To all my relations:

Jambo, I hope you all are in good health and stengthen with ancestral
guidance. Today is the first day of miseducation for me, again. I loved
my summer of free of thought, free of lies, free-dom of knowledge. Well
enough of the greetings, I'm writing, today, on what I feel is a very
crucial issue. My sribbles may be rough, since I haven't wrote anything
down, just expressing my feelings about white people within Afrikan
cultural expressions. I feel there is a perversion going on, when white
people join or embrace any Afrikan spiritual belief system, social
institution, or any other element of Afrikan culture. Watched lately,
McDonald's (McDevils) and company are utilizing Afrikan drum patterns,
Afrikan images and Afrikan themes within their commercials while
distorting Afrikan into Western popular culture. Why not use Chinese
culture, Aboriginal culture (popularly called Indians), or some others?
Maybe they say they are targetting Afrikan-"Amerikkkans", why? To
exploit us and steal our culture at the same time?

There used to be a gospel commercial on TV, where a minister would
say,"WATCH 'EM DAWGS!!!". Yep, you better watch em, they will have you
manipulated while stealing the very culture legacy you thought was
yours, so that your children will never know, jazz was black (Kenny G
with his 'slop' and Bet on Jazz b/s), blues was black (local white
Shreveporter Kenny Wayne Shepard, a recent white blues success), funk
was black (KC and the Sunshine Band), even hiphop?. The recent
commercials are described as hip, savvy, multi-cultural and the like.
This is cultural war declared by cultural theives, using us for profit,
as well as, a statement to further exercise their superiority and
paternalism on us while reinforcing our inferiority and infantile
position.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to freestyle cipher with a
few brothers of mine. We went to this financially endowed "spending
money to go to Jamaica to chill with the 'real' rastafarians and
visiting Bob Marley's house because that's how hard I wanna-be black"
white boy's house to freestyle. This white boy, who's originally from
Shreveport, Louisiana moved to Dallas and became close friends with
Erykah Badu's cousin Free as well as Miss. Badu, herself, thinks he's
the best freestylist I've ever came around. He boasted his arrogance in
trying to snatch the mic while other heads were rhyming and trying to
set the vibe 'off' when he was doing his thang. Like we couldn't set the
vibe 'off'. His actions irritated one of my friends and me to death.
Inside this Yurugu's house, were pictures of Bob Marley, Afrikan hand
carved items and other Afrikan aesthetic, such as red, black and green
edifices. He constantly hogged the microphone while we all were supposed
to be 'putting it down'. Yeah right. To further pacify the 'brothers',
there were, of course, the redheads and the ever flirtateous blondes.
Eventually, this kat went so far as to chat. He chatted as if he had
been oppressed by Euro(peons), speaking of what, Marcus Garvey was to
supposedly have taught him! He spoke of Jah Rastafari and Haile
Selassie. He spoke of his hate of no one because he love everybody. He
spoke many words, which I considered to be mockery to my Afrikan
ancestors, my people and our struggle, while he was under the influence
of a high from 'acid'. When ever I freestyled, without being rude
because it was his house, I counteracted by speaking of cultural theives
and the numerous atrocties committed and being committed by white folks.
My friends and I, all, agreed he was wack.

My friends, even the one who was agitated, were hardly if not appalled
as I was. They all speak of white people like revolutionaries yet their
intense lust for white women make them falter and just go with the flow.
They actually fool themselves into believing since white folks envy them
(which is true), they are, in essence, getting over. Ya know screwing
white gyrrls and at the same time, receiving worship and admiration from
all white people. Instead of being defenders of Afrikan culture (as my
friends' group name suggests 'HAP'z or Helping Africans Progress'), they
released claim to their duty for a swim inside drug-polluted white
women. One of my guys, who's very dark-skinned and attracts many white
women, says he's like Wu-Tang to white people, a BLACK GOD.

We are so freely with our spiritual and cultural heritage that before
too long, we want have a heritage that's recognizeably ours. Our culture
is precious, it hurts me to see white folks selling books and making
money off of my ancestral traditions when we, the true heirs, are
unaware of our rightful claims. Oh by the way, my friends are 'Pro-Black
limited in knowledge because they know everythang already Christians'.
They are Africans only by their genes, white in their mind set, but
because some of my friends are dark-skinned, "wore" dred-locks, and read
the Qu'ran, they claim to represent the conscious mind of Afrikans and
the best interests of Afrikans, themselves.

We must stop, the cultural thief. I ask, how can whites become Rasta?
And how can Rastas or any other so-call conscious minds falter in their
dedication to struggle because of lust, false acceptance and other
things? Our struggle is not to impress white folks, share our secrets
with white folks, fascinate white folks, entertain white folks or gain
acceptance from white folks. Our struggle is to gain acceptance of
ourselves and uplift ourselves, break the chains of oppression and
inferiority, that doesn't qualify in teaching white folks to love us.
Teaching us to love us is the theme. We, somehow, feel our Orisha
movement, Voodun, Rasta, Hiphop, Palo or any other movement is not
validated or is not acheiving it's mission if white folks are not
involved. Forget white folks, our ancestors lived countless centuries
practicing Ifa, Voodun and others before white people were even thought
of. I hope I wasn't too wordy or redundant. I'm not trying to be an
exclusionist but it's us who need to unify with US. The white man until
recently could care less about our spiritual beliefs, many babalawos,
hougans, mambos and others were stolen like TV's, enslaved like cars and
expired like sitcoms by the same people, we are now trying to teach
spirituality and humanity to these people. Asante Sana. Sorry for the
length. Hotep!
 
 

omari
aka
al' idrisi (tha blk moor)

the most potent weapon of the oppressor
is the mind of the oppressed.......
steve biko