Civil Rights, Hip-Hop, and Hope

The beginning of Pollard’s lecture he stated that our generation has the power to name ourselves. Our generation has grown up with digital and wireless technology as well as hip hop and R&B. Moreover, he believes that it is up to our generation to answer the U.S. philosophical question; do we really want a just world? On the one hand the principles of equality and rights for all mankind are displayed throughout our constitutions. However, on the other hand there are several incidents such as the eradication of the Indians and slavery which have directly contradicted America’s “principles”. This concept led to a discussion of what happened in previous generations.

African American youth in the previous generations decided to change the world they live in. This is evident by the Greensboro, Nashville, and Wichita college student sit ins. MLK described this as youth negroes stopping their imitation of white and starting to organize against their crimes. These students believed in the concept that African Americans don’t need to look for leaders because we are all leaders. From the work of these students organizations like Snick and the Black Panthers were created and flourished. Furthermore, the actions of these people and groups led to the creation of Africana studies in colleges and universities. Black studies then paved the way for other progressive studies such as Latin studies and women studies. Another contributor to our generation was hip hop.

If you talk to any true hip hop culture they will tell you that it’s more than music. Hip Hop is a culture. It is rebellious in nature and promotes the challenging of authority. Groups like the Last poets showed lights on the problems of the people. This culture continued the militant rebellion of the black powers and expressed it creatively mirroring the culture of Jazz and the blues. All of the information presented in the lecture expresses the important challenges of our generation and why we natural have the tools to face them.

By: Stanford Fraser

Seminar Lecture 3

The lecturer this class focused on the ancient tradition of scribes which is indicative of the title of her discussion “the eloquence of scribes”. She first looks at the origin of the art coming from Egypt. Scribes played a key part in the Khemet society. These scribes wrote on papyrus scrolls which were found abundantly in the Nile Delta. Scribes aided almost all occupations in Khemet. They could be found in temples, cities, and at the right sides of kings. They also recorded daily activities from all aspects of life. Their jobs importance is demonstrated by the fact only scribes and priest were taught how to read and write. Furthermore, scribes were exempt from the heavy manual labor which was a staple of Egyptian society. The importance of scribes continued in later societies.

Cuneiform script is another example of the importance of scribes. It is considered by some as the earliest form of writing in the world. Histories records of Mesopotamia’s society are recorded through Cuneiform script. Scribes were also important in European societies. One the most famous of these is Jean Mielot who was a European scribe of the 15^th century. His work influenced the development of the French prose style. He also was known for his translations of several religious and secular texts. As the lecture continued a correlation between the importance of scribes and Howard University was made.

Many of Howard’s early contributors were scribes in their own way. One of our greatest scribes was Zora Neale Hurston. During her time at Howard she greatly contributed to her sorority (Zeta Phi Beta) and founded the hilltop. More important than the numerous scribes in Howard’s history is the collection of their work. The Moreland Spingarn is a collection of African American works. Its vast amount of photos and written work of art is an example of a modern day scribe.

By: Stanford Fraser

Dr. Georgia Dunston Lecture

Dr. Georgia Dunston is a Howard University professor who has specialized in several fields of academia. She has study organ transplanting, health care options for lower class communities, the human genome and much more. Her recent research has also contributed to the healthy people 2010 project. Some distinctive characteristics of her research are why certain diseases have a higher frequency in certain communities. In the black community diseases such as diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure plague the community. One of her explanations for this was the Atlantic Slave Trade. During the middle passage only Africans who could retain higher levels of sodium were able to survive with limited water. Thus, African Americans have a tendency to hold sodium which results in high blood pressure. Dunston explains that through her research on the DNA sequencing and the Genome you can learn a lot about different communities and humans in general. This led to her main topic of the lecture which was the Human Genome.

The genome was defined by Dunston as the ordering of genes in a haploid set of chromosomes of a particular organism. It is basically the combination of the 23 chromosomes from the female and the complimentary chromosomes from the sperm. It actually contains all the DNA encoding of a human. Each genome is unique to that individual. Even identical twins have different genomes. An interesting fact about the genome is that less than 2% of it is needed to create your physical makeup. It’s stated that the Genome is the universal code for life. Moreover, we are told that the study of the genome is important because the genome story is the history of human kind.

In her lecture Dunston goes on to explain that the genome and human story is rooted in Africa. This is why we need to practice learning in the African methodology that we learn for wisdom. Wisdom for the African was defined as the accumulation of knowledge and how that knowledge can be used to solve the problems of our time. That sentiment is summed up by the statement “know yourself because you’re the foundation humanity”. Moreover, in a more philosophical portion of the lecture Dunston began to discuss that the genome defines your “energy field”. She continues her ambiguity by discussing how everyone has their own unique energy force that affects those around them. The genome gives access to the Heavens which are the same sentiment the Ancient Egyptians possessed. Her speech moved to discuss the cultural implications of genome research.

Dunston’s most memorable quote was that the study of the genome attempts to eliminate the crime of humanity. Humanity’s crime is described by Dunston as the competition for the kiddy pool of life. Furthermore, it is the battle of “What we are versus what we are meant to be”. That quote has great meaning to me because we live in the age of the Knowledge Revolution. The modern war is the war over the mind and thought patterns. By understanding the genome and its importance in understanding human society and evolution it can aid you through this modern world.

By: Stanford Fraser

Dr. Carr Lecture

The lecture Dr. Carr gave focused on ancient khemet symbols that represented knowledge and wisdom. These symbols include mahat, the sankofa bird and many others. These symbols served as proof that Africa was the origin of language. In addition, the topic of language in the black community was discussed. Phrases that are distinctly African that isn’t understood outside the community were broken down and analyzed. These include “Doing Me”, “I be chillen”, etc. Even though those who think from a Eurocentric perspective consider this “improper” English these phrases speak much more than what’s in between the lines. Furthermore, this correlates with Ebonics; a sub group of language that is present in all areas that the black Diaspora is located.

Carr’s lecture continued moving from Egyptian symbols to the Egyptian society in general. The most surprising fact from this section of the lecture is where the Egyptians were originally from. Most media sources make Egypt seem un-African and more of a cluster of different ethnic groups. However, modern research proves convincingly that Egypt was mostly inhabited and founded by inner Africans who migrated when the Sahara dried up. Another aspect of the lecture that was interesting was how Egypt was so successful. It was one of the first great civilizations because of the food production system which allowed numerous new jobs to be developed and eliminated the need for a nomadic lifestyle. What is most important about this information is that we (African Americans) are the originators of all human interactions but we continue to live from the paradigm of slavery. A wise man once said “If you start your history from slavery then everything looks like progress”.

By:Stanford Fraser