by Ron Porter
Those of us who share the blessing of ancestors from the African continent must educate our children to understand our ancestral roots were nourished by common waters. The miseducation and undereducation of our children have lessened the value of human life and given a sickening and consistent sanction to Black children killing Black children.
Centuries ago, 40,000 slave ships, propelled by trade winds, sailed the oceans to capture and deliver human cargo. European nations competed, often viciously, to monetize African people. Millions of people were treated as animals, caged inhumanely, and stripped of language and religion as they sailed toward ruthless exploitation.
Slavery was the lifeblood of the Southern economy. A century and a half later, unrelenting efforts are being made to restore the system of brutal oppression. Calls for voter suppression, the removal of race as a consideration for college entry and allowing urban school systems to implode are evidence of the intentionality of those who control the levers of power.
Those of us who trace our lineage to the stolen peoples of Africa, still bear the scars of yesterday’s tragedy. The evidence of past brutality is omnipresent.
Our children must be educated to understand the laws of genetics were not altered by the slave trade. From ship to shore, rape was common. The children of rape were slaves. African women did not willingly elect to have sexual intercourse with Massa. The proof of rape remains evident today. People who trace their origins to the African continent have skin colored from melanin soaked black to bright white. Hair texture spans thick wire to spider web thin. Lips, big and small, highlight wonderful faces. No matter our skin color our ancestral roots were nourished by common waters.
Children who identify as originating from the African continent must be educated to understand key historical realities:
- The “one drop” rule was rooted in property rights. For many centuries on the North American continent, any ancestry traced back to the African continent was disqualifying for full human rights.
- Although Africans spoke different tongues and were from different tribes, their blood from shackled ankles pooled collectively in the bowels of European slave ships.
- The mythology that equated whiteness with human superiority became ingrained in the guidelines of governance; law enforcement became the primary tool for keeping people of African descent “in their place”
- Our humanness and humaneness were flailed by whips and charred by the relentless sun as the economic engine of slavery harvested millions of tons of cotton for sale around the world,
- Consistent hate spewed over centuries has been corrosive, stripping off the protective familial shell, far too often fostering a willingness to kill and maim “brothers and sisters” who share a common heritage.
Across our nation, there is great energy focused on asserting any of the current traumas experienced within our urban African American communities are unrelated to the past. The political machinations of Trump, DeSantis, Mastriano, and their apostles are targeting a reversal of irrefutable history. Black folks are grievously injured by purging the reality of slavery/racism from our educational history.
Education is a key tool to dissuade Black youth from actively participating in their demise. Math, science and historical awareness must be valued above guns and twerking.
Our children must be guided toward honoring and celebrating their shared history. There is unadulterated historical evidence that our ancestral roots were nurtured by common waters. Each one, teach one. What will you do?