Ancient Egypt & Black Boys & Men !

[nebsen]

Been thinking about what is going on in America with all the killing by police of Black Boys & Men. How does studying ancient Egypt, inform ones understanding of the conditions Black Boys & Men in America & elsewhere find ourselves ?

This picture was taken in the 60's I believe 65. I was about the age of the boys in the picture when I discovered Ancient Egypt & Africa. Is it self indulgent to study a civilization so far into the past ?

For me it gives me a complete picture of what it is to be a Black Man, a more whole Black Man, where the concept of the word N----- never existed...... for Black Men & Women were at the helm of the greatest Empire of the times. I have a book titled" Ancient Future" by Wayne B. Chandler, which the title speaks so much to me. How do you

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[karem]

In the UK, going to university is a luxury because of the fees involved. Therefore, people from lower economic groups might not have that privelage. Theres issues of institutional racism in the education system here whereby it is just assumed by the schools that higher education won't be on certain ethnic groups radar so they therefore just don't bother to encourage it. I believe that the white working class are also treated in a similar way regarding this. Furthermore, and sadly, educational achievement is sometimes deemed as 'uncool' so young people have peer pressure to not perform to the best of their ability. In some ethnic and class groups this might be magnified. Its frustrating that in 2014 there are still educational inequalities.
It should be a right that everyone can access a good quality education. Black and non-white people do seem to still be under represented in certain academic spaces i.e Egyptology, Near Eastern Studies.

[nebsen]

Dec 13, 2014 9:41:17 GMT -5 karem said:

In the UK, going to university is a luxury because of the fees involved. Therefore, people from lower economic groups might not have that privelage. Theres issues of institutional racism in the education system here whereby it is just assumed by the schools that higher education won't be on certain ethnic groups radar so they therefore just don't bother to encourage it. I believe that the white working class are also treated in a similar way regarding this. Furthermore, and sadly, educational achievement is sometimes deemed as 'uncool' so young people have peer pressure to not perform to the best of their ability. In some ethnic and class groups this might be magnified. Its frustrating that in 2014 there are still educational inequalities.
It should be a right that everyone can access a good quality education. Black and non-white people do seem to still be under represented in certain academic spaces i.e Egyptology, Near Eastern Studies.

Karem,
it seems to be similar pattern going on here in the states with Black youth esp. Black boys. Is it inherit in the educational systems of the West ? learning styles between Black youth & white youths ? Or are Black youth just a little more perceptive, that it's all a trap, & not worth the time & energy to learn what white people deem important, for so called upward mobility ?; Or have we just bought into the myth that Black people are inferior & not as intelligent as white people ? All I know is that ancient Africa with ancient Egypt told me as a youth that what I had been told about Black people was a lie ! ! As a grown Black man I'm still learning about the wonders of ancient Africa. I'm half way through a book by a Black Brit, Robin Walker" When We Ruled" should be in every Black home & school in Europe & America .

[karem]

Certainly institutional racism in the education system plays a part - teachers/the system make assumptions about certain groups of people. Popular assumptions are things like mixed race people being confused, black boys being 'street' and/or all being in gangs. These stereotypes are reinforced when one listens to the language some media people and politicians use - they talk about 'black on black' crime, 'black inner city gangs' etc. All this does is give a very negative and false view of black males, which makes them out to be inherently evil, and violent criminals (if you listen to David Starky talking during the riots a few years ago you can hear an example of this). It might get internalised, which just even further reinforce it.
Some of the black people I grew up with certainly viewed mainstream school the way you describe but didn't view knowledge as bad - they tended to get into what they call 'right knowledge' and the teachings of Malachi Z York. They got into Ancient Egypt, but from the view of the Ancient Egyptians = aliens ideas as espoused by York.
There are schemes in prisons that talk about Egypt in its African context, which is great, but its sad that it takes going to prison to get this. Also, it shoudnt take admitting Egypt was black to prove black peoples humanity and earn them an equal stake in the world - all people should be treated well regardless of being linked to grand civilisations or not.

[nebsen]

Dec 16, 2014 7:13:34 GMT -5 karem said:

Certainly institutional racism in the education system plays a part - teachers/the system make assumptions about certain groups of people. Popular assumptions are things like mixed race people being confused, black boys being 'street' and/or all being in gangs. These stereotypes are reinforced when one listens to the language some media people and politicians use - they talk about 'black on black' crime, 'black inner city gangs' etc. All this does is give a very negative and false view of black males, which makes them out to be inherently evil, and violent criminals (if you listen to David Starky talking during the riots a few years ago you can hear an example of this). It might get internalised, which just even further reinforce it.
Some of the black people I grew up with certainly viewed mainstream school the way you describe but didn't view knowledge as bad - they tended to get into what they call 'right knowledge' and the teachings of Malachi Z York. They got into Ancient Egypt, but from the view of the Ancient Egyptians = aliens ideas as espoused by York.
There are schemes in prisons that talk about Egypt in its African context, which is great, but its sad that it takes going to prison to get this. Also, it shoudnt take admitting Egypt was black to prove black peoples humanity and earn them an equal stake in the world - all people should be treated well regardless of being linked to grand civilisations or not.

Well, this has been going on about demonizing the Black race esp. Black Men on a mass scale since, " Birth Of A Nation" by D.W. Griffith back in 1917 ? One would think that one's inherent humanity would be enough, but for many in the Western world that does not seem to be enough. The Western world seems to respect material culture, Writhing, Architecture, Science, etc.before one can get their attention ; also being the first in many of these areas, ancient Egypt, is one African civilization that they must pay attention to & respect, with awe. That's why they have tried to "steal it" with all manner of trickery.

There are many other cultures of Africa that might not have ancient Egypt's grand culture, but in themselves are just as note worthy, for they have spiritual, & social technologies, that are very sophisticated ( think Dogons or the San ); ancient Egypt just happened to have both material, spiritual,& social technologies ( Maat) ; but the West only sees the material aspects of Egypt culture, & the deeper meaning of ancient Egypt /Kush escapes most .

[nebsen]

This is a great clip of Anthony Browder, that I believe ties into the topic here .