Friday, October 12, 2018

Children of African Descent Unsung in US Integration

I am one of the many thousands of children who were integrated into a United States public school system, with predominantly Caucasian students, during the mid-1960s School Desegregation period. These children went unsung and unmentioned in the history of Integration. For I was NOT escorted to a desegregated school side by side with US Marshalls or the National Guard like Ruby Bridges, or the Little Rock 9.  I had to face a gauntlet of racism, micro-aggression, bigotry, hatefulness, and ignorance ALONE every day of my childhood school years for more than a decade from Parents, Teachers, Staff, and Students. No, I did not march for or vote for Desegregation/Integration, because the marches and protests, and Supreme court rulings for the Desegregation initiative occurred in 1954 before I was born (1959). I was still a child in 1964 during the Civil Rights Act. 

I remember watching TV with my family as a little girl around 7-years-old, around 1966-67. The TV Show was called "The 21st Century." Walter Cronkite was a moderator. I was fascinated and so proud to see a husband and wife, of African Descendant on the screen, who were real Doctors practicing psychology! They were the Clarkes. The broadcast was about their Doll study with African Descendant children. These children were requested to respond to a series of questions, as they sat in front of 2 dolls. One doll had Dark Melanin complexion while the other doll had a lighter Caucasian Complexion. In retrospect the Clark study showed how devastated and traumatized, the psyche and self-identity of children of African descent had developed at such critical ages from 4 and 5 years old.

The Elephant in the room is the fact that the US-(United States) ESTABLISHED JIM CROW LAW SEGREGATION AGAINST PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT FOR 100 YEARS! Yet, they decimated EVERY Economically Prosperous -"Black Wall Street" community across the country:and lynched Black Men off of their lands, to create a mass exodus that goes undocumented in US history books!
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/.../freedom-riders-jim-crow-laws/
https://study.com/academy/lesson/jim-crow-laws-significance-facts-timeline.html

To think that the Clark Doll study was used in the Supreme Court, to justify the Integration of people of African Descent into a public society of racism, was very disturbing. To think that Children of African Decent were thought to be more traumatized by segregation, only to be even more traumatized by the bitter bigotry and raw hatefulness of Caucasian children, parents, and teachers; who were not able to escape the integration of the public sector through "white flight" like the elites, into religious and Economic planned communities, designed after the likes of J.C.Nichols.

Wikipedia: The Clarks were known for their 1940s experiments using dolls to study children's attitudes about race. The Clarks testified as expert witnesses in Briggs v. Elliott (1952), one of five cases combined into Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The Clarks' work contributed to the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in which it determined that de jure racial segregation in public education was unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the Brown v. Board of Education opinion, "To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone."[3]


Mamie and Kenneth Clark; Doll Study


Original Dolls for the Clark Doll Test



Many economically successful, segregated African American communities were destroyed by desegregation. "Their youth were uprooted from their own neighborhoods, teachers etc., then bussed to an alien Caucasian school to be taught by Caucasian teachers- to be laborers and service workers- They were NOT encouraged to excel and pursue scholarships and college level careers, or offered courses academically, to prepare them for higher-paying professional careers.




The issues of Segregation, De-segregation, Integration, voting rights, Jim Crow laws etc., occurred long before I was born. I didn't realize, the moment I watched this television show, of the Clark Doll Study, that this broadcast was going to become my path into the world as one of the many thousands of children of African Descent, who would be placed, or "integrated" into the many public schools across the country. This experience was traumatic, and depressing for me. Yet, in retrospect, to acknowledge that this subjection was quietly being disseminated upon all other little African American Children across the United States, by the State school systems all over the country, that mis-educated, not only children of African descent but all children who were in Social Studies and History classes, with a false narrative of white supremacy.




I was not escorted by a US Marshall or armed guard of any kind to lead or sit beside me as I faced the mental abuse, neglect, contempt, and the severe bigotry that I would be surrounded with from Teachers, Administrators, Parents, and Students in my tender Elementary school years, all the way to my high school and college years. My Mother and Father just dropped me and my siblings off to their respective grades, leaving us in the hands of these "people," from the tender age of 5 years old.

I remember washing my hair every day. I had to pull the spitballs and trash out of my Afro, after riding the bus from home to school and back again. I remember being isolated and alone, overlooked, ignored, not being called on when I raised my hand to participate in class, walking at the end of the line, screamed at, if I stepped out of line, or stood out in any way. During recess, I was ordered to stand against the fence and not be permitted to play on the playground equipment with the other students. I remember being forced to sit in the back of the class, and eating completely alone at a table to myself in the lunchroom. I endured this insensitive and often cruel treatment, day after day for, over a decade of my life. My siblings were my only friends.

My Father was In the Air Force military. So I was fortunate to be born overseas, able to travel and live overseas into my adolescence, in Germany. Racism was very severe under the confines of living on a military base. US Bigotry and stereotyping were pervasive. Yet the German Economy availed a different story. Many Germans were very welcoming and friendly. They showed a fascination with my color, much like an alien from Mars. Yet some revealed their old embedded hate as neo-Nazis. Many Germans were even approached and incited by racist Caucasian US Military, to show prejudice toward people of African descent. I later learned that Ancient people of African descent lived prolifically in the German region, and ruled and established the foundations of European civilizations.

I don't have a way to compare my experiences, in relation to students of African descent in the United States. All that I know is that I was expected to be quiet, still, and compliant. I remember being alone most of the day, just following the orders of apathetic neutral teachers, who displayed contempt, never a smile or courtesy. I now wonder how much more they were paid to be "tolerant." And what did this whole Desegregation experience say about the Teachers of African Descent, in their competency, love, and compassion to teach African American Children, and all children?








As my Father returned to the United States, Our family settled in Kansas City, Missouri, living in what was then a typical "WASP" (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) community. I never realized until I was near graduation, that every morning, for years, My Father would get up early in the morning, before we would leave for school, and completely wash down the front porch, and all of the exits of our house, because someone would throw garbage and feces against the sides of our house entrances- EVERY DAY!

I attended and graduated from Ruskin High School, which was at the time a predominantly WASP school. I remember being the only family of African Descent in the neighborhood and the only student of African descent in my assigned classrooms. No. I was not invited to Prom Night. I was not encouraged or permitted to attend the many extracurricular activities. Although I had excelled academically in school and was placed in AP classes, and took college courses while in high school, the only memorable extra activity that I was a part of and achieve in, was working with a young teacher in Art Club. She assisted me, to set up an artist display at a local community event, that was quite successful. There were many young teachers who were open and receptive, yet the old guard of Teachers were staunchly bigoted and insisted, as gatekeepers, to maintain the status quo of racism. I do not recall any teachers of African Descent, on staff. Ruskin was a college-prep high school. So, I attended Longview Community College, while still in high school, and graduated with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts. Although I was not expected to attend college, according to the School counselor, my  Art teacher, Mr. Ferman, paved the way for me to receive a full-ride scholarship to Washington University. Yet, my parents refused to support me and turned down the scholarship. I later Attended the University of Kansas to achieve a Bachelors Degree, and later An Education Degree from UMSL.

In retrospect, I think of my experiences much like what was imposed upon any child, who was not a part of this US system. The people treated me like I was an alien and the school system demanded that I assimilate with the White supremacy system and discouraged my own capacities and cultural Identity. Remember, During the 60s there was a strong culture of self determination and reliance with the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party leadership. along with Malcolm X. So, there was a lot of pushback. I compare this to the mistreatment of Native American youth in the 1800s. the US and Canada established Assimilation and Indoctrination Boarding Schools where white supremacy indoctrination was imposed upon African Americans and Native Americans, who were forced as children to conform and acculturate to the ways of Western Europeans, and ultimately strip them of their natural, sustainable cultural ways, language, family ties, heritages, names, foods, Lands, and resources. Anything that tied them into a nation was stripped away... So, my Native and African American cultural heritage, access to land and resources, our Cultural Leaders, music, History, Heritage, etc., were not acceptable in these integration/assimilation schools. We were expected to function isolated and independently, with the WASP middle-class value system, and not have any ties to our own families and neighborhoods, for our own economics, culture, ethnic affiliations or nationality. 



So as these experiences remind me now of the Indoctrination Boarding Schools, where many nations of children of color were historically forced to attend, to be programmed (Brainwashed) to assimilate and deny their own family heritage and birth rites, these schools benefited and established the middle-class economic system, that ultimately fueled the US war machine that pervaded the globalization of US Imperialism.  The knowledge that the children of our ancient Ancestors in the Americas were stripped of their, natural connections and rights to Land, Resources, Culture, Languages, Spiritual systems, family ties etc. was appalling! Our children were virtually and literally orphaned and alienated from their families! This was a cold war against people of African descent and people of color. Ultimately, the integration assimilation of children of African descent into the public life of the US did not change or end Racism/white supremacy in the United States. This assimilation process launched the School-to-Prison-Pipeline, where Children of African Descent were re-segregated into impoverished neighborhoods, and predominantly Caucasian teachers, (and teachers of color with a middle-class value system,) and Police were placed in inner-city schools, to pick off our youth as child soldiers into a drug war.

Another outrageous example of Segregation and Discriminations was during World War II After the Nuclear Bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Asian people were rounded up and isolated into concentration camps! Of course They were paid Reparations.






When I was a teen, I remember how every summer, Caucasian children would be invited to free concerts, carnival amusements, free foods, etc., unaware (or aware as the case may be) that these concerts were sponsored by White supremacist- Militia, Klan, Nazi organizations as a recruitment strategy. Like the story of Pinocchio, Caucasian children would be indoctrinated under a veil of thrills, to hide the insidious agenda of incepting white supremacy and the idea of a race war! It has been 41 years since I have graduated from High school. Now I see my generation of Adults of African descent under duress by Caucasian adults raging and spewing hate speech, as well as targeting, stereotyping, profiling, and killing people of African Descent, with the bigoted ideas of criminality and inferiority with impunity. The US has failed to realize that they are the invader nation that destroyed existing societies, many of whom were pushed out and now have walls built around them. Hate cannot be legislated against. Just as one teacher, Jane Elliott, had the courage to stand up to her racist indoctrination, to sensitize and engage her students into a conscious dialogue for Multicultural awareness and the unification of all human beings as one species, we can all learn to embrace and reinvigorate our own cultural mores and ways of life that are all founded in traditional African Societies... The oldest people on the planet are from the ancient African Diaspora, so all people of color come from African Ancestral lineage.

SOLUTIONS


Dr. Amos Wilson offered 5 challenging questions for people of African Descent, in order to awaken and reconnect with their re-acculturation to African Society; He asks:
What Language do you speak?
What Names do you answer to?
What Foods do you eat?
What Clothes do you wear?
Can You name 1 African God?

These questions are meant as a call to consciousness, to recognize the core of the assimilation process in a person, and how we can be able to transform and heal from mental enslavement.

https://ankh-seneb.blogspot.com/2009/05/maafa-syndrome-healing.html

As a young adult, I would later join a middle-class value, Black church, get married, give birth to two wonderful children, and graduate from 2 colleges, with a Master's Degree in Special Education. I was not satisfied with assimilating into the US system. I know that as an Indigo person, I would always be subordinate to any access to this society. I always held to the memories that my mother would share of her father being a Tutsi East African, who was never enslaved and lived as a freeman in the United States. He married a Natchez Native American. Yet, outside of my indoctrination, I was also inspired by my Father, who was often found listening to Malcolm X's speeches. Malcolm X always spoke of separation from the US and doing for themselves, as a Nation of Black people, as a messenger of Elisha Muhammad of the Nation of Islam. My mother would later share that her father was a Garveyite, which may have been the reason that both her father and her brother were lynched in the south. I later took on the Black Panther model of establishing a Do-For-Self, African Centered lifestyle, while living in my own community of African Americans, that I worked in, as an Urban School teacher. I brought my children into an African Conscious connection, with the National Black United Front-KC. We traveled across the country, to attend lectures and set up as a vendor selling Homemade Afrikan Centered clothing, jewelry, and home accessories, We learned to dance in an African cultural dance group. I became an avid reader of African Centered Authors, later reading the Medu Neter by Ra U Nefer Amen. I learned to speak the Medu Neter language, to graft an Afrikan Centered Cultural lifestyle. I later established a community organization called Amen Par Ankh, with my Spiritual partner, Sasteh Meter. We used our house as a community safe house, and grew vegetables in our vacant lot next door and on our front yard. https://amen.parankh.blogspot.com






"Spirit having a Human Experience. Living in the spirit of Gratitude and Balance. I have worked to rebuild community in the urban African descendant neighborhoods, serving as a teacher, mentor, advocate, activist, and artist. My heart is for Indigo People. I am currently a minister, and activist, promoting Urban growers of local foods, I also Promote Green Sustainable recycling initiatives. My first bachelor's degree was in Visual Communications, Graphic Art. I am Writer and a Native American Kemetic Spiritual Minister. I work with home blessings and edible landscaping for elders or anyone who would like to learn about sustainable agriculture in an urban environment. My motto is " In order to free yourselves- You must feed yourselves!" I have learned that our food system has changed decades ago. The GMOs (Genetically modified Organisms), pesticides, and plastiburgs are destroying our children and our planet. 

I choose to pursue my philosophy and way of life to Nurture my family and community. I continue to teach and work with children, teens, and young adults, Elders, and families with Amen Ankh Akademy- African Centered Homeschool and Communiversity- to empower Indigo families, to know, love, and respect themselves; and to build a sustainable economy. https://amen-ankh.blogspot.com/ 



 eYe am a Mother, Kandaki Ma, teacher of history, philosophy, and spirituality. My family Ancestors were free Tutsi people, living in the Americas, known as Natchez, before the Columbo invader infection and colonist, ever arrived. eYe dedicate myself to consciously making the spiritual journey of life, to move to my higher self. eYe am committed to assisting in the movement of as many souls forward on their own journeys as possible. Life is love, of All Creation, knowledge of self, purposeful occupation, and friendship. My most valuable possession is my presence. My truths empower me, and I share them to empower others.
  
Nuk Puk Nuk! (I Am that I Am.)

Please check out my Blogs: amen-parankh.blogspot.com -amen-ankh.blogspot.com, inbox or email me for more information

Kandaki-Ma Nuta Beqsu (Adenike Amen-Ra)

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I am Nuta Beqsu, a Kandaki Ma of many Suns, Daughters, Grand Princesses, and Princes, living in the urban Kansas City Area. With a mission to provide solutions to the cycles of violence, health disparities, poverty, and inequalities in wealth, I opened the Amen Par Ankh, a Natural Life Center, and Amen Ankh Academy and Homeschool network of Industrial arts. This is a green space for Home Scholars, an Independent Library and Home Blessings and Notions. I am presently available for Consultations, Workshops Edutainment, and lectures. currently working with grief counseling making Dolls for mothers who have suffered the loss of their children. I have worked in the community as a Teacher, Priestess, Minister, Life coach, blogger, respected public speaker, and educator. I have conducted several workshops at various organizations, served as a panelist and as keynote speaker at regional meetings. 

Nuta Beqsu means (heaven gives me balance) This is an ancient KMT language that is still in practice today. Nu and Nut are Elemental powers of the Heavens: Nu is Moisture and Water. Nut is the Celestial Star-goddess. She represents the cosmos and the universe, always giving birth to new stars. The Universe is always giving birth to new solar systems and stars. Ta is the original word for place, land, and City-States of our ancient Matriarchal societies. Our land is our home, and the place for the empirical existence where we learn from our experiences. She seeks to live in a balance between the planetary and heavenly existences. We are all connected to the land, trees, microcosm and macrocosm, Inner verse and universe. Nuta Beqsu (heaven gives me balance) will be programmed into a conscious spirit, to produce thought sequences to direct a course of action as a way to achieve success in life. Visualization is thought converted into a pleasurable visual image(s) to achieve a goal and/or purpose. We connect with Divine Power to guide and direct our pathways. As a divine name is spoken the receiver has unity of direction in life. Our names reflect our Destiny. So, the sight Sound, vision, smell, and colors associated with a divine name will give guidance in my pathway of life.

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