Black Education / Schools : MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE: THE COURSE OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY; LESSON 1: Intelligence, Education, Universal Knowledge and How to Get It

[One-Hundredd]

MESSAGE TO PEOPLE THE COURSE OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY VIDEO



E-BOOK for read along:

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Outlined here is the key points of Lesson 1 of Garvey's School Of African Philosophy. Each Lesson will have its own thread to avoid having to search through a giant thread for the lessonz. This lesson deals with the fundemental skill of obtaining and retaining knowledge. The ability to read, learn, and understand are basic cognitive abilities of all natural life. This skill is referenced as it pertains to Native Africans, African Americans, West Indian Blacks, Indigenous Blacks etc. The teachings of these lessons are observed from a universal African-Centered perspective. The man who taught these lessons; The Most Honorable President-General Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, was a successful businessman and organizer of millions of Blacks who became financially independent and free. His organization was formed to improve every aspect of African American life in the United States and Africans across the entire world from every continent. Many Blacks/Africans of multiple backgrounds including African Americans have attended Garvey's school and benefitted from these lessons. It is our hope as a collective group of people that the same benefit of those before us who learned these lessons; will also prove beneficial to us who are learning them in the modern era.



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LESSON 1: Intelligence, Education, Universal Knowledge and How to Get It


° You must never stop learning. Never stop reading. Read and Study. Many successful people who educated themselves outside of universities still progressed with the equal knowledge that a university can give using a sufficient library. Read novels if they contain useful knowledge on human nature or if they have a good story/plot.

-Avoid irrelevant literature, trashy novels.

(There are many examples of autodidacts [self taught people] Malcolm X was a great example of this. Self help books and other genres of books relevant to your mental growth are books you should seek out.The knowledge you gain from college is only useful as far as it relates to your career. The knowledge you received from your own personal study and research,stays with you because this is your personal growth in intelligence. You retain specialized knowledge that can be retrieved later as it relates to your current growth in life. Novels could be written in allegorical form to provide key information and enlighten the reader,or they could be written in with a great narrative which entertains the reader. "1984" by George Orwell and "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho are great examples of allegorical writings within novels.)

° Personal experience is not enough to intake all useful knowledge of life due to the possibility of a short lifespan, so observing and feeding on the experience of others is a consideration. (Reading the biography / autobiography of men & women who have accomplished greatness in their line of work can inspire you and give you sufficient wisdom and added confidence in your own life experience.Often times studying other's history will lead to your own. Study the greatest and become greater.)

° Whenever you can purchase and own these books--and while reading them, make pencil or pen notes of striking sentences and paragraphs you'd like to remember so that when you have to refer to the book for reference you will not have read the entire book over. (Highlight key points that you would like to review later. Sentences and paragraphs that are relevant to you. Use a highlighter, gel pen, pencil, etc.)

° Read the best poetry for inspiration, standard poets have always been the most inspirational creators. A good line of poetry may provide you the inspiration for the career of a lifetime. Many great men & women were first inspired by some attractive lines or verse of poetry. There are good and bad poets, just like there are good and bad novels. Always select the best poets for your inspirational surge. (Maya Angelou, Tupac Shakur, Marcus Garvey, Assata Shakur, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Audre Lorde, and many others are great example of poets who might inspire you from a personal African-American experience. There are other poets of other ethnic backgrounds who also may inspire you.)

° Read history incessantly until you master it. This means your own national history, the history of the world--social history,industrial history, and the history of the different sciences; primarily the history of man. If you don't know what went on before you came here and what's happening at the time that you live,but away from you; you won't know the world and will be ignorant of the world and mankind. (Malcolm X talked about this in one of his lectures, reading on what's happening in the world right now. Everything happening in the world whether it's political, scientific, economical, industrial, or social is considered Universal Knowledge. Universal Knowledge is conventional information that is universally accepted and essential to everyone and everything. This includes the history, research, and study of; archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, political science, medicinal science and practices, tropical agriculture, financial literacy, ethnic and cultural history, etc. "Knowledge Of Self" is also considered the study of national consciousness of one's individual ethnic background and culture. The history of your people, your ancestors, their accomplishments, and how their history relates and synchronizes with yours in your lifetime. Industrial history relates to Economics and Commerce, in particular; the manufacturing and production business. Studying the history of mankind means being aware of these things. "The Dictionary Of Cultural Literacy" is a great reference for national awareness as an American. The Encyclopedia Britannica is also recommended.)

° You can only make the best out of life by knowing and understanding it. To know, you must fall back on the intelligence of others who came before you and left their records behind. (Research those who lived before you to get wisdom and a better understanding of life. Learn from life's lessons as you progress.)

° To be able to read intelligently you must first be able to master the language of your country. To do this, you must be well acquainted with its grammar and the science of it. Every six months you should read over again the science of the language you speak, so as not forget its rules. People judge you by your writing and speech. A leader who is to teach men and present any facts of truth to mankind must first be learned in this subject.
-If you're not able to write or speak correctly, people will misjudge you based off this and assume you're not intelligent and will not listen to you. (Mastering the language of your country or the language of your speech consists of getting familiar with root words and their origin. The study of etymology. If your standard language is English, begin studying it thoroughly by becoming acquainted with Latin as most English words are of Latin origin. It's also advisable to know the French language as most books you read in English carry Latin and French phrases and words. There's no use reading a book /or a sentence without understanding it. Equip yourself with a dictionary so as to expand your vocabulary and become articulate in your speech and writing. In presenting facts, never write nor speak on subjects you don't know anything about. To know something, read and research. If you can't purchase books or own them, use the local public libraries and read them there or borrow them and make use of them. Use those books for information needed for reference. Make use of the internet using a library computer. Research the web for accurate citation.)

° HOW TO READ (A concise summary on reading and learning):
°Garvey suggests reading at least four hours a day, and suggests the best time is in the evening once you're home from work after you've rested and before sleeping hours--before the morning comes. The reason being is during your sleeping hours what you've read becomes planted in your memory within your subconscious mind. Never go to bed without doing some reading. -Garvey suggests that we never keep constant company of those uneducated nor those we can't learn from or those who can't reciprocate our growth and learning especially if the person is illiterate or ignorant. The consequence of association with ignorant or problematic people is we'll drift into the ignorance of that person and will be left stagnant. NEVER GO DOWN IN INTELLIGENCE to those who are below you, but if possible uplift those who are not enlightened and always try to ascend to those who are above you and be their equal with hope of being their teacher (leader or master). Each One, Teach One. You are the company you keep at times. We should always associate with people we can learn from. Contact with cultured people with value and having books of useful knowledge is the best companionship to have and keep.

°Garvey suggests that by reading good books we keep in contact with the authors and/or the subjects of the book when social contact is not available.

*[IN TERMS OF MOTIVATION & AMBITION]: °Continue always in the application of the thing you desire educationally, culturally, or otherwise, and never give up until you reach the objective--and you can reach the objective if others have done so before you,proving by their doing it is possible. °In your desire to accomplish greatness, you must first decide in your own mind in what direction you desire to seek that greatness and when you've decided in your own mind,work unceasingly toward it. The particular thing that you may want should be before you all the time, and whatsoever it takes to get it or make it possible should be undertaken. Use your faculties and persuasion to achieve all you set your mind on. The value of knowledge is to use it. °There is nothing in the world that you want that you can't have so long as it's possible in nature and men have achieved it before. The greatest men and women in the world burned the midnight lamp. That is to say, when their neighbors and household are gone to bed, they're reading, studying and thinking.

It is wise to study a couple of subjects at a time, a little bit of geography, psychology, ethics, theology, philosophy, mathematics, and a little bit of science on which a sound education is built. Doing this every week, every month, or year after year will make you more learned in the liberal arts and you'll be ready and fit in your place in the affairs of the world. If you know what others don't, people will be curious to hear you. You'll become invaluable in your community and your country because men and women will want to hear you and see you everywhere (charisma).

°All the knowledge you want is in the world and all you have to do is seek it and never stop until you've found it. You can find knowledge or the information about it in the public libraries, if it's not already on your own bookshelf. Try to have a book and own it on every bit of knowledge you want. You may get these books at second-hand bookstores for sometimes one fifth of the original value. °Always have a well-equipped shelf of books. The book you may be looking for can give you a thought by which you may win the heart of the world. The price you invested whether it's 25 cents or a dollar into a useful book may turn out to be an investment worth to an extent; a million dollars.

°You should always keep with you a notebook and fountain pen or indelible pencil and make a note in that book of anything you hear or see that you would like to remember. Always keep at home a larger notebook in which you must transfer the thought or experience so that it will not be lost to your memory. At least once every three months read over that book and as the book becomes more voluminous with facts, read it over at least once a year. By constantly reading these facts they will be planted in your subconscious mind and you will be able to use them without even knowing that you are doing so. By keeping your facts and your very important experiences on record, at the end of a full life you may have a volume of great value; such as "Elbert Hubbard’s Scrap Book". Get a copy of this book. It contains valuable inspiration. Always have a thought. Always make it a beautiful thought. The world is attracted to beauty, either in art or in expression. Therefore, try to read, think and speak beautiful things.

*[IN TERMS OF DISCOURSE & DEBATE]:
Never write or speak on a subject you know nothing about, always have up-to-date knowledge. You must, therefore, know where to find your facts and use them as you want them. No one will know where you get them, but you will have the facts and by using the facts correctly they will think of you as a wonderful person, a great genius, and a trusted leader. In reading it is not necessary or compulsory that you agree with everything you read. You must always use or apply your own reasoning to what you have read based upon what you already know as touching the facts on what you have read. Pass judgement on what you read based upon these facts. When I say facts I mean things that cannot be disputed. You may read thoughts that are old, and opinions that are old and have changed since they were written. You must always search to find out the latest facts on that particular subject and only when these facts are consistently maintained in what you read should you agree with them, otherwise you are entitled to your own opinion. Therefore, try to possess as much universal knowledge as possible through reading so as to be able to be free of repetition in trying to drive home a point. No one is ever too old to learn. Therefore, you should take advantage of every educational facility. If you should hear of a great man or woman who is to lecture or speak in your town on any given subject and the person is an authority on the subject, always make time to go and hear him. This is what is meant by learning from others. You should learn the two sides to every story, so as to be able to properly debate a question and hold your ground with the side that you support.

Try never to repeat yourself in any one discourse in saying the same thing over and over again except when you are making new points, because repetition is tiresome and it annoys those who hear the repetition. Knowledge is power. When you know a thing and can hold your ground on that thing and win over your opponents on that thing, those who hear you learn to have confidence in you and will trust your ability. Anything that you are going to challenge, you must first know about it, so as to be able to defeat it. The moment you are ignorant about anything the person who has the intelligence of that thing will defeat you. Therefore, get knowledge, get it quickly, get it studiously, but get it anyway. Never, therefore, attempt anything without being able to protect yourself on it, for every time you are defeated it takes away from your prestige and you are not as respected as before. Always speak in words that your audience understands. Never try to speak above your audience’s head because it will be a waste of time. Nobody will understand you. The important thing in speaking is to be understood.

In reading books written by white authors, of whatever kind, be aware of the fact that they are not always written for your particular benefit of your race. They always write from their own point of view and only in the interest of their own race. When through reading and research you have discovered any new fact helpful to the dignity, prestige, character and accomplishment of the Negro, always make a noise about it. You should study carefully the subject of ethnology. It is the subject that causes races to know the difference between one race and another. Ethnic relationships are important for they reveal the characteristics of one people as different from another. There is no doubt that each race has different habits and manners of behavior. You must know them so as to be able to deal with them. There are books on this subject in the library. In your reading and searching for truth always try to get that which is particularly helpful to the Negro. Every thought that strikes you, see how it fits in with the Negro, and to what extent you can use it to our benefit or on our behalf.

All the original Pharaohs were Black. Tutankamun, whose bones and body were dug up not very long ago at Luxor in Egypt, was a Black Pharaoh. The Sphinx, in Egypt, which has stood through the millenniums, has black features. One of the great backgrounds for your argument which cannot be disputed is that you are older than any other man as a race because you are black. Your argument is that in nature everything by way of age darkens. Because you are darker than the rest of men, proves logically that you are older than the rest of men. Another proof of that is that even among white people they grow darker in skin as they grow older in age in a lifetime. *In natural creation, the child in the womb of the mother is almost white, even though it is a Black child, it is almost born white and doesn’t change color until it comes in contact with light and air. {*INCREDIBLE THAT MARCUS GARVEY KNEW ABOUT MELANIN AND SCIENTIFIC FACT RELATED TO BLACKS IN 1937!!!!)

Therefore, in your reading search for all these facts. Never stop reading and never stop until you find the proof of them. You must pay great attention to sociology. Get the best books on the subject that you discover and read them thoroughly. Find out the social relationship among other races so that you may know how to advise your people in their social behavior. Never admit that the Negro is more immoral than the white man, try to prove the contrary. Socially, the white man has debauched and debased all other races because of his dominant power. He is responsible for more illegitimacy among the races than any other race. He has left bastard children everywhere he has been. Therefore, he is not competent to say that he is socially and morally purer than any other race.

 

[umbrarchist]

I remember when I first saw that movie, where Morpheus is talking to Neo before he is offered the pills.

"There is something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is but you can feel it. Like a splinter in your mind driving you mad."

Of course American society is pushing a somewhat different programming at Black people and the reactions/responses can be more weird and complex. We have conformists and reactionaries.