop the inevitable rise of Africa on the world stage. Africa must learn the lessons from Libya, continue the drive towards pan-African unity and continue to resist AFRICOM.” - Dan Glazebrook, “NATO’s war on Libya is an attack on African development”

The massive Libyan destruction characterized as some “humanitarian mission” was a hoax and a BIG LIE. It was part of the African dismemberment and butchering operation started in Berlin in 1844, which set limits and put Africans in a box. And anyone who tries to break from the box or tries to go beyond the limits set is destroyed with overwhelming military/economic force at the disposal of white forces.

Today it is Libya, tomorrow it might be Nigeria and the next, Gabon and on and on. No single African country is immune from NATO/AFRICOM aggression. On Libya, forget the superficial reason of protecting civilians; the deepest reasons were hidden from the eyes of the gullible world by the biased western media. In short these so-called powers always have ulterior motives in their dealing with Africans. There were many reasons for the shameful attack on a sister African country and by extension an attack on Africa.

Among them were:

• The fear that Gaddafi’s creation of the African Investment Bank in Sirte (Libya) and the African Monetary Fund to be based in Cameroon will supplant the IMF and undermine Western economic hegemony in Africa.
• A year before the sadistic attacks on Libya, the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi put $90bn at the disposal of Africa during summit talks on the creation of the “United States of Africa”, when he met African leaders in Ndjamena, Chad.
• In December 2010, Gadaffi pushed again for a sole African government and the creation of a single African army, to consist of a ‘million soldiers’.
• Days before the NATO/AFRICOM attacks, Gaddafi held numerous meetings with Africans from all sections pushing hard for the United Africa project.

So the case against Gaddafi was his vigorous campaign for the dismantling of the imperialist structures in Africa and the creation of a continental government, independent African currency to be named “AFRO” backed by Africa’s vast gold resources, and the creation of an African army, able to defend Africa. These reasons triggered the blitzkrieg against Libya and Gadhafi and the massive destruction of Libyan infrastructure.

“Africa must unite, so that we do not again become serfs or slaves. It is necessary to establish a unity government for the African continent and that Africa has one army, which could consist of a million soldiers. Even the South African army is worthless to NATO or the United States of America. Even Libya is not even able to protect its territorial waters alone” – Gaddafi

NATO/AFRICOM carried out over 8000 airstrikes on Libya. Imagine other African countries suffering the same fate as Libya; the continent would be wiped off the face of the earth in no time.

Africa is the key to global economic growth’ is the new song being sung at western capitals today. Once the marauders and imperialist gangsters have started with Libya, there is no looking back. History is our guide. Europeans have targeted Africa this century as the reservoir for the growth of their economies. Judging from the nature of the combined NATO and AFRICOM attacks on Libya with the flimsy excuse of protecting civilians, Africa stands no chance of survival in the coming decade. European powers had used those various excuses and tactics in the past in the subjugation and dismantling of Africa and the excuse being used against Libya is nothing new. It has followed a time tested pattern. As usual, we are currently seeing a combined European/American solidarity and imperialist assault against a perceived “weak race”.

The fact that I disagree with my brother or family member doesn’t mean I should support a stranger attacking my brother. Any attack against my brother is an attack against me. I will do everything to defend my brother when attacked by an outsider. So it was the betrayal of Africa at the highest level for South Africa, Nigeria and Gabon to give the imperialists blank cheque to attack Libya.

Germany morally disagreed with the military actions of the West against Libya, but in the name of WHITE SOLIDARITY, provided tacit support through NATO. Something Africans since the days of slavery are yet to learn. This is why the call for a UNITED Africa for a brotherly solidarity is more urgent today. If we want to survive in this dog eat dog world, we need to stick together. 

“A United States of Africa is the most visionary solution to the minor issues of ethnicity and regionalism because in an African Federative Union we are all Africans” - Prof. Molefi Kete Asante

Africa is surely going to be destroyed unless it succeeds in growing together into a Single Family. Anytime I see those ghastly pictures about our rich and blessed continent on the TV, my heart gets sick. Too many Africans are trapped in a cycle where lack of basic human needs and lack of faith have combined to create sad human conditions that cannot be allowed to continue. We must first believe in ourselves and redefine ourselves and know that we are capable and endowed with divine abilities capable of transforming our backyard. 

We must become familiar with and accept each other’s peculiar way of doing things. We must come together physically, mentally, economically, politically, spiritually and socially by advancing new ways of interacting with each other.

The Igbo, Yuroba, Grushie, Dagomba, Edo, Kru, Fanti, Azande, Bambara, Ganda, Sukuma, Dyola, Senegambia, Tonga, Merina and the countless tribes of Africa must all unite with East Saint Louis, Atlanta, San Diego, Louisville, Bahia, Porto Alegre, London, Panama City, Port-au-Prince, and Sablé-sur-Sarthe if we are to change our collective destinies.

Our diversity is a reflection of the beautiful nature of Africans. These should be sources of strength and not for conflicts. A Libyan is not different from a Burkinabe. A South African is equally capable as a Nigerian. A combination of wits between a Ghanaian and a Kenyan can cause a technological and scientific explosion for the relief and advancement of our people. Let us not hide behind blind nationalism and tribalism as an excuse for not doing our best. And above all, let us remember that the worst poverty is not economic but mental!

Connecting the Global African Family

Africans at home and those in the diaspora must join forces. The greater global African family is over a billion strong race of intelligent and able people with profound potential. An attack on the mother continent is an attack on Africans everywhere. The well-being of the mother continent will automatically reflect on Africans everywhere. Let us strive to build a political, economic and cultural bond which will be unbreakable.

From Alabama to Abuja, Harlem to Harare, Kingston to Kampala, Baltimore to Bamako, Barbados to Burundi , Trinidad and Tobago to Togo, Montgomery to Monrovia, New York to Nairobi ,Suriname to Senegal, Bahamas to Burundi, Memphis to Maputo, Port-au-Prince to Porto-Novo, let unity reign. We have no option than to unite and fend off the traditional destroyers of Africa.

This oppressive white values system has tried to use frivolous reasons to demean our humanity and shred us into pieces. From slavery through segregation to Apartheid to colonization to present day AFRICOM/NATO bombardment, the agenda has been the dismemberment of the greater African family and breaking of the African spirit. The plight of Africa today is dismembered, lifeless and dysfunctional. Only unity will restore life and liberty to Africa.

Therefore, let us join the dead and the living and add our voices to the call for a UNITED STATES OF AFRICA, able and strong and resolute to defend the dignity and humanity of Africa and Africans everywhere. Let us unite to send a clear message to our detractors that our spirits are indestructible and unyielding. We should carry the battle to the enemy through our united front.

Support a worthy Cause.
AFRICAN HOME ADVANTAGE INCORPORATED (AHAI)
To Make Africans Regain The Much Needed Home Advantage
Which Have Been Denied Us For Centuries

Thutmose III is one of the baddest Black men ever to walk the Earth, and passed on a divine legacy to Black men and women today. His leadership and military conquests puts Alexander the Great to shame, his administrative abilities makes Washington D.C. look like a middle school student council, and his innovative ability were light years ahead of any other thinker for centuries following his reign.

One of the most brilliant and successful military rulers ever to live, Thutmose III never lost a battle (unlike Napoleon and Alexander the Great). As an accomplished horseman, archer, and athlete, he personally led his troops at the head of battle formations.

Thutmose III’s Rise to Power

A Well-known Statue of Thutmose III

I have given you power and victory over all the nations
you have conquered the rebel hordes as I commanded,
the Earth in its length and breadth, the peoples of the West and
of the East are your subjects
no one was subjected to your majesty without myself having been
your guide, so that you would succeed.
All the peoples come, bringing tribute to you on thier backs, bowing
before you as I have ordained. – Karnak Stela paying homage to Thutmose III

Thutmose III was the son of Thutmose II by a secondary wife, Iset.

When Thutmose II died Thutmose III was too young to rule, so Hatshepsut (Thutmose II’s wife) became his regent, and declared herself to be the pharaoh . Thutmosis III had little power over the empire while Hatshepsut exercised her power as the ruler of Kemet. When he reached a suitable age and demonstrated the capability, she appointed him to head her armies. There, he proved himself to be a talented horseman, archer, athlete, and strategist.

For the most part, the states that paid tribute to Kemet during the reign of Hatshepsut were cooperative and peaceful, and there were no record of wars during her rule. However, when Hatshepsut died on the tenth day of the sixth month of Thutmose III’s twenty first year, the king of Kadesh advanced his army to Megiddo in an act of war. This would be Thutmose III’s first test as Pharaoh.

The War at Megiddo

As is often the case when a new king comes to the throne subject nations are inclined to test his resolve. The King of Kadesh was joined in his defiance with the Mesopotamians and the Syrians, who declared themselves free of Egypt as soon as Hatshepsut died.

Thutmose didnt waste a moment, and immediately advanced his army to the border city of Gaza, which had remained loyal to Egypt.

(These events are all well documented because Thutmose’s private secretary, Tjaneni, kept a journal that was later copied and engraved onto the walls of the temple of Karnak.)

Thutmose understood the value of logistics and lines of supply, the necessity of rapid movement and sudden surprise attack; Megiddo was his first objective because it was a key point and had to be taken at all costs.There were two routes to Megiddo: a long, easy and level road around the hills, which the enemy expected Thutmose to take, and a route which was narrow, difficult and cut through the hills. (Sounds familiar? Check out Hannibal, Carthage, and History’s First White on Black Genocide)

His generals advised the new Pharaoh to take the easy road through the hills, saying “horse must follow behind horse and man behind man also, and our vanguard will be engaged while our rearguard is at Aaruna without fighting”.

But Thutmose’s reply to this was “As I live, as I am the beloved of Ra and praised by my father Amon, I will go on the narrow road. Let those who will, go on the roads you have mentioned; and let anyone who will, follow my Majesty” Now, when the soldiers heard this bold speech they shouted with one accord We follow thy Majesty whithersoever thy Majesty goes”.

Thutmose led his men on foot through the hills “horse behind horse and man behind man, his Majesty showing the way by his own footsteps”. It took about twelve hours for the front of the formation to reach the valley on the other side and another seven hours before the last troops emerged. Thutmose himself waited at the head of the pass until each and every man was safely through.

The sudden and unexpected appearance of Egyptians in their rear forced the allies to make a hasty re-deployment of their troops. The King of Meggiddo had slowly built up a coalition of defiant nations. By the TIme Thutmose had moved on Meggido, there are said to have been over 300 allied kings gathered, each with his own army, an immense force.

Thutmose was fearless, even in the face of 300 allied crowns, but he was far from stupid. Rather than attacking, he ordered his army to dig a moat around Megiddo and surround the area with a fortification consisting of a strong fence made of stakes driven into the ground. The king gave orders to let nobody through except those who surrendered at the gate.

For seven months, the kings and their armies were starved, harassed and held hostage in the walls of Meggido. Thutmose’s strategy worked, and the vanquished kings sent out their sons and daughters to sue for peace. “All those things with which they had come to fight against my Majesty, now they brought them as tribute to my Majesty, while they themselves stood upon their walls giving praise to my Majesty, and begging that the Breath of Life be given to their nostrils”

Those who surrendered made an oath of allegiance to their King, Thutmose III: “We will not again do evil against Menkheper Ra our good Lord, in our lifetime, for we have seen his might, and he has deigned to give us breath.”

A Thutmose carving at Karnak portraying his conquest of Asiatic aggressors.

This single campaign made Thutmose a legend, and drastically changed the political situation in the ancient Near East. By taking Megiddo, Thutmose gained control of all of northern Canaan, and the Syrian princes were obligated to send tribute and their own sons as hostages to Egypt. Beyond the Euphrates, the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Hittite kings all gave Thutmose gifts, which he alleged to be “tribute” when he recorded it on the walls of Karnak.

Thutmose III in the Bible

You may have recognized some of the cities above from the Bible. The length of Thutmose III’s reign is known to the day thanks to information found in the tomb of the court official Amenemheb. Amenemheb records Thutmose III’s death to his master’s fifty-fourth regnal year, on the thirtieth day of the third month of Peret.

The day of Thutmose III’s accession is known to be I Shemu day 4, and astronomical observations can be used to establish the exact dates of the beginning and end of the king’s reign from April 24, 1479 BC to March 11, 1425 BC respectively. According to 1 Kings 6:1 the Exodus took place in 1448 b.C. That is, 477 years before Solomon became king in 971 b.C. This would make Thutmoses III pharaoh during the Exodus.

The Height of Egyptian Empire

After Meggido, Thutmose III conducted sixteen campaigns in Palestine, Syria and Nubia and his treatment of the conquered was always humane. During his fifth military campaign, the conquest of Syria, Thutmose brilliantly used Naval power to secretly move his troops around the area to strike at the enemy where they least expected it. In fact, THutmose III may be the first military leader in history to effectively employ Naval power. Once the rebellions were crushed, Thutmose III found that by taking family members of these key people to Egypt as hostages, he could drastically increase their loyalty to him. According to Cheikh Anta Diop, by the sixteenth century B.C., the XVIIIth Egyptian Dynasty, under Thutmose III had effectively conquered the whole eastern Mediterranean and all of western Asia.

“In total, 110 foreign states were conquered and integrated into the Egyptian Empire. In one year, according to Thutmose III’s Hymn of Triumph, the Egyptian treasury collected 3,500 kilos of gold, of which 9/10ths came from the tribute paid by vassals. Western Asia was divided into administrative districts placed under the authority of Egyptian governors, charged with collecting the tributes, or annual taxes, that all these defeated states had to pay to the Egyptian treasury.

In some towns, the conquered princes were purely and simply replaced by Egyptian Generals, and the administration was direct. These conquered states kept small territorial guards trained by the Egyptian officers. But the defense of the territory at large rested on the Egyptian Army itself, so much so that the Phonecian towns would protest when they felt the Egyptian troops in charge of their defense were insufficient. Egyptian garrisons were stationed at strategic points, important towns and ports. Fourteen hundred years before Rome, Egypt created the first centralized empire in the world.”

He goes on to describe the achievements made by Thutmose III’s administration:

“Royal messengers went through different regions of the empire delivering messages from the Pharaoh. The generals were in charge of regularly making inspection tours in the conquered territory. A royal postal service circulates over roads created by the Egyptian administration, staked out with military stations and water tanks for resupply. The king maintained personal relations with his vassals and each year made inspection trips throughout the whole empire: the children of vassal princes were taken as “hostages” and educated Egyptian style, at the court of the Egyptian emperor, in order to teach them Egyptian manners and tastes and to assimilate them to Pharaonic culture and civilization.

A true ministry of foreign affairs, in charge of relations with foreign countries, was created at Thebes, and also included a special chancellery that was to centralize correspondence with the agents of the Egyptian administration in the provinces, with the vassal cities and princes, a correspondence carefully preserved in the archives of the department and part of which was discovered at Tel al-Armarna.

The power of the Pharaoh over the vassals was absolute. The vassal had to be obedient and faithful and had to execute orders, whatever they might be. He had to respect the Pharaoh as God, because, according to the diplomatic formulary imposed on the vassal, the Pharaoh is his King, his Sun, at whose feet he bows seven times and seven times.” – From Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology

Thutmose III’s impact upon Egyptian culture changed the game up. He was a national hero who was revered long after his time. Indeed his name was held in awe even to the last days of Egyptian history. Besides his military achievements he carried out more than 50 major construction projects at Karnak, including a number of obelisks. Two of these obelisks can be found on the Embankment in London and in Central Park in New York. Even today, Thutmose III has left his mark on the most powerful nations on the planet.

Thutmose III died on Year 54, III Peret day 30 of his reign after ruling Egypt for 53 years, 10 months, and 26 days. He was buried in the Valley of the Kings, along with Ahmose I, Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, Ramesses I, Seti I, Ramesses II, and Ramesses IX, as well as the twenty-first dynasty pharaohs Pinedjem I, Pinedjem II, and Siamun.

Valley of the Kings, Final resting place of Thutmose III until the site was pillaged by European explorers

Thutmose III is a part of your legacy that should be studied, adopted, taught, and remembered. We Black men and women today are the descendants of the most brilliant and successful warriors, administrators, and Emperors in the history of mankind. Its time to start acting like it.

#RBG UP!

This is the most saddening and disgusting picture I have seen all month. Unlike Dr. Boyce Watkins, Im having a hard time swallowing this one. 

To quote Denene from My Brown Baby;

When did babies become a cute “accessory” for teenagers? What happened to the days when parents put the fear of God in their teenagers so that they knew bringing home a baby wasn’t an option or cute or cause for celebration—that nobody would be tossing up sparkles and glitter because  it was downright shameful to do so when babies having babies was involved?

Equally disturbing? More than 70 others “liked” the Pregnancy Pact picture and left comments like, “oweee” and “Get it ladies”—like they’re congratulating the girls on picking a cute dress or a hot shoe.

While these children are physically capable of having sex and bearing children, they are FAR from MENTALLY CAPABLE. These aren’t the days of old, when 15-year olds were expected to be fruitful and multiply. 

Why Teen Pregnancy Doesnt Fly in the 21st Century

Back in the day it was necessary to have as many kids as possible, as soon as possible:

• Lifespans were shorter, as were fertility windows.
• The Agrarian (Farming) Age relied on manpower, and more kids meant more farmhands.
• A big family meant a big network of support

Gone are the days of short lifespans and fertility windows. Across the 20th century the average human life span roughly doubled from about 35 years to a world-wide average of about 67. The first people who will live to 200 may have already been born.

Gone are the days when manual labor could support an entire family. Children must be armed with education to succeed in this world. Waiting tables, cleaning rooms, and “singing/acing/modeling” dont cut it (for the most part. I know there are exceptions). By getting pregnant early, these children increase stack the deck against themselves, are more likely to drop out, are less likely to go to college, and that will cap their earnings for life.Having a low income will force them to depend on government funding to care for themselves and their children.  This attitude of dependency will produce long-term effects in their life that will keep them stuck in a perpetual cycle, and may even pass on to their children – the proverbial “generational curse”.

Gone are the days when a big family meant a big network of support. Today it is typical to see a Grandmother raising two or three generations of kids. The men in these families are often absent, and the women of those families are typically working or at school. Not always – but more often than not – this means a lower quality of life and upbringing for the child.

Things could be even worse for the kid if these children have to raise their kids on their own. A teenager that doenst even understand or have control over her own emotions could end up destroying a childs life, as in the case of Baby Emilio.

Seven week old Emilio Bautista  died due to severe burns on Saturday after his mother, Chekayla Dampier held him under scalding hot water because he wouldn’t stop crying

The little girls in this pregnancy pact SEVERELY underestimate the toll that having a child takes on even a HEALTHY, STABLE ADULT. These girls  have no clue about themselves, the world, or what it REALLY means to RAISE a child (not just give birth to one).

Speaking of the Child…Is Anyone Concerned About the Kids?

I dont know the situation of these pregnant children, but statistics show that these fetuses are walking into a shit-storm. The deck is already stacked against them. I have seen very young mothers dragging along three filthy, screaming toddlers on the way to a bus stop. I have heard them yell the most obscene things to these young children out of frustration and fatigue. I have felt pain and sorrow for the unnecessary pain that these kids will have to endure.

Granny cant go to PTA meetings, supervise three generations of kids, take care of herself, and let you borrow some money while holding it all together. Granny suffers and the children suffer. And you think these little 15-year old boys are going to be anywhere in the picture for the long run? I should hope so, but statistically I dont think so. I personally know men with upwards of 12 children (one man in particular has 36 children the last he counted – true story). You really think these kids are well provided for? 

All because a kid wanted to be cute and “get it in” and somewhere along the line, some responsible adult failed to prevent this ratchet-ass behavior.

Im not criticizing anyone or placing blame here. Im Just Sayin’

-Asad.

His U.K. based site, The Doctor’s Report has quickly become a favorite of the United Black America staff, and we know you will enjoy his site as much as we do. Once youre done reading, show the Doc some love in the comments section. Peace!

-Asad

Boko Haram, the Case of a Hijacked Revolution

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states. According to the CIA World Fact Book, Nigeria is slightly more than twice the size of California. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The above description paints a picture of how exposed Nigerian borders could be at any time.

The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split into halves between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South. However, a very small minority practice traditional religion, as often portrayed in Nigerian/African movies.

Recently, the incidences of bombings which create general insecurity in Nigeria have become frequent and much more dangerous. During the 50^th independence anniversary celebrations, a powerful bomb exploded at the Eagle Square, killing at least 12 people and maiming others.

A similar bomb exploded at a military cantonment in Abuja killing several people, leaving many others wounded. This was suddenly followed by a terrific multiple bomb blasts that left at least 143 people dead, 100 bodies were taken to a morgue at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in the city centre.

In another instance, a powerful bomb detonated at the Nigeria’s Police Headquarters killing about a dozen and injuring many. Then there was the United Nations’ headquarters in Abuja where 22 people were killed and several others wounded following a suicide bomb attack.  Just a few weeks later, another suicide bomb attack happened in a church killing 43 and injuring 72 of Christian worshipers.

This month (April 2012), during the Easter ceremony, officials say at least 38 people died in a car bomb somewhere in the northern city of Kaduna. A few hours later, another bomb detonated in the central city of Jos, living tens of people wounded. The list goes on and on…

Fear and Panic spread across Nigeria

Nowadays, the possibility that a bomb may explode in Nigeria, at any public gathering such as Independence Day celebrations, Christmas, Easter, and traditional festivals, cannot be in doubt. The US Embassy in Nigeria therefore warned its citizens on April 17 2012, that “Boko Haram” may be planning more attacks in the Nigerian capital, including hotels.

“Boko Haram has been blamed for most attacks in Nigeria, but the dimension and scope of the current bomb attacks have shifted the attention of experts to the possibility of external influence. The bomb attacks according to experts have become bigger and more sophisticated. The targets also have become more diversifiedand include both Muslims and Christians, mosques and churches: a clear departure from its original focus”, reports Danjuma Abdullahi.

But what was the “original focus” of Boko Haram? Have their initial agenda been hijacked and by whom? There is a strong belief among many Nigerians that some politicians in the country secretly fund this radical group. Others also point to the possibility of external influence. After all it is an established fact that even rebel leaders like Charles Taylor was secretly funded by certain western countries.

In a recent TV interview conducted with Dr Abdulrahman Hamisu, an expert from the University of Abuja, made shocking observation:

“Let us take ourselves back to the predictions of America that by the year 2015, Nigeria is going to break into different entities. And if you look at what is happening today, it tallies with the steps and the methodology that has to be used in order to attain that aim. It was reported that many CIA, FBI and Mossad agents were allowed access to Abuja in order to ‘assist our security agencies’. From what is happening in the Middle East and other places where CIA and Mossad have been to, (it has) shown clearly that the same pattern that is been used (in the Middle East) is currently been replayed here in Nigeria; only that there is a slight modification because of the difference in the actors in Nigeria. In Nigeria, the terrorists are not fighting against (anybody), but are fighting for a foreign enemy”.

In a related interview, Mr Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, a Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Coordinator (Nigeria), had this to say:

“There is no way a fellow Nigerian will kill another Nigerian, and you could see that this crisis is coming from different perspective; some people from the outside, are determined to bring down this country”.

Boko Haram, Who are they? What were their demands?

Since 2002, there have been many reported clashes, particularly in the North of the country, between government forces and the Islamists Boko Haram, militant jihadists whom we’re currently only told ‘seek to establish sharia law’. The group was founded in 2002 by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf. Yusuf is hostile to ‘democracy’ and the secular education system. He vowed that “this war that is yet to start would continue for long” if the “political” and “educational” system were not changed. (www.naijan.com).

First of all, it must be understood that the political system in Nigeria, is characterized by massive corruption and of course corruption in Nigeria is the worst on the African continent. This is a fact that nobody can dispute.

Reportedly, Boko Haram started as a small non-violent group who were often seen in the markets and the communities, preaching their anti-western ideologies. Their initial and real demands were as follows:

• Nigerian politicians and government officials must abolish their flamboyant lifestyles which are often inspired by foreign (western) culture. This desire of politicians to live like western celebrities, driving expensive cars, living in posh houses, buying properties abroad, travelling on expensive shopping spree, sending their families to study in expensive overseas universities, have resulted in mass corruption and the stealing of state funds at a time when most Nigerians are living below the poverty line.

• The group also demanded the abolishment of western (colonial) educational system in Nigeria. They believed that the current educational system in Nigeria is a colonial tool that has distorted African history and has cast a dark shadow over the African culture. The colonial educational system has produced bad and corrupt leaders. Therefore they called western education “a sin”. This is not new because even Kwame Nkrumah in his book “Consciencism” (pg.62) proved that: “The history of Africa, as presented by European scholars, has been encumbered with malicious myths”.  He also said “there are certain feudal-minded elements (public officials) who became imbued with European ideals either through direct European education or through hobnobbing with the local colonial administrative system” (pg.69).

• They also advocated for the establishment of a sharia law.

Unfortunately, their third demand is the only thing which the mainstream media seem to talk about, while deliberately ignoring the two most important demands. Is it because the other two demands are a threat to the imperial powers and their puppet corrupt politicians? But this is clearly understandable because the corporate media today is serving an agenda: to defend the interest of the global elites who want to enslave humanity using puppet and corrupt politicians as their pawns.

Gradually, Boko Haram strengthened their sphere of influence and became a radical political party determined to take their anti-corruption and anti-western culture to the highest level. This posed an immediate danger to the existing political establishment who did not welcome the anti-corruption campaign and also the imperial powers who saw an imminent danger to the colonial educational system they have successfully imposed on the Nigerian people.

Then one day in 2009, the then President Yar’Adua ordered the persecution and aggressive crack-downs by the Nigerian security service. This brought about a violent revenge from Boko Haram. The crackdown was brutal and resulted in the death of around 700 innocent people. Many of the victims were publicly executed on suspicions that they were members of Boko Haram even without any clear proof and without a fair trial.

But who could have advised the president on such a course?

 Well, according to information available, and from Dr Abdulrahman Hamisu, of  the University of Abuja It was reported that many CIA, FBI and Mossad agents were invited to Abuja in order to ‘assist the Nigerian security agencies’ and to advise them on how to deal with Boko Haram. Therefore it is reasonable to beleive that the leaders were following    directives from these foreign “advisers”.

Were their Demands Legitimate?

Of course yes. It is a well-established fact that politically, Nigeria is the most corrupt country in Africa. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (Abuja), about 74% of Nigerians in the north live in abject poverty, while 63% in the south also live below the poverty line. The major question one would ask is: how could that be? Nigeria is a country that is so rich in natural resources, notable among these are: natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land, timber and many more. Additionally, Nigeria has a  huge human resource reserves, a population of over 150 million people, most of them very intelligent, creative, productive and above all hardworking.

According to Garba Sani, an analyst at Pan-Africanist International:

From the perspective of Northern Nigerians, since the days of colonialism, Western style education and Christianity have been imposed upon them as a package from the south. The response to this has been a resistance to Western education and the Western way of life. However, this is not simply a cultural sentiment. The civil servants and politicians produced by this system are seen conspicuously wasting money. Poor Nigerians see their politicians flying abroad, shopping in Dubai, and sending their children to expensive Western schools. Consequently people feel that the leadership is devoid of justice, and when they call for the abolishment of western educational system, fighting corruption and the establishment of Sharia law it is not about religious piety but reflects a desire for a more just system.

 

The resentment fostered among the youth of Northern Nigeria is where Boko Haram has its beginnings.

It must be understood that Boko Haram originally started as a revolution which declared a war on the corrupt lifestyle of many Nigerian politicians. The leaders of this group clearly understood that corruption in government, embezzlement of public funds by politicians is part of the gentleman’s way of stealing. To the politicians, once they can “balance the books” at the end of the day, it means they can steal as much as they want. Many politicians often embark on foreign trips and spend as much state funds as they wish at the expense of the taxpayer.

Such exorbitant lifestyles of public officials in Africa only came about as a result of the public officials’ desire to live like western celebrities. However, this lifestyle is not a true African culture. Traditionally, it is a “taboo” (sin) for any an African to steal. In some communities, a thief can be banished (exiled) for stealing. Therefore how come African leaders (politicians) are looting and stealing from the national coffers without any guilt? It is basically because they do not appreciate the African culture.

It is said that if anyone wants to influence a people, first it is important to influence/destroy their culture, their educational system, their thought and their beliefs.

Kwame Nkrumah in his book “Neo-Colonialism” (pg.35) held that, the West used the old colonialist methods of religious, educational and cultural infiltration to influence the African mentality and our current way of life.

This is why many people, Boko Haram included have every reason to believe that there is the need for a radical educational reforms to be implemented: an educational system that will harness African norms and values. There is also the need to fight corruption in Africa that is inspired by the western fashionable lifestyle.

Poverty in Nigeria, a Political Tool

Many Nigerian writers have underscored the fact that poverty in the country is artificial. It was created by a political incompetence and bad economic policies.. The solution likewise requires a political approach. In an article “I’d Rather Bomb ASO ROCK Than Have My Children As Slaves (A warning to leaders marked by the beast)” the author reveals the frustration of the ordinary Nigerian which is as a result of the bad economic policies and the corrupt attitude of the ruling elites. In strong-worded statements the author writes:

“I’ll rather have all the senators, the house of assembly members, and even the Aso Rock (the presidential palace) -all those who squander more than 25 percent of the national budget bombed and wiped out than have my children continue in slavery to this hell called Nigeria and its politicians. It does not matter who amongst these evil leaders are reading this and planning on how to stretch their “human looting” to me, you will perish in your thoughts! I’ll rather have all PDP ( Peoples Democratic Party) chieftains and all they have stolen in decades wiped off the earth than let my children feel the helpless pain I was born into and have lived with because of Nigeria.

 

I would rather start every form of evil with those leaders who, from every angle, compel Nigerians into all forms of evil as means for survival. I would rather be a friend of Osama Bin Laden, though dead, than shake hands with these black monsters who call themselves “honourables” in Nigeria. And my life is not more precious to me than uprooting every tree of evil in my land and destroying those soulless leaders and restoring to those who live within Nigeria the freedom that is rightfully theirs as citizens of life. “These are the silent and helpless cries in every Nigerian youth’s soul, the cries of people who, with me, abhor the evil foundation of Nigeria and its leadership”. (Ikechukwu Enyiagu)

Therefore the Boko Haram revolution determined that the only way to end this cycle and to give a true meaning to the political system is to abolish the western-inspired lifestyles of the politicians, and to go back to our African lifestyle. This they believed could be achieved by implementing new educational reforms that clearly reflects the African values. A parallel line was therefore drawn between the current educational system, (a system that projects wealth, riches and exorbitant lifestyle as the only symptoms of a successful life) and the corruption in government.

Incidentally, today’s educational system has become a privilege, rather than a right. Today, it is only the rich that can acquire knowledge (degrees), since the cost of high school and tertiary education are too expensive that most people can never afford it; or they may spend their entire life struggling to offset the debt that come with it.

Unfortunately, the powers that be, have in one way or the other managed to hijack a true revolution and turned it to a violent bombing campaign, discrediting their genuine intentions and  demands.

Rebel groups in Africa, how are they funded?

Over the years, many militants and rebel groups have propped up across Africa: the Al-Shabbab, the Tuareg Rebels (Mali), the Lord’s Resistance Army (Uganda), the National Liberation Forces (Burundi), The West Side Boys (Sierra Leon), Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FLR), the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (DR Congo)  the Somali Pirates, Boko Haram (Nigeria), The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Nigeria) and many more.

Shockingly, many of them have often been spotted carrying very sophisticated weapons RPG-7, ZPU, and many weapons that can take down planes (anti-aircraft missiles). These are not weapons that could be manufactured in Nigeria, Somalia nor Uganda. Therefore how do these militants receive the weapons? Some of the answers are not far-fetched.

During NATO’s war in Libya (2011), France and Qatar under the UN’s watch delivered weapons in large quantities to the rebels whom the Western press often referred to as “activists” and “revolutionaries”. In addition to the weapons, the rebels also received communication equipment which facilitated and coordinated their movements across the continent smoothly.

Since many of the rebels consider themselves to be allies, who are working for a common purpose, it wasn’t difficult for some of the weapons that were delivered to rebels in Libya to be quickly mobilized and smuggled to other rebel groups in the West African region. It was recently reported that large amount of weapons from Libya have been found in Nigeria.

In fact, the nature of weapons that are currently in the rebel’s hands are too sophisticated and expensive that the cost may run into hundreds of millions of US dollars. But how could the rebel fighters, often wanted for prosecution get the ability to buy those expensive weapons in such large quantities? No matter how rich the rebel leaders might be their continues ability to afford the weapons in large quantities for such a very long period of time would be impossible to imagine, if they have no form of sponsorship and the corporation of a few puppet politicians.

Recently, a Nigerian military task force stormed a militant hideout in the city and recovered six assembled bombs and another one under construction, Lieutenant Iweha Ikedichi told reporters. The bombs were made with drink cans and a drum of around 50 litres. This is an indication that the terrorists in Nigeria currently have experts who know how to assemble bombs. The fact that the militants can now manufacture bombs right in Nigeria is a very dangerous development. But the question still remains: who is behind these militants?

It is undeniable fact that many of the rebel groups in Africa today, especially in Central Africa (Al-Sahabaab) are real terrorists who have been destabilizing the peace and security across the region. However, it must also be understood that there were many other groups like the Niyabinghi warriors, who fought against the corrupting power of the Elders and paganism. There was also the Nelson Mandela’s Armed Anti-apartheid Rebellion which used armed struggle as a last resort to free his people from a racist apartheid government.   

In this regard, it must be exposed that the case of Boko Haram is one of a hijacked revolution. For all we know, the real Boko Haram group may not be the ones in the news today. It is a revolution whose main mission posed a direct threat to the Neo-colonialists and their puppet corrupt politicians. But thanks to a few terrorists groups and the corporate mainstream media, the hijack of such a true revolution appears to have succeeded. Whereas the original campaign to fight corruption in Nigeria and to modify the colonial educational system has become a fantasy.

Honourable Saka is a regular writer and a political analyst on African affairs, and a well-known social commentator in Africa. He is the editor of “The Doctor’s Report”, your most reliable source of critical analysis on African affairs. He is a strong Pan-Africanist, a youth activist and the founder of the “Leaders of Tomorrow”, a transformational and inspirational group of possible future leaders. Please visit his blog at:www.honourablesaka.blogspot.co.uk and reach him by Email at:honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk

A Nilote man holds the flag of South Sudan

On April 24, Sudan declared war on its neighbor, South Sudan. The declaration of war comes less than one year after South Sudan separated from Sudan. From the U.K. Telegraph:

On a visit to China, Salva Kiir, South Sudan’s president, told his counterpart, Hu Jintao, that, “[my visit] comes at a very critical moment … because our neighbour in Khartoum has declared war on the Republic of South Sudan”.

Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s president, last week promised revenge on earlier South Sudanese incursions into his territory by “eliminating” the “insects” ruling South Sudan and “liberating” its people.

Eight bombs were dropped on areas south of the countries’ disputed border late on Monday night, South Sudanese officials said yesterday. The extent of the casualties was not immediately clear.

Several people were badly wounded, and one young boy was killed, when aircraft dropped three bombs around Bentiu town, a South Sudanese town 40 miles from the border area, earlier on Monday.

Civilian protection groups in Bentiu called for more outside help from the African Union and Western powers, including Britain, which helped broker a 2005 peace deal that ended the countries’ last civil war.

“The continued attack on the civilian settlements is no longer just an aggression, it is becoming a clear human rights violation,” said Biel Boutros, executive director of the South Sudan Human Rights Association.

Sudan became a political entity after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923. Britain and Egypt occupied the region and forced the Sudanese to accept the rule of the new Anglo-Egyptian regime. For the next 33 years, the Sudan region was under colonial control.  

During this period of colonial control, Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Muslim Arab northern Sudanese and the mostly animist and Christian Nilotes of Southern Sudan. 

THIS IS IMPORTANT! The Nilotes (a word derived from the word Nile, indicating that these people were the original inhabitants of the Nile, and the descendants of Ancient Egypt) were pushed out of their homelands along the Nile and into the south.

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of colonial control, White Arabs  from Egypt pushed all the way into what is today Norther Sudan. The Black Christians were then pushed into the Southern part of the country, and were subject to abuse, atrocities, and deprivation. The struggle in the Sudan today is a struggle between Black and White. Between Muslim and Christian. Between colonialism and independence. 

Omar al-Bashir

Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d’état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan. The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted independence to what was then the southern region of the country.

The South Sudanese voted for total independence during  January 2011, and was declared a sovereign state on 9 July 2011.

Omar al-Bashir is currently wanted for war crimes committed against the Black people of Darfur. The Prosecutor has claimed that Mr. al-Bashir “masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part” three tribal groups in Darfur because of their ethnicity.

The story we see unfolding in the Sudan shows us the failure of the Nation-State in Africa. But before we can understand why nation-states can never work in Africa, we must first understand what a Nation-State is. 

The Nation-State as a European Means of Control

was largely created in Europe over many centuries. It’s so unnatural and artificial that it had to be imposed by extreme violence”"]

MIT Professor Noam Chomsky: "The Nation-State is a European invention, [and

For instance, when Europeans drew the lines of nation-states like Nigeria, Togo, and Cameroon, they drew the lines right through tribal lands that had existed for centuries. Now, one half of the tribe belonged to the Nigerian government, while the other half belonged to the government of Cameroon.

Similar political divisions occurred in the past between the Soviet States, between Germany at the end of World War II, and between North and South Korea. These divisions separated and destroyed families, languages, cultures, and values systems – all in the name of political control.

The idea behind nation-states can best be described by MIT Professor Noam Chomsky:

The Nation-State is a European invention, [and] was largely created in Europe over many centuries. It’s so unnatural and artificial that it had to be imposed by extreme violence. In fact that’s the primary reason why Europe was the most savage part of the world for centuries. It was due to trying to impose a Nation-State system on cultures and societies that are varied and if you look at them had no relation to this artificial structure.

In fact the derivative effects were also the main reason the concept spread elsewhere. In the course of creating modern Nation-State, Europe developed a culture of savagery and a technology of violence which enabled it to conquer the world, and as it conquered the world it attempted to impose Nation-State systems wherever it went, also artificial and violent.

If you look at today’s major conflicts around the world, most of them are the residue of European efforts to impose Nation-State systems where it doesn’t make any sense, which is almost everywhere. The few exceptions to this are places of European colonization where they simply exterminated the indigenous population, like the United States and Australia. So there you get more homogeneous societies.

On the other hand, the primary reason why the savage conflicts in Europe ended in 1945 was that it was recognized that if they continued this game any longer, they’d just wipe themselves out. So you have, since 1945, a peace internal to Europe. Germans and French don’t regard it as their highest goal in life to slaughter each other anymore.

In the course of the development of the Nation-State system, there also developed on the side various economic arrangements which about a century ago turned into what became contemporary corporate capitalism…It’s impossible to distinguish the modern dominant states from the multinational corporate system, the conglomerates that rely on them, that have a relation of both dependency and domination to them.

In fact, two centuries ago, James Madison in a very early period of modern capitalism described the relation of business to government as that of “tools and tyrants.” He said that businesses are the “tools and tyrants” of government. By now that’s become virtually the definition of the world. Multinational corporations are the tools and the tyrants of the powerful states, so making a distinction between them is extremely hard.

Noam Chomsky teaches us that not only are these Nation-States unnatural and artificial, they are also used as tools of economic and political control to the detriment of the original people that the system is imposed on. That’s what we have seen in Africa, and specifically in the conflict between

Sudan and the Failure of the Nation-State in Africa

Why are nation-states doomed to fail in Africa? Nation-states are based on the White values of Individualism, ownership, conflict and control. The idea of a Nation-State goes against the original values of collectivism, cooperation, and common heritage that are inherent in most indigenous cultures. A nation-state works only for its self interest, rather than the interests of all people. For example, when AFRICOM was created, Navy Vice Admiral Robert Moeller wrote in Foreign Policy Magazine;

Let there be no mistake. AFRICOM’s job is to protect American lives and promote American interests. That is what nations and militaries do.

Is there anyone who can tell me how a military presence in Africa protects American lives? The truth is that AFRICOM is more about American interests that the welfare of the African people. In fact, that is ALL AFRICOM  is about.

 A United States of Africa

 South Sudan’s separation from North Sudan is the exact opposite of what should be happening in Africa. Imagine what would happen here in the U.S. if Georgia decided to tear away from the United States and become its own country. Then Texas also decided to leave the Union. Then Florida. Then the Carolinas. This is exactly what nearly happened during the civil war. What you would then have are a bunch of small countries fighting with each other until the end of time over the most petty of issues.

To solve this problem, the United States defeated the separatists and united all states into one country – The UNITED States of America. 

If Africa hopes to end the perpetual warfare, exploitation, and division that it has seen since the age of colonialism began, it must do the same. Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and every other African nation must come together into one unified state. Its political boundaries must be erased, and the political divisions set for her must be removed. 

There must be a United States of Africa.

Africans at home and abroad must wake up to the fact that we are Africans, and until we do – we will be the bastard children of the world – orphans wandering from one country to the next with hat in hand asking to be a part of a system that will have nothing to do with us beyond exploitation. 

Black men and women, hear me:

Our ethnicities can change, our nationalities can change, but our race is permanent. Therefore, let us follow the example of every other successful people on the planet, and unite into one grand racial hierarchy.

United we stand, divided we fall. Or as Lincoln said, “a house divided will not stand” The United States of Africa is the only way to fix the current situation in Africa. We must tear down the borders and establish a One Africa federation.

1 government + 1 currency + 1 military = One people

I leave you with this poem, written by Marcus Garvey entitled Hail! United States of Africa

Marcus Garvey – Hail! United States of Africa!

 

Hail! United States of Africa-free!

Hail! Motherland most bright, divinely fair!

State in perfect sisterhood united,

Born of truth; mighty thou shalt ever be.

Hail! Sweet land of our father’s noble kin!

Let joy within thy bounds be ever known;

Friend of the wandering poor, and helpless, thou,

Light to all, such as freedorn’s reigns within.

From Liberia’s peaceful western coast

To the foaming Cape at the southern end,

There’s but one law and sentiment sublime,

One flag, and its emblem of which we boast.

The Nigerians are all united now,

Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast, too.

Gambia, Senegal, not divided,

But in one union happily bow.

The treason of the centuries is dead,

All alien whites are forever gone;

The glad home of Sheba is once more free,

As o’er the world the black n-tan raised his head.

Bechuanaland, a State with Kenya,

Members of the Federal Union grand,

Send their greetings to sister Zanzibar,

And so does laughing Tanganyika.

Over in Grand Mother Mozambique,

The pretty Union Flag floats in the air,

She is sister to good Somaliland,

Smiling with the children of Dahomey.

Three lusty cheers for old Basutoland,

Timbuctoo, Tunis and Algeria,

Uganda, Kamerun, all together

Are in the Union with Nyasaland.

We waited long for fiery Morocco,

Now with Guinea and Togo she has come,

All free and equal in the sisterhood,

Like Swazi, Zuduland and the Congo.

There is no state left out of the Union-

The East, West, North, South, including Central,

Are in the nation, strong forever,

Over blacks in glorious dominion.

Hail! United States of Africa-free!

Country of the brave black man’s liberty;

State of greater nationhood thou hast won,

A new life for the race is just begun.