Nappy Headed Black Child

I am no longer a prisoner of western thought. I havent made it freedom yet but i am definately no longer bound.

Western thought hinges on the Descartes Philosophy "I think Therefore I Am." this emphasizes the individual above any and everything. It undergirds our sciences, thought process, value system, our concept of justice, our concept of acheivement. It reflects the ideology of the greeks and romans who principles undergird the foundation of America. Very few would disagree that independance and the strength of the individual isnt something that is instrumental to America's view of self.

However

I am not Greek. I am not Roman. I am African American. African by heritage American because i was born here.

And as a result of my African-ness, Descartes philosophy of Being is foreign to me because i am not a European.

Then i found this

The principal of Ubuntu from the Zulu and Xhosa tribes- I AM because YOU ARE and because YOU ARE, I AM.

Umoja, Unity, Togetherness.

In a country where our tribes and bloodlines were broken where mother father and children were scattered to the winds. Where we suffered oppression under a (white) supremacist, capitalist, male dominated dominant culture. For the uplifting of our still oppressed people the principle of Ubuntu is paramount.

What has stagnated us is the adoption of what is foreign. The thought of the individual over the Unity of our people. The turning away from what is ours to favor and emulate something we cannot be, white. This creates the self hate, which creates the disunity, which stagnates us when we need to act colletively.

No longer am I a Prisoner of Western Thought