“Education is the medium by which a people are prepared for the creation of their own civilization and the advancement and glory of their own race.”
Marcus Garvey
The basis of the word ‘education’ comes from ancient Kemet (Egypt) and is based on the over-standing that all one needs to know is inside the self. Early African civilizations viewed education as the building of methods and environments to educe (bring out, draw out) the divine inner power and potential that was yet unexpressed. In African culture, the purpose of education was to help students become like GOD. Our traditional educational system reproduced and refined the mental and ethical traits which signified the distinctive qualities of Black people, which in turn defined our purpose (Nia) and maximized our hue-man functioning and potential.
Education as a hue-man activity is therefore cultural. The role of culture in education must be completely guided by an awareness and the utilization of our historical conditions and the cultural experiences which shape and give meaning to our reality. Culture not only gives meaning to reality, it also dictates behavior. Culture has the power to compel behavior and the capacity to reinforce ideas and beliefs about socialization in our society.
Our traditional African educational methodologies and applications allowed the Black woman and man to achieve self and social sovereignty, mastery, governance, love for self, family and race. Brothers and sisters, the Black communities around the country are experiencing deep pain, psychological trauma and despair. The climate of self-hate has contributed to the crisis of gun violence, mis-education, economic exploitation, drug abuse, dis-unity and a cultural derailment that we must repair for ourselves and the future of those beautiful souls yet unborn. We must find methods and collective programs to replace our despair with cultural pride in our communities. We as a people must begin to restrict our current colonized thoughts and practice on every level. We must recover memory, suppressed values, principles and practices of African culture and begin to insert these tools in the struggle to free ourselves and restore ourselves to our traditional greatness.
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