JAMESTOWN VIRGINIA

African slavery in Jamestown, Virginia, crystallized the existence of the United States, earlier English colonies having failed.

WE BECAME

We became "we" by virtue of enslavers, rape, etc., albeit ignobly. Yet no more ignobly than our oppressors. A baby born of rape is yet divine .

WELL-WATER

WELL-WATER AND BIG MAMA As a little boy, I watched Big Mama toting water from their well to the house, as she did every day. One day, I tried to help her. She smiled; set down both buckets. Then she said "This water's too heavy, Larry, for a little boy like you." But I tried! Sure enough! I could not begin to lift from the earth even one bucket of plain old Mississippi well-water, not to mention two. It was then and there, I acquired renewed respect for well water and for Big Mama! Lessons learned as a child endure.

REPLICATING ANCIENT ASSIDUITY

REPLICATING THE ANCIENT PRIESTS-SAGES' ASSIDUITY Anciently, philosophy was studied by learned hereditary priests-sages who were trained assiduously (40 years just to become a neophyte) in Ethiopia and Egypt to observe stars' relational movements relative to each other and relative to fixed points relative to earth's seasonal episodes. Observations were then recorded over thousands of years in pictorial and symbolic language. By inquiring into the wiles, "wills" of celestial eternity through exacting astronomy, and by reconciling their findings with the natural history in earth's recurring episodes, these priests-sages delineated the stellar seasons, very well. Thereby, they deduced what we know as "time"; the 365 day calendar was another. The philosophy of "MAAT" meaning beauty, order, balance , law, ethics, deities, symbolism, architecture, geometry, engineering, agriculture, mathematics, distilling , writing, reading, education, mythology, temples, navigation, literature , art , music, fishing, in short, civilization, were their philosophical bequests to the earth from the Gods of old. Central, indispensable to their cosmic understanding was God. All things flowed from God, back to God. Earth, life, was an ephemeral recycling "stop," manifold in matter. The wonderful book AFRICAN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHERS AND PHILOSOPHY (2019) by John H. McClendon III and Stephen C. Ferguson II, states about matter: "D. J. Jordan brought to our attention that while matter remains lawfully subject to 'inertia,' nonetheless, it does not emerge as 'inert.' He argued, 'No matter in all creation is inert; every particle and atom are acting upon every other.'... "Jordan correctly argues that matter is internally dynamic. Today, we know that subatomic processes are vital to the composition of matter . With the contemporary advancement of quantum theory, the subatomic structure and active (inner) processes of matter is a well-established scientific notion. Indeed, quantum physics later confirms Jordan's philosophical hypothesis, which remarkably he pronounced in 1893. The exploration into subatomic physics did not advance until Max Planck's treatment of the black body radium problem (1900), Albert Einstein's published research on photoelectric effect (1905) and Neil Bohr's atomic model (1913).... "Ideas in relationship to matter, as [James B.] Carter reveals have significant epistemological implications. He pronounces, "'Man's correct ideas, even his original ones are deductions and inferences from environment even when higher inspiration helps to define, elucidate and fix them. But let this be ever remembered, that new ideas when useful and progressive , come more readily to him who has the more correct knowledge of the relationships, influences and effects upon each other of the different forms, shapes and conditions of matter.'... "Consequently, innovative thought is not whimsical considerations devoid of an anchor in 'the different forms, shapes and conditions of matter'. This epistemological thesis is decidedly materialist in its substance." P.73, 76-77 Therefore the rigorous assiduity of the early African priest-sages with respect to the heavens and the earth laid down the impregnable foundation in the arts, sciences, mathematics, philosophy that we enjoy today. The African American and African peoples would do well to replicate the excellence of their ancient ancestors to move forward! 

AFRICAN TRIUMPH

Learn of the triumphs of our "scattered and peeled" African forbears' barren souls over four centuries of inhumane American mental, physical, spiritual , legal, slavery as the very best means of encouraging the youth, each other, and yourselves on the salvation path! And celebrate our unprecedented win!

FREEDOM WAR SUMMONSES

FREEDOM WAR SUMMONSES Blunting black self-initiatives has been purposefully carried out from the earliest days in America in various ways. Learning to read, write, compute resulted in getting whipped publicly or being sold down the river, away from family, by slave owners as trouble makers. Dressing too well, speaking too well, or not deferring to whites, privately or publicly, was being uppity, resulting in like punishment. Owning anything a pig, a duck , a cat, a dog, chicken , horse, mule, cow, hoe, shovel, hammer, cloth, a loom, was being too self-assertive , too self-sufficient. "I own you, so, therefore, all that you may own in the way of property, be it personal, private or real is my property." they said to the bewildered enslaved. That was the legal rationale and the common law sustained it, in court, out of court, legally, extralegally. Abjectly dependent on master was the desired state of affairs, for this sad state reinforced inferiority and superiority myths propagated by ruling whites to rationalize slavery. Of course , there were exceptions among the black and white people, here and there, every now and then to these written and unwritten rules of African oppression that were carried out in different ways, some innocently; others knowingly, but as covertly as possible, given the awful consequences of discovery. Naturally, slaves resisted, revolted, rose up! or attempted to rise up! from thralldom: Stono River, South Carolina, 1739; New York City, 1741; Richmond , Virginia, 1800; New Orleans/Baton Rouge area, 1811; Charleston, South Carolina, 1822; Southampton , Virginia, 1831; and then there was most successful American slave rebellion of them all, the "Freedom War," 1861-1865, (Civil War) when slavery was killed! Many people may not conceive of the Civil War as a "Freedom War." It may not have started out to be such, in their conceptions. But these were usually not slaves who held this view; this Holy redeeming view, that as "my God delivered Daniel, he would surely deliver me!" For the civil war, the Freedom War, surely resulted in an apocalyptical freedom for millions of enslaved Africans in America , through the working of man and the Holy Spirit! This hallowed outcome had been prayed-for for centuries. This very happy result had been sought for, relentlessly, by running away; by buying their freedom and that of their families. This result had been lobbied, lectured, and lynched for. This blessed result, beneficent outcome, had been argued for, preached for; spied for; lied for; fought for and died for in 435 battlefields by black men, United States Colored Troops, sailors, 200,000 strong! And by millions of so-called "contraband" auxiliaries, who had been supplying , building, fortifying, foraging, nursing, cleaning, scrubbing, digging, cooking, ironing, sewing, darning, washing, messaging, encouraging! A "Freedom War" is what it truly was! "Freedom War" it still is for the sapient descendants of victorious African Americans in the year , 2019! The freedom war is not over! The Freedom War It is still being fought against us by resisters, revisionists, demagogues, and too many: teachers, preachers, police, judges, lawyers, legislators, think tanks, businesses, journalists, landlords, real estate agents and blind, deaf, dumb, criminals who are in our midst who prey upon us! So our "Freedom War" is an inside and an outside struggle against evil forces, wicked powers , predatory principalities in high-low places, among white people, black, other, people; Jew and Gentile, Catholic and Protestant; Muslim and Hindu! This Freedom War is not about race, but about righteousness! It involves a new paradigm of people. This paradigm works inwardly not outwardly, cosmologically not superficially. It works by discerning nor by suborning. It lifts up truth, learning, beauty, justice , equity. It puts down unholiness, injustice, ungodliness, wickedness and lies. This newly-conceived "Freedom War" can accommodate all comers: since this 2019 "Freedom War" is not new at all, but very ancient ! Its laws are the holy books the Bible, Quran, Torah, Septuagint, Kebra Nagast: the Pyramid Texts; the Coffin Texts; inscribed in geometry, codified in genetics, natural history; in the pyramids, temples in Egypt, Nubia, Central America , Asia, Europe , South America and South, Central, West Africa, Persia . Atten-hut ! Shoulder arms! March!   

AFRICAN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHERS

The amazing book AFRICAN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHERS AND PHILOSOPHY by John H. McClendon III & Stephen C. Ferguson II (2019) is literally awash with wisdom and knowledge. Quoting Dr. Francis A. Thomas (1913-2001), of Central State University and Payne Theological Seminary, for example, they write: "Thomas succinctly proffers how this ubiquitous link finds its philosophical expression in the unity of theory and practice, which is allied with the content of philosophy itself. "'Theory, unless grounded in empirical data tends to fancy practice; practice not founded on theory , leans too heavily upon chance and usually results in chaos. In the history of mankind, communications through language and conceptualization constitutes both the mark and the method whereby men distinguished himself from subhuman animals. This ability to think on a high level of abstraction, and the desire to prove both the implications and consequences of thought have resulted in the development of the special field of philosophy which concerns itself with the formulation of theoretical assumptions. P.43. Elsewhere, they write: "Samuel Woodrow Williams...was a student of Alain Locke and Eugene C. Holmes at Howard University and would eventually serve as the chair of the Philosophy Department at Morehouse College. Williams was philosophy professor and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. Of particular note, Williams gave an address , "The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Violence and Nonviolence in the Struggle for Equality," at Hebrew University in 1970. Unlike King, Williams does not completely dismiss the use of violence in the struggle to obtain civil rights. For Williams, in contrast with King, violence is not an absolute principle of immoral fiber. Thus, we discern the philosophy of nonviolence--among African American philosophers--is a rather complex conception with rich variance." P. 49. Dr. Richard I. McKinney of Morgan State University is also cited by the authors respecting philosophy and social activism: "'The question of the relation of theory to practice has often been of concern to philosophers. Sometimes it is claimed that all action proceeds from some recognized philosophical presuppositions. On the other hand, there are those who maintain that we develop habits of action and then seek philosophical justification for them. In any case, we recognize that every philosophy represents some foundation for conduct, whether or not it is developed in advance of that conduct. It is probable that among the participants in the protest movement, examples of both claims may be discovered .' P. 50.