The Diaspora (Every Black Child should be taught)

#1. We are one (The Diaspora)
I have a concept that sorta’ drives me. This concept is called Black Improvement which I consider a bit of a movement. America has had a civil rights movement, a women’s suffrage movement, and now we are having a bit of a Tea Party Movement. I fancy a Black Improvement Movement where people of African descent focus solely on Improvement. This movement would differ from the Civil Rights movement as that movement was focused upon ensuring that all Americans enjoyed the same civil rights that our country claimed to extend to Americans. I’ve often wondered how our country might have evolved if instead of focusing on being equal with other Americans, Blacks focused upon improvement in all areas which may have included Civil Rights. It is through this movement that I’ll approach my offerings. Broadcasting from the top of the Black Improvement Movement Tower located in middle America, here are things that every Black child should be taught:

The Diaspora. The African diaspora is the spread of people of African descent throughout the known world. People of African descent, or Black People, have truly touched most of the world in times ancient and current. If you have a child of African descent, teach them of our worldwide presence. As a teacher in Portsmouth Virginia (Circa 1995) a student asked me one day “Why do the Jamaicans’ on the music video look like they are Black people ? Is Shabba Ranks Black ?” Similarly in 2002 it has been rumored that American President George Bush asked the Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso “Do you have Blacks too?” and was reportedly advised by Condeleeza Rice that "Mr. President, Brazil probably has more blacks than the USA. Some say it's the country with the most blacks outside Africa." A similar things occurred to me when I shared photos of my 2006 trip to Puerto Rico with a friend’s child who saw photos and asked “Why are there Black people in the photo ?”

Without pushing a superiority or inferiority agenda I believe that Black children should be exposed to the beauty of our diaspora. Our ancient and current presence can be found throughout America; North America, Central America, and South America. Our ancient and current presence can be found in Eurpoe, Asia, and of course Africa. African people have contributed to the development of many cultures and cultural practices and flavors. I have pushed the agenda of knowing the diaspora in my interactions with youth for the last 15 years. I firmly believed that this understanding of our diaspora will aid our children to increase their world view, and to dream bigger than their circumstances. My son has taught me that this understanding will also reinforce what Frankie Beverly and Maze has taught forever: We are one.

In December 2007 I asked my kids (to initiate our Kwanzaa celebration) "What do you know about Kwanzaa ?" My daughter stated "The Red is for STRUGGLE, the Black is for PEOPLE, the Green is for HOPE." That's not completely the descriptions that the U.S. organization provided, yet that is what I have chosen to teach my kids. I didn't diverge from the truth, I removed some terms that may separate us from our peers. My wife greeted them with "Habri Gani" and my son said "Que Paso" (a loose translation into soulful-spanish). Then he and my daughter both said Umoja. Umoja being the principle of today prompted the question "What is Unity ?" My Son-sun answered that Unity is everything being stuck together and becoming like one. He then explained how the entire world is connected by touching. He said "The chair is touching the floor that's touching the wall that's touching the piano, that's touching the wall that's touching the painting. Everything in the world is touching something and we are all connected. As I searched for the exception to his rule I couldn't find one on a non-sub-atomic level. We are all touching each other in some way. We are all touched and effected by tragedies, and we are all touched by the breath of life. We are all touched by STRUGGLES. We are all touched by other PEOPLE. We are all touched by seeing others operate in HOPE.

I don't celebrate Ramadan but I've been touched by the words and actions of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. I'm not Jewish, maybe I'm Hebrew (I'm sure some are not gonna' understand that), but I've been touched by my beloved friends of Temple Beth El who are Biblical Jews (Israelites) as opposed to Rabbinical Jews. I'm constantly touched by Donnie D. who hosted "The Big Idea" on CNBC (One of my all time favorite shows and stations). As a child, every Chanaunach in New York (1968 - 1976) was spent with my parent's dear friends the Gluckmans (Rabbi Emeritus Donald N. Gluckman and family) who allowed me to get drunk on wine as a two year old at one of their celebrations when all the adults failed to notice that a little boy was drinking after everyone. I'm a Conscious-Christian and I've been touched by Christian people and groups who terrorized my family/ancestors with "Accept Christ or die" and the Trail of Tears, and the Klu Klux Klan (yes, they were a Christian group) as well as being loved, touched by, and prayed for by Christian absolute strangers who saw a frown on my face as I struggled with something in life. I never could think of anything to debunk my son's theory. As I considered the origins of mankind I began singing a Frankie Beverly and Maze tune..... "We are one."

My sons' simple observation was truly profound. We are one. May we remain one. May we exemplify oneness. Teach your children about our diaspora and reinforce the concept that we are one. Teach them about the African presence and influences in all three of the major world religions. Teach them the African presence and influences in a great deal of popular music. Teach them the African presence and influences in popular foods. Teach them worldwide Black History. Aid them to see creativity, victory, and life lessons from all over the globe, with people of African descent as the primary teachers.

One love yall'.
Seko VArner