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From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Jun 4, 2007 7:18 PM
Subject: [TheBlackList] Why aren't we doing this?
To: Theblacklist <[log in to unmask]>

 http://www.villagehealthproject.org/index.html summarizes one of many
international groups who are helping Africans. Why aren't we doing the same;
or are we? Maybe it's just that the Black international aid organizations
are not publicizing themselves. I know there are a lot of brothers and
sisters out there who have some skills related to alternative energy, waste
disposal, water collection and purification, home construction, etc; all
which are the core skill sets of nation-building. But where are our Black
technical experts, especially those who have a PanAfrican ideology, how do
we contact them?


I could easily (and have) get the information I'm looking for from White
organizations. But at some point in time, the PanAfrican community have to
acquire these skills. I posed this question to a sister and she responded,
"What difference does it make if the person is not Black? You need to stop
looking at things in Black and White terms, and see people as people" I told
her that it is not a matter of looking at things in Black and White terms,
but instead is a matter of building confidence and pride in our abilities.
If our youth always see others doing for us, they will not have the
confidence or the motivation that they can do it too, and they will continue
to believe that the White man's ice is colder than ours. The danger of not
having a Black consciousness is that it continues to make us dependent (a
slave mentality), puts our survival as a group at risk, cause people to look
at us as niggers ( *http://tinyurl.com/2dhq8z* <http://tinyurl.com/2dhq8z>*,
**http://tinyurl.com/2kbqta* <http://tinyurl.com/2kbqta>* ). *Remeber
Katrina?


It's so convenient to use being American or race-neutral to justify being
unconcerned. I suspect this sister is victim of self hatred, which is always
reinforced by how America deal with us. For example, if we try to do
anything for ourselves, we are accused of being divisive and even racist
(this reinforces the pyschological programming of do nothing for fear of
being physically abused). In fact this programming is so entrenched in us
that all they have to do is to raise the noise level and all the apologist
talking heads come out to point their fingers at us. But it is totally
acceptable to America if we do nothing and squander in our ignorance.
Garvey talked about this at length, when he said that Whites will see us to
go hell before he took food from his plate to give to a pack of lazy
negroes. Finally, I told her that the Chinese, who are all over African,
refer to Africans as "The Sick Man of the World" since we are dependent on
others to do for us what we should do for ourselves.


Indeed, it's not about Black and White, it's about knowing one can do it for
self.


Olushola

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