“Example after example can be cited about how Blacks have attempted to resolve problems through a variety of efforts only to end up in a weaker position. For example, the aftermath of the 1960's or our present condition proves the importance of a Black Social Theory. Blacks in the 1960's were divided along White social theoretical lines only to end up with the same pre-‘60's choices, namely White capitalism or White Marxism. Without a Black social Theory, we will still continue to stumble through history. It is time for us to heed that profound African proverb, that ‘If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.’ Black Social Theory will not only tell us where we are going, but also explain what to expect once we achieve our goal. It will not be self-destructive.”- Dr. Bobby Wright

“There are as many ways to see a thing as there are people to see it.”- Uncle Yah Yah 21st Century Man of Wisdom

We find ourselves in the same situation today Marcus Mosiah Garvey lamented in the early twentieth century. Everywhere he looked he saw Africans on the bottom of a social order imposed upon them by aliens and outsiders. Invaders and barbarians continue their millennia old cultural patterns of pillage, plunder, rapine, debasement and domination. Marcus Garvey was moved to help ameliorate the oppression of his people by energizing and galvanizing them to visualize themselves as an awesome people, capable of great things. Garvey’s vision, his programs and his movement put him on a collision course with the European colonists of his day. Once he got up and running, every move he made was monitored and they made counter moves to sabotage his agenda. Because Garvey understood the power of persuasion and propaganda the European colonizers made reading his newspaper Negro World which had a global circulation of millions, a major crime in many parts of the world. In his efforts to link with “African leaders” in Liberia, Garvey was thwarted by US Firestone interests. In AmeriKKKa Garvey became a victim of a prototype of COINTELPRO initiated by J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI. Garvey’s ambitious program glorified Africa, he spoke boldly of African pride and dreamed of linking Africans around the world in commercial enterprises and mutually reciprocal/reciprocal relations. Garvey’s notion of African redemption, cooperation and self-sufficiency was unacceptable to the ruling elites of his time. While Garvey made mistakes he understood the importance of changing the way Africans viewed themselves, the importance of race esteem and the necessity of a positive collective self-image. This ran counter to the program of menticide the Caucasians (Arabs and Europeans) had waged upon Africans for centuries.
Garvey took bits and pieces from a variety of programs (African redemption, Booker T Washington’s educational program, Victorian cultural and imperial accomplishment and the metaphysical principles known as New Thought) and fashioned them into a unique philosophy known as African Fundamentalism: racial solidarity, pride and audacity. Garvey challenged Africans to picture themselves beyond the stultifying, racist stereotypes propagated by Europeans. He offered them a nobler image. Garvey in an editorial printed in 1925 said, “ The time has come for the Negro to forget and cast behind him his hero worship and adoration of other races and to start out immediately to create and emulate heros of his own. We must canonize our own saints, create our own martyrs and elevate to positions of fame and honor black men and women who have made their distinct contributions to our racial history.” Garvey articulated his vision of the “New Negro” by speaking of the proud accomplishments of Africa. “Africa the Scribes tell us today and history has told us, has been the cradle of civilization. When all Europe was in darkness: was only a settlement of cannibals and barbarians, Africa held up the torch of civilization, the Negro was the teacher of the ages, the blessed man of the continents. Of the many continents of the world, Africa sands out most prominently as the leader. All other continents copied their civilization from Africa.”
If we are to actualize Garvey’s implacable confidence in African people, we must think as boldly as he did and on just as grand a scale. We must envision ourselves as capable of redemption, transformation and authenticity and actualize the greatness in our genes. Garvey set out to right egregious wrongs not by moral suasion but through decisive action. He accepted the task of healing the wounded psyche of Africans world wide and exhorted us to greatness despite the ubiquitous cacophony of global white supremacy. Unfortunately many of those around him were not as confident and courageous as he was. In the end his movement was not strong enough to withstand the colonizers and their reactionary stooges’ desire to maintain the status quo. If we are to authentically thrive in this world today and into the future, we must resurrect the Marcus Garvey within all of us. We must invoke the Maroon in us. We must resuscitate the indomitable Quilombo spirit deep within our souls until it energizes, captivates and overwhelms us. Time is of the essence. In his arrogance the White Man seeks to tyrannize the whole world and recast it to fit his pathology. Our divinely ordained destiny is to liberate and heal it!