Descendent of Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, to Keynote ASCAC: The Struggle to Annual African History and Diversity Conference at McKinley High Awaken the African Mind Continues By Bro. Modell Gault On February 18-19, 2011 McKinley High School will hold its Ninth Annual African and African-American History and Diversity Conference. The theme of our conference, which is sponsored by the McKinley High School Student Council, the AfricanAmerican Pioneers in Education, The National Consortium for The Preservation and Teaching of African and AfricanAmerican History is: “WHERE HAVE ALL THE BROTHERS GONE….WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?” The conference opens on Friday, February 18, 2011, at 6 p.m. with a community reception and the opening of exhibits. The Keynote Address will be delivered Friday evening By Kennneth B. Morris Jr., the Founder and President of the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation. On Saturday, February 19, 2011, conference workshops begin at 8:15 a.m. There are three morning sessions with lunch served afterwards. Kenneth B. Morris, Jr. is descended from two of the most important names in American history: he is the greatgreat-great grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington. His life until the year 2007 could be described as distinguished yet decisively disengaged from his lineage until Providence called. Ken’s extraordinary lineage flows through the maternal side of his family by way of the union of his grandmother, Nettie Hancock Washington (granddaughter of Booker T. Washington), and his grandfather, Dr. Frederick Douglass III (great grandson of Frederick Douglass). He is now the President of the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation (FDFF), a public charity that endeavors to create a modern Abolitionist Movement in schools all over the country through the vehicle of Service-LearningExperts in the field of human trafficking and modern-day slavery agree that building awareness is the first step to ending slavery in our time. FDFF operates on the belief that students can best communicate the message of abolition via the Internet and their extraordinary online social networks.Some of the work done by Ken and the foundation since 2007 include: reaching approximately 50,000 middle and high school students through the Frederick Douglass Dialogues Tour; appearing on television, radio and in newspaper articles (including CNN, Newsweek Video, PBS, the Tavis Smiley Show and the Washington Post), creating the Abolition Day Project allowing students to bring awareness of human trafficking to millions of people all over the United States and initiating HR 929, the House Resolution to recognize Abolition Day internationally as well as the work of Frederick Douglass and FDFF toward ending slavery. Ken will be featured in a 2011 National Geographic documentary commemorating the 150 year anniversary of the Civil War. The objectives of the conference are: to celebrate the history of the people of the United States of America, including but not limited to Africans and African-Americans; to highlight the contributions of unsung heroes and heroines who have made diverse contributions to American History and to map how the history of African-Americans has been reported. The conference was established to give young people building blocks and words of hope and faith to guide their futures. Our community has seen the loss of many African American males. Many have died as a result of violence in the community; gone to jail as result of being convicted of committing act(s) of violence and/or selling drugs in the community; are homeless and/or unemployed and many are high school drop outs. We hope that the conversations and message from the conference will be able to engage the community in finding ways to change this destructive course so that everyone understands that our young men are not hopeless and/or helpless!
Raising The Djed: Reuniting with True Self By Seku Ba Jehudi Ameni Part I
Hotep! Sisters and Brothers, I come to you in the spirit of enlightenment, love, peace and stability. The subject matter of this article is re-connecting with your True Self and essence, known at different times as Sekhem, Chi, Life Force, Tao, Kundalini, Prana and Uqobo. We often use axioms or quote sayings from the past which true meanings have become hidden in modern times. For example: “It takes a whole village to raise a child” or “Know Thyself”. It obvious that we have lost touch with ancient wisdom and the wisdom traditions of the past as evidenced by all the corruption, war, suffering and chaos of our modern times. If we look at the current unrest in Egypt and the Arab world, Europe, South America, Africa, Indonesia and all over the globe; we see the consciousnessof the common people is awakening. When this occurs people take action t comeinto a greater understanding of Truth, Justice and Righteousness in order to overcome the present suffering and dis-ease of the times. This is a normal process in nature which attempts to correct and balance the corruption of the present world system by renewing our commitment to Universal Laws of Life or Maat. Every Millennium change (approx. 1,000 yrs) and Era change (approx. 26,000) all energy must be returned to equilibrium and balance. During this period all negative impacts must be healed in order to maintain the proper balance and functions of the world in which we live. We must pay attention to the ever increasing natural disasters occurring around the world such as: severe storms, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions, and global warming. These activities are the sign that the earth is communicating to us that the world is out off balance. As a native american elder echoed “the earth is talking but we are not listening.” The forces of chaos and corruption must be overcome and brought under control by the higher self/true self during this cycle of time. I should also note that the lotus is the symbol for the number 1,000 which relates to the millennium and this has great significance to the Memphite Theology which I will elaborate more on in this article. Egypt was often referred to as The Light of The World, so I am not surprised by the present course of events working to re-shape that nation and to depart from the corrupt ways of its present regime. The present energy and desire for change happening in Egypt will reverberate throughout the entire world as Maat is moving and shaping the world once again. We have recently moved into a new Era and Millennium cycle which will reshape the world as we know it now. That very same energy cycle is what drives me to share the secret and truth about our True essence and oneness! Egypt also known as ancient Kemet sought to spread its light throughout the entire world during ancient times. One of the most popularly received Theologies from ancient Kemet was the Memphite Theology. The Memphite Theology included: initiation into the priesthood (priests and priestess), the Trinity of Ptah-Sekhmet- Nefertem (Father God, Mother God and (offspring) Son as God), breathing and posture exercises, hekau (words of power), and proper FEBRUARY 9, 2011
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ur struggle to reawaken the African minds is a very illusive and protracted war. Most Africans, regardless if they are born on the continent or the Diaspora, are under the illusion that the more we are educated the better we will prosper in this oppressive culture. Carter G. Woodson was a strong critic of these mid-educated Negros. Education is a must. However, if we do not develop an education/socialization process which recovers our ancestors memories we are not properly educated. We will not be able to deal with the hostility of a narcistic, greedy people who feed off of Africa and her people. Without the proper education/ socialization of our youth, this protracted war would be impossible to win. Getting a good education to get a good job is not enough. The young and the old must come together and restore what is right. The Upcoming Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations 28th Annual Ancient Kenetic (Egyptian) studies conference will inspire all of us to continue to seek the wisdom of our Ancestors and find guidance in understanding out past, present and future in the struggle for the African mind. The conference will be held March 17-20, 2011 at Howard University, Blackburn University Center 2397, 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20059. Registration fees are; members $160, non members$200, Elders $100; Students $75. Hotel reservations, at the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott, 2305 New York Ave, (202) 266-3000. Rates, $169 per room plus 14.5 percent tax. The theme is Sebayet (Wisdom Instruction), translating, recovering and restoring ancestral memories in the struggle for the African mind. -FOUNDING FATHERSOn February 26, 1984 over five hundred African Americans from all over the United States attended “The First Annual Ancient Egyptian Studies Conference” in Los Angeles, California. At this conference, Yosef ben Jochannan, John Henrik Clarke, Asa Hilliard, Leonard Jeffries, Maulana Karenga and Dr. Conrad W. Worrill met and developed a proposal, framework and schedule to establish an association to study and promote African Civilizations. It was thus at that meeting that the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations (ASCAC) was founded. Dr. Worrill was a representative of the Chicago group which included among others Anderson Thompson, Harold Pates and members of the Kemetic Institute. Maulana Karenga represented The Institute of Pan African Studies which was the host organization for the conference. Drs. Clarke, ben Jochannan and Jeffries represented a broader New York community. Asa Hilliard was a professor at a university in Atlanta, Georgia, thus making the founding group representative of four major geographical regions in the United States— the Eastern, Midwestern, Southern and Western. During the following year, the six founders worked together to extend an invitation to join ASCAC to the African American community in the United States at large. The Buffalo ASCAC study group meets every second and fourth Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Frank E. Merriweather Jr. Library. Our book we chose is SBA:The Reawakening of the African Mind by Asa G. Hilliard, III. If you are interested in becoming a cultural warrior or would like more information about the conference contact Bro. Modell at 896-1430 or email modelgault@ yahoo.com or ASCA.org. diet and healing system. The culmination of the Memphite Theology was in Nefertem the Lotus God. Nefertem is also known as Tem, Temu, Tammuz, Atem, Nefera Tem, Neferaha Temu, Aha and erroneously as Adam. Nefertem is the same secret force/energy of the atom (which will be revealed at a later date). Nefertem is listed as both a culminating God in the Trinity of Ptah-Sekhmet-Nefertem and as the All Encompassing Divinity GOD in some ancient texts. Nefertem represents individuated spirit, oneness which rises out of the first essence, from this onecomes the many differentiated forms of Creation. Nefertem represents the pure bloom of the Lotus. The significance of the Lotus is that it is a flowering plant that opens and follows the energy of the Sun and closes its bloom during the night. Another important aspect of the Lotus is that it has a long stem that struggles through the mud andmurky water to emerge as a beautifully fragrant flower that is pleasing and devoted to GOD. (Conclusion next week)
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