Rebuilding The African Family

The advent of slave traders on the shores of the African continent initiated the demise of the African family. Parents were separated from their children, brothers and sisters from each other, and complete families were dismantled. For those of us fortunate to have survived the Atlantic passage as families, we were further dismantled on the auction blocks of the Americas. That has been our plight from the onset of our Western journey.

As we evolved through slavery, servitude and as “emancipated” laborers, the relations and families we started on our “western journey were further disrupted by the need for economic opportunities, social and economic sabotage and political trickery. We were forced and uprooted from our ancestral foundations and assimilated into concrete jungles and the rat races of Western urban city structures. That is in part, our story.

Of course, many of us adapted well, and have distinguished ourselves with training tools for economic survival, PhDs, MBAs, and many other acronyms that suggest our strides and training. Glory be!

So herein is our challenge. We believe we have accomplished much, arrived, achieved. Yet,we have not addressed the repairing of the first broken institution of our initial demise -The African Family! Lofty goals of economic determination and the social and political control over our future is currently unattainable. They will remain unattainable until we have thoughtfully, carefully and strategically map the path to renew, repair and stabilize our African family.

No one phrase solution, no external considerations or reliance on the other person. It simply starts with the first person, InI; the higher Self and our immediate sphere of influence-our children, wives, husbands, brothers, and sisters. After rebuilding or repairing those relations, we then extend to our immediate communities, our nation states, and our continent!

Now is the time to truthfully ask the questions: Have we, or are we repairing our relations with ourselves, our spouses, our children, our families. Are we building the tools for success within our spheres of influence? Are we sharing the vision of a better alternative to the chaos and hype that is capturing the imagination of our young? Are we living the spirit of resistance to the system of exploitation and greed, malice and revenge that permeates the fellowship of MAN? Are we setting policies to govern our households, or are our children being taught by the idiot boxes we love so much?

Without repairing, rebuilding, and judiciously managing the African individual and family, our ideas will only be regurgitation of failed concepts that undermine the brotherhood of humanity. We must become members of a new race, sharing the vision of equity, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, mercy, truth, and love! We must peacefully resolve our disputes through communication and principled compromise. We must respect and protect our most precious asset - our spouses and our children. We must set time for prayer/family meditation and social interaction. We must also

initiate processes to bring our families together (“outside children etc.); set examples of model citizenry for our children to emulate and expose our families to positive African history, artistry and culture.

Rebuilding the institution of Family will not materialize in one generation, but our pioneering vision and work, through the development of our higher Self will make it a reality.

Let’s begin one at a time, all at the same time, while accepting individual and collective responsibility. Hail H.I.M.!