World Affairs

‘Black is not the colour of our skin ~ we are the richest shades of the human race’ (Part 1)

by Eyvonne Black
05/26/15
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‘Black is not the colour of our skin ~ we are the richest shades of the human race’ (Part 1)

 I often hear my cultural people say ‘we are different shades of black’. My response to that is really, in whose philosophy?’ In reality there are only two shades of black that come anywhere near the rich colour tones of our skin.

  Let’s consider, why do our children find it so difficult to believe we are black until they are conditioned into that belief? The obvious answer, because they are taught colours and the colour black is not the colour of their skin. We sit our children before video cameras and allow them to be interrogated about thoughts on their identity through the creation of black and white dolls, seeing them praise the white doll and the disgrace on their faces when they have to identify with the black doll. Isn’t that enough to recognise we have gone down the wrong path of identity?

 We will continue to allow are children to lack confidence and live in bondage unless we accept the facts and live by truth, rather than living by conditioned beliefs. Many of our Caribbean and African people are blinded by what they hear, and are caught up with the physical and emotional struggles of our past. We fail to recognise we are now choosing to continue the struggle and segregation. Figuratively speaking, we need to leap out of the jar that once had a closely tight lid with slavery and complete segregation and accept our belief system of the past is crippling us today. ‘As a man thinkth in his heart so is he’ Quote by James Allen. Allen goes on to say ‘A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of his thoughts.’ We just have to listen to the derogatory slogans that are repeated every day to know some of our people have a distorted image of themselves.

 Deepak Chopra explains ~ ‘truth is available to our understanding if we evolve to higher states of consciousness. Full awakening is knowledge of [our] true nature, which is the ultimate truth’. With that in mind I believe we must wake up, open our eyes and mental capacity to grasp truth, recognising if we continue to live in yesterday the majority of our cultural people we will remain ignorant and destitute.

 Black ~ the need for identity and solidarity

Our people were struggling to eradicate slavery up to the mid 60’s for although the shackles were off their hands and feet they were still in slavery, far from becoming accepted as a people with equal rights. The ‘White human kind’ were finding it difficult to accept previous enslaved people as equals, and those who fought for change, ‘Black’ and ‘White’ on the Isles of America were soon gunned down for igniting the passion for change. The opposition to racism, and segregation was too much to bear. They fought back with everything they had and wanted their own identity, rather than one that was given to them ‘Coloured people’. The Black Panther movement gave ‘Power to the people’ and an identity ‘Black People’. This gave them strength, solidarity, ownership, self worth, clasping ‘a unity’ and ‘a bond’, finding a voice and recognition. They possibly did not give any thought to the negative connotation ‘Black’ represented on the pages of our dictionary, where the meaning of words are the main towers of our children’s education and what they have to accept and live by. The movement was about survival, mental and physical. They had to find a language for self-preservation. The language and labels given to them promoted racial superiority, so African people had to use their own language to break the bond of oppression. I get it!

Today the Wikipedia, (on-line free encyclopaedia) shows the meaning of Black as ~ the colour of coal, ebony, and of outer space. It is the darkest colour, the result of the absence of or complete absorption of light. It is the opposite of white.  Common connotations  are blackmail ~ bribe, extortion; blacklist ~ bar, reject, vote against; black sheep (normally used in family circles) ~ person regarded as disgrace, failure; black spot ~ dangerous place on the road; Black Death ~ form of bubonic plague; that’s to name, but a few.

 However, not everyone who experienced the oppression, racism and segregation of the 60’s identified with the names that were given by ‘other people’. Bonnie Greer an award-winning playwright, OBE, author and critic who in her early years grew up in a segregated racist Chicago writes ‘Coloured’; ‘Negro’;........‘Black’; ‘African American’ the words that have been used in my lifetime to describe me; I’ve used most of them myself. But these words never came close to describing me .........’ I wonder how many others felt like Bonnie, but possibly too afraid to voice their opinion in fear of getting a hostile reception from those they loved, struggled and identified with as ‘The Brotherhood’.

 Today the Wikipedia, (on-line free encyclopaedia) describes White literally a "colour without colour"   It is one of the most common colours in nature, the colour of sunlight, snow, milk, chalk, limestone and other common minerals. In many cultures white represents or signifies purity, innocence, and light, and is the symbolic opposite of black, or darkness. Matthew 5:14 says ‘You are the light of the world’. Where does that leave us? Can we really blame Michelangelo for painting the image of Jesus Christ as a white blue eyed man?    Connotations are white gold ~ gold containing platinum more expensive that some yellow gold; white collar ~ non-manual salaried worker; white hope ~ one expected to bring honour and glory to his group or team, white lie a minor unimportant lie, White House ~ official Washington residence of the President of the U.S. Clearly if white was truly a skin colour, in what skin would you want to live?

 ‘A Spiritual People’

We have always been ‘a spiritual people’, so for most of us our main laws, practices, standards and values comes from  the principles set out in the Bible and those principles still have real meaning today. I will be using the scriptures as a point of historical reference with no inference to the religious aspect of this universal inspired book. Skin colour has never been a subject of concern in the early centries and those who respect the laws of this book will recognise the changes our society will have to make to survive as one human race, as it were intended.

 Ephesians 4:14-15 (ESV) states ‘so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather speaking the truth in love ............’ Part of this scripture is symbolic but most is fact.

 I hope that what I am about to reflect on will be viewed as ‘A Passion for Truth’, not only to the origins of the African and Caribbean people to which I identify, but to the whole human race. I cannot stand anywhere near the Great Martin Luther King of the 60’s, but I am grateful to him and echo his passion for unity. I am hoping from this limited knowledge we can recognise the monstrosities the Black and White description of our skin colour has created and come to the acknowledgement that change is necessary, and these codes that govern us today are destroying us as a people and we need to let them go!

 It is not my wish to go into the history of where the name ‘White People’ originates, only to say that it did not exist before the 17^th century. Coloured People became ‘Black People’ in the mid 60’s a name given to us by the Black Panther Movement.

 The Bible clearly emphasize that God shows no partiality to anyone. ‘Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,’ Acts 10:34 (ESV) In another scripture Paul writes ^“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’ Galatians 3:28 (NIV).

Slave in Bible times did not mean the same slavery that our people suffered in the early centuries. The life of a slave was not much different than lower [level] working class persons or those who are bound to complete Military service. It was a service you couldn’t simple quit at will, or [had the option] to leave without permission (123). Exodus 21v2 (NIV) ‘If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything’.