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“I am not ashamed of being the descendant of enslaved Afrikans. In fact, I am very proud of this fact. I am in no way inclined to dismiss the pain and agony of the one in every two Afrikans who was murdered during the Ntoreasee Otuko [middle passage] of the Maafa. Neither will I dismiss the importance of the resilience passed down from the millions of ancestors who died captives of a vicious and malicious enslavement nor the determination and struggle of the nearly 5 million strong who ended our enslavement. I promise to never heed those who say I am too Black when it comes to learning ourstory first. At the same time, I am not lost in the time of our enslavement, for consciousness requires one to act. I am “stuck”, however, in analyzing where we are relative to where we were when we lived in humane societies as the original civilized people. By choice, I remain stuck in seeing how we measure up to the spirituality of those whom we constantly brag about as being the original people, our Ancestors, the same people we now call Afrikans and without whom humanity would not share blood, breath or existence. I will forever remain stuck in demanding that our people attain the same level of physical and mental consciousness and spirituality that they simply considered the essence of humanity. Moreover, at this time, my foremost thinking is not concerned with other peoples, except to the extent that we focus on providing the best possible example for them to emulate.”
