THE DIVINE NINE: BLACK GREEK LETTERED FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES; BREAKING THE MENTAL CHAINS

THE DIVINE NINE: BLACK GREEK LETTERED FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES; BREAKING THE MENTAL CHAINS

By Fahim A. Knight-El

This article came about do to an email that I received on April 11, 2012 from an anonymous member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., which is an African American Black Greek Lettered Fraternity and they make claim to be the oldest black Greek Lettered Fraternity in the United States of America founded in 1906. However, the oldest Black Greek Lettered Fraternity was actually the Boule possessing the Greek name Sigma Pi Phi founded in 1904, two years before Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. I will not go over the significance of the Boule (actually Steve Cokely is the authority on this powerful and little known black secret society). However, as I was writing this article, I found out that our Brother, Cokely had transitioned. So I am dedicating this article to Steve Cokely who made his transition back to the Creator on April 11, 2012; I also partook and drank from his in depth fountain of knowledge. No, present day African American thinker could decode a conspiracy like Brother Steve Cokely, he was affectionately known as the “Boule Buster” and if he scored a good and valid point with the many audiences that he spoke to he would verbally yell out ‘CHECK’. The best way to honor a fallen warrior is to pickup the baton and continue running the race toward our struggle for liberation.

I refer you to my Brother M’Bwebe Aja Ishangi website: http://daghettotymz.com/rkyvz/articles/bouleseries/BCover.html, whom I believe is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Brother Ishangi stated this about my first article on the ‘Black Greeks’: “Excellent info Soul-jah!”. I very seldom desire to answer or respond to bloggers who want to engage me in dialog, but do not have the courage to identify themselves, but post their views under the heading of anonymous. This is cowardice at its best because if this person truly believed in their comments and position and had unwavering convictions, then they would openly stand by their words and not hide as a ghost. But I could not resist deconstructing his argument relative to him critiquing my article on Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities (Internet published November 23, 2008) http://fahimknightsworld.blogspot.com/2008/11/black-greek-letter-fraternities-and.html.

Anonymous: “Greetings, I know this article is a few years old and you may not ever read this but on behalf of a movement I would like to share a few words with you. Let me assure you that as your brother this is all said out of love. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. is the oldest collegiate fraternity founding by men of African Descent and it was never GREEK. Upon its inception on 1906, it has grown to be millions strong and maybe all of its members didn’t join for the right reasons, but most did. You apologized Delta sister in saying you weren’t against Black Greeks, well I took to mean that you were. Your words about Alpha specifically were without understanding its history and therefore misrepresenting its place in African American culture. Alpha Phi Alpha is not Greek but African, not Masonic, but African and its been that way since the beginning. Now as a gentleman, I read your article and so I would expect that you read on through mine. Our organizations were built out of necessity, whether it was Alpha Kappa Nu in Indiana or Omega Psi Phi in D.C. our organizations gave rise to the Black Panther Part for Self Defense, the NAACP and other organizations that are for the betterment of African's living this American experience. You Sir are wrong! You are wrong for attempting to demonize our organizations and discredit the merit of our founders.”

Anonymous continues: “You and others like you are need to read the true history of these organizations as they have little to do with "Greekdom" and more to do with Blackness, the stepping you made reference to is has African roots, the Greek letters you make reference to has Phoenician (African) roots, our rituals and tradition are none of your concern and our motives are simple and plain, we must fight until hell freezes over, then fight on the ice—Jewel Tandy Alpha Phi Alpha Founder, for our piece of this American Pie. Its almost like you are criticizing us for speaking the same English=language of the colonizer) and not accepting your role in the play of assimilation. You are wring, and your facts are not adding up, before you attack an institution that has saved the lives of millions of African American youth, consider if there was no Alpha, Kappa, Omega, Phi Beta (an not Sigma), AKA's, Deltas, Simgas (Sigma Gamma Rhos), Zeta's or members of Iota Phi Theta, then half of African American progress would not exist. We are NOT children of the Illuminati or Knights of the Round Table or any of that rubbish, we on your side fighting against them. In all due respect, go back and do your research. Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and not ashamed of it either”.

I stand by every word that I wrote, because it was rooted in historical and cultural truths. This anonymous responder, felt that I had attacked and disrespected Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and according to him, I allegedly did not present factual information about the Alphas; although, my article was not about attacking any of the Divine Nine Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities, it was more about exposing the reactionary contradictions for example, the Greek Letters—Alpha Phi Alpha (1906), Kappa Alpha Psi (1911), Omega Psi Phi (1911), Phi Beta Sigma (1914), Iota Phi Theta (1963), Alpha Kappa Alpha (1908), Delta Sigma Theta (1913), , Zeta Phi Beta(1920), and Sigma Gamma Rho (1922). All of these Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities have missed the mark to be still identifying themselves with an alien culture. The authority on the history an evolution of Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities has to be Lawrence C. Ross, Jr., who authored the definitive book titled, “The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities.”

I received a telephone call recently from a brother, informing me that Dr. Na’im Akbar (professor of psychology at Florida State University and another one of my intellectual mentors) had joined Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., he was one of the most prominent Afrocentric scholars and Pan-African intellectuals in the 1990s along side Dr. Leonard Jefferies, Marimba Ani, Dr. Maulana Karenga, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Ashra Kwesi, Dr. Anthony Browder, Dr. Asa Hilliard, Dr. Yosef A.A. Ben-Jochannan, Amos Wilson, etc. I became aware of Dr. Akbar’s writings when he used to write a column for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam newspaper titled, “Muhammad Speaks”. I have always had tremendous respect for Dr. Na’im Akbar because in his lectures he would always point us back to Kemet and in his talks and writings would often challenge the authenticity of the Eurocentric idea of hailing Greece and Rome as superior cultures to those of Kush, Nubia, Kemet and other darker people of the planet. Dr. Akbar has lectured on many black and white college campuses and is an authority on interpreting “Black Psychology” and human behavior. I must honestly admit that I was rather shocked that Dr. Na’im Akbar had chosen to become a member of a black Greek society. I will not pass judgment on Dr. Akbar because I know that he was not joining this organization out of ignorance and I also know that he was well informed and is an intelligent African centered scholar who literally can run circles around the best of minds in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

May be he will use his membership to wakeup these sleeping brothers and lead them to acquiring the knowledge of self, that they may come to a complete understanding that they are not Greeks but Africans—and are the true Fathers and Mothers of civilization. Dr. Akbar truly knows what it means to cross the hot burning sands and could give Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a much better understanding of the Kemetic symbolism that is incorporated in their rituals and teach them what the Seven Jewels couldn’t teach them, which was to give them 360 degrees of knowledge (bring them to a complete and whole truth and not a partial truth—which is rooted in understanding the knowledge of self) and he also understands that we are presently traveling from West to East (and not the other way around) in search of our hidden wisdom and light that was stolen and corrupted by the invaders. Dr. Akbar in all reality could just refer the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., to his book titled, “Light From Ancient Africa.”

This is a heavyweight scholar and I pray that they do not stifle him because of the fear of being associated with unconventional information—he may from time-to-time introduce knowledge that may appear provocative and even radical or militant, but the knowledge that this man has in head, it’s adequate and sufficient enough to truly raise the entire Pan-Hellenic Council and its Greek members organizations to the next level. Dr. Akbar knows the truth and I am going to challenge him to use his intellectual expertise to take this/his brotherhood to next level. To whom much is given, much is required and expected of. I equally challenge the conscious Alpha men to help assist brother Na’im Akbar in the work to make our Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities better societies that is rooted in African tradition and work to see people of African descent politically, economically and socially independent and above all promote unity. Dr. Akbar also authored, “Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery,” “The Community of Self,” Natural Psychology and Human Transformation,” and “Visions for Black Men”.

Tom Burrell in his monumental book titled, “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myths of Black Inferiority” stated: Great social movements require a great change in consciousness. By fate, profession, or life experience, I am unabashedly race-conscious. Therefore, I’m calling for a new generation of race consciousness—but in a new way. Disengaging ourselves from the word ‘inferiority’ and replacing it with its opposite, ‘black superiority,’ will be just as damaging, just as illusory, and just as counterproductive for us as it has been for whites. Our mission is more complex than a label. We tried ‘Black Power’ and ‘black is beautiful.’ We’ve been emancipated, liberated, and integrated; now we supposedly live in a post-racial society. Those labels gave some of us hope and helped us feel momentarily better. None, however, have been strong enough to truly convince us that we are as beautiful, as resourceful, and as equal as whites. New race consciousness moves us beyond labeling. It’s no longer about changing our collective mindset. It’s about people dedicated to destroying the myth of black inferiority. . .” (Reference: Tom Burrell; “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myths of Black Inferiority”; p. 264).

However, to re-address what I wrote in my original article titled, "Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities: A Tradition of Mis-education" reference the link: http://fahimknightsworld.blogspot.com/2008/11/black-greek-letter-fraternities-and.html, it would be a bit redundant and serve no further historical critique or evaluation—one could just refer back to my previous article that I have cited above, as opposed to me rewriting and restating the same historical facts again because there was nothing in Anonymous rebuttal that required me to reconsider my initial analysis and assessment. I must give Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., some propos because they do include some Kemetic symbolism in their rituals such as the Great Sphinx of Giza and other relics from the history and tradition of ancient Kemet (Egypt). But here lies the challenge, if you properly understood that the Greeks were students of the Kemetic sciences and learnt their knowledge from the Fathers and Mothers of civilization; why don’t these societies correct the wrongs and chart a new course and direction for future young college bound black students to follow that would be rooted in African tradition?

I stand on the fact that Kemet (Ancient Egypt) fed Greece and Roman civilizations and Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities have found themselves in a peculiar situation in 2012, because it stands as a racial, ethnic and historical contradiction for these societies to continue refer to themselves as "Black Greeks," although the largest majority of the hundreds of thousands of members that belongs to Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities are people of African descendent and have no ethnic lineage ties to Greece or Rome (now, for the record the African General Hannibal (247 – 183/182 BC) crossed the Alps with elephants into Europe and the African blood of the Sicilian Italians of Sicily is very evident that African blood runs deep in these people, however, this same African DNA can be seen throughout the majority of the southern European nations that borders the Mediterranean Sea—the kinky hair and dark skin and the overt African features came from the African blood left behind by Hannibal and his men.

It would have been their Kemetic (Egyptian) ancestors that gave the world language and symbolism—most scholars would agree that may be China is the only other nation that perhaps predated Kemet (Egypt) as the mother of civilization, but nevertheless, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Hippocrates, Pythagoras, Herodotus, Democritus, Solon, Lycurgus, etc., sat directly or indirectly at the foot of the ancient Nubians Sages and High Priest who were master teachers in the metaphysical sciences, spirituality, astronomy, astrology, law, architecture, medicine, religion, physics, mathematics, engineering, philosophy, biology, hydraulics, etc. There is no other known civilization other than Kemet (Egypt) that has astounded even the modern curiosity of man about the ancient past as has Kemet (Egypt) because we have come to accept that these Nubians had a much more advanced and superior culture in which the present evidence is forever being uncovered in the Ruins that depicts ancient civilizations that were royal and magnificent in scope and the longevity of the Pyramids and the ancient burial chambers are left behind as testimony of Kemet’s culture superiority—this phenomenon still have Egyptologist, historians, archeologist and pure scientist baffled about the perfection of such high technology some 15,000 to 20,000 years ago (most of this high science still remains unduplicated today).

Dr. Carter G. Woodson in his book titled, “The Mis-Education of the Negro” Stated: “The oppressor, however, raises his voice to the contrary. He teaches the Negro that he has no worth-while past, that his race has done nothing significant since the beginning of time, and that there is no evidence that he will ever achieve anything great. The education of the Negro then must be carefully directed lest the race may waste time trying to do the impossible. Lead the Negro to believe this and thus control his thinking. If you can thereby determine what he will think, you will not need to worry about what he will do. You will not have to tell him to go to the back door. He will go without being told; and if there is no back door he will have one cut for his special benefit.” (Reference: Carter G. Woodson; “The Mis-Education of the Negro”; p. 123).

The people of Kemet (Egypt) had a deep sense of appreciation for knowledge and the concept of language and symbolism existed beyond just the physical libraries and/or even before books were recorded. But the Medu Neter was seen inscribed on the Temples at Giza, Cheops, and Luxor and many ancient sites in Kemet. It was Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. who raided the libraries at Alexandria with an attempt to steal, destroy and desecrate the Ancient knowledge that had existed long before Greece and Rome were even a thought on the stage of human civilization. The Greeks stole most of this ancient knowledge and took it back to Greece and proclaimed it as their own.

Dr. George G.M. James in 1954 authored one of the most prolific books ever to be written by a so-called African American scholar titled, "Stolen Legacy" in which James definitively challenged the basis of Western scholarship who had elevated Greek Mythology above Egyptian philosophy; there was little doubt that Kemet (Egypt) had predated the pinnacle and height of Greek civilization by some thousands of years and Greek Mythology heavily borrowed from the ancient Egyptians and the foundation of their history and culture was interdependent on Egyptian philosophy. James further maintained that many Europeans and scholars from around the world studied in the Egyptian Mystery Schools. Kemet was originally a black civilization before the external invasions from foreign and alien nations and racial miscegenation—the light skinned mulatto and later the Arab Semites are Johnny-come-lately imposters who share very little to no DNA with the original man. So for young black college students in 2012 who are still pledging Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities is proof positive and evidence that we still suffer from a cultural identity crisis by still referring to themselves as "Black Greeks" and this is inexcusable and we as a people should declare a cease and desist order in name of our Kemetic ancestors. It was African people that gave the world a written language and an alphabet system, as well as a numerical system.

Shahid M. Allah in book titled, “Take A Second Look” this is a relatively small book, but it’s a powerful tool for breaking down and understanding not only Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities but he uses the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and other theoreticians to decode symbolism—relative to numerology, alphabets and hidden riddles behind secret societies and he shows the interconnectedness with myths, rituals, folkways, customs, etc.—this brother is cracking atoms. He stated: “W.M. Finders, the author of “The Formation of Alphabet” (London 1912), informed the public that the Egyptians had markings on the back of tiles which they used on rare occasions to calculate scientific problems. Sir Finders says that this script presumably was known in Egypt for thousands of years. But, it was never used to write down an Egyptian text. Later on the Phoenicians and the Greeks received this script from the Egyptians. Hence, what the people of Greece claim to be their own alphabet finds it’s origin in Ethiopia and Egypt” (Reference: Shahid M. Allah; “Take A Second Look”; pp. 69-70).

The ancient coffin text and the "Egyptian book of the Dead" properly known as "The Coming Forth by Day" indicates in the ancient scrolls, that even before the language was symbolized on papyrus there was a higher system of learning being carried out in the Egyptian Mystery Schools; where the knowledge of the esoteric and occult were being spread amongst a select sector of neophytes. The real knowledge was best manifested in the sacred temples and was inscribed on the walls of the pyramids in which these were the more sacred libraries (anthropologist and Egyptologist are still digging up earth and attempting solve this ancient puzzle and riddle). Most Europeans who address topics dealing with Kemet (Egypt) often address these ancient originators of civilization from a Eurocentric perspective and this lead to the research being flawed.

Why would not these Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities change their organizational identities to reflect their own culture and heritage? I recommend that these Black Greek organization adopt Kemetic symbols from the Medu Nater (the name of the original language of Kemet that Europeans falsely misnomer as hieroglyphics—this is a Greek terminology) and prove to the world that we have moved beyond our indoctrination and mis-education by renaming our so-called Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities to Nubian Kemetic Lettered Fraternities and Sororities. Not to do this is convincing evidence that our minds are still under the psychological control of the Eurocentric persuasive power and worldview.

White Elitist college societies and orders, perhaps with the establishment of the Skull and Bones Fraternities founded in 1832 in which African American Fraternities and Sororities modeled and emulated themselves after these white Elitist college societies. This was, one of the first white college fraternities was Skull and Bones founded on the campus of Yale University, and some Masonic historians have traced this Order back to the Medieval Knights Templar, which was rooted in the Crusades and the fight between Islam and Christianity over Jerusalem and the Holy Land. I am of the opinion, relative to the Skull and Bones, it was established as a feeder organization for the sons of wealthy and Elitist Dynastic families with the objective of teaching their young Heirs what it meant to be a part of the 'superior' race and privileged class. Thus, more so than that, it gave these aristocratic sons a working knowledge of how wealth and power compliments each other and taught them invaluable lessons in networking”. These Fraternities boys would eventually become international bankers, high level politicians, presidents of nations, lawyers, businessman, international diplomats, etc. They would be prepared to venture into assisting their parents (wealth building) and eventually succeeding them as the new Heir Apparent power brokers. They transitioned into Freemasons organizations and organizations such as the Trilateral Commission, Bilderberg and the Council on Foreign Relations..

The majority of white based Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities did not allow black membership into their fraternities and sororities from their initial inception, thus, overtly discriminated against blacks seeking admission into these feeder Elitist college societies that were designed for the white aristocracy and privilege. Blacks in 1832 at the establishment of Skull and Bones on the campus of Yale University were still considered Chattel Slaves (1555-1865), but after passing of the Thirteenth Amendment (1865) to the United States Constitution, which so-called freed the slaves, it still did not necessarily equalize the playing field. Although, from 1865-1877, it was called the Reconstruction Period in which many blacks rose to political and economic prosperity during this historical time period. But in 1896 with the Plessy versus Ferguson decision the practice of segregation became a legal institution in America pursuant to this United States Supreme Court Ruling.

Lawrence C. Ross, Jr. in his book titled, “The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities” stated: “Secret societies in 1906 provided the support structure for students on the Cornell campus. Besides the benefit of finding students common interest, secret societies such as fraternities and sororities also provided students with housing, study groups and a social environment in which students could grow with others. However, since African American students were excluded from these organizations, there was literally nowhere for these African American students to turn except inward for solutions.” (Reference: Lawrence C. Ross, Jr.; “The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities”; p.6).

Also, what eventually became known as historical black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were coming into existence in the late 1800s and early 1900s and at the turn of the 20th Century Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities sprung up as well. These societies in many ways were like their white counterparts they too recruited petit bourgeoisie well-to-do black students, but many of today’s young neophytes members do not know that for decades probably up until the 1960s and beyond that the majority of the Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities would conduct the brown paper bag test in order to determine membership suitability and if a potential candidate’s skin was darker than the brown paper bag they were denied membership because these societies catered to curly head and light skinned African Americans—the more you looked like the ex-slave master's children the better chance one had of gaining membership into these societies. The Chicago University trained sociologist E. Franklin Frazier wrote about this class of blacks in his book titled, "Black Bourgeoisie". Some of the most influential and prominent African Americans belong to these college societies and they wail a lot of power and influence in black life even after college. Blacks/African-Americans as I stated above copied and emulated these white fraternities, but lacked generational wealth to make a serious impact on the overall political, economic and social reality of black people (However, the Divine Nine historically used its miniature networking systems to create black 'Elitist' personalities and movements) what Professor E. Franklin Frazier called a black bourgeoisie class (this class became the Talented Tenth that W.E.B. Dubois made reference). So this translated into blacks attaining upward mobility and having an influence on black life, which on a small level was no different than their white fraternal counterpart.

The Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities without a doubt had serious Masonic influences and roots because many of the original founders were Masons and Eastern Stars. Many of our early civil rights leaders and social activist belonged to one of the Divine Nine organizations and were Freemasons. The Masons however work a lot more discrete and it is not permissible for Masons to recruit and establish interest meetings on college campuses (you have to ask one, to be one and recruiting is not allowed). Yet, most of your top level black leaders even today are both Freemasons and Greek and many who serve in various capacities on the academic and university levels are Masons”. The Masons understand that often those who pledge Greek Lettered Fraternities will eventually make their way to the Masonic Order (its really a natural progression) and the Freemasons benefit from these college based Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities organizations (so there is a passive relationship) and yet Freemasons can hold true to their edict of not publicly recruiting its membership and at the same time reaping the benefits relative to Greek members being covertly directed into their various Masonic Orders.

The college fraternities and sororities members have gone through a similar process of what the Masons and Eastern Stars go through (For example, they understand the meaning of secrecy--handshake, word, sign and most of all how important it is to protect the ancient process from the uninitiated). The pledging process is similar in some ways. Now, Masons have no interest to functioning as Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities would on a college campus; they view themselves to be a lot more sophisticated than the average college fraternity and sorority. They also know and understand that many of your chancellors and college presidents are Freemasons and a host of others who are considered the movers and shakers in academia are Masons.

The Pan-Hellenic Conferences and the coming together of Black Greek organizations where the "Divine Nine" works together in the area of promoting academic achievement, community service, citizenship, networking, etc., represent an area of progressiveness and no one can deny the good that Black Greek Lettered Fraternities and Sororities do and have done historically in helping to elevate the African American race. I still maintain that the Greek Letters should be changed and abolished today and new African based symbols must be adopted to reflect the tradition and culture of African people and I make no apology for this position.

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-EI can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,
Fahim A. Knight-El

OIL, OIL, OIL: WHAT WOULDN’T THEY DO FOR THE LOVE OF OIL? LETS UNTANGLE THE WEB

OIL, OIL, OIL: WHAT WOULDN’T THEY DO FOR THE LOVE OF OIL? LETS UNTANGLE THE WEB

By Fahim A. Knight-El

I was recently at a gas station filling my truck up with some midgrade gasoline and there were two gentleman conversing over on the next two pumps (they were talking relatively loud); one of the gentlemen was well dressed and looked liked the professional type and he was driving a seven series BMW and other gentlemen was dressed rather casual and was driving an older model Ford F-150 pickup truck, but these two men were having interesting small talk about the rising gasoline prices in which premium gas in North Carolina is close to $5.00 per gallon and in the conversation you could hear the anger and discontent coming from both individuals. The conversation quickly shifted to political in nature in which one of the gentlemen started lambasting the Arabs in the Middle East for the oil crisis and other gentleman focused his blame on President Barack Obama and the Obama administration (this gentlemen said I voted to put Obama in office implying that Obama had betrayed his trust and fail to see that President Bush had betrayed the American people trust even more). I started listening even more attentively and yet at the same time appearing to be discrete and not appear as being to obvious that I too was engaged in their conversation as an objective listener who was merely trying to discern if these two gentlemen really understood who were truly behind the oil crisis and for that matter the world crisis, or were they just two duped ignorant fools just like 85% of population that are wandering in the western propaganda of darkness. I wanted to interject and give my opinion and weigh in on this oil crisis debate that was taken place—these two patriots thought they were well informed and in their minds there was no doubt that it was Arabs and OPEC and/or President Obama who were responsible for creating the oil crisis and putting the United States in this predicament.

I was taught about oil interest and OPEC by a very intelligent intellectual named Dr. Sheik R. Ali (a Pakistani national who I believed became a naturalized U.S. citizen) who was a professor of political science and an expert on OPEC and Middle Eastern oil; he authored a book titled, "Oil, Turmoil, and Islam in the Middle East" and "Oil and Power Political Dynamics". However, Dr. Sheik R. Ali (who is now deceased) was a well published expert on Middle East international affairs. But he never talked about who was really behind these powerful oil cartels—the non-Arabs who are members of the Super Elite Dynastic family clans and behind the curtain international bankers (this is who rule the world and control all the global markets). But as much as I appreciated one of my mentors Sheik Ali's Middle Eastern foreign policy wisdom, I did not get the full picture until I read a profound book in 2010 authored by Dean Henderson titled: "Big Oil & Their Bankers In The Persian Gulf: Four Horsemen, Eight Families & Their Global Intelligence, Narcotics & Terror Network" this work helped me to further connect the dots relative to oil, Dynastic Families and International Banking Houses.

If you still do not know President Obama is slavish lapdog employee of the Seven Oil Sisters and possesses no power or authority to determine the affairs and interest of the Seven Oil Sisters and/or Big Oil in general—these decisions are above his pay grade. For example, when British Petroleum (BP) created the oil spill off the gulf coast of Louisiana, it was clear that the United States Government had no enforcement power to regulate this catastrophe (this was a criminal act, but no arrest warrants were issued for the Rockefellers and Rothschilds as culprits). Although, BP after being cited for negligence they committed to a 20 billion dollar fund (financial crumbs for a disaster of this magnitude) set aside in an escrow account which was being overseen by the Zionist "pay czar," Kenneth Feinberg as a compensatory liability fund for the victims of the BP Gulf disaster. Nevertheless, this gesture appeared sound and reasonable, but it did not even begin to scratch the surface relative to the environmental and the economic impact this disaster has had on the people who lived in and around Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, etc., the people in that region will never be made whole again and/or fully compensated for the damages caused that was rooted in greed and exploitation. But also, BP was allowed to walk away from the projected long term health and environmental affect that I predict this disaster will eventually have on the American people in general—there is little doubt that our seafood consumption from that region of the country has been contaminated forever and this alone will have long term future health ramifications down the road. But to BP and their capitalist interest, we are expendable this part will eventual help factor into their wicked plans to depopulate the earth of us useless eaters and in the next 10-20 years we will start seeing high incidents of cancer deaths and birth deformities because of the oil spill contaminant and pollution that is still lurking in the gulf waters.

President Obama issued a temporary moratorium prohibiting offshore drilling off the U.S. coastlines and I think this ban has been since lifted (this was not a punishment, it was not even a slap on the wrist because less than a year later BP and the other oil giants were conducting business as usual). Why didn’t the United States Justice Department head Eric Holder issue criminal warrants for those individuals who were responsible for this disaster? President Obama and the entire U.S. Congress are bought and paid for by Big Oil. They are not interested in making the United States independent of foreign oil this is only a smokescreen to pass imaginary blame and still be able to declare oil wars in the name of the American people and this is how they partially justified their actions to invade Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and with the gun and trigger now already aimed at Iran.

In an on-line article taken from Oil-Price.Net that was authored by Tobias Vanderbruck titled: ‘Iran, Oil, and the Strait of Hormuz’ stated: Strait of Hormuz , for the uninitiated, is the narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, surrounded by countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Iraq and Oman. It is significant for the simple reason that about 17m barrels of oil produced in the Middle East is transported through the Strait. Right now, the strait is in dire straits. Why? For many reasons, most of it centered around oil. How? At about 54 km wide (34 miles) at its narrowest point, the strait can be blocked with ease, and Iran has threatened. Why? Well, the European Union has placed an embargo on Iranian oil imports, and some sanctions on the central bank. In the US, on Dec 31, President Barack Obama has signed a bill imposing new sanctions on Iran under the National Defense Authorisation Act. This law, apart from targeting the revenue from oil imports, also targets financial institutions from other countries that conduct transaction with Iran's central bank. From March, such institutions would be barred from doing business in the US. The Lawmakers in the US are also planning to blacklist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini”

The American people are feeling the pain at the gas pump and in reality have accepted this as the new normal; yet many still do not know that this crisis is being well organized and induced in which OPEC and the Arabs have very little to do with what we are experiencing relative to the oil crisis and high prices at the pumps. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have completely sold out to western interest and what bothers me about these reactionary Arab Islamic oil producing states is their hypocrisy—Islam prohibits usury and forbad the charging of interest on money/capital and they are well aware of this contradiction, but they continue to allow their oil revenues wealth to be dictated and control by Zionist international banks located in Europe, America, Tel Aviv and Russia. These imposter Saudi Arabian Arabs think they are above the National Defense Authorization Act and the Patriot Act—they really do not think this devil will eventually betray their political and economic interest—let the oil start to dry up and I am willing to bet you overnight that Saudi Arabia will be on the U.S. terrorist list. Yet, once the U.S. betrayed Saddam Hussein, they used the U.S. Patriot Act and so-called anti-terrorism laws to freeze Hussein’s international bank accounts and confiscated his assets. The U.S. is still illegally holding onto billions of Iranian Government dollars that were stolen under former Iranian dictator Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (who was overthrown by Imam Ayatollah Khomeini as a result of the 1979 Iranian Revolution), but the United States Government has yet to release these funds and assets over to the Iranian people. These Wahhabi imposters (if you desire to know who occupied the Arabian peninsula before these imposters refer to the work of Wesley Muhammad titled: “Black Arabia and the African Origin of Islam”) the present day occupiers who are the mulatto ruling class of modern day Saudi Arabia is nothing but Zionist controlled puppets.

They even claim to be in support of the Palestinian people's right to sovereignty and self-determination, which they have enough power and influence based on their oil domination to demand that the human rights of the Palestinian people (their Arab brethren) are honored and respected as human beings on their land. It's a shrewd triangle of deception where the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia have duped the Islamic world, in particular and the entire globe in general—Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest reactionary supporters of helping to maintain the Zionist State of Israel. Many of the top level Suad family are high degree Freemasons (some are honorary Members in the Scottish Rite and York Rite Orders, but others have traveled all way up the ladder to the United Supreme Council and have received their 33rd honorary Masonic degree) themselves and are covert agents as members of the Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg and the Trilateral Commission (these groups represent the highest orders of what we deem as "secret societies"). Moreover, the Islamic hierarchical class and Arab Elitist even have membership in powerful international organizations such as the Club of Rome and the House of Rothschild (they might profess Islam with their tongues, but their actions describe another type picture). These imposters out of Mecca and Medina have always demonstrated one of the biggest reactionary contradictions as leaders of the Islamic world, which was their diplomatic relationship with United States of America whom Imam Ayatollah Khomeini called the "Great Satan" (the gatekeepers of the Zionist State of Israel ). Now, reason with me, America is the number one ally of the Zionist State of Israel and the seat of Islam is selling untold oil to the United States (it does not take a rocket science to figure this out). But those who might not know, Saudi Arabia covertly sells oil directly to the Zionist State , but always give the dumbfound Muslims and have-nots the impression that they have an adverse relations with the Zionist State of Israel.

I think many people continue to desire further explanation, but the evidence and facts are clear, it is difficult to convince anyone that is in denial (they are connected to the Dynastic Families, possesses memberships in Secret Orders and are low level operatives of the Money Changers in which all this powerful intertwining makes up this Elitist hidden Cabal—these oil wealth Arabs are puppets of the worst kind). The former President Jimmy Carter was heavily criticized after he published his book in 2007 titled, "Palestine Peace: Not Apartheid" where he offered an honest and objective analysis of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. President Carter was immediately labeled as an anti-Semite and they forced him to repudiate his book and his own words (this action only stifled the debate). Why have not Saudi Arabia (as a so-called powerful oil broker) demanded a solution to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict?—there must be a solution to stop the killing on both sides and resolve the land dispute. I denounce Zionism because I view it as a form of racism (I make no apology for this position) and as an African American who ancestors were victims of the heinous crime of Chattel Slavery understand the impact that racism and white supremacy had on the physical and psychological history of African people; so it is difficult for me not say something on the side of the Palestinian people. Yet, I do believe that there are many Jews/ Israelis who truly believe in the tenets of the “Torah” and do not support Zionism in any form, but they are often overlooked relative to this debate and conversation. I will never support the killings of Jews or Arabs—I support the concept of love and freedom, justice and equality amongst the human family. So hold your comments from falsely declaring me as an anti-Semite—I want peace in the Holy Land for all its inhabitants—this is the place where the Nubian/Hebrew Israelite Prophet Yeshua Bin Yusef (Jesus the son of Joseph was born).

Thus, just reason with me for a moment on September 11. 2001 better known as 9/11, the United States Government and its state control mediums reported that 17 of the 19 so-called confirmed highjackers (or the language they used terrorist) who flew those planes into the World Trade Center were supposedly Saudi Arabian nationals. Yet, the Bush (George W. Bush) administration in the interest of oil relations manipulated the dissemination of information and infused it with vitriol propaganda swaying negative public sentiments against Iraq (many of us knew early on that Iraq and Osama Bin Laden were innocent patsies). As I have stated above, I think many people continue to desire further explanation, but the evidence and facts are clear, it is difficult to convince anyone that is still in denial in 2012. 9/11 revealed so many things. The Dupers in my opinion, could not keep up maintaining and control over the 9/11 deception based on technology and people now having the ability to research and having access to alternative information and this level of information since the Internet is now being revealed in real time scenarios (for the most part the truth now has out ran the lie). They established a 9/11 Commission insinuating that an objective unbiased investigation had taken place (this report was inundated with massive lies and distortions). This was done to appease the dumbfound masses, but the masses did not understand that Larry Silverstein and his criminal culprits are above prosecution and U.S. law and you know the Rockefellers were lurking behind the scenes and would never be brought into a court of law, not to mention an indictment. There were multiple motives and agendas on the table pursuant to the 9/11 hoax. Thus, foremost being oil and a planned assault on destroying the image of Islam as a reputable faith tradition that is worthy of respect. They bombed the World Trade Center and the first thing President George W. Bush (a low level operative of the Hidden Hand) does, is to blame Al-Qaeda headed by the so-called radical Islamic extremist Osama Bin Laden; a member of the Saudi Royal Elite whom Bush and the United States Government enjoyed a high level international business relationship with Osama Bin Laden’s family and he was the U.S. Government point man in the former Soviet Union and Afghanistan war; he was a CIA operative leading the Mujahideen in their fight to oust the USSR oppressors. The U.S. initially in 2001 accused him of so-called waging his anti-American assaults from Afghanistan and not Iraq (how did Iraq enter the 9/11 equation?)

But as Bush was steadily blaming Al-Qaeda, he was simanteously leading and focusing our attention on Iraq and Saddam Hussein (actually he was following instructions from Rockefellers to gain control over Iraq's Ramallah oil fields) because in reality, Bush and the United States Government knew that there was no connection between Hussein and Al-Qaeda; this move was strictly about further securing United States oil interest in Iraq. Yet, this also propelled them to further justify their war on Islam in the name of fighting international and domestic terrorism and at the same time putting the clamps on the American people by infringing and robbing them of their civil liberties.

Why haven’t the Royal Saud family been charged with mass murder for the allege crime that the United States Government accused them of being involved in after the 9/11 hoax? The United States Government has been in bed with the Saud family since 1933 and as long as oil remains the number one world commodity and the Saudis continues to play their role in controlling and pacifying the Islamic world—this relationship will remain solid as a rock. Although, it appeared that the guilty nation based on the United States presented evidence was that Saudi Arabia had so-called participated in one of the most horrific crimes ever committed against the United States of America. Why wasn't there economic sanctions and embargoes imposed against the nation of Saudi Arabia for their involvement in the 9/11 crimes against the American people? The Saudis were part of a conspiracy—their involvement was a perfect example of militant and radical Islam at its best—but we know it was much more to this puzzle than Saudi Arabia’s overt participation.

The Seven Oil Sisters (ExxonMobile, British Petroleum, Gulf, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Standard Oil of New Jersey—these are the oil masters of the world—now, this a real criminal cartel. Dean Henderson in his article titled, "The Four Horseman Behind America's Oil Wars" stated: By the late 1800’s John D. Rockefeller had become popularly known as ‘the Illumination Merchant’ during a time when oil was powering the reading lamps of every American household. Rockefeller figured out that it was the refining of oil into various end products and not actual crude production which held the key to control of the industry. By 1895 his Standard Oil Company owned 95% of all refineries in the US while expanding operations overseas. Summing up his attitude towards his new oil monopoly, Rockefeller once stated, “The day of combination is here to stay. Individualism is gone never to return”. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust began illuminating the New World with funding from Kuhn Loeb and Rothschild banking families. While the Rockefellers worked the American side of the energy matrix, the Rothschilds consolidated their control over Old World oil resources."

This is an example of the power of the web and most of all the oil cartels relationship to international organized crime and racketeering. The money changers have decided that it was to much oil money on the table to risk the delicate and strategic relationship of publically indicting Saudi Arabia after the 9/11 hoax because they serve under the auspices of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as the overseers of how Islam will be disseminated throughout the Islamic world in which the Saudis have a secret pact with the United States Government to so-called keep radical Islam under raps, as well as maintain civility and peace in the region. Although, they shroud themselves as being Islamic purist and fundamentalist; after all the Holy City of Mecca is where the Kaaba is located—there is no shrine or city holier in Islam than the Kaaba. These imposter Arabs are corrupt to the core and are being used to theologically pacify Muslims and Islam in the name of adhering to the Qur'an and the Sunna—but take it from me, these hypocrites have deviated from the teachings of Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (PBUH) and are motivated by greed and the lust of power. They serve their masters well.

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-EI can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,
Fahim A. Knight-El

MARCUS GARVEY VERSUS W.E.B. DUBOIS: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT FROM THESE TWO GIANTS?

MARCUS GARVEY VERSUS W.E.B. DUBOIS: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT FROM THESE TWO GIANTS?

By Fahim A. Knight-El

There have been various black leadership personalities and black spokespersons that have risen to national and international prominence since our sojourn in America (1555 to Present), which have shaped and impacted the intellectual landscape of the so-called African American, but perhaps none have had the lasting affects as Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887-1940) and WEB Dubois (1868-1963) on the organizational and intellectual development on those who followed; these two, (along with Booker T. Washington) individuals truly laid the modern leadership foundation for most black leaders that followed after them. This writer has written many pieces on the Black experience, but I have never written a complete article dedicated to the life and times of Marcus Mosiah Garvey. I have always admired his work and legacy and his commitment to the causes that affected African people and over the years, I have deeply incorporated his philosophy into my personal life and worldview. There was no reason for me over the years not to have written and dedicated an article to the work of Marcus Garvey. But I do believe everything happens in the universe when it is supposed to happen and I believe that today as I write this article I have entered this paradigm—the Creator has finally brought me to this space and time, which to intellectually revisited one of my activist heroes and pay homage to him by dedicating a 4,000 word essay in his memory—no other leader has shaped my cultural worldview like Marcus Mosiah Garvey and I must admit that I am standing squarely on his foundation and legacy. Black leaders who often did not go along with the status quo has been systematically written out of history, but I do not blame them, we have an obligation to write and document our own history and cite our historical worth and contribution to human civilization—this is what I do as the chief researcher of the Keeping it Real Think Tank.

The United States Government and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and an ambitious Federal agent named J. Edgar Hoover in 1922 led the criminal prosecution against Marcus Garvey charging him with mail fraud and in 1923 Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in which in 1925, a Federal Judge imposed a five year prison sentence where he was sentenced to Atlanta Penitentiary. In 1927 Garvey’s sentence was commuted and he was deported to his homeland of Jamaica where one of the largest crowds in the history of Jamaica welcomed one of their fallen son’s back home. Garvey became a victim of United States Government dirty tricks and conspiracy. Hoover would later craft one of the largest and far reaching government espionage programs called Cointelpro, a counter-intelligence operation that was organized in 1950s under the leadership of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover aimed at destroying progressive black leadership which lasted until the 1970s.

I had in the past read the books written/edited by his wife Amy Jacques Garvey titled: “Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey”, and “Garvey and Garvyism”, John Henrik Clarke’s book titled: “Marcus Garvey and the Vision of Africa”, Tony Martin’s book titled, “Race First’, Robert A. Hill’s book titled, “The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers”, and E.D. Cronon’s book titled, “Black Moses, the Story of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association”. These resources and others have been in my personal library for some time now and advise those who are seeking a deeper understanding and interpretation of Marcus Garvey’s philosophy and theories to consult the works that I have cited above.

Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. Dubois was not created in a historical vacuum, but it was the history of Chattel Slavery (1555-1865) that gave rise to these two distinct and revolutionary personalities. The Transatlantic Slave Trade and Middle Passage was one of the greatest crimes ever committed against humanity where over 100 million Africans were kidnapped from Africa brought to the Americas as slaves. Millions were killed and died in the hulls of slave ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean during the deadly passage known as the Middle Passage, this tragic represented a holocaust and this was nothing they made up in Hollywood and even Alex Haley's book titled, "Roots" and movie of the same title, "Roots" doesn't even come close to an accurate account and depiction of the pain and suffering that my African Ancestors may have experienced for 310 years under this inhumane system. No, movie or book can ever captivate the magnitude of the crime of Chattel Slavery. It was this process where Africans were rob and stripped of their names, religion, culture, land and was forced to accept and embrace an alien people's culture and history. This physical, mental and spiritual assault left a people forever scared and who now have been on a quest for over 450 years to reconnect with a land, people and culture of their ancestors. This spirit can be found in the Akan language of Ghana described in Sankofa—“It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.” Garvey’s movement typified the spiritual intent of Sankofa.

The social and psychological affect of plantation life and the dehumanization process that took place left a race of people who are still suffering from Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (this an extreme psychological condition akin to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in 2012 because the pain and suffering of the African slave has been passed down in the African American and those Africans who have been scattered throughout the Diaspora collective biological DNA and certain present day behavior that we demonstrate is a direct result of a race of people who have never been allowed to properly heal from the devastating and traumatic experience of Chattel Slavery. There was no debriefing and no psychological therapy—the slave master in 1865 told blacks they were now free to legally go by the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) under President Abraham Lincoln and the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1865). Black leadership evolved from this historical experience—good, bad or indifferent.

Marcus Garvey was born in Saint Ann’s Bay Jamaica in 1887 and was inspired by his father who served as the unofficial lawyer in their village and who was deeply committed to the labor movements and justice for black workers and even young Marcus Garvey received his first political activism working in the Jamaican Labor Movements traveling outside of Jamaica to Costa Rica, Panama and other Latin American States working to organize labor. Many African slaves landed in Jamaica and other Caribbean nations that were under British Rule (however, many slaves who became known as the ‘Maroons’ upon landing in Jamaica fought and resisted slavery by escaping into the mountains of Jamaica and was never captured by the British slave makers). Marcus Garvey’s father was a direct descendants of the ‘Maroons’, But prior to British domination of the Caribbean Islands in 1494 Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas where Spain and Portugal divided the newly discovered lands outside of Europe between themselves. This treaty was later reaffirmed by Pope Alexander VI of the Catholic Church with the signing of the Papal Bull of Demarcation.

It would be Bishop Bartholomew Las Casas in 1517 that decreed that it was a Christian obligation to civilized the heathens from around the world and he upheld the so-called sanctity of the Treaty of Tordesillas and Papal Bull of Demarcation. The European Slave Traders often used the Caribbean Islands as seasoning grounds before the African slaves were transported to Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, etc. However, there were times that African slaves were brought directly from Africa to the U.S. slave markets and ports in Savannah, Charleston, Virginia, Mobile, etc. I cite this history because it properly lays out a historical foundation and it is this history that permeates the black liberation struggles that evolved in the United States of America (slavery is a historical reference point for everything that is wrong about America). Marcus Garvey was influenced early on by the work and legacy of Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) and his leadership at Tuskegee Institute. Garvey had read Washington’s autobiography titled, “Up From Slavery” which was written in 1901. Washington became one of the leading black spokesman during the early part of the 20th Century and he was sought of handpicked by the powerful white establishment in which many blacks viewed him as an “Uncle Tom” and an apologist for the racist system of America and they rebuked him for his social, political and economic compromises he made with the white status quo.

Washington was a southerner who did not openly view Civil Rights and political agitation as a good tactic or strategy which to fight racial injustice and he preferred a more passive and nonthreatening approach to get things accomplished on behalf of black people (some refer to him as a genius and others refer to him as a traitor of the worst kind). It was W.E.B. Dubois that became one of his most outspoken critics and condemned Washington for desiring to keep blacks in a servitude position. But Garvey who was in Jamaica admired Washington's do-for-self and pull yourself up by your bootstraps economic concepts. Washington preached the importance of blacks owning land and remaining in the south as farmers and tradesman. He also, advocated that blacks should attain vocational and technical education and training over a liberal arts education; as much as Marcus Garvey could appreciate Washington's philosophy, it infuriated Dubois that a black leader would be advocating that blacks remain on the plantation as planters and farmers.

Let me interject that Washington was the recipient of huge amounts of white philanthropy money (it was white philanthropy that helped him build Tuskegee Institute) and many believed that it was they who were shaping his political leadership agenda. The whites at this time were concern with maintaining the status quo and the historical arrangement of the existing power dynamic. Nevertheless, in 1916, Marcus Garvey emigrated from Jamaica to the United States with aspirations of meeting Washington, but upon his arrival to Harlem, New York he learned that Washington had died a year earlier in 1915. But Garvey believed in the value of vocational and technical training espoused by Booker T. Washington and most of all valued the importance of land ownership. Garvey would later purchase commercial cargo ships such as the Black Star Line Steamship Company, Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, the Negro Factories Corporation, the Black Cross Nursing Unit, the, doll factories, restaurants, publishing housings, grocery stores—Garvey believed in economic self-sufficiency and with the exception of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam no other black leader or organization has had that type of economic success. Garvey had a program; the majority of the militant and radical black leadership of the latter half of the 20th Century have not introduce nor built anything since Marcus Garvey. This plank would stand later as the basis to Garvey's ideology relative to Nationalism and Pan-Africanism.

Garvey did not accept Washington's political accommodation approach as being the ultimate solution to black liberation and Garvey stated: "Africa for the Africans at home and abroad." Garvey was indeed a political agitator and intentionally made provocative statements to agitate the white establishment as well as show courage to the black disenfranchised. Dubois in his book titled, "The Souls of Black Folk" (1903) called Washington's "The Atlanta Exposition" speech (this speech would have been equalvent to the leader of the present day National Urban League president giving his speech on The State of Black America), in which Dubois in his critique called the speech "The Atlanta Compromise" maintaining that Washington would make us money, but not men. Dubois had some fundamental disagreements with Washington and those differences were clear.

But at times, it was difficult for me, to navigate through my research to draw some distinct ideological and philosophical and clear delineations between Garvey and Dubois; yet this was not to say that there were not any because there were; I make this statement because both men were deeply committed to Africa and Africans on many different levels. Dubois no doubt was an intellectual genius who became the first African American to received a Ph.D in history in 1895 from Harvard University in which he wrote a dissertation titled, "Suppression of the African Slave Trade" and used his scholarship to debunk the racist notions that Africa was the dark continent and they made no worthwhile contribution to human civilization. Dubois was a fair skinned mulatto black who grew up in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and based on the United States being a ‘pigementocracy’ where rewards and privileges were granted based on skin color—Dubois physical complexion benefitted him to the determent of the dark skinned Garvey. No doubt Garvey was very dark skinned with overt African racial features and he was ridiculed by the light skinned Dubois and A. Phillip Randolph.

Garvey was received upon arriving to New York by another powerful and prominent West Indian from Saint Croix named Hubert Henry Harrison (1883-1927) who Dr. John Henrik Clarke deemed the "Black Socrates". It was Harrison who gave Garvey his first political platform in Harlem and was a great influence on Marcus Garvey's early development as a black leader in the United States. Perhaps the one relationaship next to Washington that had an everlasting impact on shaping young Garvey’s international ideological framework was in 1912 when he traveled to Great Britain and London there he met an Egyptian (of Black Sudanese origin) Muslim named Duce Muhammad Ali who operated a Pan African periodical titled, "African Times and Orient Review". Some historians argued that Garvey was introduced to Islam under Duce Muhammad Ali. But lets be clear Garvey linked up with Bishop George Alexander McGuire who in 1920 founded the African Orthodox Church and this became the official religious affiliation to the UNIA and like black specific Islam it was steeped in black symbolism which created God, angles and the prophets in the image of African people.

Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914 in Jamaica with a mission to organizing Africans at home and Africans throughout the Diaspora from around the world behind the concept of Pan-Africanism which called for the collective unity of Africans throughout the world. Garvey is known and often associated with the Back to Africa Movement, but lets be clear, I do not think Garvey realistically had a plan to relocate 22 million blacks back on the African continent and even to this date, I do not think there is any African nation or government that has the political, economic, and social infrastructure to accommodate that type mass migration. But I do think that Garvey’s back to Africa Movement (Martin Delaney actually coined this phrase 'Back to Africa') and theories had a physical component and psychological component—History has revealed that, perhaps Garvey from a psychological and culture standpoint understood the importance of identifying with Africa better than any other black leader in the history of the black liberation struggle and the struggle for political, economic and social redemption. Garvey totally understood that there had to be a reaffirmation and a declaration that rooted the people of the African descent who was scattered throughout the Diaspora to a legitimate connection to a homeland, which in this case was Africa.

However, this was not to suggest that Garvey did not believe in a true physical remigration back to Africa and this was not just some emotional sounding off because Garvey was negotiating with the Liberian Government for land (to establish a resettlement) as well as seeking to establish an international trade and commerce pact. Liberia in the 1820s was colonized by former slaves from the United States of America in which many blacks migrated from America to this West African State. Liberia received its independence from the United States in 1847 and Garvey was well aware of the historical relationship between the two nations.

Three years before Garvey was born Africa was divided up and partitioned by the European powers at the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885, it has been this devastating colonial act that destroyed African sovereignty, culture and left a people, politically, economically and socially inept. Africa is still presently suffering from these artificial barriers that were set up for the historical benefits of Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, United States, etc. I believe that slavery raped Africa of its human resources and the colonization of Africa raped Africa of its material resources (these were crimes of great magnitude). Garvey understood that he had to teach the knowledge of self and connect the disconnected cultural dots that were severed doing the dehumanization process of Chattel Slavery. They gave black people the false image of Jesus ('God' but all wise people know that Jesus was a prophet and there is no where noted in the Bible where Yeshua Ben Yusef taught Christianity) in Leonardo Di Vinci rendition of Yeshua Ben Yusef (Jesus the son of Joseph) was lie and a historical distortion—Leonardo Di Vinci painted himself and not the Nubian version of Yeshua Ben Yusef (Jesus the son of Joseph). It was this image according to Dr. Naim Akbar that had the most devastating and everlasting affect on the thinking and minds of black people.

Garvey in order to redeem a people who were victims of this heinous crime their minds and thinking had to be reformed—African symbolism, literature, African Tradition, African religion, African culture, etc., this type of nationalism was more than necessary to inspire and empower a people who had lost everything. Garvey knew and understood that white supremacy had evolved based on a misconstrued interpretation of history, which was falsely rooted in the superiority of white people and the inferiority of African people. His mission was designed to decolonize the minds of black people; this plank was essential for people who had experienced a holocaust to make an attempt reclaim their own heritage, traditions, legacy, culture, etc., in order to foster a disperse nation towards personal empowerment and nationhood. His mission was to deconstruct the images that were given to us under a system of white supremacy. Garvey also understood that every sovereign and independent nation had a flag and he gave us the red, black and green: the Red (signifies the blood of the people), Black (represents African people) and the Green represented the land. I have a huge African liberation flag in my home.

Many of the Black bourgeoisie establishment leaders became increasingly jealous of Marcus Garvey's success in which eight of the top black leaders at that time sided with the United States Government plot to destroy Garvey and his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Dubois spearheaded this attack and he constantly made some disparaging remarks calling Garvey a buffoon, ugly monkey, clown, idiot, etc., these reactionary black leaders were jealous and envy of Garvey's organizational success and Dubois did whatever he could to sabotage Garvey. Garvey had a very large appeal to the grassroots and masses (attracting Blacks in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Africa in which he established UNIA chapters throughout the world and at the peak of his organization he had the largest black membership of any organization consisting of five million people. Many of these black bourgeoisie leaders were members of the Boule (Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity) founded in 1904 as oldest Black Greek Society in the United States (it was founded two years before Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated in 1906) modeled somewhat after Skull Bones founded on the campus of Yale University.

The Black Boule is perhaps the most powerful black secret society in America possessing much more political clout than the Black Prince Hall Masonic Order, but lets not be confused these two groups are intertwined on many different levels. Dubois who was one of founders of the Niagara Movement (1903) which became the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (1909), but these groups could not mobilize black people like Garvey and UNIA. Also, Dubois vacillated between Socialism/Communism, Nationalism, Pan Africanism, Integration, and scholarly intellectualism. Dubois believed the way to elevate the African American race was sending 10% of the best of our minds to liberal arts colleges and universities, he referred to this approach as the Talented Tenth Theory, but most of his critics viewed this approach as an Elitist movement and this would only create a petit bourgeoisie black class of reactionary uppity Negroes. Dr. E. Franklin Frazier in his book titled, "Black Bourgeoisie" wrote about this sector and Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), (defined the circumference and diameter of the thinking of this class in his book titled, "The Mis-Education of the Negro”). Garvey was more in line with Woodson's scholarly assessment who was the second black to obtain a Ph.D in history from Harvard University and wrote articles for Garvey's periodical titled, "The Negro World".

Dubois view of Pan Africanism lacked the militancy and radicalism of Garvey's view of Pan Africanism; it was as though that Dubois understood the necessity of a Pan African movement (at least in theory, but Garvey was implementing the practical tenets of the theory) and would argue that if Dubois truly understood the Pan African dynamic, why didn't he support Marcus Garvey's cause of a unified African world? (Yet, Dubois called his first Pan-African Congress 1900 and would called four more Pan-African Congress 1919, 1921, 1923 and 1927) . There were many reasons, but the one that sticks out was that Garvey was unlettered, he did not attend the Ivy League and prestigious universities of America and Europe. Garvey had no college degree from the white man's schools of higher learning, but his charisma and passion to see black people liberated and free was captivating and most established "Negro' leadership did not have the mass appeal that was associated with Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

Black intellectuals have always felt that they were card carrying white citizens and it was they who had a moral obligation to lead the so-called African American race to social, political and economic redemption and salvation. Many of these ego tripping "Negro' leaders saw themselves as being better trained and educated for the job of 'Negro' leadership than leaders like Henry Highland Garnet, Paul Cuffee, Bishop McNeil Turner, Marcus Garvey, Noble Drew Ali, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Clarence 13X (Father Allah) and the Nation of Gods and Earths, Yahweh Ben Yahweh and the Black Hebrew Israelites known as the Nation of Yahweh, Dr. Malachi Z. York-El and the Nuwaubians, etc. There would not have been a Noble Drew Ali and the Moorish Science Temple of America, Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, Kwame Ture (Stokley Carmichael) of the African People's Revolutionary Party who coined the phrase 'Black Power', Malcolm X and the Organization of Afro-American Unity, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seales and the Black Panther Party, Imari Abubakari Obadele and the Republic of New Africa, Louis Farrakhan and the revised Nation of Islam, Malik Zulu Shabazz and Dr. Khallid Abdul Muhammad and the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, Maulana Karenga and the United Slave organization—scholars such as John Henrik Clarke, Yosef Ben A.A. Jochannan, C.L.R. James, George Padmore and the Pan African Congress Movement, the Rastafarian movement, etc., are forever linked to the spirit of Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

All of them have Marcus Garvey's imprint written all over most of these above mentioned organizations and leaders that I have cited. Many of them have used the cultural, theoretical, and political model of Marcus Garvey to create neo-Pan Africanist and Nationalist based movements and ideologies, which can never escape the contribution Garvey made to lay the original programmatic blue print that we see rooted in the present day African Liberation Movements. I would go as far as to say, you cannot have an intelligent conversation about Black Nationalism and Pan Africanism without Marcus Garvey being at the forefront of the discussion. Most of the revolutionary organizations and leaders have grabbed a piece of Garvey's coattail along the way. I say long live Marcus Garvey and the UNIA. I also can remember back in the late 1980s and early 1990s there was an academic led movement referred to as Afrocentricty or the African Centered movement being led my Molefi Kete Asante and other black scholars, but as I studied and embraced the African Centered movement, it was easy to see that it too, was so in debt to the cultural and intellectual philosophy of the ideology of Marcus Garvey.

Dubois out lived Washington and Garvey and he later would admit that looking back on things that Garvey and Washington was right about so many things and he issued a historical apology to both of these prior leaders who preceded him in death. Dubois like Garvey was eventually conspired against by the U.S. Government and was charged with un-American activity and brought into a United States Court in 1951 because of his Communist views, but was later legally exonerated. He gave up his United States Citizenship after this trial and migrated to Ghana, Africa to live in the country of his Pan-Africanist friend, President Kwame Nkrumah where eventually died in 1963.

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-EI can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,
Fahim A. Knight-El