Wednesday, July 24, 2013

BLACK FREEMASONRY AND EGYPT: MYTH OR REALITY?

              BLACK FREEMASONRY AND EGYPT: MYTH OR REALITY?

By Fahim A. Knight-El

I received an email on July 20, 2013 from a Past Master named Brother Hassan Tremble-El of a Prince Hall Affiliated lodge in Chicago. I consider Brother Tremble-El, a comrade in our struggle for liberation. He and I started to interact as members of the Imperial Cushite Order, Ancient Grand Lodge of Khamet Yahoo Group forum headed by Brother Zachary Gremillion (a Prince Hall Mason) who authored a book titled, “African Origins of Freemasonry”. Brother Tremble-El forwarded me part of a discussion that had taking place on Facebook with a group called "Regular vs. Irregular-The Debate” in which this Brother named Thomas Brooks, a former Prince Hall Mason who demitted from the PHA Grand Lodge of New York to the Grand Lodge of New York (I am assuming AF&AM) about five or six years ago; he was expressing some strong opinions about Black Freemasonry and Egypt on the Facebook social network site. Brother Brooks, is an attorney by profession and was a former member of Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York. I meticulously took my time and gave Brother Tremble-El a response to the comments that were posted by Brother Brooks and addressed his attack against Prince Hall Masonry (and/or Black Masonry) and claims of having their ritual and philosophical roots in ancient Egypt (Kemet).

I admitted that part of his argument was very much valid (I quoted his remarks below) because most Black Masonic Lodges either directly or indirectly uses the rites, sacraments and rituals closely akin to what was established by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) in 1717. I do not think that any of the Black Grand Lodges in the United States of America have rewritten the rituals and rites to reflect Kemetic traditions and incorporated an African value system that was perhaps rooted in what was being taught in the Egyptian Mystery Schools. I do know that there are non-traditional orders that exist in the United States who are under the radar and do not receive the attention that 'mainstream' Freemasonry has received and quasi Masonic lodges such as certain branches of the Moors and Kemetic orders that have made attempts to incorporate more of an African traditionalist system of initiation. For example, I believe Ashra Kwesi has a Kemetic initiation process where he takes so-called African Americans to Kemet (Egypt) and walk them through the ancient rituals, which predates Western Masonic rituals. Yet, to understand and grasp this concept it will require a lot of prerequisite reading and research, if one is serious about moving away from Western Freemasonry and truly pursuing a Kemetic Symbol lettered Order. There are some requirement and mandated reading materials such as the works authored by: Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Yosef Ben A.A. Jochannan, Dr. Molefi Asante, Dr. Anthony Browder, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, Dr. Ra Un Nefer Amen, Chancellor Williams, John G. Jackson, etc. This will require a complete ideological overhaul from changing the words, tokens, signs, symbols, etc., to reflecting the language of the Metu-Neter and totally debunking the precepts of Western Freemasonry.

Dr. Malachi Z. York-El leader of the Nuwaubians who professed to have been a Freemason from the linage of John G. Jones Ancient Free and Accepted Masonry, but like everything else about this cult leader Dr. York’s Masonic claims have never been completely verifiable (he styled himself Grand Master of the Supreme Grand Lodge of Nuwaubian World Wide Masonic Lodges) .Yet, he was a very knowledgeable and a master teacher who understood, perhaps every aspect of Freemasonry (and could enter all the Houses and run circles around the best Masonic minds; no doubt Dr. York was a well learned man) and even redefined the ritual books and introduced the passwords in some of the original language; for this much I applaud Dr. York’s boldness to reshape Masonry in our image and likeness. However, most of Prince Hall Masonry did not recognize his Grand Lodge or subordinate lodges as being a regular body of Masons and even to the present they are considered clandestine. But in many ways Dr. York’s maneuvers were a direct challenge to move Black Freemasonry to a true independent and sovereign state and away from Eurocentric Masonry and in his own right challenged the overseer deemed the United Grand Lodge of England relative to their power and Masonic authority to determine who should be labeled ‘regular’ or ‘clandestine’. Dr. York on the other hand even challenged Prince Hall Masonry who for so long has fought for recognition from the United Grand Lodge of England.

We as Black Masons have this fear that to engage in meaningful historical and theoretical Speculative Masonic discussions is a compromised against the oaths and charges we vowed to uphold. The Masons know how it goes, I will not cut, carve, engrave, stain, write, mark, etc., on anything movable or immovable and it is this obligation that has shackled and handcuffed black Masons from delving into writing and researching about these great truths). This position often is used to justify our ignorance and negate the possibility of delving into the Masonic mysteries, symbolism and the esoteric wisdom that is associated with this in depth knowledge. However, I believe that we have a duty and responsibility to offer our perspective to the world. There is no doubt that Eurocentrism has systematically made every attempt in modern and ancient literature, as well as in humanity classes to falsely paint Kemet (Egypt) with being more associated with the racial and ethnic lineage of the Caucasian people. They have done this because of the high level of intellectualism and the scientific achievement of the Egyptians, depicting a people who were superior to any other civilization on earth.

This is where the zenith of wisdom sprung from and people from around the world came to share in the knowledge being taught by Nubian Sages and Gurus over 15,000 to 20,000 years ago. The magnificent of Kemet (Egypt) has led to many alien peoples and cultures laying claim to this great society. I think most Black Masons might even at times love to hear the notion that Masonry is of an antiquity and this antiquity is tied to the greatness of Egypt. This gives many of us an emotional high, but we are not studious enough to try this hypothesis under the rigor of what can be counted and measured based on conducting empirical research in order to determine the factual or non-factual basis of our belief and contentions in the idea that Black Freemasonry was in deed linked to Egypt (We as Prince Hall Masons figuratively speaking when it comes to this issue, we love to have our cake and eat it to). However, the Craft's stagnation is more rooted in laziness and an unwillingness to truly validate this most important history, which will require some thinking outside the box. White Masonic writers and scholars have done everything to try to disprove that Kemet (Egypt) was black and has stolen our glorious history as their own.

Thomas Brooks: “The “Black Nationalists” in these organizations never attempt to prove that whatever was being taught via the Egyptian Mystery Schools is essentially the same as what is now being taught or intended to be taught via the Masonic ritual. They do not argue that there were speculative Lodges that were governed by a “Worshipful Master,” or that there were two wardens, etc; and they otherwise concede that the English created “their own version,” of a system to dispense “knowledge,” except that the knowledge it contains was allegedly intended to be inherited by “blacks” from Egypt. They tend to regard this “knowledge” as proprietary to Egypt, rather than universal, and predating the Egyptians. Their delusion is that “Masonry,” in its capacity as the “successor in interest” to the Egyptian Mystery Schools, and is the single source of this “knowledge,” and that so long as “black Masons” are not mimicking the yet non-specified details of their Egyptian forbearers, that they “on the wrong path.”

“The expressed purpose of craft Masonry is to create a “universal brotherhood,” so without proof that the Egyptians had the same or an essentially similar purpose, it is gratuitous to even entertain the argument. No visitor to a Masonic Lodge, even after a year or more of visiting, will walk away with the knowledge of “Pythagoras,” or “Euclid.” One has to accept that, with seemingly no similarities between them, the whole argument regarding Masonry being something that was “stolen from Egypt,” might never have arisen, but for the segregation in the U.S. Lodges. It is propaganda calculated to encourage blacks to choose “black Lodges,” out of “sympathy” for the race. To be sure, there is nothing going on in the “black Lodges,” that is not also going on in the “white Lodges,” and “Masonry” itself does not occur in either, so long as they are racially segregated”.

“The Black Nationalists never attempt to explain why they do not establish an organization with exactly the purpose and the focus which they criticize as lacking in Masonry? They could encourage “black Masons” to join it, along with any others that shared in their purpose, but that it would be called something else. They could give it a tough “pledge process,” create all of the myths and allegories around African characters, and teach the “love of blackness” full time. Otherwise, they will continue to be a distraction within our Lodges, encouraging racism and fomenting dissent against universality. There might even be fewer irregular groups if we focused on the fact that recognition from “whites” is an essential factor, not a cause to mock. Masonry is for those who are ready to “get over” the racist foolishness of the past; it is not for those who want to keep that hate alive by fighting for one race or the other”.

“The funniest part in this entire “love of blackness” regime within Masonry is the sheer number of black organizations in every state that have PROVEN the “myth” of “black unity.” With 50+ black Grand Lodges in the City of New York alone, all practicing something that looks like the English (not an African) system, what is the use in criticizing those blacks who prefer the recognition of whites and a universal craft? When are all of these black groups going to start looking “black” instead of “English, since the claim is that the English “stole” Masonry in the first place? Every time another black person goes off to “create his own,” it looks just like “the white one,” except that the money can now go into his own pocket. They don’t join one of the 50+ black organizations that are already in existence, because “blackness” was never the point, it was never more than a “gimmick.”

Fahim A. Knight-El: I think some aspects of this argument are valid and other aspect of it is flawed. Let me first refute the notion relative to the inference of within Black Freemasonry there exist this overwhelmingly Black Nationalist sentiments who is leading and guiding and shaping the Speculative Masonic ideological and philosophical directions of Black Freemasonry (this inference is a far stretch to make and has little factual basis). One first must understand and accept that think Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA) Masonry in particular, and Black Freemasonry in general, is representative of the larger sample of black society, which is, there is a small percentage of black Masons who gravitates exclusively towards the concept of Black Nationalism and are socially conscious (the majority are still members of the 85% those of us who were systematically made bind, deaf and dumb to the knowledge of self—what Dr. Carter G. Woodson called the 'Mis-Education of the Negro').

The Afrocentric Movement in the early 1990s headed by Dr. Molefi Kete Asante impacted the social, political and economic outlook on the ideological formulation of black institutions in America and it even started to awaken black Masons to engage in more authentic research (for the first time Africa was being studied as a subject rather than as an object). The scholar Dr. Mary Lefkowitz in her outrageous book titled, “Not out of Africa” wrote her thesis as an attempt to derail the momentum that African centered movement was gathering amongst black laypersons and black intellectuals; she accused George G. James,  Ben-Jochannan, John Henrik Clarke, Molefi Asante and others of engaging in emotional and unscientific research that was riddled with shoddy documentation, etc. Lefkowitz also went after Cheikh Anta Diop as promoting historical myths in his book titled, “African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality” in which Diop maintained that Egypt was in deed culturally and ethnically linked to what Europeans refer to as sub-Sahara Africa and it was a linkage of historical synthesizing in which to separate Egypt from Africa, is to rob Africa of its continental greatness and its vast contributions to humanity. This has always been the Eurocentric objective and in one sense the African Centered movement stood as an intellectual resistance to centuries of white domination of ideas. Perhaps it was not since the 1960s and 1970s had we seen this new interest in African culture and African history, which were being led mainly by black academics who had embraced the Afrocentric ideology during this time period and this movement begin to invoke a renewed spirit amongst some black Masonic thinkers to revisited the greatest of Africa and even given new meaning and interpretation to their own Masonic claims of being linked to Egypt and Black Saudi Arabia. Black Masonry without Egypt is just like symbol without substance.

Lefkowitz in a chapter titled: ‘How Did The Myth of an Egyptian Mystery System Come to be Preserved in Freemasonry’; she stated, “We need to account for the long life of the strange and fundamentally Greek myths about a secret Egyptian ‘philosophy’ and special ‘Egyptian mysteries’. [Dr. George G.M.] James’s insistence on the importance of lodges in the Egyptian Mystery System provides the basic clue to the reason for the myth’s survival, despite all the real knowledge about Egyptian thought and cult that has been amassed by the scholars in the last few centuries. In modern Europe and the European diaspora, lodges are the designated meeting-places of Freemasons and groups inspired by them. In reality, the Freemasonic movement in its present form is relatively modern, and has its origin in the seventeenth century A.D. But it is an article of faith in the Freemasons’ own histories of their movement that there were Freemasons in earliest antiquity. Their rites and mythology preserve the essence of ‘Egyptian’ mysteries and ‘philosophy’ prevalent in late antiquity, but in a new and even characteristically European form than anything we have seen so far. A striking quality of Freemasonry is its ‘imaginative attachment to the religion and symbolism of the Egyptians’. The Egypt to which the Masons refer is of course an imaginary one.” (Reference: Mary Lefkowitz; “Not Out of Africa: How Afrocentrism Became An Excuse to Teach Myth as History”; p. 106).

The black Masonic symbolism, which has always been rooted in Egypt (Kemet) and in many ways has always surpassed the level and degree of study attained by its members; many even after being raised and traveling upward to the 33rd degree have little understanding of what the sequences of knowledge mean—they hear Egypt and even Muhammad and Islam being echoed throughout the ritual, but are unwilling and undisciplined to corroborate the knowledge and the ancient truths. And understanding that most members who have joined Freemasonry have accepted this ancient wisdom/notion as a mere emotional truth and without the benefit of delving into an empirical study or examination, which to prove the evidence or refute the evidence of black Freemasonry having its roots in Egypt and not to do this, will always open the door for external criticism.

They also have the historical evidence written in their Masonic history (ritual words and language) that validates and substantiate their historical claims to the ancient civilization of Egypt (Kemet), but by fact most black Freemasons are not Black Nationalist advocates and/or true Afrocentric thinkers, this alone automatically renders Brother Thomas argument flawed (he was given us way to much credit). I would be the first to openly admit that there exist in the body of black Freemasonry a non-serious approach to information which does allow critics such as Brother Thomas Brooks to expose and challenge the contradictions (it is the social aspect of the fraternity and the partying that has somewhat compromised the seriousness and the intent of black Freemasonry to be viewed as a research body and a beacon of light, as well as a true philanthropic organization in the United States of America). If we are going to be taken serious we have to seek a new direction and promote scholarship, research and promote ideas that will give us credibility amongst other Freemasonic bodies. How can we desire to be leaders of Black Freemasonry in America and we fail to promote universal enlightenment and not work to evolve humanity socially, politically, and economically? Our responsibility is much greater than a party and drinking alcohol. I am a knowledge seeker who was raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular on the square.

Yet, I think Brother Thomas had his own ulterior motives by trying to justify his defection/separation from Prince Hall Craft Masonry by denouncing Black Freemasonry for believing in what he deemed a historical hoax and this allows his demitting from Prince Hall Masonry Grand Lodge of New York to his new home the Grand Lodge of New York to at least be viewed as justifiable. I believe it is properly titled the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York. I think Brother Ezekiel Bey, Brother Ralph McNeal and Brother Emanuel Stanley may be in a better position to shed some light on this brother and reasons for leaving Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York. Moreover, the type of criticism that Brother Thomas is spewing, in my opinion has an objective of trying to present himself with less suspiciousness and the Masonic world, perhaps will only see it as him a taking a necessary step in his search for truth and better enlightenment.

Now, we know for a fact that the original inhabitants of the land called Egypt were people of Nubian descendant who were charcoal black, but the Eurocentrist have always desired to rewrite the ethic, genotype and racial make of the ancient Egyptians as being closely akin to a mix modern day people so-called resembling the ethnic and racial classifications of the Semites (the so-called Arabs and Jews are both Johnny-come-lately inhabitants of Egypt), but Europeans even try to geographically relocate Egypt in the Middle East or refer to them as Mediterranean people and other absurd arguments because within a society that has been built on white supremacy and has falsely viewed white skin as superior to black skin, it is unimaginable to them that the greatest civilization on earth was created by people of black African descent. To the outside world I might even be accused of fostering black supremacist ideas and some may dismiss my argument for the same reason that I have dismissed the Eurocentric worldview. But what I have on my side is living in a racist society and wherever he has gone on the planet he has created mischief and is a master of tricks and lies.

Many so-called African Americans such as Brother Thomas cannot phantom that the Greeks stole much of their philosophy and knowledge from Egypt (Kemet) and whether not the Egyptian Mystery Schools and teachings can be linked directly to modern Freemasonry is debatable, but there is little doubt that black Freemasonry is interdependent upon the mythical and mystical legacy that is tied directly to the ancient pyramid builders, the first Operative and Speculative Masons were in Egypt (Kemet). I cannot say definitely that ancient Kemet even practiced what we have come to know as modern Freemasonry, but there is historical evidence, which maintains that the Egyptians did have a systematic training and initiation for neophytes that evolved around the ancient mysteries. We also know that the term 'Speculative' is a broad philosophical term and one could definitely view the curriculum of the Egyptian Mystery Schools as being rooted in the 'Speculative Sciences'. Yet, I think our Masonic link to the Operative Masons of Egypt is, perhaps mere allegorical and more mythological, but that is not to contradict anything that I have previously said or written because many of the Masonic tales and folklore was not given to us for the accuracy of a historical fact, but to dramatize and inculcate certain intended moral lessons and principles.

However, I do agree that over, perhaps 95% of African American Freemasonry is only a rendition of what was established as the Speculative tenets that were given to us from the Masonic worldview of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), which was only established in 1717. I was in a debate with two of Dr. Malachi Z. York-El scholars named Kedar Griffo and Michael Berkley; and Brother Thomas argument somewhat is mirroring their contentions. I have not read the debate as they published it in their book titled, "The Debate Zoser Research Society vs Phylaxis Prince Hall", I think early Black Masonic pioneers such as Prince Hall was not fully versed in the historical realm of the knowledge of self and being a historically and culturally dehumanized people, it stripped us of the linkages of connecting with our ancient ancestors, which included Egypt.

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-EL can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

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

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

TRAYVON MARTIN: THEY ALWAYS MAKE THE VICTIM THE CRIMINAL AND THE CRIMINAL THE VICTIM

TRAYVON MARTIN: THEY ALWAYS MAKE THE VICTIM THE CRIMINAL AND THE CRIMINAL THE VICTIM

Fahim A. Knight-El

The Zimmerman verdict is now in and once again racism, bigotry and discrimination win again in the United States of America, which is one of the most racist nations on earth. The United States was founded and built upon racism and it was from this premise and perspective that evolved historically a collective mindset that continues to play itself out relative to present day American race relations; it was this variable alone that made me not surprised that a six white women jury would legally vindicate George Zimmerman by acquitting him and exonerating him of all criminal behavior (historically white men in the south have always had a licenses to kill black men). The jurors (no doubt the racial makeup of the jury reflected the concept of being judged by his peers) were definitely representative of Zimmerman (a Jew who is claiming to be more Latino than white and since the term Jew is neither a race or religion then Zimmerman could be a white Latino-Jew). There was no doubt in my mind that these Jurors had been socialized into American culture, which has always been rooted in white supremacy. Trayvon Martin, a young African American teenager was essentially murdered because of some pre-racial serotypes that George Zimmerman had about black people. Now, since the not guilty verdict has been rendered they want us to believe that this case was never about race and want us to believe that the merit of the case rested upon Zimmerman having the right to self-defense, which was supported by the stand your ground laws that exist in the city of Sanford, Florida and the state of Florida.

This contention still places this country in denial and the real conversation of race still will not be taking place in 2013 and once the emotions dies down and media hype subsides people will crawl back into their comfort zones. Minister Malcolm X once stated these folk have the ability to make the criminal the victim and the victim the criminal—there is no doubt in my mind George Zimmerman created many unlawful acts on the day that he decided to follow Trayvon Martin and the greatest of them all was that he committed an unjustified murder against an unarmed teenager. I do not agree with much that the Civil Rights Hustlers like Reverend Al Sharpton, president of National Action Network and President Benjamin Jealous of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Martin Luther King, lll, put forth, but if it was not for Sharpton using his bully pulpit and bringing the Trayvon Martin incident to national attention; Seminole County, Florida, perhaps would not have charged Zimmerman with committing a crime and there would not have been a formal legal criminal proceeding and Trayvon Martin's death would have truly been in vain. Reverend Sharpton used his Talking Head platform on MSNBC to educate and mobilized black people and all people of goodwill in general, about what was at stake, if we allowed Zimmerman to walk away from this incident without it being heard in a court of law (it was Sharpton's work that got Zimmerman charged and arraigned.)

I as a critic of Reverend Sharpton had to find some middle ground to stand with Sharpton on the Trayvon Martin issue because this incident was beyond personality, but it was about the pursuit of justice. I have three sons of my own whom I love dearly and my gut intuition told me that a gross injustice had taking place with the murder of this young man and we needed to bring national attention to this travesty. I do not know whether or not Sharpton himself had ulterior motives for pursing this case, but I do agree that it was necessary to bring this case to the national forefront and at least attempt to expose the inconsistencies that existed from the inception of the incident (it was a racially motivated murder that could not be overlooked). So I applaud Sharpton for using his huge stage to garnished national support for Trayvon Martin and his family.

I have witness to many young African Americans killed at the hands of white police officers (although Zimmerman was not a sworn police officer he was a neighborhood watchman and an overzealous security guard who in my opinion had legally over stepped his bounds) in which again in my opinion his actions had placed him in violation of the law. In recent times, if it were not for the public being armed with smartphones in particular, cameras and having immediate access to social media and capturing some of these police brutality incidents in a real time manner; and moreover, revealing a small percentage of these type criminal misconduct that have been committed by law enforcement officers against sometimes innocent citizens in which most of these type incidents would continuously be swept under the rug, as business as usual. It was unfortunate for the Martin family that there was no footage of the incident but in the deep recess of Zimmerman's mind only he knows what truly happened. In America black life has no value and this makes it easier for us to be gunned down in the streets by law enforcement and its deemed justifiable homicide.

'No Justice, No Peace' is an empty slogan—words with no meaningful consequences for those who commit these type atrocities against innocent human life. H. Rap Brown known today as Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin who once headed the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and coined the famous slogan “burn baby burn”; Robert Williams who was from Monroe, North Carolina and was a fierce freedom fighter for black justice, a former head of the local NAACP chapter in Monroe in the late 1950s who preached self-defense founded an organization called Black Armed Guards (some Christian Civil Rights workers and leaders outright rejected Dr. Kings’ call for civil disobedience and integration and were proponents of direct confrontation, Williams was one of them). Williams' activist work and definitely his book titled: "Negroes with Guns" which would later influence Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founders of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The United States Government and J. Edgar Hoover trumped up false charges against the black revolutionary Robert Williams and he was eventually exiled to Cuba in 1961. Just like all the big name Civil Rights and Black Nationalist leaders Williams to was a victim of Cointelpro. I do think these leaders of the 1960s and 1970s would have a very different interpretation of the slogan "No Justice, No Peace". Stokley Carmichael (Kwame Ture) also former chairman of SNNC and honorary member of the Black Panther Party would be screaming from the top of his voice after the Zimmerman's verdict "Black Power" and his most famous slogan would be that we must be a part of an organization!!!!!!!!!!!! 

My recent work is tied to human rights issues and as we grow in our understanding, we will come to the ultimate realization that we in the United States of America are in a fight against a double head monster, which is race and class and both of them represents an antagonistic contradiction. Race and class undergirds the very foundation of America's jurisprudence system (surely justice is not blind). The American historian Charles A. Beard in his monumental work titled, "An Economic Interpretation of the United States Constitution" who was economic determinist maintained that the constitution was framed to benefit an elitist class of white men in particular property owners in general (the U.S. Constitution essentially was a capitalist inspired document). Dr. Cornel West wrote a timely book titled, "Race Matters" and our revolutionary legal scholar, the late Derrick Bell authored a book titled, "Faces At The Bottom Of The Well: The Permanence of Racism" in deed our scholars have spoken clearly. These works comes to the forefront of my mind as I reflect on the Zimmerman case.

I do think that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder should file federal criminal charges against Zimmerman in violation of Trayvon Martin's civil rights in which the legal basis would be to go back to the various racist language Zimmerman used in the recordings to the 911 dispatcher showing his motivation to pursue Martin was in fact driven by racial assumptions and serotypes, which should allow the hate crime statues to be introduced in a federal law suit. Attorney General Holder to his credit has launched a federal investigation into this matter; however, the cause of Martin’s death is a no brainer, he was pursued and killed because essentially he looked different than George Zimmerman whom Zimmerman characterized as a thug and who was up to no good. Zimmerman even after this verdict may continue to claim self-defense, but his use of racial inciting language is enough evidence to prove that he just wasn't profiling Martin, but he was actually racially profiling Trayvon Martin, which eventually led to this young man losing his life. 

But lest not get it twisted; I am equally appalled at the epidemic rate of black-on-black homicides that takes place in the black community, it is somewhat hypocritical for African Americans to always have these big public outcries when a white officer or white person kills a black person, but we do not mass mobilize and demonstrate in the streets and across America when blacks kill blacks (comments here still does not give white law enforcement a licenses to kill innocent black men). We have somewhat become sensitize to the black violence that exist in our community and it pains me to see all these ‘Negro’ Churches on every corner and they do nothing towards working to curbing the violence that exist in the black community. Surely, they are not followers of Jesus, the Christ because Jesus preached and worked within the theological context of a social gospel. These new prosperity ideological teaching Negro ministers who are overly consumed with building these mega churches have a moral responsibility to move beyond the infatuation with money (their God has become money and the things of this world). These daman ‘Negroes’ are preaching about money and our youth are being killed in the streets of America—many of them find it safe and easy to hide behind the pictured stained church windows and in the comfort of a modernized sanctuary than address this modern Pharaoh (Obama and his administration is indicative and symbolic of a modern type Pharaoh led government).

I can remember in the early 1990s Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam did a series of inner city speeches titled, "Stop the Killing" and he was effecting change in the black community which led to the Million Man March, I personally attended a number of those speeches and found his message to be timely and compelling but we need Farrakhan to go back on tour and speak truth to power. He is one of the few black leaders who understand and not afraid to teach on separation that is the only solution to the so-called American ‘Negro’ problem we have tried integration and it has failed dismally. In perhaps the last week of August 2013 thousands of so-called American ‘Negroes’ will be gathering in Washington, DC to commemorate the 50th Year Anniversary March on Washington that was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963. And viewing the Zimmerman’s verdict it is evident that hasn’t much changed in America; I am tired of these mass marches, we must truly decide to take a new course of action. We should not be looking for white folk to change our predicament and we should use the Trayvon Martin incident as a tool of empowerment in order to have a serious conversation of how do we turn around the political, economic and social plight of black people relative to the aftermath of this incident.

Black leaders and Black intellectuals have to come out of these safe sanctuaries of Ivory Towers and reach out to these young black youth and provide better responsible leadership. This should be proof positive that in this so-called post-racial era America has continuously become more reactionary (the U.S. Supreme Court recently deconstructed part of the of the 1965 Voting Rights Act). Many so-called American ‘Negroes’ thought that by having a black president this represented a sign of social progress and they thought they had crossed the threshold of a true pluralistic society where as men as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so eloquently stated would be judged by the content of character and no by the color of their skin. Since President Barack Obama's election America has become more increasingly divisive and even he has not been able to escape the venom of racism and American style hatred as commander-in-chief. Just reason with me, I did not know that it was against the law to walk and be present on the grounds and property of an apartment complex in which your father leases a unit. Trayvon Martin was not trespassing and essentially was not engaged in any criminal conduct or unlawful behavior; just walking back from the store with an Arizona ice tea drink and some skittles that he had purchased from the store. I am a black man and I personally know how black men are scrutinized by white law enforcement officers and how we are treated differently by the arresting officer and even as we enter the courts and the criminal justice system—there still exist racial biases and justice is determined differently for African Americans. Bruce Wright documented this in book titled, “Black Robes, White Justice”. I remember right here in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina some years ago, the former Governor of Virginia, Douglas Wilder was harassed and thrown to the ground by white security personnel at RDU Airport while he is yelling that he was the former Governor—for the record this brother was very light skinned complexion (he looked Caucasian) and is perhaps less than one generation removed from a white ancestral line. But this did not matter, he was viewed and treated no different than any other black man in America.

It appears that sensitivity and diversity training pertaining to law enforcement officers is still not enough to sensitize some of these white law enforcement agencies into understanding the culture, and race/ethnic backgrounds of non-Caucasians who might be confronted with violating the law. Moreover, this has made us just as equally suspicious of white authority figures because of the lack of trust that exist between the two races and cultures and often there is a feeling that law enforcement does not have our best interest at stake—these historical and cultural differences creates tension and oftentimes this leads to African Americans having a higher percentage of arrest records and eventually higher percentages of convictions. We are always viewed as a suspect first. For example, just because Trayvon Martin had a hoddie on his head in which in the back recesses of Zimmerman’s sub-conscious mind, it was steeped in racial profiling he had already determined that this young man was a criminal and was up to no good (although, initially and afterwards he had no tangible evidence or proof that Martin had violated or broken any laws and/or was in commission of a criminal offense). Martin had not done anything that constituted criminal behavior or criminal misconduct. Zimmerman racial predisposition against Martin was reflective of the attitudes of the dominate culture being viewed through the lens of a member of the white society as they have always viewed black men presently and historically—from Zimmerman’s perspective here was a young black man let me assume he is up to no good. (Raheem DeVaughn TRIGGER MAN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSIzE9roMWM  YouTube Clip).

Zimmerman was not a sworn officer and had no formal training of how to handle these type situations. Thus, when he called into the 911 dispatcher, he was instructed to stay in his car and not pursue (why didn’t he just follow those instructions?). Zimmerman was recorded of making all types of racist expletives by the 911 operator, but the talking heads desire for us to believe that the murder of this unarmed teenager was not about race. If Martin was a white teenager strolling through the same said community; perhaps he would not have been racially profiled, harassed and ultimately killed. I think any reasonable person would have reacted the very same way Martin responded to a stranger following him for no apparent reason other than Zimmerman believing that he did not belong in that community. Lets say Martin was the aggressor and initiated the conflict/fight with Zimmerman, but I am quite sure this young man was scared and had reason to believe that Zimmerman himself could have been a criminal and if it was me I too would have beat the hell out this white man following me. It was Trayvon Martin who was in a battle of life and death—self-defense should have been applied to Martin and not Zimmerman. But also the Sanford, Florida District Attorney’s office and prosecutor’s office did a very poor job laying out their case against Zimmerman and by the judge prohibiting the use of the term “racial profiling” it sucked the air out of the prosecutor’s case (if Zimmerman wasn’t a white supremacist his attitudes resemble their motives of operandi). Zimmerman at the least should have been convicted of man slaughter. I reject the notion and term of black’s desiring to riot. No, we use the term black rebellion and not rioting because that is the language of the capitalist State. No Justice, No Peace. I call for Freedom, Justice and Equality.

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in DurhamNC; 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-EL can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,

Fahim A. Knight-El

Monday, July 8, 2013

AMERICANS STILL DID NOT GET THE MEMO

                          AMERICANS STILL DID NOT GET THE MEMO

By Fahim A. Knight-El

Americans still did not get the memo, which read that our United States Government has a history of lying, putting forth propaganda and using disinformation, that has been orchestrated and designed to mislead the American people, while simanteously insulating the ruling class by allowing them to continue stealing more of the world's wealth and then relying on the military apparatus (the Military-Industrial Complex) for those who resist and dissent this is what led to the implementation and establishment of Homeland Security—which represents one of the last vestiges of repression disguised as being on the frontline of protecting our national security. The American people have not taking notice; that no time in American history has the citizens of the United States have had their movement more stricken by the government in particular, in times of civility and peace, scrutinized in public and private places, cameras monitoring our legal activity, our finances is also being closely monitored, all forms of domestic and international travel is being monitored and our civil liberties have been compromised. The new laws have been passed and implemented to insure that the State has the legal right to exercise all the authority, it needs to keep the masses under control. They have in their own way covertly re-written the United States Constitution and has rendered the masses defenseless and powerless; thus, furthering the Police State initiatives and in which the U.S. Government now has everything in place to deal with potential future internal social rebellions (external terrorism is a distance second to this objective).

For example, they want us to believe that the recent enacted anti-terrorism laws and the government's legal and military maneuvers are about protecting the American people against terrorism (they are masters of tricks and lies). The ignorant will applaud these measures until the black boot U.S. Gestapo troops kick his/her door down and treat them with moral and ethical indignity, but we would have to blame no one but ourselves because the handwriting has clearly been on the wall since 9-11 and before. President Obama passed one of the most reactionary and fascist pieces of legislation ever to be enacted into law, perhaps next to the U.S. Patriot Act, which was the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This took the concept of Big Brother Watching You to the next level. The American people are in deep trouble and it is sad to say, many of us do not know that we are in trouble. It will eventually be the government versus the American people and this is why President Obama and the Democrats are pushing for more comprehensive gun control measures because they must disarm American citizens and render them defenseless.

They will use incidents like what took place in Newtown, Connecticut where a massive tragedy took place, which involved the senseless murder of innocent children. But the government will play to the emotions of the American people and in the larger debate, which to disarm its citizens these deaths becomes politically expendable and the hypocritical politician’s uses moments even like this to further their own agendas.

Many of the politicians on the left and right are card carrying members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and are staunch Second Amendment Right  advocates—these patriots and good ole boys are not going to give up their guns to the government without a fight. It became easy for them to make Newtown, the new poster child of the effects of gun violence in our community and yet for years the U.S. Government has overlooked the massive gun violence in cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Memphis, Houston, Atlanta, Richmond, Philadelphia, Newark, Compton, New Orleans, East Saint Louis, Washington, DC, etc., just ask yourself why. I will tell you why, because they do not care about poor African Americans and Latinos spilling their blood in the streets of America (they in private applaud this type of genocide because it adds to the depopulation agenda). However, the images of little white children being killed would play up well as a political marketing ploy relative to sensitizing the American citizens to consider given up their guns in the name of preventing senseless gun violence deaths (the politicians are always looking at the potential to shape and mold public policy and in this case working to disarm the American people is the ultimate objective). But trust me, it’s not about controlling or preventing gun violence, it is more about quietly rescinding the Second Amendment Right to the United States Constitution and even challenging the Bill of Rights. I do not see Obama and other politicians crying and shedding tears over the deaths caused by gun violence that takes place every day in these murder capitols of the United States of America that I have stated above.

The real terrorist live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue called the White House and his name is President Barack Hussein Obama—now he looks more like a terrorist to me than the media images given to the American people depicting what a terrorist is suppose to look like (surely they are not supposed to look Russian and white). This puppet has been the face of terror since his selection to the office of U.S. president in 2008; I hope that you all did not think that Barack Obama won a two term U.S. presidential election because of the American electoral process—one man, one vote; in all reality, our vote isn't worth a damn thing, the entire process, which includes the concept of democracy is a sham. He is only acting as commander-in-chief at the pleasure of the Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg and the Trilateral Commission these are the organizations and agencies that set the American agenda and the global agenda (voting is only a political exercise for the masses designed to keep us pacified and thinking that we live under a democracy and the Invisible Elitist has their foot square up in our asses).

President Obama was responsible for the assassination of Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi and the political destabilization of the nation of Libya and derailing all the progressive work the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was doing; for example, in 1953 while drilling for oil, the Libyans discovered a fresh water sea beneath the desert in which President Qaddafi would later invest over 25 billion dollars and constructed a water aqueduct system laying pipes beneath the dry desert of Libya, which to extract fresh drinking water for his people (and would be used for irrigation and farming—Libya would have the ability to feed itself) and bring life to one of the driest nations on earth—it was called the Great Man Made River Authority. It was designed to provide 6, 500, 000 cubic meters of fresh water daily this project was monumental which used cutting edge technology to bring life to the desert. They assassinated Colonel Muammar Qaddafi (he had been on the U.S. Government hit list for over 40 years), which the CIA and the United States Government charged him and other radical and militant leaders with engaging in State supported terrorism; often it is these type false accusations that justifies the destabilization of legitimate foreign governments and in this present international political climate this will continue to lead to the assassination of Heads of States who disagrees with the United States and her European allies.

President Obama has been used by the Zionist in Israel in particular, acting as the great equalizer in this volatile region—the Zionist State of Israel is well equipped to defend itself because it has one of the most sophisticated fighting machines to be found any place on the planet; however, President Obama is mandated to carry out the American agenda and of equal importance he must also put forth the Israeli agenda in the region, which led to President Hosni Mubarak being ousted out of power in Egypt. Now, I do not shed a tear for a traitor like Mubarak, he was a U.S. and Israel lapdog and puppet an international whore and prostitute who consistently betrayed the interest of his people in order to receive large amounts of U.S. Foreign aid. The CIA provided Mubarak with a petit- bourgeoisie life style, he in turn allowed western influence to dominate this Muslim society and once he no longer could effectively serve their interest, the, CIA and Mossad created the political atmosphere which led to him being toppled. The Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt will eventfully suffer the same fate, if they gain power and political control, but betray the political, social and economic aspirations of the Egyptian people. Obama destabilized Tunisia and is deep in Morocco and along with the French and other western powers have re-colonized Mali—North Africa is now under the complete dictates of the United States of America and her capitalist Western Allies.

Perhaps many still do not know nor understand that it’s Africa that lays the future key to whether or not the G-8 and G-20 Nations remain powerful as political and economic forces as we move deeper into the 21st Century. Their survival is depended upon the continued exploitation of natural resources and mineral rights that exist on the continent of Africa and therefore, the CIA has setup puppet and reactionary regimes throughout Africa and here lies the wealthiest continent in the world and Africans die of thirst and hunger and are poor on their own land—the bloodsuckers of the poor should be charged with crimes against humanity in which the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are criminals of the worst kind. Europeans in particular, even prior to the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) where Africa was divided and partitioned, this and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was one of the most devastating blows relative to dismantling centuries of African Glory, moreover, for those who would like to investigate this contention further just go back read glorious history of African civilizations such as Mali, Ghana, and Songhay.  

I think President Obama and these foreign policy blunders are impeachable offenses. The United States Congress no longer acts as the balancing act of the Executive Branch of government (the separation of powers no longer exist in our so-called democracy) and this has placed the American people in a danger zone in particular, in the area of foreign policy and the declaring of war. Some of us are so duped and foolish we receive and accept everything that the corporate media says at face value and question nothing; many Americans even seemed shocked after reading and hearing the former National Security Agency and ex-CIA contractor Edward Snowden reveal some disturbing things about the government; he should be classified as a legitimate whistleblower, as opposed to looking at potentially being extradited and prosecuted by the U.S. Government—this man should be viewed as a hero and the American people should not allow the Obama administration to unjustly prosecute this man for revealing the truth. I applaud him for snitching out how the NSA was spying on the American people, why are they spying on the American people and how does this infringe upon our constitutional rights as citizens of the United States of America? I am quite sure Snowden took an oath similar to this: “ I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God”. It appears based on the government oath he was only doing his job.  

This hypocritical government now desires to charge Snowden with treason and espionage; the State Department and President Barack Obama has revoked his United States Passport. I view Snowden action as being a good patriot who revealed anti-American and illegal activity taking place inside the government who was using unauthorized surveillance on phone and internet communication, which amounted to the government spying on ordinary citizens. Many of us in the Black Nationalist and the Black Power movement has been very familiar with these tactics since the early 1960s in which former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover initiated Cointelpro where as he spied on leaders and organizations such as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, he spied on Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam and sent agent provocateurs to disrupt and cause internal confusion inside the Nation of Islam; Hoover was behind the separation of Minister Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik Shabazz) from his teacher the Honorable Elijah Muhammad; Hoover even spied and wiretapped the phones of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Yes, we are familiar with the dirty tricks of the U.S. Government and we know that Snowden is the latest victim.

Yet, in 2013,  it still  surprises me that we often naively thinks the government is serving the personal and national security interest of the American populous in particular, when the media reports indicate that that government has apprehended and/or prosecuting one deemed to be a so-called homegrown Enemy Combatants. These titles and labels are code language for America's war against Islam and in particular those so-called involved in alleged domestic terrorism—this is a mere smokescreen; a number of these  alleged U.S. soil terrorist plots have been initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in which Arab and/or Middle Eastern pasties have been used in order to give credibility to the threat by playing to the images and the psychological profiles that have been created in our subconscious and conscious minds by the media, which reinforces our fears that are rooted in the false idea that Islamic extremist wants to destroy the United States of America. These alleged terrorist will be tried as part of kangaroo legal proceedings and afterwards, it does not make us any more safer, it only insures that the government is using effective propaganda to keep the sheepel docile and under control and at a blink of an eye President Obama will declare Martial Law against the American people and outright use the U.S. Military to kill and slaughter American citizens in the streets. Obama is just a wolf in sheep clothing and his so-called liberal posture is just a political front, but he is no different than was George W. Bush.

Those who do not know the United States Government has been recruiting Eastern Europeans such as the Russians and also Afrikaaners (white Nazi type South Africans) who are being trained in secret training camps in various southern and southwest U.S. cities for these future potential domestic missions. They were systematically recruited because of being viewed as having the least patriotism, loyalty and sentiments towards the American people (these Eastern Europeans mercenaries are cold blooded killers and they definitely have no love of black people or American Caucasian people). President Barack Obama and his Handlers were so adamant about imposing new gun control measures that the government has actually exacerbated gun violence by introducing more guns in the streets of America–President Obama is actually fighting two wars at home and abroad. This overzealous puppet now desire to use U.S. tax dollars to arm the Syrian opposition (listening and taking advice from a warmonger like Senator John McCain)—at one point in American history the president had to inform congress before declaring war on a foreign nation, but now we have given the office of president emperor and dictator type authority. The people have no voice and our so-called leadership has been co-opted by political lobby groups and by powerful external forces. The 535 members who belong to the U.S. Congress have been bought and paid for by a small powerful minority.       

The corporate media would want you believe that the United States won the Iraq War; no doubt hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens lost their lives and a once stable and productive government under Saddam Hussein is now fragmented and divided with little real infrastructure; yet the United States military pulled out and viewing the present day Iraq; ask yourself, what did the United States achieve militarily and/or politically in a nation that has always been steeped in religious sectarianism? Since U.S. occupation, I do not think the Shias or the Sunnis recognized the U.S. authority in determining and overseeing Iraq sovereignty and this reality alone constituted a failure and created a Middle East Foreign Policy mess. 

I think most American citizens abhor what is deemed acts of violence against innocent people and sympathize with those who are victims of terrorism and terrorist acts. I share their pain and all of those who were killed and injured have my condolences and my sympathy goes out to the those families who have lost loves ones and also my sympathy goes out to those who were physically injured and to the many who were psychologically effected by what took place on Patriot Day in Boston, Massachusetts. Yet as painful as this tragedy was, but it is still difficult for me to accept the United States Government version of the Boston so-called terrorist plot because of the Government’s history of lies and deception. What have we learned from 9/11? How could the U.S. Government objectively investigate themselves?

These are meant to be mere rhetorical questions, but it depends on how one views and receive these questions would be the ultimate indication of whether or not the American people have made any progress in the area of critical thinking since 9/11. We know the 9/11 Commission was a joke and that the bombing of the World Trade Center (the financial capitol of the world) was an inside job that involved many players. They have many precedents of how to dupe the American people and globe, but none has played out like the 9/11 incident, they have been implying for over 10 years now, that they are engaged in a war on terrorism and the American people are so dumbfound and gullible they fail see and understand that the war on terror is actually also a war against the American people.  So the government has an established template for how to carry out acts of domestic terrorism and how it should be conveyed to the public. Lets be clear Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were probably patsies working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 

Talking Head John King got himself in a bit of trouble by suggesting that the two suspects had dark skin, it implied that only dark skinned people of the planet has a problem with United States imperialism and perhaps only one of them could have carried out this type of unprovoked terrorism against innocent people. Many African Americans were outraged at CNN news reporter John King's statement in which I do understand their outcry because they historically and even presently are consistent victims of American style racism. However, his statement did not anger me because over 90% of the planet is people of color and the United States and its European allies have waged wars against an international religious demographic that consist of over two billion Muslims. The Drone Strikes have infuriated America's enemies and the backlash and sentiments will negatively play itself out in European societies and in the United States, but lets be clear, I am in no way suggesting that there is a monolithic political or religious agreed agenda amongst Muslims and Islam relative to the concept of Jihad (Holy War) or on the interpretation of the Qur'an. America and its allies mainly under the Bush and Obama's administration has neutralized these so-called 'rogue nations', which President George W. Bush labeled the "Axis of Evil". Even if we hand delivered the “Memo” to the American people and read it to them; many still would not have heard because the government has done a masterful job of dumbing down its citizens.

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-EL can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,

Fahim A. Knight-El