Shopping while Black

Shopping while Black:

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

The Church and African Revolution # 1

From Show: The Church and Revolution # 1
Broadcast: Jun 21, 2009
Length: 60:00 minutes
Download Link: Right-Click or Control-Click Here
http://uhururadio.com/public_mp3s/2009-06-21-wj.mp3
Deacon Frazier begins a discussion of his proposal regarding the creation of an African Redemption Church and its role in the liberation of African people. We also discuss the true history and prophecies concerning the Black man and woman. For more information and messages go to www.thankaboutit.org.

Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

Sista Souljah - A State of War

Enjoy a Sister Souljah video -
Sista Souljah - A State of War

Contact Sister Souljah: 201-357-8781 sistersouljah@sistersouljah.com
Currently, Souljah is a 21st Century multidimensional woman. She is the Executive Director of Daddy's House Social Programs, the charitable wing of Bad Boy Entertainment. She is the author of 2 national best sellers, The Coldest Winter Ever, and No Disrespect. She is the writer of choice for top magazines. She was the inspiration and architect of charitable community givebacks and programs for many celebrities. She has also been happily married for over 10 years and has one child.Many people attempt to silence Sister Souljah’s powerful voice. A young influential woman who has achieved so much yet remains down to earth, can be quite intimidating. Still she has been blessed to reach and touch those who are interested in adding to the good in the world, and not to the evil.








If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement". We are sponsored by Positive Vibes Afrikan Litterature - 757-523-1399 for books, art, and more. http://www.imanifoundation.com/

How to celebrate Kwanzaa

Instructional videos to celebrate Kwanzaa in a tradional manner.

Click here for up to date information for the Varner Family's Kwanzaa celebration.

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Click here to find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

Self defeat is the worse defeat - Dr. Hoston

Motivational nuggets from Dr. William Hoston: "Self defeat is the worse defeat."

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

Mental Slavery

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

1982 Richard Pryor and the N Bomb

Ancestor Brother Pryor describes why he will not use the N-Bomb again in 1982. Profanity Alert ! May his memory be a blessing.

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

Les Brown speaks - A Winning Mindset

Les Brown speaks on Maintaining a Winning Mindset - Full Version 52 min

Watch or download the video by clicking here !

This content is from BetterDaysTV.net / SelfImprovementTV.com which was founded in 2007. SelfImprovementTV.com delivers training and development videos. We utilize uniquely created video content, as well as a compilation of pre-existing content, pooled from sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, Viddler, etc... in order to provide you with a large-range of content.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

President Obama's Fatherhood 09' speech

President Barack Obama kicked off the 2009 Father's Day weekend with a string of events designed to "begin a national conversation on responsible fatherhood and healthy families," according to the White House. Much like first lady Michelle Obama's March celebration of women's empowerment, the day of bro-mance hits eight Washington-area nonprofits that mentor young men, and featurez teams of celebrities, businessmen, lawmakers and White House staff that range from Obama aide Reggie Love to Motorola CEO Greg Brown to DeWayne Wade of the Miami Heat.
"If we are honest with ourselves," he said, "we'll admit that... too many fathers also are missing--missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it."
In that previous speech Obama rattled off the stunning statistics for black families cleaved in two: Fatherless kids are "five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of school and twenty times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from homes."
In a classical preacher's cadence, Obama concluded that enough is enough: "We need [men] to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child—it's the courage to raise one."
Many campaign watchers, of all races, applauded Obama's speech as a "Sister Souljah moment" that showed the true value of a black presidential candidate: saying things that white politicians could not—or, as Jesse Jackson famously put it soon after, "talking down to black people." But these analyses missed the point: Black leaders, including Jackson, have been urging responsible fatherhood and stand-up-straight living for as long as there have been black pulpits to preach from. At the 2006 Essence Festival in Dallas, for example, televangelist and author T.D. Jakes said "Fatherhood is not optional.... Rather than focusing on the father’s that left, we need to focus on the ones who stayed."
Obama's "real talk" is nothing new—but his status as the "first father" gives him an unprecedented and unique platform. In an essay for Parade magazine and a proclamation released today, Obama declared that "honest and hard-working fathers are an irreplaceable influence upon their children." Of course, it's unlikely that Obama can singlehandedly change the statistics for deadbeat dads and out-of-wedlock births. But this year, the first black president has recruited some high profile company in his bully pulpit.
Dayo Olopade is the Washington Reporter for The Root. A video of the speech is below:

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Click here to find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

Powerful Wisdom & Will Smith

Words of wisdom and motivation from Hip-Hopper & Actor Will Smith.




If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Click here to find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

To Face Reality or Not - Donna Satchell

Donna Satchell - The Motivational Diva.
www.DonnaSatchell.com

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Find us on FACEBOOK under the name "The Black Improvement Movement".

John Henrik Clarke with Gil Nobles

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text. The views and opinions presented in the media presented here does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors. Join us on FACEBOOK !

Ancestor John Henrik Clarke (may his legacy be a blessing) tells his life story as interviewed by Gil Nobles.

Dr. Barashango and European Holidays

Christian Sensitivity Warning !
Dr. Ishakamusa Barashango (April 27, 1938 - January 14, 2004) goes thorugh the major European Holidays and exposes the contradictions and lies behind them. (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween...) Barashnago is a great teacher who often uses humor when he teaches making it easier to digest some hard truths.

"Thanksgiving Day literally is a holiday celebrating the beginnings of the almost total extermination of an entire race of people, commonly called "Indians" and the enslavement, continued oppression and genocide of the Afrikan, by European settlers....For over 100 years now Black folks in the United States have joined with the descendants of the same European murder[er]s who enslaved them and systematically all but destroyed the Amer-Indian, in feasting and giving thanks to God for the "opportunity" to live in one of the most racist, imperialist, and oppressive countries on earth....Black People celebrating Thanksgiving Day is like the Americans celebrating the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or the so-called Jews celebrating the rise of the Third Reich, or the Palestinians celebrating the intrusion of the settler colony of Zionist Israel, or moreover the millions of Zulu descendants who are being murdered by the thousands each day, celebrating the establishment of the Union of South Africa..." Barashango

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text. The views expressed in the media presented on this site are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Imani Foundation, our members, staff, or sponsors.

R.I.P. Black America

This peice was done by BlackTruthForever. He may be reached by emailing blacktruthhurts@gmail.com or visiting his Youtube webpage by clicking here. This video is BlackTruthForever's take on some of the problems facing the "Black" community. If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text.

What will you give honor - Sister Souljah

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the below text.

Sister Souljah, hip-hop generation best selling author, activist, recording artist, and film producer, is the most powerful and meaningful person speaking to youth and students today. Her intelligence is unselfish. She shines as she offers cultural, spiritual, political, economical, practical analysis and constructive solutions with the precision of a surgeon. Souljah’s words, thoughts, lessons, and books are transforming the next generation. Once you have heard her speak, it’s impossible for you to remain the same. You’ll change the way you think, love and live.

A War For Your Soul

A War For Your Soul-regular version from Erisai Films on Vimeo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text.

Think and Grow Rich by Dennis Kimbro

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text.
http://www.imanifoundation.com/

Ruby Brides on The Today Show Oct 5th 2009

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The current life of Civil Rights Pioneer Ruby Bridges. She's still inspiring !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text.

Dogon male Rites of Passage video

In Mali, a young Dogon male may believe that without a unique ceremony, he will remain suspended between boyhood and manhood. See All National Geographic Videos http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/?source=4001

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text.

The Imani Foundation - http://www.imanifoundation.com/

Dr. Ben Jochannan - Bible Personalities 1-5

Christianity Sensitivity Warning. If opinion/information that may seem to be in contrast with your religious beliefs offends you. We respectfully ask you to bypass this media presentation. The Imani Foundation believes that one's relationship with the Almighty is of the utmost.
Lecture 1 of 5

Lecture 2 of 5

Lecture 3 of 5

Lecture 4 of 5

Lecture 5 of 5


If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text.

President Obama & 2009 NAACP Conv.

President Barack Obama addresses the 2009 NAACP Convention.


If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text.

In tribute to Michael Jackson

In tribute to Michael Jackson here is a mix of many of his popular song compiled by D.J. Bee. Click the link below to download the track, it may take about 10 minutes on a cable connection as the mix is about 95 minutes long and worth every minute of if. The Michael Mix starts about 3:00 minutes into the file as the first three minutes are the introduction for DJ Bee. The link is here: http://www.mediafire.com/?zxwtzfzgmmm

It is interesting that in the United States of America the news coverage of an American of African descent has trumped similar coverage of Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, a Military takeover in Honduras, A Supreme Court decision, and the returning of American troops.

Thank you Michael, may your memory be a blessing.

The Imani Foundation

http://www.imanifoundation.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text if applicable.

Owning your own business - Dr. Ray Hagins

In these videos Dr. Hagins explains and addresses the ups and downs of starting and operating you own business. He talks about everything from conceiving the idea, to forming a corporation, to obtaining and EIN, to financial management, to the pitfalls of running your own business and so much more. This video will be a great tool for those who are contemplating starting a business and achieving financial independence.





For info' on Dr. Hagins visit http://www.africanglory.com/DrRH.html or http://wblr.com/ .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com to watch the video described in the above text.

The Imani Foundation
www.imanifoundation.com
www.blackhistoryclass.blogspot.com
www.blackimprovement.blogspot.com
www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com
www.blackimprovemententertainment.blogspot.com

Wanda Sykes in Washington

If you have trouble viewing this video please visit www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com .

Knock Knock - Daniel Beaty

http://www.danielbeaty.com/daniel.html
Daniel Beaty performs "Knock Knock." Actor, singer, writer, and composer Daniel Beaty has worked throughout the US, Europe, and Africa in a variety of styles ranging from television to solo concerts to theatrical productions to opera including performance at The White House, The Kennedy Center in tribute to Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, and The Apollo.

If you are receiving this correspondence via email and are not able to view the accompanying video please visit http://www.blackimprovementmedia.blogspot.com/ to watch the video described in the above text.

Amazing Black Facts in the Bible

Dr. Barashango breaks down the science of the bible and offers his extensive research & knowledge of the subject

Christian warning ! If interaction with information that may seem at odds with your belief system is disturbing to you, please choose another media presentation from our offerings that do not have a Christian warning. The Imani Foundation firmly believes that one's relationship with the Almighty is the paramount relationship that one may experience.

Rev. Dr. Ishakamusa Barashango "Black facts of the Bible"

Black and Proud by Dr. Martin Luther King

Here is the side of the Honorable Dr. King that America doesn't seem to recognize. Here is a side of the Honorable Dr. King we should embrace. May his memory be a blessing.....

The Legacy of Malcolm X : And the Beauty of his Untold Sense of Humor

Moors/Africanos in Medieval European Art

Califia-fornia ~ "Our Roots Run Deep"

The Amazon Queen Califia (aka California)

The Fall of the Old Kings & Queens of Hawaii to America

The Sidis (Nobles) of India

Look at that instrument!

For a second I thought this might've been shot in Brazil!

President Obama & New World Order (hmmmmm)

Is the President of the United States of America involved in the New World Order movement ?Here is something to consider... According to the film-maker "He is being pushed as savior in an attempt to con the American people into accepting global slavery. We have reached a critical juncture in the New World Order's plans. and only by exposing the con can we help to save freedom in America. The Obama Deception is not about Left or Right: it's about a One World Government." Includes commentary from KRS-ONE and Professor Griff.

Removing The Anti-Black Myths in the Bible

Rev. Jeffrey A. Johnson Jr. preaches/teaches his Black to the Bible Vol. 2 - "Removing The Anti-Black Myths in the Bible." The lecture/sermon contains historical information and Biblical doctrine supporting the presence of African people and people of African descent in the standard cannonized Bible. This lecture has a focus on dispelling the myths that surround Blacks in the Bible. This file is the second sermon/lecture in an educational four part series.

Dr. Molefi Asanti - DuBois & Africa

Yoruba Kingdom, in Modern America!?!

The first African in America to become initiated to the traditional rights of the yoruba people of SW Nigeria. On this clip Oba Oseijeman first king of Oyotunji African village addresses a mix crowed of young and old about purpose of having ones culture.

THE AFRICAN PRESENCE IN INDIA

Parts 9 - 11 (with the slideshow pictures)











Head of a Black man from Mohenjo-Daro


PART 1

AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

One of the foremost tasks for contemporary African centered scholars is to provide an historical overview of the global African community. This is a critical task that must be completed in its entirety. This includes the history, culture and present condition of African people both at home and abroad. We are already aware, it should be pointed out, based on recent scientific studies of DNA, that modern humanity originated in Africa, that African people are the world's aboriginal people and that all modern humans can ultimately trace their ancestral roots back to Africa. If not for the primordial migrations of early African people, humanity would have remained physically Africoid, and the rest of the world outside of the African continent absent of human life. This is our starting point.

Since the first modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) were of African birth, the African presence globally can be demonstrated through the history of the Black populations that have inhabited the world within the span of recent humanity. Not only are African people the aboriginal people of the planet, however, there is abundant evidence to show that Black people created and sustained many of the world's earliest and most enduring civilizations. Such was the case in India.

The questions we pose here are simply these: Who are the African people of India? What is their significance in the annals of history? Precisely what have they done and what are they doing now? These are extremely serious questions that warrant serious and fundamental answers. This series of articles, "The African Presence in India: An Historical Overview," is designed to provide some of those answers.


Africoid figurine from the Indus Valley
photo credit: K.L.Kamat
Copyright © 1996-2002, Kamat's Potpourri.
All Rights Reserved


PART 2

ANCIENT AFRICA AND EARLY INDIA

Exceptionally valuable writings reflecting close relationships between Africa and early India have existed for more than two thousand years. In the first century B.C.E., for example, the famous Greek historian Diodorus Siculus penned that, "From Ethiopia he (Osiris) passed through Arabia, bordering upon the Red Sea as far as India.... He built many cities in India, one of which he called Nysa, willing to have remembrance of that (Nysa) in Egypt, where he was brought up."

Another important writer from antiquity, Apollonius of Tyana, who is said to have visited India near the end of the first century C.E., was convinced that "The Ethiopians are colonists sent from India, who follow their forefathers in matters of wisdom." The literary work of the early Christian writer Eusebius preserves the tradition that, "In the reign of Amenophis III [the mighty Dynasty XVIII Egyptian king] a body of Ethiopians migrated from the country about the Indus, and settled in the valley of the Nile." And still another document from ancient times, the Itinerarium Alexandri, says that "India, taken as a whole, beginning from the north and embracing what of it is subject to Persia, is a continuation of Egypt and the Ethiopians."



PART 3





INDIA'S EARLIEST CIVILIZATION

In Greater India, more than a thousand years before the foundations of Greece and Rome, proud and industrious Black men and women known as Dravidians erected a powerful civilization. We are referring here to the Indus Valley civilization- -India's earliest high-culture, with major cities spread out along the course of the Indus River. The Indus Valley civilization was at its height from about 2200 B.C.E. to 1700 B.C.E. This phase of its history is called the Harappan, the name being derived from Harappa, one of the earliest known Indus Valley cities.

In 1922, about 350 miles northeast of Harappa, another large Indus city, Mohenjo-daro (the Mound of the Dead) was identified. Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were apparently the chief administrative centers of the Indus Valley complex, and since their identification, several additional cities, including Chanhu-daro, Kalibangan, Quetta and Lothal have been excavated.

The Indus cities possessed multiple level houses enhanced by sophisticated wells, drainage systems and bathrooms with flushing toilets. A recognized scholar on the Indus Valley civilization, Dr. Walter Fairservis, states that the "Harappans cultivated cotton and perhaps rice, domesticated the chicken and may have invented the game of chess and one of the two great early sources of nonmuscle power: the windmill."

The decline and fall of the Indus Valley civilization has been linked to several factors, the most important of which were the increasingly frequent incursions of the White people known in history as Aryans--violent Indo-European tribes initially from central Eurasia and later Iran. Indeed, the name Iran means the "land of the Aryan."




PART 4



Durga Temple


DRAVIDIAN KINGDOMS OF SOUTH INDIA

It is safe to say that when we speak of the Dravidians as a people we are speaking of the living descendants of the Harappan people of the ancient Indus Valley who were pushed into South India as the result of the Aryan invasions. This is certainly consistent with Dravidian traditions which recall flourishing cities that were either lost or destroyed in antiquity. The term "Dravidian," however, encompasses both an ethnic group and a linguistic group. The ethnic group is characterized by straight to wavy hair textures, combined with Africoid physical features. In reference to this Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop stated that:

"There are two well-defined Black races: one has a black skin and woolly hair; the other also has black skin, often exceptionally black, with straight hair, aquiline nose, thin lips, an acute cheekbone angle. We find a prototype of this race in India: the Dravidian. It is also known that certain Nubians likewise belong to the same Negro type...Thus, it is inexact, anti-scientific, to do anthropological research, encounter a Dravidian type, and then conclude that the Negro type is absent."

Dravidian, in addition to its ethnic component, however, is an important family of languages spoken by more than a hundred million people, primarily in South India. These languages include Tamil (the largest element), Kannada, Malayalam (from which the name of the Asian country Malaya is derived), Telegu and Tulu. The term "Dravidian" itself is apparently an Aryan corruption of Tamil.

From at least the third century C.E. three major Dravidian kingdoms existed in South India: the kingdoms of Pandya, Chera and Chola. Pandya was the southernmost Dravidian kingdom. The major city of Pandya was Madurai, the location of the famous chapel of the Tamil Sangam (Academy). The Sangam, of which there were three, was initiated by a body of forty-eight exceptionally learned scholars who established standards over all literary productions. The Pandyan rulers received these intellectuals with lavish honors.

It is also important to note that in the kingdom of the Pandyas women seem to have enjoyed a high status. This is the exact opposite of the regions of India where the Whites ruled. In these lands of Aryan domination it is said that a woman was never independent. "When she is a child she belongs to her father. As an adult when she marries she belongs to her husband. If she outlives her husband she belongs to her sons." An early queen of the Pandyas, on the other hand, for example, is credited with controlling an army of 500 elephants, 4,000 cavalry and 13,000 infantry.

In 1288 and again in 1293 the Venetian traveler Marco Polo visited the Pandyan kingdom and left a vivid description of the land and its people. Polo exclaimed that:

"The darkest man is here the most highly esteemed and considered better than the others who are not so dark. Let me add that in very truth these people portray and depict their gods and their idols black and their devils white as snow. For they say that God and all the saints are black and the devils are all white. That is why they portray them as I have described."

To the northwest of Pandya was the kingdom of Chera (present-day Kerala). Northwest of Pandya lay the kingdom of Chola, said to be the place where Saint Thomas the Apostle was buried. The same Marco Polo who visited Pandya referred to Chola as "the best province and the most refined in all India."

The Dravidians were an unusually advanced seafaring people, with the Cholas, in particular, distinguishing themselves amongst the dominant maritime powers of their era. Through its ports, the great kings of Chola traded with Ethiopia and Somalia, Iran and Arabia, Combodia and China, Sumatra and Sri Lanka, exporting spices and camphor, ebony and ivory, quality textiles and precious jewels.

It seems readily apparent that the Dravidian kingdoms and the Dravidian people were quite well known internationally. When Augustus became head of the Roman world, for example, the Dravidian kingdoms sent him a congratulatory embassy. Dravidian poets describe Roman ships, which carried bodyguards of archers to ward off pirates, while the Dravidian kings themselves employed bodyguards of Roman soldiers. In respect to the ancient East, at least one author has identified a Dravidian presence in the Philippines, noting that: "From India came civilized Indians, the Dravidians from whom the savage Aryans learned. They began at least 500 BC and soon controlled the coast."



PART 5



Panya Woman in South India


APARTHEID IN INDIA

The White tribes that invaded India and disrupted Black civilization there are known as Aryans. The Aryans were not necessarily superior warriors to the Blacks but they were aggressive, developed sophisticated military technologies and glorified military virtues. After hundreds of years of intense martial conflict the Aryans succeeded in subjugating most of northern India. Throughout the vanquished territories a rigid, caste-segmented social order was established with the masses of conquered Blacks (called Shudras) essentially reduced to slaves to the Whites and imposed upon for service in any capacity required by their White conquerors. This vicious new world order was cold-bloodily racist, with the Whites on top, the mixed races in the middle, and the overwhelming majority of Black people on the very bottom. In fact, the Aryan term varna, denoting one's societal status and used interchangeably with caste, literally means color or complexion and reflects a prevalent racial hierarchy. Truly, India is still a racist country. White supremacist David Duke claimed "that his 1970's visit to India was a turning point in his views on the superiority of the White race."

Caste law in India, based originally on race, regulated all aspects of life, including marriage, diet, education, place of residence and occupation. This is not to deny that there were certain elements of the Black aristocracy that managed to gain prominence in the dominant White social structure. The masses of conquered Black people, however, were regarded by the Whites as Untruth itself. The Whites claimed to have emerged from the mouth of God; the Blacks, on the other hand, were said to have emerged from the feet of God. This was the ugly reality for the Black masses in conquered India. It was written that:

"A Sudra [Black] who intentionally reviles twice-born men [Whites] by criminal abuse, or criminally assaults them with blows, shall be deprived of the limb with which he offends. If he has criminal intercourse with an Aryan woman, his organ shall be cut off, and all his property confiscated. If the woman has a protector, the Sudra shall be executed. If he listens intentionally to a recitation of the Veda [a traditional Hindu religious text], his tongue shall be cut out. If he commits them to memory his body shall be split in half."

Servitude to Whites became the basis of the lives of the Black people of India for generation after generation after generation. With the passage of time, this brutally harsh, color-oriented, racially-based caste system became the foundation of the religion that is now practiced throughout all India. This is the religion known as Hinduism.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART 6

THE BLACK UNTOUCHABLES OF INDIA: THE WORLD'S MOST OPPRESSED PEOPLE

The greatest victims of Hinduism have been the Untouchables. Indeed, probably the most substantial percentage of all the Black people of Asia can be identified among India's 160 million Untouchables. These people are the long-suffering descendants of Aryan-Sudra unions and native Black populations who retreated into the hinterlands of India in their efforts to escape the advancing Aryan sphere of influence to which they ultimately succumbed. India's Untouchables number more than the combined populations of England, France, Belgium and Spain.

The existence of Untouchability has been justified within the context of Hindu religious thought as the ultimate and logical extensions of Karma and rebirth. Indus believe that persons are born Untouchables because of the accumulation of sins in previous lives. Hindu texts describe these people as foul and loathsome, and any physical contact with them was regarded as polluting.

Untouchables were usually forced to live in pitiful little settlements on the outskirts of Hindu communities. During certain periods in Indian history Untouchables were only allowed to enter the adjoining Hindu communities at night. Indeed, the Untouchables' very shadows were considered polluting, and they were required to beat drums and make loud noises to announce their approach. Untouchables had to attach brooms to their backs to erase any evidence of their presence. Cups were tied around their necks to capture any spittle that might escape their lips and contaminate roads and streets. Their meals were taken from broken dishes. Their clothing was taking from corpses. They were forbidden to learn to read and write, and were prohibited from listening to any of the traditional Hindu texts. Untouchables were denied access to public wells. They could not use ornaments and were not allowed to enter Hindu temples. The primary work of Untouchables included scavenging and street sweeping, emptying toilets, the public execution of criminals, the disposal of dead animals and human corpses, and the clean-up of cremation grounds. The daily life of the Untouchable was filled with degradation, deprivation and humiliation.

The basis status of India's Untouchables has changed little since ancient times, and it has recently been observed that "Caste Hindus do not allow Untouchables to wear shoes, ride bicycles, use umbrellas or hold their heads up while walking in the street." Untouchables in urban India are crowded together in squalid slums, while in rural India, where the vast majority of Untouchables live, they are exploited as landless agricultural laborers and ruled by terror and intimidation. As evidence of this, several cases from 1991 can be cited: On June 23, 1991 fourteen Untouchables were slaughtered in the eastern state of Bihar. On August 10, 1991 six Untouchables were shot to death in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. On August 16, 1991, an Untouchable woman was stripped in public and savagely beaten in the southern state of Andra Pradesh. On September 6, 1991, in the western state of Maharastra, an Untouchable policeman was killed for entering a Hindu temple. Official Indian figures on violent crimes by caste Hindus against Untouchables have averaged more than 10,000 cases per year, with the figures continuing to rise. The Indian government listed 14,269 cases of atrocities by caste Hindus against Untouchables in 1989 alone. However, Indian human rights workers report that a large number of atrocities against Untouchables, including beatings, gang-rapes, arson and murders, are never recorded. Even when charges are formally filed, justice for Untouchables is rarely dispensed.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART 7



DALIT: THE BLACK UNTOUCHABLES OF INDIA

Possibly the most substantial percentage of Asia's Blacks can be identified among India's 160 million "Untouchables" or "Dalits." Frequently they are called "Outcastes." Indian nationalist leader and devout Hindu Mohandas K. Gandhi called them "Harijans," meaning "children of god." The official name given them in India's constitution (1951) is "Scheduled Castes." "Dalit," meaning "crushed and broken," is a name that has come into prominence only within the last four decades. "Dalit" reflects a radically different response to oppression.

The Dalit are demonstrating a rapidly expanding awareness of their African ancestry and their relationship to the struggle of Black people throughout the world. They seem particularly enamored of African-Americans. African-Americans, in general, seem almost idolized by the Dalit, and the Black Panther Party, in particular, is virtually revered. In April 1972, for example, the Dalit Panther Party was formed in Bombay, India. This organization takes its pride and inspiration directly from the Black Panther Party of the United States. This is a highly important development due to the fact that the Untouchables have historically been so systematically terrorized that many of them, even today, live in a perpetual state of extreme fear of their upper caste oppressors. This is especially evident in the villages. The formation of the Dalit Panthers and the corresponding philosophy that accompanies it signals a fundamental change in the annals of resistance, and Dalit Panther organizations have subsequently spread to other parts of India. In August 1972, the Dalit Panthers announced that the 25th anniversary of Indian independence would be celebrated as a day of mourning. In 1981, in Bangalore, India Dravidian journalist V.T. Rajshekar published the first issue of Dalit Voice--the major English journal of the Black Untouchables. In a 1987 publication entitled the African Presence in Early Asia, Rajshekar stated that:

"The African-Americans also must know that their liberation struggle cannot be complete as long as their own blood-brothers and sisters living in far off Asia are suffering. It is true that African-Americans are also suffering, but our people here today are where African-Americans were two hundred years ago.

African-American leaders can give our struggle tremendous support by bringing forth knowledge of the existence of such a huge chunk of Asian Blacks to the notice of both the American Black masses and the Black masses who dwell within the African continent itself."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART 8

THE BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM IN INDIA

Buddhism appeared in India during the sixth century B.C.E. and came in the form of a protest against Hinduism. Buddhism opposed the arrogance of caste, and preached tolerance. It should not be surprising, then, that it developed a large and rapid following in the regions of India where the Blacks had survived in substantial numbers. On the emergence of Buddhism in India, Diop has suggested that:

"It would seem that Buddha was an Egyptian priest, chased from Memphis by the persecution of Cambyses. This tradition would justify the portrayal of Buddha with woolly hair. Historical documents do not invalidate this tradition...There is general agreement today on placing in the sixth century not only Buddha but the whole religious and philosophical movement in Asia with Confucius in China, Zoroaster in Iran. This would confirm the hypothesis of a dispersion of Egyptian priests at that time spreading their doctrine in Asia."

Dr. Vulindlela Wobogo, another African-centric scholar, has observed that:

"Manifestations of the Buddha in Asia are Black with woolly hair. They all appear to be Egypto-Nubian priests who fled Egypt...The priests carried their spiritual knowledge but lost much of the scientific knowledge for obvious reasons. The well-known aspects of Buddhism and its companion, yoga, are all simply Egypto-Nubian priesthood practices, meditation, and...the belief that one could attain a god-like state if the soul was liberated from the body through knowledge and denial."

In a monumental two volume work entitled A Book of the Beginnings, originally published in 1881, Gerald Massey recorded that:

"It is not necessary to show that the first colonisers of India were Black, but it is certain that the Black Buddha of India was imaged in the Africoid type. In the Black [African] god, whether called Buddha or Sut-Nahsi, we have a datum. they carry in their color the proof of their origin. The people who first fashioned and worshipped the divine image in the Africoid mold of humanity must, according to all knowledge of human nature, have been Africans themselves. For the Blackness is not merely mystical, the features and the hair of Buddha belong to the Black race."

In the first volume of his massive text Anacalypsis, Godfrey Higgins wrote that:

"The religion of Buddha, of India, is well known to have been very ancient. In the most ancient temples scattered through Asia, where his worship is yet continued, he is found black as jet, with the flat face, thick lips and curly hair of the African."




African Merchant
photo credit: K.L.Kamat
Copyright © 1996-2002, Kamat's Potpourri.
All Rights Reserved



HABSHIS AND SIDDIS: AFRICAN DYNASTIES IN INDIA

India also received its share of African bondsmen, of whom the most famous was the celebrated Malik Ambar (1550-1626). Ambar, like a number of Africans in medieval India, elevated himself to a position of great authority. Malik Ambar, whose original name was Shambu, was born around 1550 in Harar, Ethiopia. After his arrival in India Ambar was able to raise a formidable army and achieve great power in the west Indian realm of Ahmadnagar. Ambar was a brilliant diplomat and administrator. He encouraged manufactures and built canals and mosques. He gave pensions to poets and scholars, established a postal service, and ultimately became one of the most famous men in India.

In a collective form, however, and in respect to long term influence, the African sailors known as Siddis stand out. Certainly, Siddi kingdoms were established in western India in Janjira and Jaffrabad as early as 1100 AD. After their conversion to Islam, the African freedmen of India, originally called Habshi from the Arabic, called themselves Sayyad (descendants of Muhammad) and were consequently called Siddis. Indeed, the island Janjira was formerly called Habshan, meaning Habshan's or African's land. Siddi signifies lord or prince. It is further said that Siddi is an expression of respectful address commonly used in North Africa, like Sahib in India. Specifically, it is said to be an honorific title given to the descendants of African natives in the west of India, some of whom were distinguished military officers and administrators of the Muslim princes of the Deccan.

In the second decade of the sixteenth century a European traveler named Armando Cortesao noted that:

"The people who govern the kingdom [Bengal] are Abyssinians [Ethiopians]. These men are looked upon as knights; they are greatly esteemed; they wait on the kings in their apartments. The chief among them are eunuchs and these come to be kings and great lords in the kingdom. Those who are not eunuchs are the fighting men. After the king, it is to this people that the kingdom is obedient from fear."

The Siddis were a tightly knit group, highly aggressive, and even ferocious in battle. They were employed largely as security forces for Muslim fleets in the Indian Ocean, a position they maintained for centuries. The Siddi commanders were titled Admirals of the Mughal Empire, and received an annual salary of 300,000 rupees. According to Ibn Battuta (1304-1377), the noted Muslim writer who journeyed through both Africa and Asia, the Siddis "are the guarantors of safety on the Indian Ocean; let there be but one of them on a ship and it will be avoided by the Indian pirates and idolaters."





A Smiling Siddi Girl
photo credit: K.L.Kamat
Copyright © 1996-2002, Kamat's Potpourri.
All Rights Reserved



Also see following:
HISTORY NOTES: CASTE AND RACE IN INDIA
HISTORY NOTES: THE AFRICAN PRESENCE IN INDIAN ANTIQUITY
NOTES FROM A BROTHER IN INDIA: HISTORY AND HERITAGE
NOTES FROM A BROTHER IN INDIA: THE BIGOTRY OF HINDUS WITH REGARD TO SKIN COLOUR
HISTORY NOTES: DR. CHEIKH ANTA DIOP AND THE CULTURAL ROOTS OF THE DALITS: INDIA'S BLACK UNTOUCHABLES
NOTES FROM A BROTHER IN INDIA: BIGOTRY OF HINDUS WITH REGARD TO SKIN COLOUR & HISTORY AND HERITAGE
HISTORY NOTES: A PLEA FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AT THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM
TRAVEL NOTES: LOOKING AT INDIA THROUGH AFRICAN EYES
HISTORY NOTES: PAN-AFRICANISM IN SOUTH ASIA
HISTORY NOTES: THE BLACKS OF THE EAST BENGAL: A NATIVE'S PERSPECTIVE