Leader Analysis

Basic Philosophy of Asa Philip Randolph

Lynching

In 1917, Randolph and his business partner, Chandler Owen, wrote a treatise called The Truth About Lynchings. Lynchings was a way to punish people or entire groups without a trial. Lynchings were very common in the South, and the victims were mostly black.

Randolph and Owen created the treatise to combat the myth that black men having sex with white women cause lynchings. Often interracial relationships ended with an accusation of rape. The whites of the town would rally and kill the offending black man.

To prove the cause of lynchings is not racial, Randolph and Owen show the stats for victims of lynching. Around 35% of victims of lynching were white, and only 34% followed a rape charge. There were black men lynched for dressing well, standing up to whites that disrespected them and attempting to vote. Often black men were just randomly killed. Even when a black man was accused of rape, he did not even know his white accuser. The cause of lynching is much deeper than race.

The writers contend all the victims were extremely poor and often exploited for labor. Most times blacks moved into an area and provided incredibly cheap labor. The skilled labor, generally white, would then need to run these people out of town or kill them. A mob would form to kill one man in hopes the rest would leave out of fear. If that did not work, an attack on the entire black population would follow. That was the story of lynchings in the North.

In the South, lynching provided cause for a constant state of fear in the black community. The state of fear impeded organizing and protesting for equal pay. The fear keeps the old exploitative Capitalist system alive, and the South stayed one step away from slavery.

The capitalists perpetuate racial fears and cause lynchings. The wealthy control the newspapers and can create whatever narrative they want. The public believes the narrative, and the skilled workers are pitted against non-skilled workers. Both have their attention diverted from the real cause of suffering.

Ultimately, exploitative Capitalism led to lynching. Instating socialism can correct the problem. The first order of business was to have all trade unions integrated. Blacks also have to begin to support trade unionism. It is insane to be against trade unionism because most black people are in the working class. In spite of the discrimination in the Union, the fundamental principles of Unionism are sound.

International Affairs

Randolph wrote a treatise on how the United States should handle World War I in 1917 with fellow socialist Chandler Owen. The duo was instrumental in the formulation of socialist thought in the black community. For the reader to fully understand the essay a summary of World War I is needed.

World War I started in 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne. A terrorist organization known as the Black Hand carried out the assassination, and the group had connections to Serbia. Serbia had recently gained full independence from the Ottoman Empire with the help of Russia. The Serbians wanted to liberate various Slavic countries from Austria – Hungary.

Austria – Hungary declared war on Serbia to avenge the killing of the heir. Serbia had a mutual protection pact with Russia. An alliance between France, Russia, and England had existed for decades. The entry of Germany on the side of Austria – Hungary culminated in “The war to end all wars.”

At the beginning of 1917, the United States was not yet in the war. A telegram from Germany was intercepted by the British. The telegram offered Mexico aid if Mexico declared war on the United States to reclaim land lost during the Mexican-American War. The telegram is now known as the Zimmerman Telegram. Public opinion swayed from isolationism to interventionism upon publication of the Zimmerman Telegram. The USA declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

Even though America was justified in entering the war, there were many issues getting soldiers half-way across the world. America could not reinforce European Allied force at speed to move the front line. 1917 was a year of stalemate. America was dumping tons of resources in a war with no end in sight. The government instituted the draft. America will solve all these logistic issues and by 1918 ten thousand new soldiers will be sent to France a day. The Allies will begin to push the Axis Powers back, and the war will end in the summer of 1918.

The stress of the war was not only taking a toll on America. Russia was also near starvation by 1917. The harsh living conditions for the average Russian resulted in a revolution to overthrow the Czar. The new government was the first Socialist government in the world. The new Russian government scales back on the war effort. A treaty between German and Russian will be signed in March of 1918.

Randolph and Owen’s joint treatise Terms of Peace and the Darker Races details how to the major European powers can gain peace with each other and with the non-whites of the world. The treatise takes the position that the war was not intended to avenge the death of Ferdinand. The war was to halt German progress in acquiring new territory in Africa and the Pacific. At the beginning of the war, Germany had colonies in East Africa, West Africa, Northern part of Papua New Guinea, and various islands in the Pacific. The German colonial growth threatened French and German power in Africa and beyond.

The second cause of the war was a surplus of military goods that was going idol. Capitalists run Europe and want to ensure resources go to use and generate profit. However, once the excess of military assets has been exhausted the European powers will end the war because there is not profit motive. The following paragraph is a good summary.

“ After the goods produced shall have been used. There is no gain in having the war continue, but on the contrary, the war’s continuance would be a substantial debt upon capitalist. The capitalist…sell immense amount of goods. When the war ends, the government owes them huge debts. It is necessary for the soldiers to become laborers now to pay this debt. Hence the object of peace is profit – gain- just as the object of war is.” p.2

To illustrate his idea the capital gain is the real reason for prolonging the war he shows how differently the new socialist government in Russia and the capitalist government are handling the issue of peace. The Russians have made their terms for peace well known. Britain and France engage in dark diplomacy, working on terms with Austria -Hungary, and Germany in secret. He concludes that Britain and France want continuance because they still see that the venture is profitable

The profit to be made is not only on the sale of arms and supplies, but the reclaiming of colonial lands recently lost to Germany. The new colonial lands have numerous untapped resources. Further development in Europe is no longer possible due to overuse of land. The new colonial lands are vital for further growth. The allies hope to weaken Germany and take the land back.

The European power’s main relationship to the colonial land is for exploitation. The people of the land are seen as a vehicle to be used to cultivate the ground. They are not independent/agentic beings. The following quotes are a summary of this aspect of the philosophy.

“To prevent such a fight, one of three things may be done: You may eliminate the fighters, you may remove the thing they fight about, or change the attitude on what they are fighting about.” p.8

“Herein lies the real bone of contention of the world war – darker peoples for cheap labor and darker people for rich lands” p 13

“Before getting into the terms of peace for the darker nations, we wish to observe that incidentally are the darker people’s exploited. It is not because of their color per se, but because colored peoples happen to assume such a low place in the scale of civilization just now as to make such exploitation attractive easy and possible.” p 15

Because you can not eliminate the European nations or the colonial lands, the attitude toward colonial lands must change. That is why the European must acknowledge the colonial’s independence an aid in the march toward self-sufficiency. Global peace and stability will be needed to facilitate this new paradigm.

The creation of a Permanent International Peace Commission will be necessary. The commission will judge international breaches of justice. The ability address grievances in a court setting will make the need for war obsolete. As part of the commission, there will be an International Council on the Condition of Darker Races. This council will ensure profit sharing between the workers and capitalist, proper education for natives, and eventual independence for the native people.

Randolph believes the desire for peace will be the ultimate motivator to accomplish this goal. World War I was so bloody on such a large scale that no one will want to endure any war ever again. If everyone wants peace, then full independence for the colonies is necessary. He extends the desired autonomy to Alsace, Lorraine, and Poland which were controlled by various European nations at that time.

Immigration

Like many other Black Empowerment Thinkers, Randolph was a restrictionist.^[D] Restrictionist means a person believes jobs or government benefits should first go to United States citizens. His reasoning is complex.

1. Black immigrants rarely applied for citizenship in the early 1900’s
2. White immigrants worked to bring racist laws into the North to shut down black competition for work. Immigrants from nations that were hostile to the USA displaced black veterans in the job market.

His restrictionist stance came from the general labor dynamic of the early 1900’s. The labor unions shut out blacks. Then the union would monopolize the labor market. When the union would strike, blacks would fill the jobs left behind by the strikers. So blacks were often opposed to immigration and the unions. The racism of the labor unions led to most blacks voting Republican and most immigrants voting Democrat. The following was a quote from Randolph in 1924.

“ Instead of reducing immigration to 2% of the 1890 quota, we favor reducing it to nothing… We favor shutting out the Germans from Germany, Italians from Italy, and the Hindus from India. Negro’s from the West Indies. The country is suffering from immigrant indigestion.”^[D]

It is important to note that Randolph took no stance on immigration bills after the BSCP joined the AFL. Specifically, he did not comment on the McCarran-Walter Act in 1952 or the Hart-Cellar Act in 1965.^[D]

Worker relations

In a 1919 editorial in his periodical “The Messenger” he detailed his Socialist policy in an article entitled “Our Reason for Being.” Randolph explains how the interest of black and white workers are the same. Specifically, their interests are better wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions. If unions discriminate against blacks, the capitalist will have a bank of workers to use when the union workers strike. The larger the union, the more power it will have. Therefore integrating unions is only logical. He cites the Industrial Workers of the World, which was the largest union and the most powerful integrated union in the 1910’s.

Allowing Blacks in Unions will also stop the spread of communism among black people. Black radicalism was starting to spread in blacks frustrated with the slow pace of racial justice. If black people were financially stable faith would be restored in the government and society. The newfound faith in America would lead to more stability.

Proactive Politics

Randolph gave the opening speech at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In the speech, he details how all Americans need to have full employment. Randolph hoped the march would lead to a jobs bill that would reduce national unemployment. Fair hiring practices must accompany the new jobs. He details one of the main hindrances to fair hiring practices is the need for social peace. Opponents will always claim that change will upset current workers and customers and cause a problem. Randolph expresses the need not to be afraid of conflict for the sake of advancement. Randolph demands that federal funding be contingent on compliance was the method of enforcing the new employment laws.

Randolph also makes clear that the march is just the beginning. He calls for listeners to take a pledge to take the call to resistance back home.

“ When we leave, it will be to carry on the civil rights revolution home with us into every nook and cranny of the land, and we shall return again and again to Washington in ever growing numbers until total freedom is ours” ^[F]

Legacy

Thomas Baker interview Randolph in 1968 on his life and legacy. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library kept the interview. The interview recounts his dealings with presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson

The first President that Randolph interacted with was F. D. Roosevelt. Randolph had scheduled the 1941 March on Washington to protest segregation in the armed forces and munitions manufacturing. World War II was underway in Europe. The United States would enter the war in December 1941 after Pearl Harbor. The US was supplying the allied war effort. Therefore munitions factories were opening all over the country. Blacks were applying and were not given jobs in munitions factories. For a group of people kept systematically poor, not being allowed in a growing industry was a real problem.

An even larger problem was segregation in the military. There was the moral issue of fighting discrimination overseas when blacks at home suffered and the practical issue of the glass ceiling for promotions for blacks. A black soldier could be in charge of a black division but nothing else. That made the dream of becoming a general unobtainable. All black people in the armed forces had feelings of resentment.

Mrs. Roosevelt was the first to reach out to Randolph to see if they could avoid having the march. The President did not want racial strife to divide the nation when any day the US could be called to help the Allies in Europe. Mrs. Roosevelt asked why had Randolph not come to the President first. After talking, Mrs. Roosevelt set up a meeting between FDR and Randolph.

F.D. Roosevelt explained that he was soon to execute Executive Order 8802 forcing the National Defense Industry to desegregate. Initially, the Executive Order only applied to government contractors. Randolph demanded the addition of federl government work. Roosevelt agreed if Randolph called off the march. Two days before the march, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 and it included the federal government.

Executive Order 8802 did not contain the military. Randolph and other Civil Rights leaders went to work on a national campaign to end segregation in the military. Truman agreed to meet with Randolph in either 1947 or 1948, Randolph could not remember. In the meeting, Randolph explains black were preparing to become insubordinate if the military did not desegregate. Truman did not realize the situation was that serious. Truman got to work and issued Executive Order 9981 desegregating the military.

Randolph says Eisenhower did the least of all the presidents he worked with for the cause of Civil Rights. Eisenhower was sympathetic to the black cause, but would not take public stands. Randolph did commend Eisenhower for protecting the Little Rock 9, but he could have done much more.

Randolph recounts the story of the 1963 March on Washington. Senators Javits and Douglass organized a meeting between Kennedy, Johnson, various congressmen, and Civil Rights leaders. The biggest concern was keeping the march peaceful. There had never been a demonstration of that size before. If the protest turned violent, it would be difficult to contain. The Civil Rights leaders reassured everyone they could keep control.

Johnson is the best president for Civil Rights according to Randolph. He makes sure to say that list includes Lincoln. Randolph lists Johnson’s accomplishments: Civil Rights Act of 1964, 1965, Voting Rights Act of 1967 and the Open House Occupancy Act of 1968. President Johnson is the first man that won the Presidency that received Randolph’s vote. Randolph spent most of his life as part of the Socialist Party, and Johnson was the first mainstream candidate that had his support. Randolph is confident that President Johnson would soon end the Vietnam War.

Baker asks Randolph if Dr. King and President Johnson had any animosity. Randolph says that Johnson and Dr. King had a good relationship. There was no animosity between King and Johnson.

Randolph considers himself and fellow Civil Rights activists Roy Wilkins and Andrew Young the voice of most of Black America. He grouped Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois together as Capitalist thinkers.He considered Marcus Garvey the voice of more radical separatist. He says Garvey’s Back to Africa movement will not work for the following reasons.

1. Most blacks don’t want to go back to Africa
2. Blacks don’t have enough resources to collective move back to Africa
3. Even if blacks move back to Africa, Imperialist control all the resources.

Ultimately, the Back to Africa movement was not realistic.

Sources:
Books
1. Banks, W. M. 1996, Black Intellectuals: Race and Responsibility in American Life, New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
2. Randolph, A.P 1917 and Owen, Chandler, Terms of Peace and the Darker Race, Poole Press Association (E-book version on Google Play)
Internet
A. Pfeffer, Paula F. (2000). “Randolph; Asa Philip” American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press.
B. “A look at Malcolm X as a mirror for America” New York Times 12-16-1992
Asa Philip Randolph biography on http://www.aflcio.org
C. Scott, Daryl (1999) “ Immigrant Indigestion” Center for Immigration Studies
D. Randolph, A.P. “Our Reason for Being” transcript on http://www.historymatters.gmu.edu
E. Transcript of Randolph’s 1963 March on Washington Speech found on http://www.jacksonville.com

Randolph & The National Negro Congress

A Philip Randolph provides many examples of how to build and break coalitions. Randolph understood that alliances bring economy of scale and cross-pollinate ideas from one movement to another. He also understood if a member or group of members is going down the wrong path, it is better to let them go down that road alone. He understood relationships are important, but the welfare of the people he is here to protect is more important.

Randolph’s first coalition was formed to aid the Scottsboro Boys to fight their 1931 case. The Scottsboro Boys were a group of black hobos that fought a group of white hobos for the right to stowaway on a train car. After losing the fight, the white hobos got two white women to accuse the blacks of rape. The Scottsboro Boys are arrested and almost lynched. A rushed trail and a harsh conviction followed to prevent a race riot.

Randolph teams up with the NAACP and the Communist Party. Randolph, having the Pullman Porters at his aid, was able to make sure news of the trial got across the country. The NAACP had the lawyers and the political pull to make sure the Scottsboro Boys had a retrial. The Communist Party had money and pull with white liberals and radicals. The team was able to free four of the nine men. ^[1]

The members of the team decided they should keep a good thing going. In May of 1935, the National Negro Congress is founded at Howard University. They had their first convention in Chicago in February of 1936.^[2] The NNC had 800 delegates representing every major national and local Civil Rights, Labor, and Leftist organization.^[3] The goal was to fight for Civil Rights as a subset of economic equality. The NNC will encourage blacks to join the unions, the unions to accept black people, and pooling resources to support leftist candidates and policies. The largest difference between NNC members and mainstream leftist and Civil Rights organizations is the thought race is a material, not moral construct and racism is a national not Southern issue. ^[4]

The biggest division in the group was the Communist and liberal Civil Rights leaders. The Communist wanted to change the economic system of the United States. Beck refers to this as a “Second Order Change.” The Liberals wanted more blacks involved in industries outside domestic and agricultural. The Liberals wanted “First Order Change.”

On top of having different philosophies, many Communist Party leaders were in contact with the Soviet Union (USSR). The USSR and the USA had a very complicated relationship in the 1930’s. USSR was part of the allied alliance against Germany. At the same time, the Soviet Union vowed to spread Communism all over the world. The spread of Communism was a direct threat to American capitalism. Many of the liberals did not want to get involved in taking on the entire government. They also did not want to be implicated in an espionage investigation

In 1939, the USSR signed an agreement with Germany not to attack. Essentially, the USSR left the Allied Alliance. The USSR leaving the war caused a split in the NNC. The Liberals wanted to support the war effort and desegregate the military. The Communist wanted to become pacifist. A. Philip Randolph and the other liberals left the NNC in 1940. ^[4]

In 1941, Germany reneged on the pact with the USSR and invaded. The American Communist Party does a one-eighty and now supports the war effort. The Communist go so far that they no longer call for the military to desegregate. The new stance is Hitler is the primary enemy and racist are a secondary enemy. After the war is over, the Civil Rights struggle will continue.^[5]Many of the NNC members and black people in the Communist party at large left when the party abandoned Civil Rights. One of those people was Bayard Rustin. The NNC dissolves in 1947 due to Cold War Suppression.^[3]

Randolph took the contingent that was pro-USA and started the “Double V” movement. The goal was to encourage black people to join the war effort and desegregate the military. The committee will grow to the March on Washington Movement that will force the desegregation of the war industry and the military. It will also increase Randolph’s influence with a host of presidents. More on this subject will fill a later blog post.

As the reader can see, Randolph again shows exceptional judgment. He had watched the Soviet Revolution since 1917 when he viewed it optimistically. He watched the atrocities it committed over the last fifteen years and determined he wanted no part of it. The USA had its problems, yet he understood that these problems could best be solved within the USA. Becoming a puppet to a foreign government caused not only the loss of independence, but it also puts the organization even more at odds with the government that has power over the lives of the members. Randolph made the best decision for himself and the Brotherhood by leaving the NNC. By keeping his independence, he was able to take a practical stance against oppression

Sources

1. “Scottsboro Boys, Trial, and Defense” http://www.blackpast.org
2. “The National Negro Congress of 1936” http://freepress.org
3. “National Negro Congress” http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org
4. Report on Deathblow to Jim Crow by Charles Manning
5. “The Negro March On Washington Movement in the World War II Period” https://theanarchistlibrary.org

April 17, 2017 1

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

Asa Philip Randolph demonstrates to black leaders how to build coalitions. Randolph was also realistic about the limitations of his organization. The realization of his limitations led him to seek strategic alliances. While in these alliances he was able to keep control of his union and stay focused on his goal.

Randolph also understood that some organizations could derail his union. If he were to ally with a group that was too radical he would not only hinder the Brotherhood, he would also put many porters in danger. Randolph sought alliances with other mainstream organizations.

As most of the readers already know, Asa Philip Randolph organized The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and obtained a charter from the American Federation of Labor (AFL). He was successful in his efforts because he made strategic alliances to increase his power. An evaluation of the porter’s previous attempts to unionize will be used to demonstrate how “going it alone” is not realistic.

The first attempt to create a porter’s union was in 1890 with the Charles Sumner Association. Charles Sumner was a Senator that fought for Civil Rights. The Pullman Company threatened to fire all the porter’s and hire white replacements. The 1890 strike never happened. The second strike threat occurred in 1897, and again the company threatened to hire white replacements to stop the strike. The closest any porter got to making an appeal for higher wages was getting an editorial in a local newspaper in 1901.

The porter’s primary barrier to successful organizing was a lack of money. In the 1920’s a porter made $1,200 a year. The poverty line in the 1920’s was $1,500 a year. So most porters did not have money for savings or union dues. In addition to only making $1,200, tips composed twenty percent of the salary. As anyone that has worked for tips knows, tips fluctuate, leaving the porter in an even more precarious position.

Not having sufficient income made porter’s even more dependent on the Pullman Company. The company had a porter rule book with two hundred and seventeen rules. When that many rules are in place, every worker made numerous transgression every shift. Pullman had grounds to fire a porter at any time. In addition to not having income or job security, a porter would have a difficult time finding new employment. Pullman specifically recruited dark-skinned black people for the porter job. The job market discriminated against dark-skinned people. The loss of a porter job could be a setback that a black man would never recover.

In 1925, Randolph was selected to run the Brotherhood of Pullman Porters. His job is to finally give the porters a much-needed raise and change the rules to allow for porters to stand up to abuse. Randolph faces many of the same problems previous organizers will face. Membership fluctuates because people can not pay their dues. Instead of simply berating members, he went out to find allies with deep pockets.

Randolph sought out donations from liberal white churches. Donations from white churches keep the Brotherhood afloat for the tumultuous early years. Many of these churches were concerned with the welfare of black people. They have established wealthy membership that kept a steady stream of money flowing to the Brotherhood.

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was another organization courted by Randolph. The AFL was the largest federation of unions at the time and had deep connections with the Democratic party. Both the AFL and the Democratic party had a long history of racism. In the North, blacks were not allowed in most unions. When unions went on strike, black workers would cross the picket line and fill the empty jobs. The AFL and Democratic party often conspired to create laws and reduce funding that would help black people as a way to retaliate.

Randolph knew that the AFL was the only union organization that could give the Brotherhood validity. Affiliation with the AFL would also give Randolph inside information on various initiatives in Congress. Most importantly the AFL could supply the Brotherhood with money in the event of a strike.

The Brotherhood received AFL affiliate status in 1929. The Brotherhood would pay the AFL $0.35 per member. A full AFL membership union only pays $0.01 per member. Many critics saw this not only as a “slap in the face,” but a poor use of scarce resources. Randolph understood that the AFL membership would be a long and arduous road. If the Brotherhood could survive this probationary period, they could obtain real government influence.

The Democratic party heavily pressured the AFL to begin to incorporate black members. The AFL had a long history of segregation in its affiliate unions. At one AFL conference, the group stated its official goal was to protect the livelihoods of native-born white men. The pressure came from the Democratic party’s need to keep control of the mayorship of many major cities, which had sharp increases in their black population. Also, the Democratic party wanted to pull membership away from third parties such as Democratic Socialists and Communists. The Democratic party could reduce the threat of a third party by being more inclusive.

Randolph garnered the most criticism for his introduction of AFL president William Green in Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church. He said Green was the second Abraham Lincoln coming to rescue the black worker from industrial bondage. Many critics used this overly enthusiastic introduction as proof Randolph was using the porters as inroads into the AFL. The AFL had a long history of excluding black people and had not allowed the porters to enter as full members.

The election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1932 was the jumpstart that both the Brotherhood and the AFL needed to merge. FDR instituted the National Labor Relations Act in 1935 and expanded the Railway Labor Act to include airlines. These laws set specific procedures to form a union, address grievances, and to go on strike. The introduction of a union-friendly administration increased membership in the Brotherhood of Pullman Porters. It is not a coincidence that the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters got an official charter from the AFL in 1935. Having an administration that was friendly to the cause of black liberation had substantial effects. In 1937, the Brotherhood signed a contract with the Pullman company for higher wages and improved working conditions.

Many of today’s black leaders speak of black people becoming independent. Black organizations talk about divorcing themselves from white money and white members. Historically, completely isolated organizations do not work. It would be advantageous to look at what A. Philip Randolph’s alternatives were in the fight against the Pullman Corporation.

The obvious ally would be various black organizations around at the time most notably, the black church. If all these black organizations “pooled their pennies together” they could have serious money to fight injustices. The only problem with the strategy is that all the other black organizations had similar, if not worse money problems. In fact, Pullman gave generous donations to black churches to help in the fight against the Brotherhood. The Chicago branch of the National Urban League fought against the Brotherhood because of a large Pullman donation. The National Urban League funded most of the black politicians. Therefore, many of Chicago’s black politicians were against unionization. The lack of money in the black community hurts black organizations. Most black organizations are more concerned with getting donations to stay afloat and are willing to compromise ethics to get the donations.

The Brotherhood could have enlisted wealthier members of the black community. There were some prominent members of the black community that could have provided money. However, many felt threatened by the prominence of the porter’s in the black community. The few black professionals in major cities enjoyed being the wealthiest black people in town. If the porters obtained fair wages, they could challenge their status in the community. Most black professionals were deeply invested in Orange Meme striving. They were not interested in helping others.

One could say if you were going to ally with white people at least partner with white people that were integrationist from the beginning. The biggest rival to the AFL at the time was the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). IWW was integrationist from inception in 1905. One of the founding members, Lucy Parsons, was born a slave in Texas. The IWW wanted to do away with the wage system and put workers in charge of the means of production. The IWW put itself in direct opposition to the AFL that wanted “A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.” If the Brotherhood joined IWW, they would have to challenge Pullmans validity in running the railroad.

The IWW radicalism also led to scrutiny by authorities. In 1906, the murder of an Idaho Governor implicated an IWW leader. Citizen accused IWW member of rioting in Butte, Montana in 1914. Migratory farmers were also a large part of the IWW membership. Unfortunately, migratory farmers were looked down upon and blamed for many unsolved crimes. Migratory farmers were called hobos in the 1920’s and viewed negatively by the general public. The activity that put the IWW the most at odds with the Federal government was its outspoken stance against World War I.

Many unionist believe the government systematically targeted the IWW to cause its downfall. Numerous high profile cases plagued the organization from the early 1910’s to 1920’s. By 1925, the organization was a shell of itself. The union will recover in 1960’s, but the 1920’s was a dark time for the IWW. Randolph understood what the IWW was going through and was smart to keep the Brotherhood away.

Eugene V. Debs, one of the founders of the IWW, was a hero of Randolph. Randolph wrote about Debs’ philosophy in college and his first years at “The Messenger.” Even though Randolph personally agreed with the philosophy of the IWW, including the IWW’s stance against war, he knew a partnership would not be practical. Randolph knew how to set his personal feelings aside for the good of the group.

Randolph’s life and work demonstrate effective leadership. It is a model that more black leaders should follow. He understood the limitations of his group and worked with organizations that would complement the Brotherhood. Once Randolph determined which organizations could be of service to him, he put aside his personal feelings a pursued the alliance. His efforts ultimately culminated in the first contract between a black union and a major corporation. Randolph’s pragmatism is something to admire.

Asa Philip Randolph (1889 – 1979)

Accomplishments

+ Organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
+ Pressured POTUS Franklin Roosevelt into signing Executive Order to stop
segregation in Defense Contracting
+ Pressure POTUS H. Truman into signing Executive Order to end segregation in the
military
+ Directed March on Washington in 1963
+ First Vice President of the AFL-CIO in 1955 to 1968
+ Founder of Negro American Labor Council
+ Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom by POTUS Johnson
+ The movie “10,000 Black Men Named George” was written about Randolph’s life

Short Biography

Asa Philip Randolph was born in Crescent City, Florida in 1889 to a working class African Methodist Episcopal preacher and his wife. Randolph’s father, James W. Randolph, was heavily influenced by Black Nationalism. In the early 1900’s Henry McNeal Turner, fellow AME preacher was first developing a philosophy that called for black people to leave America in mass and resettle in Africa.^[D] Turner also believes G-d was black and it was important for blacks to see G-d in their image. Black nationalist thinking will have a profound effect on Randolph’s life.

Randolph’s parents were not only armchair philosophers; they lived what they preached. A black man was being held in a Florida county jail. A mob was preparing to lynch the detainee, and James Randolph organized a protection force to surround the jail. His mother sat at home and protected the family with a loaded shotgun.^[C] Philip Randolph vividly recounts the story in many sources.

In Randolph’s early years he excelled in school. Randolph graduated valedictorian of his high school class in 1907. He left Florida to pursue an acting career and went to New York City in 1911.^[A] While in the acting community he was first introduced to Socialism. He began to devour all the information he could on the new philosophy. While at one of these Socialist meetings he met Chandler Owen, a Columbia law student. The two began a partnership that synthesized various elements of Socialism and black liberation. The pair was colloquially known in Harlem as “Lenin” (Owen) and “Trotsky” (Randolph).

The partnership of Randolph and Owen culminated in the periodical they published called the “Messenger” in 1917. “Messenger” campaigned against lynchings, American participation in World War 1, and segregation. The publication was endorsed by the Socialist Party of America and deemed by the Department of Justice as “the most dangerous of all Negro publications.” ^[A]Various ideological differences caused the publication to disband in 1919. ^[A]

Randolph initial forays as a union organizer were troublesome. He first attempted to organize New York City Elevator Operators. He then became president of the National Brotherhood of Workers of America, a shipyard worker union. The National Brotherhood dissolved due to pressure from the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

His greatest success as a union leader came with the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP). The largest group of Sleeping Car Porters worked for the Pullman Company. The Pullman Company was one of the biggest railroad companies in the early 1900’s. The Sleeping Car, as the name entails, had sleeping berths to allow a person to sleep on long train rides. The Pullman Company had a reputation for the best and most luxurious sleeping cars. A trip on a Pullman Car would be a huge status symbol.

A Sleeping Car Porter would be equivalent to a modern day airline stewardess, hotel concierge, and luggage handler all in one. The Sleeping Car Porter would greet the traveler on entry, carry their bags, inform them of train rules, show them around the train. Before the porters unionized, they would commonly work one hundred hours a week. The pay was $1,230 a year in 1927, when the poverty line was $1,500.

Randolph was elected president of the BSCP in 1925. It was the first time a black union took on a large corporation. As with many other labor movements, Pullman Company used violence and intimidation to subvert unionizing efforts. Despite adversity, the BSCP was able to sign 51% of porters into their union in the first year.^[A] In 1935, Randolph was able to begin negotiations with the Pullman Company. In 1937, the Pullman Company entered the contract with the BSCP.

Randolph’s success in the BSCP made him a prominent figure in Civil Rights. He decided to turn his attention to racial segregation in the war industry. He partnered with Bayard Rustin to organize the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1941. Randolph threatened to have 50,000 people protesting in the city. POTUS F. Roosevelt felt the pressure and signed Executive Order 8802 also known as the Fair Employment Act. The Fair Employment Act ended racial segregation in war industry. The 1941 March was called off due to the signage of the executive order.

Randolph understood his work was incomplete. He now focused on ending segregation in the armed forces. Randolph formed the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service to pressure the government into abolishing segregation in military service. He went as far as telling black people not to register for the draft.^[A] POTUS H. Truman felt this pressure and signed Executive Order 9981 to abolish military segregation in 1948.^[A]

By the 1950’s, a new group of Civil Rights leaders was coming to the forefront. The most promising of the bunch was a young Georgia preacher named Martin Luther King Jr. Randolph arranged for Bayard Rustin to teach King how to organize and build coalitions. Rustin and Randolph’s tutelage culminated in King being the keynote speaker at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

While advocating for Civil Rights on the whole Randolph continued to fight for labor rights within the American Federation of Labor (AFL). America has a long history of racism and segregation in labor unions. Randolph also decided to fight this corruption inside the unions. The AFL chartered the BSCP in 1935. Randolph’s involvement continued through the merger with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Randolph served as vice president of the newly formed AFL-CIO from 1955 until 1968.

Randolph also got Civil Rights leaders involved in the labor movement. The only time Malcolm X participated in a labor strike was 1962’s fifty-six-day strike for the benefit of hospital workers at the Brookdale Medical Center. Malcolm X spoke at their rally and publicly supported the black and brown workers. It is important to note he shared the platform with Dr. Martin Luther King. ^[B]

A. Philip Randolph died in 1979 of a heart condition

Sources:
Books
Banks, W. M. 1996, Black Intellectuals: Race and Responsibility in American Life, New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Randolph, A.P 1917 and Owen, Chandler, Terms of Peace and the Darker Race, Poole Press Association (E-book version on Google Play)
Internet
A. Pfeffer, Paula F. (2000). “Randolph; Asa Philip”. American National Biography Online.
B. “A look at Malcolm X as a mirror for America” New York Times 12-16-1992
C. Asa Philip Randolph biography on http://www.aflcio.org
D. Scott, Daryl (1999) “ Immigrant Indigestion” Center for Immigration Studies

April 7, 2017 2

What Is a Pullman Porter?

The Pullman Porter had a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. His official job description was to assist the passengers on the luxurious Pullman Sleeping Car. His real job was to create the black middle class and forge countless organizations. The porter is known primarily for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which marked the first black labor union to sign a contract with a large company. In addition to all the historical accomplishments of the union, the porter provides vital insight into the black experience.

The first point of business is explaining the Pullman Company. The Pullman Company manufactured luxury train cars for overnight travel. The Pullman Company also contracted out the crew to run the car. The crew members were called Sleeping Car Porters. The founder George Pullman began the company after having to sleep in the train chair on an overnight trip to visit relatives. He started to design a car with rooms with full-size beds called berths. Pullman also elicited help from the government to create favorable laws and obtain funding. Pullman befriended the son of Abraham Lincoln, Robert Todd Lincoln while petitioning the government. Lincoln took over the company after the death of George Pullman. Both men were fiercely anti-union regardless of the race of the members.

In the simplest terms, a Pullman Porter is equivalent to airline stewardess with far more responsibilities. A porter would greet the passenger upon entrance to the train, carry the bags, show the passengers around the car, and cater to the various needs of the passenger. Porters acted as babysitters while parents drank, nurses when the elderly passengers were sick, and safety advisors when the tracks got rocky. The porter was always available with a smile to make sure his passenger’s trip was remarkable.

Pullman preferred to hire dark-skinned, tall, thin porter’s from the American South. They needed to be tall to reach the shelves above the berths. He needed to be thin to walk by passengers in the narrow hallway without touching. Southern to be sufficiently submissive, Northern blacks were often too rowdy. The dark-skin was especially important. Dark-skin marked the division between passenger and porter. The passenger needed to see the porter, but the passenger should never be obliged to consider the porter fully human. The porter was “other,” a servant, and he wanted the passenger to see him as such.

The passengers on Sleeping Cars were known for their rambunctiousness. The Pullman Car was one of the most expensive ways to travel at the time. The liquor flowed freely on the train, so much so, that passengers often “found themselves in strangers beds.” A Pullman trip would be equivalent to a modern day cruise.

In addition to most passengers spending a significant amount of time on the journey drunk, the white passenger treated the porter with very little respect. The most notable feature of the disrespect was referring to all porters as “George.” The name harkens back to slavery when slaves received their master’s last name. Since the owner of the company was named George, all his black workers were George by default. Termination was the penalty for not answering to George. The Pullman Manual had two hundred and seventy rules. A porter could never show and any indication that he was angry or hurt by a passenger’s comment.

Even though porters were not allowed to fraternize with the passengers, many passengers made advances on the porters. Sumner Welles was Undersecretary of State in 1940. Welles was exemplary as a diplomat and was picked to succeed the current Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Welles derailed his career by getting drunk and offering a porter money for sex. The porter told superiors, and other porters said Welles made the same advances on them. Various government officials confirmed the story and Welles was not picked to be Secretary of State. A 1977 tell-all memoir was the first utterance of this story.

Not all advances were turned down. Here is a story of a young porter and a bride whose husband had to disembark early from the train. The account comes from Larry Tye’s book Rising from the Rails.

Watching her husband ride off in a covered wagon, she struck up a conversation with [A porter] “You -you know you’re the first Nig-nigger I have ever talked to. Can I? I? – believe all- believe all my mother and father have told me about you people?” she inquired hesitatingly, with a peculiar smile. Her remarks flashed through my mind, bringing with them thing the boys had told me that white people say about niggahs, and I realized what she was suggesting. It’s sure hard to make white people believe that what they say might be true about some of us, but not about the whole race. Still, as the legend is to our advantage, I left my work for an hour, so that it shouldn’t die with me.

Not all white and black interchanges were agreeable. The porter had to find ways to protect himself that did violate company rules. Larry Tye recounts a story from The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Malcolm X worked for a few years as a Pullman Porter before turning to a life of crime and later conversion to Islam.

I remember that once, when some passengers complaints had gotten me a warning, and I wanted to be careful, I was working down the aisle and a big, beefy, red-faced cracker soldier got up in front of me, so drunk he was weaving and announced loud enough that everybody in the car heard him, “I’m going to fight you nigger.” I remember the tension, I laughed and told him, “Sure, I’ll fight, but you’ve got too many clothes on.” He had on a big Army overcoat. He took that off, and I kept laughing and said he still had on too many. I was able to keep that cracker stripping off clothes until he stood there drunk with nothing on from his pants up, and the whole car was laughing at him, and some other soldiers got him out of the way. I went on. I never would forget that – that I couldn’t have whipped that white man as badly with a club as I had with my mind.”

Relations between blacks on the train was also interesting. Because porters had to suppress their anger toward passengers they often lashed out against each other. Often porters would accuse other porters of “cooning.” Cooning is acting overly obliging to get bigger tips. A charge of cooning could come from having too big a smile for too long or the egregious dancing for customer’s amusement. Ultimately, all the porters had to compromise their pride to work for the Pullman company. An arbitrary line separates following orders and cooning. Cooning was always something the other guy did.

The other large part of the Pullman crew was the kitchen staff. To keep with plantation tradition, the kitchen workers were normally light skinned. Often porters would say waiters were soft and did not work hard. Many people will say that this is a remnant of anger from the plantation hierarchy. Light-skinned slaves, commonly descendant of the master, got “easier” jobs in the house. I think that the animosity between porters and kitchen staff was just another way to expel suppressed anger from passenger’s behavior.

Ultimately, kitchen staff and porters worked together. Kitchen staff would save scraps to make stew. Porters would keep an eye out for empty berths to allow the cooks and waiters to get a good night’s sleep. The kitchen staff could easily sneak out before the passengers awakened. In the end, both kitchen staff and porter were on the same team. If they did not work together, they would sink together.

I will detail the formation of The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in later blog posts. As of now, I will say the contract between Pullman Company and The Brotherhood will be the first time and all black union will force a major company to sign a contract. The victory catapults Brotherhood President A. Philip Randolph to national acclaim. He uses his fame to make the National Negro Congress, which is a militant alternative to the NAACP. The National Negro Congress folds due to internal conflict. He learns many leadership lessons from the organization and begins a campaign to desegregate the government and military.

To rally support, Randolph rallies crowds around the idea of a March on Washington. Originally, Randolph was going to get 10,000 people to demonstrate in Washington, DC. Once he started relaying the idea to crowds across the country people from all over the nation and of all political persuasions. Randolph officially set the date of the march on June 27, 1941.

Franklin D. Roosevelt did not want a public demonstration at this time. FDR was attempting to gain support for joining in the fight in World War II. He was also afraid that communist would cause a disturbance in the rally and put American race relations on a world stage. FDR met with Randolph to come to a compromise that would allow for Randolph to call off the march. The result was Executive Order 8802 which desegregated the defense industry government and contractor. Two days before the March on Washington 1941 was to happen it was called off.

Randolph does not just fold up shop and go home. He expands the March on Washington Movement. He builds a March on Washington headquarters in all major American cities. The March on Washington protest take place all over the country for twenty years, and it causes change at the local level. On the national level, the March on Washington Movement forced Truman to sign Executive Order 9981, finally desegregating the military. The last March on Washington was in 1963. Dr. King’s gives his “I Have A Dream” speech at this rally.

Dr. King owes much of his career to Randolph and Ed Nixon. Ed Nixon was President of the Montgomery Branch of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Because Nixon was running the Brotherhood and various Montgomery political organization, Ed Nixon recommends Dr. King to run the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott lasts for over a year. Dr. King proves to Nixon he has potential and Nixon introduces him to Randolph. Randolph and his team gave Dr. King the tutelage he needed to lead the movement.

In addition to providing an organizational template and leaders, the Brotherhood provided funding for various organizations in the Civil Rights Movement. Randolph’s motto was, “ Whoever pays the piper calls the tune.” For a black organization to be truly independent, it had to be funded by black people. Malcolm X echoes the same sentiment in later years. Randolph would often invite Malcolm to his personal residence to tell him stories of the Harlem’s socialist movement and talk about politics. A. Philip Randolph and other black leaders including Elijah Muhammad started blacks down the road to self-determination.

The Pullman Porter has a dubious legacy in the minds of Black America. On the one hand, they had a servile role and had to take abuse without fighting back directly. On the other hand, they laid the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. I feel the Pullman Porter is the ultimate symbol of the black middle class. Often we work in jobs in which we are under-utilized and treated with disrespect. Not to the same extent as the porter, but disrespect nonetheless. We do that to support the aspirations of our family and those that want to fight white supremacy directly. The fight against white supremacy takes many forms. Blacks have to utilize many methods to fight it. The porter was one of the most cunning soldiers in this battle.

The information for this blog post comes from Larry Tye’s book Rising From The Rails

For more information on the Pullman Porters please vist the official museum. HERE

Asa Philip Randolph

The Leader Analysis for Asa Philip Randolph will be done in a series. Randolph was one of the most successful leaders and his career spanned sixty years. These sixty years 1910’s to 1970’s were some of the most pivital for black thought on politics, philosophy, and economics. Randolph moved from a radical socialist to a leftist Democrat in his career. The following series is only a glimpse of his life.

What Is A Pullman Porter
APR Biography
The Brotherhood Of Sleeping Car Porters
Randolph & The National Negro Congress
March On Washington Movement
APR Basic Philosophy
APR Analysis

April 4, 2017 3

Dr. Shariff Abdullah (1951-)

Dr. Shariff Abdullah
(1951 – )

Green Meme

Accomplishments

+ Provided legal services for low-income individuals in North Carolina
+ Member of the Black Panther Party
+ Lecturer at many Universities including Marylhurst and University of California – Berkeley
+ Won “Community Empowerment Award” from POTUS Jimmy Carter
+ Won the “MLK Lifetime Achievement Award” from the World Arts Foundation (2009)
+ Aided in negotiating peace between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers
+ Has three daughters who all went to Virginia State University

Biography

Shariff Abdullah was born Sherwood James Sanders in Philadelphia, PA in 1951. He was reared in Camden, NJ. He relays that Camden, NJ was severely economically depressed. His family could not escape economic hardship. He was able to read at eight years old, and his mother had to apply for public housing. They arrive at their new home, and Dr. Abdullah sees a sign that says “CONDEMNED.” The landlord looks at Dr. Abdullah and says “Don’t worry about it kid.”

Dr. Abdullah could not verbalize what he saw as wrong with his city. However, he knew he had to take action. At twelve Dr. Abdullah led a demonstration for improved housing with The Black People’s Unity Movement. His love for building his community grew, and at fifteen he aspired to be an Episcopal priest. Unfortunately, he saw the Episcopal Church do nothing to improve the actual living conditions of people, especially black people.

In college he converted to Islam, a religion he stayed in for fifteen years. He decided to leave the religion when he went to Friday prayer and said a man wearing a t-shirt that said: “Kill them all let G-d sort it out.” He saw this and voiced his disapproval. The others in the mosque had no problem with it. At this point, he decided this was not the religion for him.

Dr. Abdullah considers himself a Societal Transformationalist. The societal transformation he seeks happens first in individual consciousness. Dr. Abdullah integrates his consciousness with the beings around him. Once his consciousness is integrated, he can determine solutions. An integrated conciousness will remedy the root of the problem.

Dr. Abdullah is most know for negotiating a ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and a rebel army called the Tamil Tigers. He worked with a Sri Lankan organization called Sarvodaya. His team was respected by both sides and was able to understand the needs of both armies. After the war was over, the organization facilitated the writing of the Sri Lankan constitution.

Basic Philosophy

Dr. Abdullah believes in creating a world that works for all beings. He recommends looking into the nature of the ideal society. Frequently, people focus on immediate problems that are mostly symptomatic. People then become dogmatic about their solution path and various camps are created. The building of these philosophic schools leads to more conflict. Those in power utilize the conflict to manipulate people for personal gain.

To change your consciousness, a person must first understand consciousness. There are three basic types of consciousness. The first consists of the stance that the individual is separate and above all other beings and is called “breaker” consciousness. The second consists of the stance that there is no individual, we are all one, and the one is sacred. This stance is called “keeper” consciousness. The last stance is called “mender” consciousness. The “menders” were formally “breakers” that converted to the “keeper” philosophy. “Menders” have the ability to heal the world because they have a thorough understanding of both stances.

Once a person’s consciousness has improved, he or she must implement their vision. Societal change does not come from protest or getting bills through Congress. It comes from fulfilling a vision. If repairs need to happen on the road, block the road and fix it. Don’t wait on the government! If anything, tell the government to improve the road by a specific date or we will. The transformers must focus on the solution. Protesting focuses energy on what is not wanted making the problem worse.

Dr. Abdullah is also against violence. Violence only releases anger and produces no creative energy. The non-violent stance is a one hundred and eighty-degree shift from his earlier days as a black Muslim and a Black Panther. In retrospect, he sees that the anger they inflicted on each other the anger they had for the greater society. Indulging in anger led to the organization becoming dysfunctional.

Shadow to Light (S2L) Program

The Shadow to Light (S2L) program is a group study program designed to remove emotional blockages called a shadow. Shadow, as Dr. Abdullah explains, is anything that blocks divine light. The student will eliminate these emotional blockages that cause the shadow, and their consciousness will improve. As the course progresses and more people take the course a critical mass will be reached. The planet will begin to shift at critical mass.

Shadow is another word for fear, and Dr. Abdullah has categorized the fear under four groups.
+The shadow of violence
+The shadow of other (racism, sexism, other aspects of other)
+The shadow of lack (poverty, greed, hoarding)
+The shadow of despair (depression, suicide, mass homicide)

Shadow blocks light. Dr. Abdullah has categorized the Lights under four groups.
+The light of peace and security
+The light of inclusive community
+The light of abundance
+The light of deep fulfillment

The removal of shadow is essential because Shadow causes most of life’s problems. Shadow keeps us small, unenlightened and perceiving reality in an incomplete way. Shadow keeps us from our best selves. As a result of so many people not living up to their full potential, society resides in a perpetual state of injustice. Insecurity, immorality, and mindlessness is the basis of the current culture.

The process of living causes shadows to form. Messages from authority figures and peers can make people value things that are not important or feel doom is imminent. Dr. Abdullah also discusses of shadows can be passed down in DNA. A person’s DNA holds trauma from past generations. Life circumstances can trigger the embedded trauma DNA.

There are many reason shadows form and linger. The first is denying that the shadow exists. Many people go through life never even attempting to deal with or understand their shadow. Personal stories also help to maintain shadow. If a person fears intimacy, he will say women don’t like him because he is poor. The individual will subconsciously sabotage his attempts to make money. The lack of money will give him an excuse to not be intimate. He will never have to face his fear.

The shadow to light technique is an elaborate process that takes a few weeks. The scope of this analysis can not give Dr. Abdullah’s method proper justice. However, the process involves building a sacred altar to ground a person in the shadow she is trying to remove. A person meditates on the energy and moves the energy from her mind. Then there is a closing ceremony to acknowledge the energy is out of the mind. The S2L process is the beginning of the transformation. A person will work on fully removing the shadow over many years.

Next Steps in Human Consciousness

Dr. Abdullah believes there is an all encompassing consciousness that can influence events in physical reality. He has six main precepts to this philosophy.

+All is alive
+All is conscious
+All is connected
+Mind is all-pervasive
+Consciousness is universal
+The laws of physics bend toward consciousness

The last point is one that he feels particularly imperative to prove. As evidence, he provides Arthur Koestler’s heat lamp experiment. He connected a heat lamp to a random number generator. If the random number generator had an even number, the light would turn on, if odd it turned off. He verified that the light stayed on fifty percent of the time by letting the random number generator cycle ten thousand iterations. Then he did the same experiment with unborn chickens under the lamp. The lamp stayed on an amount of time beyond statistical probability. Dr. Koestler repeated the experiment with an independent observer. This time there was one tray of fertilized eggs and one tray of hard-boiled eggs. The observed did not know which tray had which type of egg. The tray with the fertilized eggs had the lamp stay on an amount of time out of statistical probability.

He also references the Princeton Egg Experiment. In the experiment, random number generators were set all over the world. The researchers noticed the random number generators create a significantly significant amount of even numbers before catastrophic events. Noted instances of this happening were, the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and the September 11th attacks.

Transcendental meditation conducted an experiment on meditation in a city. The meditation group organized hundreds of meditators to meditate at a particular time of day. Crime including murder rates dropped significantly in that hour. Confirmation for the experiment came after the experiment was repeated in many cities.

These cases serve as evidence that our consciousness can have an effect on physical reality and there are “other-worldly” forces he calls the Life-Energy Field, at work in our daily lives. People on a meditation path can begin to develop these powers of the Life – Energy Field. He specifically details the Five Latent Powers listed below.

+Collective Telepathy / Knowing
+Spatial Powers
+Temporal Powers
+Communication Powers
+Bodily Powers

Without going into extreme detail, he lists as sub-categories to these powers, shape shifting, teleportation, communication with plants, communication with animals, and weather control. More common latent power subcategories include changing heart rate, respiration, and power of prayer.

Examples of collective telepathy he sites are the knowledge of Polynesians to discover uninhabited islands. He claims that would set out to sea on canoes and know where to row. Another example of group telepathy was his ability to sing a song in a language he had never heard of before during an Ayahuasca trip. He recounts himself and a close friend being able to sing the song on key with correct pronunciation.

He also uses as evidence recounts of an ancient civilization, known as Zhangzung (500 BC – 625 AD). Zhangzung predates ancient Tibet, a culture occupying the area currently. There are many stories of the people of Zhangzung having many of the powers Dr. Abdullah calls latent powers.

Dr. Abdullah is aware that many people will not be able to believe the Life-Energy force exist. His contention is these people are unimportant. It is not his student’s job to convert non-believers. The goal is to grow and cultivate the people that are on board with these plans. Again, there will be a critical mass reached, and the world can move into what he calls the Third Global Civilization. Ancient cultures such as Zhangzung represent the First Global Civilization, modern man occupies the Second Global Civilization, and our glorious future represents the Third Global Civilization.

What he has right

Dr. Abdullah has a thorough understanding of shadow. The most important aspect of his work on shadow are the tangible methods for removing Shadow. He also explains how shadow holds individuals back. Again I highly recommend his study of shadow work.

He is correct that until people’s mindset has changed, there will be not a real improvement of the state of the world. All other measures will be partial and only affect symptoms. The world will continue to create more flowery language and predatory systems.

Dr. Abdullah’s view of violence is also correct. Violence always causes more problems than it solves. The anger that begets violence should be acknowledged, analyzed, and released. Working through the anger will allow your relationships to improve. Once a person has begun to progress effort should be made to bring others along.

What he has wrong

Many meditation traditions include stories of people gaining supernormal powers after decades of sustained practice. However, this does not happen frequently enough for people to compile sufficient verifiable evidence. When Dr. Abdullah talks about the latent powers in an audience of meditators of all levels he does them a huge disservice. First, beginning meditators will make it a goal to develop latent powers. If the development of latent powers is possible, only a handful of serious practitioners will attain the powers. There are enough positive benefits from meditation that almost everyone experiences. Among these common benefits, reduced anxiety and improved cognition. No reason to get people’s hopes up in developing powers they more than likely will not attain.

It is also important to make sure you control public opinion around your movement. When Dr. Abdullah says, we do not have to convert the “Anti’s” or the “Richard Dawkins” of the world he underestimates how people can thwart his movement. When he has youtube videos or blogs on latent human powers that non-believers and naysayers can view it, it could lead to a negative backlash. There could be a large group of people making his movement out to be a bunch of wackos. Dr. Abdullah says in one of his talks about latent human powers that “George Lucas had it right.” Many people would write him off at this statement and miss out on all the information he has to give. In short, leave talk of latent powers to people deep inside the movement.

Dr. Abdullah should do more work directly with black people in America. His work in Sri Lanka, Czechoslovakia, and United Nations is commendable. However, many of these other cultures have people within their culture with similar expertise. For example, Sri Lanka sends people all over the world to study. Many of these people could have provided the services that Dr. Abdullah provided.

However, Black Americans, especially descendants of slaves, do not get people from all over the world helping them out. Many analysts have equated the condition of blacks in America to people living in third world countries. For example, a black man in Cuba lives five years longer than his counterpart in the USA. There is no significant global outcry for our plight. Many people in foreign countries see their countryman coming to America and becoming successful and wondering why blacks are not doing the same thing. These people from outside the USA do not understand the emotional and psychological toll of generational disenfranchisement.

Dr. Abdullah could be especially useful due to his knowledge of New Age Spirituality. In the black community, we have many spiritual teachers that put themselves at the top of religious organizations and demand unquestioning loyalty from their followers. The members will defend these leaders no matter what level of evidence piles against them or how many transgressions they commit. Eddie Long and Malachi York are only two examples of spiritual leaders defended under all circumstances. An internally generated spirituality would be a tremendous benefit and prevent many black people from being manipulated. Most of the followers of these “hustling preachers” are genuinely looking for something greater. Not many people are telling them the answer is within.

In one of Dr. Abdullah’s talks, he explains how Ivy League professors came to aid in writing the constitution. These experts demanded their input be taken seriously despite not knowing much about the culture. Dr. Abdullah only lived in Sri Lanka a few years. He was able to become a major player negotiating peace and writing the constitution. If he was able to make that type of change in Sri Lanka, imagine what he could have done in his hometown of Camden.

Dr. Abdullah also lets the government off the hook to provide public goods. He recounts a story in which a street was damaged. Many citizens protested to get the government to repair the road. Dr. Abdullah recommended the citizens shut down the road and fix it themselves. This is horrible direction. The residents paid their taxes and are now owed a public good of functional roads. If the citizens fix the road themselves, they pay taxes twice. When a group has limited resources, they cannot afford double taxation. We must force the government to provide public goods.

Changing laws to be more favorable to black people is also paramount to our struggle. The ultimate end to racism will not come until people’s hearts change, but in the meantime, laws can restrain people from harming others. One example Dr. Abdullah provides is gun control. He recounts if you pass gun laws, then people will stab each other. That may be true, but you can’t stab fifty people in two minutes. Proper gun laws prevent mass shootings. Australia’s gun ban has prevented mass shooting for decades. Dr. Abdullah underplays the value of pressuring the government to act.

Where is Dr. Abdullah on the Spiral

Dr. Abdullah is firmly in the Green Meme. His philosophy concentrates on the psychological and spiritual aspects of racism. He has created particular systems to move people up the Spiral. Concrete processes to remove racism from the mind is an aspect of the struggle is not talked about nearly enough.

Unfortunately, like many other Green Meme individuals, he undervalues the importance of the daily circumstances surrounding black life, especially with his people, the descendants of slaves. I would like to see more articles on specific problems affecting the black community. He is all over the world helping and learning from every group of people. It appears the plight of the people he is closests to and can have the most effect on, are going by the wayside. In a color-blind paradigm, descendants of slaves get put on the back burner. Green Meme individuals love to fly all over the world to save everyone else and walk right by their countrymen.

Where can you find out more on Dr. Abdullah

The reader should check out Dr. Abdullah’s websites.

http://shariff.commonway.org/
http://www.commonway.org/

Sources

Most of the information in this article came from Dr. Abdullah’s youtube channel and TED Talk. Dr. Abdullah also has many blogs his website.

Disclaimer

The page above is a personal blog that is not an official Spiral Dynamics Blog. The work of Clare Graves and Don Beck is the basis for this article. For more information on Spiral Dynamics, please go to the website below.

http://www.spiraldynamics.net/dr-don-beck.html

February 9, 2017 3

Dr. Sebi

Dr. Sebi
1933-2016

Notable accomplishments

-Treated celebrities such as Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez, Michael Jackson, Brother Polight
-Married five women having as many as three wives at one time
-Fathered seventeen children
-Had homeopathic health clinics in Los Angeles, New York, and Honduras

Biographical Information

Dr. Sebi an African Herbalist, Dietitian, and holistic health specialist was born Alfredo Darrington Bowman in Honduras in 1933 and was raised by a single mother. Sebi says that this was a good thing. He did not have to worry about being pulled in different directions by different parents. Sebi credits his success to the focused leadership of his mother.

School was also a non-issue for Dr. Sebi. He stopped going to school when he was eleven years old. The only information in his head comes from Africans. Not clouding his mind with foreign ideas keeps Sebi in alignment with G-d. His clear thinking led to his success.

Sebi began as a merchant seaman stationed out of New Orleans. Sebi used his experience as a sailor to get a job as an engineer in his thirties while living in Los Angeles. At the time he was 291 lbs at 6’2”. He was impotent and suffered from mental health issues. His mental health concerns led to a stint in an insane asylum for paranoid schizophrenia. Sebi decided to seek a cure for his mental health problems from a homeopathic doctor in Mexico.

The Mexican doctor asked him where was the land of Sebi’s origin. Sebi replied that he was from Honduras. The doctor responded that cannot be true, black people do not come from Honduras. Sebi then corrected himself and said he was from Africa. The doctor explained as an African he had to cleanse his body and return to the original African diet. Sebi agreed to a 94 day fast. The doctor predicted that he would never go back to his original life. The Mexican doctor was correct, Sebi learned from the doctor and began practicing homeopathic medicine.

Dr. Sebi quit his job once his holistic medical practice began to thrive. When he left the boss admitted that he hired Sebi thinking, he would fail. The boss did not understand how an uneducated black man could be successful as an engineer. The boss asked, “Are all black people as smart as you.” Sebi replied “No, I am the dumbest. The others can do more than me. They do not because they are afraid of white people. I ‘m not afraid.”

Dr. Sebi came to America and started a practice in New York. He had been practicing seven years before the arrest that would make him famous. The New York Attorney General accused Sebi of practicing without a medical license and making false claims. The arrest happened on February 10, 1987.

According to Sebi, he had to prove that he had cured three patients with AIDS, Cancer, and Diabetes. He was required to bring nine people; seventy-seven came to defend the doctor that cured them. Dr. Sebi defended himself. He claims to have asked the judge three questions:

1. Is it a fact that the Bible teaches herbs are for the healing of the nations?
2. Is it a fact that the body is a carbon-based system and only carbon-based substances have the chemical affinity to absorb into the system?
3. Is it a fact the father of medicine, Hippocrates, cured every disease known to man with herbs?

Dr. Sebi claims to have won his case in front of the New York Supreme Court. He credits the success to not defending a theory. He defended what he knows. He represents Africa, and being rooted in his African identity gave him the strength to defend his claims against any accusers.

Dr. Sebi gained considerable notoriety from his Supreme Court win. He gathered many new clients over the many decades he practiced medicine. One of the clients was the singer/rapper Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez from TLC. Lisa began her treatment with Dr. Sebi in 2004 when she flew to Honduras. Lopez died during her second trip to Honduras. Many speculate that the elite assassinated Lopez to prevent her from promoting Dr. Sebi’s work.

Dr. Sebi died after an arrest by Honduran officials for carrying over $30,000 in cash. He passed away while in custody in a Honduran jail. Many speculate the elite conspired to kill him. The authorities claim Sebi died of Bronchitis.

Sebi’s Medical Philosophy

There is only one disease, mucus. The accumulation of mucus leads to bacterial growth that causes diseases. Having a diet that is not natural for your body causes food to digest improperly and the body makes the mucus as the result of food not digesting.

The Bible supports Dr. Sebi’s herbal healing philosophy. Revelations 22: states “Its leaves are for the healing of the nations.” The verse proves Sebi’s methodology is following G-d’s plan. The use of pharmaceuticals is in direct violation of biblical law. Pharmaceuticals will always cause more problems than they solve.

Sebi begins treatment by having the patient fast to cleanse their digestive system. After the digestive system is cleansed the person follows a strict diet of plants that are natural and native to the land of their origin. African people need African food.

There are five things Sebi tells Africans to avoid, lactose, uric acid, starches, meat, and carbonic acid. The foods he repeatedly tells blacks to avoid staple grains such as corn and rice. Acidic herbs are also prohibited. Acidic herbs include comfrey, rosehips, goldenseal, and licorice root. Hybrid fruits and vegetables are the last food group black people are told to avoid. Examples of hybrid fruits and vegetables are cassava, spinach, bananas, and carrots.

Starches were particularly bad because they have cyanide. Cyanide can kill in large dosages and can induce insanity is small dosages. The ingestion of cyanide explains many of the psychiatric pathologies in the black community. Removing cyanide from your diet will reduce chaos from a person’s life.

The four compounds that Sebi recommends are phosphate, carbonates, iodine, and bromides. Foods recommended repeatedly are moringa, quinoa, mushrooms, and sea moss. Alkaline herbs such as burdock, yellow dock, and red clover have many health benefits.

Hydration is another major component of Sebi’s nutritional philosophy. Drinking water should be at or above room temperature. Cold water removes energy from the body. Water should always be tested to verify it has an alkaline pH. Natural spring water is the best. There is a hot spring in Honduras that has water at a pH of 8! Do not drink distilled water; it has a pH of 7 making it neutral.

There is no difference between raw and cooked foods. Many herbalists and homeopathic medical practitioners promote a raw food diet. Sebi points out if you eat an acidic food raw or cooked it will still poison the body. An alkaline food will nourish the body regardless of preparation. Concentrate on what the food, not preparation.

Dr. Sebi does not support many other herbalists because other herbalists recommend acidic herbs. Herbalists mentioned by name are Jethro Kloss and Alma Hutchens. Black people should also not follow non- African homeopathic medicine systems such as Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine. There are foods Asian people can eat that are not compatible with African physiology. One example of this is dairy. Dairy can be processed by Europeans and Indians because cows are native to India and Europe.

Women are the healers according to Dr. Sebi. There is a nurturing aspect to women that is essential to healing that only women possess. Men have a role in healing as it pertains to the growing of herbs and building of clinics. However, the actual healing must be done by a woman. Dr. Sebi only had female apprentices and refused to train men to heal.

What a person consumes will also have an effect on mental health. Starchy foods break down to become cyanide in the body and reduce cognitive function. Sugar breaks down to glucose and inhibits the function of the hypothalamus. Chemical hair care products, such as relaxers, will also reduce cognitive function. The cranium and brain will absorb chemicals from relaxers. Sebi repeatedly cites a case of a couple that came to him because their marriage was falling apart and they were always sick. He quarantined them and gave them alkaline foods, and it resulted in them realizing that they loved each other.

Relationships

Dr. Sebi talks about how important his mother was in his life. He tells of the reverence he has for the women in his life. He comes from a long line of single women that lived well past their nineties and never married.

Sebi claims to have had a good relationship with his mother. However, his brother felt that his mother was emotionally withdrawn. Sebi said his mother showed both of her children the right amount of love. Sebi did not want his mother close and interfering with his early dating life. His brother owned a very successful business and pastored a large church. Therefore his mother must have done a good job. Sebi concludes that a mother knows what to do and should not be criticized.

Sebi says self-love is the key to happiness. When one learns to love themselves, everything else falls into place. A person can not depend on the love of a romantic partner. He found his first wife in bed with another man and was not angry. Sebi just got up and left the relationship.

One of the most trying times in his life was the marriage to his third wife. At the time he had two wives and got a third woman pregnant out of wedlock. The mother of the third woman encouraged her daughter to leave Sebi and get an abortion. The woman did not get the abortion and had a baby girl a few months later. The little girl grew up to follow in her father’s footsteps and cure her grandmother’s cancer.

When Sebi was married to three women, he got a fourth pregnant out of wedlock. At this time he was treating Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez. Lopez was able to give Sebi advice on how to handle this situation. Lopez and Sebi became close personal friends during this very trying time in Sebi’s life. When Sebi spoke of Lopez’s untimely death, he always said how she had a loving soul.

Relationships with other Races

Sebi’s is known for saying: “You have to feed a gorilla the food of a gorilla. If the gorilla eats polar bear food, the gorilla will die. If you try to teach the gorilla in a method suitable for polar bears, the gorilla will not learn.” The quote sums up Sebi’s view on relations between races.

What black people call racism is simply other races practicing self-preservation. It is only natural for people to hoard resources for themselves and people that look like them. Other races do not hate black people. They simply understand what is best for themselves and go through life working in their best interest.

Black people do not practice self-preservation because we have become disconnected with our ancestry. Once black people reconnect with themselves, we can begin to understand what we need and go after it. One of the biggest things that separate us from ourselves is organized religion. Organized religion causes us to worship and external G-d. G-d is within yourself. Black people must connect with their divinity.

Once black people reconnect with their ancestral roots, many of today’s problems will dissolve. In pre-colonial Africa, there were no hospitals because no one was sick. There were no grocery stores because the food was abundant in the forest. The Africans were naked because they could walk naked safely with no one taking advantage of them. Africans are naturally moral and intelligent. Blacks need to revert to their native ways.

Dr. Sebi is against romantic relationships between black and white people. If the relationship produces a child, the child will not be grounded in any tradition. Black and white are fundamentally incompatible.

Black Misleadership

Black leaders are not interested in the health of black people. Dr. Sebi has made numerous attempts to work with black leaders, and no one wanted to unite with him. In the 1990’s, Sebi did a tour of Africa to get Africans on board with his plans to expand clinics to Africa. Only one country was willing to work with Sebi, Guinea. In some speeches, Sebi will not name Guinea to ensure that whites will not retaliate against this country. Guinea bequeathed Sebi with 5,000 acres of land and five hot springs. Unfortunately, the government of Guinea was not aware that Sebi planned to grow cannabis on the land and they had to renege the offer.

Sebi claims to have been afforded the opportunity to work with black government leaders in the United States. Michael Jackson recommended Sebi’s work to numerous government officials he knew. Jackson was treated for insomnia in 2004 by Sebi and wanted other people to know his work. Jackson secured a meeting between Sebi, then-President George W. Bush, Shelia Jackson-Lee, John Conyers, and Jesse Jackson Jr. Also, to the American politicians, there were seventeen African ambassadors and Leonard Muhammad of the Nation of Islam. POTUS Bush was the only one to give Sebi a grant to expand his practices to Africa. Sebi credits George W. Bush with doing more to fight AIDS in Africa than any other president. There is currently no African clinic run by Dr. Sebi or his foundation.

Black leaders in Africa or America are not concerned with the healing of their people. Most are simply interested in gaining more power. That is why many of them ally with whites and white organizations. The black leaders also use their followers for economic gain.

Sebi believes women are the rightful leaders of society. Men naturally are egotistical and power-hungry. Male leadership leads to power grabs. Female leadership also corresponds to the laws of nature. In the forest, the cubs follow their mother, not their father.

List of Foods Recommend and Forbade by Dr. Sebi

RECOMMENDED
Sea Moss, Mushrooms, Nopal, Amaranth, Fonio, Quinoa, Spelt Pasta, Almonds, Sarsaparilla, Moringa, Red Clover, Burdock, Yellow Dock, Marijuana

FORBADE
Aloe, Vera, Tofu, Peppermint, Dairy, Meat, Rice, Corn, Comfrey, Cassava, Spinach, Carrot, Licorice Root, Eggs, Tobacco

Dr. Sebi’s Critics

Dr. Sebi has a questionable knowledge of science. Sebi says in numerous interviews that the brain produces electric charges due to friction between carbon and copper in the brain. He says friction between carbon and copper produces electricity and electric generators utilize this mechanism. Electric generators produce electricity by spinning a magnet in a coil. The magnetism from the magnet excites electrons in the coil, and that generates electricity. There are carbon brushes in generators, but they do not produce electricity. They reduce arcing between the magnet and coil. A person that worked in a steam plant as an engineer would know how a generator works.

The mechanism that body uses to make and send electrical signals is completely different and has nothing to do with copper rubbing on carbon in the brain. Ions produced by reactions that involve sodium and potassium make electric signals. The brain does not generate electricity, and the brain is not an electrical generator for the body. A man that is using electrical food as the basis for his nutrition theory does not explain how electricity works in the body. The sodium-potassium gate is not a scientific theory; it is an observable phenomenon.

Protein is another area of nutrition Sebi does not feel to be important. Sebi repeatedly says no one knows what protein is and that is not true. There are numerous books on protein and there have been studies on what protein can do and the consequences of not having protein. A low protein diet can result in the loss of muscle tissue. The loss of muscle tissue as a result of insufficient protein is not a theory; it is an observable phenomenon that has been tested by science numerous times.

Traditional western medicine has cured numerous diseases. To list a few diseases: smallpox, polio, measles, yellow fever, and malaria. Modern science has mitigated the effects of HIV/AIDS. In the 1980’s HIV was a death sentence, now many people live with the disease for years. Dr. Sebi repeatedly says that traditional western medicine has cured nothing and the statement is simply not true.

Many of Dr. Sebi’s critics believe he is misleading people on the outcome of his court case. There are documents online that appear to be from the Supreme Court of the State of New York that show Sebi pleaded “not guilty.” The document details a temporary restraining order issued to Dr. Sebi on February 9, 1987. Dr. Sebi pleaded “not guilty, ” and the judge ordered him to do the following things:

1. Stop claiming his products or services cure diseases specifically AIDS, Herpes, and Lupus.
2. Stop advertising that he had the cure of these disease in any publication.
3. Stop diagnosing or treating diseases
4. Stop selling products with the claim the product cures disease or enhances the body’s function.
5. Post an advertisement in the New Amsterdam News offering full refund to dissatisfied customers
6. Payout plaintiffs in this case that were dissatisfied with the services rendered by Sebi.

On Dr. Sebi’s new website all products are described as treatments, not cures. Under the “Nutritional Guide” tab the following statement can be found.

“WE ARE NOT MEDICAL DOCTORS: therefore, we do not diagnose illness or prescribe pharmaceuticals. We are nutritional consultants and make suggestions relating to nutrition. None of the information offered here is intended to replace any program that your medical doctor has prescribed for you, nor does it conflict with any pharmaceutical medication you are taking. It is recommended that you take your products at least one hour prior to taking your medication so that the minerals offered can be fully assimilated.

The State of New York Supreme Court classified our products as “natural vegetation cell food” in 1988. As a result, when you take them you will have fed your cells and will not have much of an appetite.”

If Dr. Sebi had won his court case and proved his medical claims, this disclaimer would not be on his website. All of Dr. Sebi’s speeches claim pharmaceuticals are against G-d’s plan. The website disclaimer says that these are dietary supplements and are not substitutions for traditional western treatments.

It is important for the reader to remember Dr. Sebi was on trial for practicing medicine without a license. A court case cannot prove or disprove a scientific or medical claim, such as Dr. Sebi curing AIDS. Therefore, even if he won the case it simply shows he did not practice medicine as it is defined by the state of New York. Once the reader understands the issue in question during the trial, Sebi’s retelling of the story begins to be unbelievable. Sebi claims to have brought in seventy-seven witnesses to testify that they were cured. If this happened, then Sebi would have gone to prison for practicing without a license. It is doubtful that Sebi can back up his claims.

Dr. Sebi claims to have used a herb to remove Michael Jackson’s son’s brain tumor. Sebi alleges that after the boy had inhaled fumes from a bag of herbs, the boy sneezed 52 times and sneezed out the tumor. There is no way for brain tissue to move into the nasal passage and be sneezed out. If it did happen, Sebi should have kept the tumor as proof.

Dr. Sebi treated Jackson and his family in 2004. Jackson lived for another five years and never mentioned his treatment from Sebi or his removal of his son’s tumor in an interview. It is very unlikely this story happened. Dr. Sebi had to sue Michael Jackson for back payment of $380,000 and lost business of $600,000 according to E! News. Jackson died of a drug overdose in 2009.

Sebi names many celebrity clients including, Eddie Murphy’s mother, Steven Seagal, Wendy William’s son, Cecily Tyson’s brother, Teddy Pendergrass. None of these stars verify any of these stories. None promoted Dr. Sebi nor paid him.

The site Ripoff Report shows an anonymous testimonial from a patient dying of AIDS and various other diseases. The author details they spent $1500 for the first week and $800 for each following week for a minimum of twenty-five days of treatment. The testimonial lists numerous cases of poor customer service, difficulty in consistently receiving herbs, and nursing staff that did not speak English. Dr. Sebi’s daughter, Saama was running facility at the time. Dr. Sebi did not give any personal treatment to the author of the testimonial. The other patients at the Honduras facility were not being treated either. Many were in agony. Once at the facility, the staff began back-peddling on the claims to cure disease. Sebi’s medical staff started saying it is a lifestyle change and there are no guarantee that the lifestyle will cure a disease. The author claims Dr. Sebi’s system is a glorified detox.

Dr. Sebi’s wild claims to cure illnesses that have no cure is truly unfortunate. The alkaline diet is effective in improving overall health. However, it is not a cure-all. If Sebi sold the alkaline diet for what it is, he could get plenty of support from the black community. He oversells his system and takes advantage of black trauma from years of health system disenfranchisement.

Analysis

Sebi does concentrate on an area of black empowerment often overlooked, diet. Proper diet will improve physical and mental health. The growing of herbs can make a community more cohesive and help to build a strong work ethic. The overall health of the black community is poor. In addition to poor health, we have limited access to health care. Proper diet is an excellent way to prevent serious health problems.

One significant issue with Dr. Sebi’s diet is most of the foods he recommends are not readily available in stores. A person would even have a difficult time finding some of these items in health food stores. Sebi’s plan would need to be connected to urban farming or moving into a large commune. Sebi’s followers would have to grow this food themselves and remove temptation from the outside world. Sebi’s diet is not a casual activity.

However, diet will not fix every problem in the black community. The most troubling aspect of Sebi’s philosophy is that poor diet is the sole cause of mental illness. Mental illness is a very complex subject. Diet is a factor, but past experiences, physiology, and spiritual development are also factors in mental health. A person must analyze all aspects and causes of their emotional pathologies and determine what corrective actions are needed. Trying to solve the problem with the only diet is far too limiting. Nothing can be off the table to improve a person’s mental health. Healing can not exclude pharmaceuticals.

It appears Sebi could have used some deeper psychiatric evaluation himself. He seems to have a pattern in which he gets a women pregnant outside of his marriages and then has to marry her. Judging from the number of times he brings up his relationship with his mother and how his brother felt unloved by their mother, it is safe to conclude the family dynamic was not healthy. It is possible Sebi used his romantic relationships to compensate or relive aspects of childhood trauma caused by his mother. It would be great if Dr. Sebi went into more detail on his childhood and how it affects his relationships.

Dr. Sebi also talks about how he had no men in his childhood. He also says that he will not teach men to be healers. The prohibition of male healers would lead a person to believe that Sebi could have issues with men. Sebi is a healer, but he believes other men can do the same thing or should do the same thing. He repeatedly says that his mother is the only god he knows. His reverence for his mother leads many people to conclude that he did not have a healthy relationship with his mother.

Sebi’s philosophy prohibits the use of western medicine. Western medicine is yet another tool whites use to separate blacks from their heritage according to Sebi. Limiting healing to any one method is insane. Black people must be willing to tackle health problems from many angles. If western medicine is working, continue with western medicine. The best methods of healing will utilize natural and pharmaceutical means. Black people must stay open to all healing techniques.

Dr. Sebi is a Red Meme Separatist. His philosophy focuses on black people building a separate identity linked to their African heritage. One of the biggest clues Sebi gives to prove he has Red consciousness is his argument on why hybrid foods are bad. He says, “Beans are from Britain, Cassava originated in Portugal, and Carrots are from Holland.” Anything originating in Europe is automatically wrong. When he speaks to his audience on why these foods are bad, he simply mentions they originated in Europe. Their European origin should be enough to prove these foods are bad.

A myth is the center of the Red Meme. In Dr. Sebi’s case, the myth is pre-colonial Africa was utopia. There were not many records from pre-colonial Africa made by Africans, so ultimately no one knows what happened in pre-colonial Africa. The few records we have of Africa show they did grow rice and other staple grains before Europe invaded. One well-known example of native African grain production was in Egypt. Harvesting of grain was the basis of Egyptian culture. It is not realistic to believe these methods did not propagate to or originate from Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Sebi uses the myth of Pre-colonial African utopia as the foundation of his philosophy.

This analysis was created after watching Dr. Sebi speeches on Youtube. The reader should view the Youtube playlist SD Dr. Sebi and SD Anti-Dr. Sebi. For more on Dr. Sebi check out his official website below.

https://www.drsebiscellfood.com/

This is a personal blog that is not an official Spiral Dynamics Blog. It is based on the work of Clare Graves and Don Beck. For more information on Spiral Dynamics please go to the website below.

http://www.spiraldynamics.net/dr-don-beck.html

December 25, 2016 7

Brother P.O.L.I.G.H.T

Brother P.O.L.I.G.H.T is a debater, linguist, inventor of his own language, celebrity mentor, UFO proponent, and real estate mogul. The moniker P.O.L.I.G.H.T stands for Pride, Optimism, Love, Integrity, Gallant, Honesty, and Trust. He is the founder of NuCovenant a spiritual community that is based on Egyptian Mythology which will be referred to in this post as Kemetic Science. Kemet was the name of Egypt used by Egyptians. The word Egypt is of Greek origin and was not used at the time of the pharaohs. NuCovenant also aids members in obtaining financial success. The motto of the organization is “Where Consciousness meets Commerce.”

Significant accomplishments include

Mentoring numerous celebrities including Metta World Peace (Ron Artest)
The UFO Conference for Melenated People
2016 Speaking at Black Lawyers for Justice rally in Cleveland Ohio a Black Lives Matters Protests
Numerous debate wins against Hebrew Israelites, Moorish Scientist, Nation of Islam, and others
Married to four women simultaneously (Supporter of Polygamy)
Speaks seven languages
Invented the Nuwaubian language

Early Life

Brother Polight was born in the Brownsville housing project in Brooklyn, New York. His father died when he was eight years old. He did not meet his mother until he was seventeen years old one week before she died.

Brownsville Projects was rated one of the worst projects in the world. At thirteen years old, Polight had a gold chain stolen by a Blood. Polight joined the CRIPS gang for protection and pride. Polight’s leadership ability in the gang lead to him becoming CRIP Superior. His criminal activity culminates in incarceration for gun possession and assault.

When Polight left prison he opened an organic restaurant and began taking classes from Dr. Sebi. Dr. Sebi is a well know Afro-Latin holistic health and medicine guru. Sebi has been reported curing dozens of AIDS patients with herbal remedies. Polight underwent treatment for diabetes under Dr. Sebi. Polight credits Dr. Sebi for curing his diabetes.

Brother Polight has studied numerous spiritual and black empowerment movements. Polight began speaking on behalf of the New Black Panther Party and introducing Malik Zulu Shabazz. However, his main spiritual influence is Dr. Malachi York. Dr. York created the Nuwabian school of Kemetic Science that mixed UFO science, black nationalism, and conspiracy theories into a philosophy for black empowerment. Dr. York was disgraced by a conviction of child molestation in 2004. Brother Polight believes Dr. York is innocent and that the government simply wanted to stop the movement.

Black Sovereignty

The focus of Brother Polight’s work is black sovereignty. Black Sovereignty is black people controlling our financial security, mental health, spiritual awakening, and education. Black people should fully divest themselves from any institution that is controlled by white people. Black Sovereignty means pulling children out of public schools, leaving monotheistic religions, and starting black businesses. All of Polight’s views on other issues returns the follower back to sovereignty.

The basis for full sovereignty will be a spirituality rooted in a positive conception of black people. The spirituality from inception must be controlled by black people and free of white interference. The spirituality must also have practical applications that allow a follower to fight and maneuver around white supremacy. Kemetic Science offers all these elements. Kemetic science was born in Africa, built in Africa, and serves Africans.

The idea of black sovereignty is the focus of spirituality of NuCovenant Kemetic Science. The Kemetians did not believe in G-d. G-d meaning an all powerful being that can deliver a person from bad situations or reward a person for good behavior. The Kemetian Gods were archetypes or examples that people should emulate. Kemetian Gods represent standards of behavior. The individual is the most powerful entity in Brother Polight’s spirituality, and the individual is in charge or his or her destiny.

If a person needs a G-d, then the black woman is G-d. The black woman creates life and this is something that you see every day. The black woman is the creator and should be revered as such. Because the black woman is G-d the black man should serve her. A black man’s actions should always be in the best interest of his woman and the women of the community.

The White man and how to build proper relations

The cause of white aggression and racism is genetic. The history of white domination has gone back over 400 years. In this 400 years, there was no large-scale concerted effort to stop the oppression or reimburse black people for materials stolen from them. Even the abolition movement was meant to keep black people oppressed while giving the illusion of freedom. In short, the intentions of white people should never be trusted due to being genetically predisposed to hating black people.

Due to the fact that the white man’s hatred of black people is in his DNA, black people should not make babies with white people. The children of interracial couples will have DNA that will cause self-hate. The mixed race children will also not be able to focus on black empowerment due to their sympathy to their white parents. White people will also be able to use mixed people to promote a white agenda and confuse black people into thinking the agenda originated with black people.

In spite of all the problems with race mixing, mixed people and black people with mixed race children can join the NuCovenant community. Mixed people and black people with mixed children will have to cut personal ties with white people and completely focus on black empowerment and identity.

Black people can do business with white people and learn from white people if the service cannot be provided within the black community. The relationship should always be mutually beneficial. Black people should always be careful in these relationships and verify they are not being used.

The focus of the NuCovenant community is to build a strong Black America. This means removing the influence of white supremacy from our minds, relationships, and institutions. Once the legacy of white relationships has been removed, black people can rebuild a truly Afro-centric society.

What Polight has right and wrong

Polight has more wrong here than right. First, he presents no scientific evidence that racism corresponds to a gene and this gene originated in Europe. He references epigenetics often which is a science, but not a specific finding or study to support the claim of racism having a genetic origin. Therefore, the claim that racism is genetic is unscientific.

There is far more evidence that racism is a social construct that was invented to solidify power around white men. Because it is a social construct an individual can invest in it or divest in it. So an individual white person that realizes racism is a social construct, that the social construct has created pathologies that affect his life presently, and are working to remove those pathologies can unite with black people.

The idea that racism is genetic in origin will always lead to mixed people being viewed with suspicion. If racism in a gene in white people and mixed people have white genes, there is a good chance they will be racist and should be viewed with suspicion. The idea that racism is genetic in origin will always lead to division in the black community. In addition to the claim racism is genetic, the claim can be easily disproven by the amount of mixed race people that are in the forefront of the struggle.

Health

Diet is a huge part of Brother Polight’s philosophy. He is a supporter of an Alkaline diet rich in live vegetables and herbs. Polight has an online herbal store and numerous books on herbal remedies. He supports eating bitter foods as they help to prevent cancer.

Foods to avoid are all processed foods, hybrid plants, and white foods. Hybrid plants have such as carrots have poisons that build up in your body due to them being unnatural. Included in hybrid plants are all seedless fruits. White foods such as milk and potatoes increase puss in the body. Milk is especially bad for health due to the fact it is irradiated during pasteurization.

Neural development is another area of Polight’s expertise. Speaking multiple languages increases neuro connections between the right and left hemisphere. Tonal languages ,primarily from Africa, have the added benefit of increase overall brain wave vibration. Another method to increase brain wave vibration is listening to music in the key of middle C. Most current music is in A. A healthy brain will vibrate from 72 – 90 MHz and vibration above 80 MHz is genius level.

Childbirth is very important in building a strong sovereign black community. Women should not give birth lying down as it damages the spine. Women should also avoid epidurals because it drugs the baby. If the baby is born from an epidural the baby’s eyes will be closed. This is evidence of the baby being negatively affected by epidural drugs. The placenta is essential for baby’s health. The placenta should be left attached to the baby. The placenta will naturally dry up and fall off after a few days. This allows all of the nutrients and stem cells to enter the baby and aid in neural development.

Black people must avoid exploitation by the healthcare market. Placentas should be kept by the parents after childbirth. DNA extracted from the placenta is used for medical research to develop cures that black people can not afford. Polight’s cites the Henrietta Lax case for an example of the DNA of black people being used to create many cures that most black people cannot afford.

Brother Polight is also against vaccines. Vaccines are filled with various toxins and the fetuses of dead babies. Black people should use an alkaline diet and herbal supplements to prevent disease.

Polight’s lists the dangers of promiscuity. According to Polight, semen consists of spinal fluid. As a man ejaculates, he diminishes his spinal fluid. If a man ejaculates too often he can deplete his spinal fluid and reduces his cognitive abilities. On the same token, if a woman absorbs spinal fluid from too many men she can bring on psychosis. The personalities of the different men can infect her brain and put her at war with herself. Men should be mindful to not ejaculate quicker than their body can replenish the spinal fluid. Women should limit sexual partners and make sure lovers are mentally and emotionally stable.

Mental health is also affected by sensory intake. Black people should not listen to negative music. Music that degrades black people should be avoided. The actual frequency of the music matters. Ideally, music should be in the key of middle C. Most modern music is in A. Drum music improves mood because the drum units the plant and animal kingdom due to the fact it is made with animal skin and tree bark.

What Polight has right and wrong

Polight is correct on the importance of a healthy and plant-based diet. Numerous nutritionists support the validity of the alkaline diet. Herbal supplements are proven to be extremely important to proper nutrition and disease prevention.

However, healthy eating and herbal supplements cannot be used to replace traditional medicine. The most dangerous advice given by Polight is not taking vaccines. Vaccines are a low-cost way to prevent diseases that are deadly and expensive to treat. If large percentages of the population do not get vaccines there could be outbreaks of serious diseases. If large a percentage of the black population becomes ill, then community building will be halted.

Polight also conflates Kemetic mythology with Western science. One of the more outrageous claims by Polight is that the heart is an electromagnet. He claims that because the blood circulates and the blood has iron in it, a small current is induced around the heart. The electromagnetic force created by this current is visible to some people as an aura. The claim of the heart being an electromagnet is not supported by any western scientist. The claim can also be easily checked with a gaussmeter or magnetometer. Polight makes numerous unfounded scientific claims due to the conflation of science with Kemetian mythology.

Another wild claim of Polight is that ejaculation depletes spinal fluid. There is no medical evidence for this claim. Semen is produced in the prostate. The prostate is not connected to the spine. The production of spinal fluid and semen are separate processes. Polight has demonstrated that he does not have a basic understanding of anatomy. In addition, there are many reasons to not be promiscuous that can be backed by science.

To put it simply Polight should not be used as a health guru. He does not understand anatomy and he mixes science with mythology/morality from Kemet. He has some good advice on diet, but there are numerous other sources for this information that can be backed by hard science. Polight also advises against Western medicine.

Economics

Financial Stability is necessary to allow a person to spend a proper amount of time to focus on spirituality. The capitalist debt economy caused people to be overworked and reduces the amount of time left for spiritual pursuits. Entrepreneurship can allow a person to be financially secure and reduce time spent at work. Working for a corporation, by its very nature, will consume all your time for modest financial benefit.

Real Estate is a field that can offer true financial stability with moderate time investment. To be successful in real estate, it is important to avoid mortgages. Mortgage are insured by an entity that collects money from prison labor. So the mortgage market and the private prison system are closely connected. Details on how to invest in real estate without mortgages are available in Polight’s book. The writer of this article could not find details on how to do this online.

Being able to receive and manage credit is a large component of financial stability. Credit Card companies do not discriminate directly on race. However, they do discriminate on the location of the home of the person applying for credit. So a system similar to the mortgage redlining of the 1980’s and 1990’s is alive in the credit card industry. Most black people live in low-income neighborhoods, therefore the discrimination based on location is indirect racial discrimination. To avoid discrimination, black people should have a P.O. Box in a neighborhood with an average income of more than $150,000 a year.

Brother Polight also supports community crowdfunding to pool large amounts of capital. He illustrates how if 10,000 people give $10 a month $1,000,000 can be collected in 10 months. Black people also spend more than any other community. Black people do not need reparations or any other help from the white man. We simply need to spend our money wisely.

The lack of financial stability in the black community that spans many generations can have a negative effect on our psychology. The pathologies surrounding generational poverty are labeled Post Traumatic Poverty Disorder (PTPD). There are three major ways PTPD plays out. The first is a person asserting themselves in areas of life that are not contingent on financial success. A person can become promiscuous, aggressive, or argumentative to prove to themselves that they have value. The second way is suspicion of black people that have money. In times of slavery, slaves could secure better lodging, more food, and reduce work schedule from providing sexual favors for slave masters and providing information on slave revolts. This mentality was deeply embedded in the minds of slaves and has not been eradicated. Black people need to be mindful of how their feelings about successful black people could be rooted in the suffering of slaves. The last way PTPD plays itself out is in the need for black people to show off wealth. Polight says that this can be healthy and something black people with money need to “get out of their system”. The flaunting of wealth should be done in a way that does not put the person in debt. Make sure you got it before you flaunt it.

What Polight has right and what he has wrong

Polight has correctly identified the problems, yet does not have any viable solutions. He details how credit card and other financial institutions can discriminate against black people without explicitly racist rules. However, the solution of getting a PO Box in a rich neighborhood can be easily thwarted by credit card companies requiring physical addresses. Polight recommends the I-Space solution of having a PO box in a rich neighborhood for an IT-Space problem. The I-Space solution can easily be countered by the credit card companies requiring a physical address for all applications. I-Space solutions will always be incomplete for IT-Space problems.

The NuCovenant websites presents numerous I Space solutions for IT Space problems. The NuCovenant website offers services to members and non-members to restore credit and create independent trust to hold real estate through declaring sovereignty. The services range from $550 – $1500. The idea behind all of these services is that declaring yourself independent of mainstream society a person will be allowed special legal privileges that will increase financial freedom. However, if Black people implement these solutions en masse, the law can be changed to disallow people to participate in the economic after sovereignty is declared.

In addition to Brother Polight’s solutions to systemic financial disenfranchisement being short term, the solutions do not work. Many people accuse Brother Polight promising relief from foreclosures and bankruptcy and not coming through on the promises. Youtuber A. Victor details how he gave Polight many thousand of dollars to prevent his foreclosure. Victor claims that Polight will not even return his calls. Polight uses Victor’s case as an example in his seminar. Victor’s property was sold a year after getting Polight’s services.

Polight is also known for not fulfilling his online orders. Many people have claimed they waited three and four months for his financial self-help books. The books are not copy written and are simply cut and paste from other people’s work. Polight has no formal training in finance or any real world experience in finance.

Polight is not an authority on financial matters. He should not be trusted and people should not pay for his services. The people that have paid for his services do not get the results that they intend. Polight does not have solutions for black financial empowerment.

Homosexuality

The acceptance of homosexuality started in Greek and Roman Culture. The cultivation of the lifestyle was promoted in European cultures. No African cultures accepted homosexuality. In Kemet, homosexuality was forbidden in many scrolls that can be referenced today. No indigenous African or Middle Eastern culture accepted homosexuality unless they were conquered by Greeks or Romans.

Homosexuality was forced on male slaves in the United States through sex farms. Male slaves were bought and sodomized by white slave masters. White slave masters also molested the male children of slaves and castrated slaves that were rebellious.

The current power structure supports homosexuality in black men for two reasons. The first is homosexual men do not have children, therefore reducing the overall number of black people and allowing for whites to be the majority population. The second is gay men are more effeminate and docile making them easier to control.

Black men are not homosexual by nature. However, there are factors that can reduce a man’s virility and induce homosexual tendencies. The first is trauma from slavery that was passed on for generations. The second are various medications that can reduce virility through inducing a hormone imbalance. The third is a need to avoid the responsibility of building a strong family. The fourth is to get concessions and aid from white men. Gay men have an easier time in corporate America because they are passive and easier to control. The passivity of gay men allows for inclusion in a company with no threat to the white power structure.

Currently, the white power structure is attempting to teach homosexuality in schools. Homosexuality has been added to the high school sex education in many states. This is especially dangerous in the black community because we have many single parent households. Black children see relationship dysfunction played out in the home and in the homes of their neighbors. Introducing homosexuality at an early age could lead a child to give up on heterosexual relationships completely. An increase in homosexual relationships will reduce the black population and allow white people to retain power. Sex education should be done at home by parents.

Ultimately, homosexuality prevents the building of strong families. The black man’s purpose is to serve the black woman. Homosexuality is no better than drug dealing or prostitution. In addition to the practical problems it presents to the black community, it was forbidden in Kemetian law. Kemet is our example par excellence for building a strong nation.

Brother Polight does not support violence against homosexuals. Homosexuals can also be a part of the black empowerment movement. However, homosexuals cannot lead are be at the forefront of the movement. Homosexuality is a weakness and homosexuals will need to concentrate on healing themselves first.

What Polight has right and what he has wrong

Polight attempts to assert black people are not homosexual by nature. He never presents any scientific evidence that homosexuality is genetic in nature and that this gene originates in Europe. Even if it is genetic and originates in Europe many black people have white people in their ancestry. Therefore, it could be natural for some black people to be homosexual.

Also, the prohibition of homosexuality in Kemet and other African cultures does not mean it does not naturally occur in black people. In fact, the prohibition of homosexuality proves there were homosexuals in these cultures prior to European intervention.

The idea that gay black men have an easier time than straight black men cannot be proven. The success of men like Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels are cited as an example of gay black men having an easier time making it in the corporate world. The root of this idea is gay men are inferior to straight men, therefore their success has to be due to them being gay. The idea of heterosexual superiority is no different than a white man attributing a black man’s success to Affirmative Action or men accusing women of sleeping to the top. This is just another thing to divide the black community.

There is some evidence that black gay men make more that black straight men. However, all the other factors were not isolated. Do black gay men have more education because they are not starting families? Do black gay men have more job mobility because they are not tied down with a wife and children? These are factors that need to be evaluated. The disparity between black gay men and black straight men could have more causes than black gay men being perceived as less threatening.

Ultimately, attempting to marginalize homosexuals causes more division in the black community. Many homosexuals have things to offer the black community and if they feel ostracized then they will avoid black people. If the black community needs to be strengthened, then all members of the community need to be enfranchised. Saying no homosexuals can lead the community will disenfranchise people and cause the community to suffer.

Women’s rights and role

A major tenet of Brother Polight’s philosophy is the black woman being G-d. The black woman creates life every day and this is verifiable. The black woman is the backbone of the community and ensures the continuation of our race. Due to the black woman’s importance, the black man should serve his woman, and all of his actions should be in support of his woman.

Men should not regulate how women should dress. If men want women covered up, it could show undercurrents of homosexuality in the man. If women are allowed to dress in clothing that is tight or revealing, this will aid in combating homosexuality in the black community.

Women should also be allowed to lead and become spiritual teachers. Spiritual philosophies that teach that women are the weaker vessel will damage the psychology of young girls. These young women will have less confidence and seek to latch on to a man.

Polygamy is also beneficial to black people. At this time there are more black women that are single . If they are all supposed to get married, then polygamy is necessary. However, men should prove they can sustain a monogamous relationship first and become financially stable before securing multiple wives.

What Polight has right and what he has wrong

Polight does present a somewhat positive display of the value of women. He also gives women the flexibility to dress as they want. The best part of this philosophy is that women can be leaders in the movement.

The value of women is still based on their ability to have children and create a family with a man. There is not much mention of the place of women that do not want children or can not have children. Polight’s philosophy is ultimately typical for blue meme thinkers. He thinks the family structure is more important than anything else. Therefore, traditional roles are more important than anything else and people have value due to their role. A truly integral view allows people to have inherent value.

Because people have to fit into roles and these roles have a hierarchy of importance, people then need to play their role instead of finding themselves and living their truth. Polight can then use the hierarchy of roles to berate homosexuals and people in interracial relationships. He assumes that the people in non-traditional relationships could have traditional relationships if they try hard enough and they should try harder because the betterment of the community depends on it. He does not allow people to actually find themselves and live their truth.

Judaism

Black people cannot claim to be part of Rabbinical Judaism. The current state of Isreal has very few black people. The few blacks that are there, Beta Isreal descendent from Ethiopian Jews, are discriminated against. Isreali law prohibits education for Ethiopian Jews after fifteen years. Isreali blood banks dump Ethiopian blood to prevent contaminating European Jews. Ethiopian Jews were sterilized without consent through fake vaccinations. The discrimination was so bad the Ethiopian Jews organized into an organization similar to Black Panthers. The group is called Mizrahim.

The Talmud explicitly states that a Jew does not have to treat a Gentile in a moral manner. Also, numerous verses in the old testament show that a Jewish person should not share their G-d with other nations. There is some evidence that people from Isreal settled in various places in Africa after 70 AD. However, their numbers were so small it would be difficult from their genetic markers to exist more than 2000 years later. So a Black American can not definitively prove he or she has a Jewish bloodline. Therefore a Jew has no moral basis to treat or unite with a Black American.

What Polight has right and what he has wrong

Polight is correct to point out systemic racism in the Jewish community. This information should cause black people within the religion to fight back and open the eyes of people thinking about converting to the religion. He applauds the efforts of the Mizrahim, as he should. Judaism needs to be more active in fighting racism.

Polight is wrong for his mischaracterization of the Talmud. The Talmud is a many-volumed work written in many places over many centuries. To take one quote and use the one quote to nullify relationships between Gentiles and Jews is unfair. Polight is not a Talmudic scholar and could not possibly know much about the work. Sweeping statements reduce the validity of the argument.

Ultimately, a person needs to find their spiritual path. If that path is Judaism, a person should pursue it. At the same time, a black follower’s eyes should be open to what is ahead of him. A black follower must be secure in the fact his membership is valid. This is especially true for Judaism, where many people will question your relationship to the chosen people.

Hebrew Israelites

The Hebrew Israelite religion is a religion for black people based on Ancient Biblical Judaism. According to the Hebrew Israelite religion, the original Israelites were black. Therefore the people currently identifying as Jews could not be related to the ancient Israelites and do not have a valid claim on the religion. White people cannot join the Hebrew Israelite religion. Members refer to themselves as Hebrews.

Brother Polight’s main argument with the Hebrew’s is their depiction of women as weaker than men. By teaching women are the weaker vessel it will reinforce a negative self-concept in young women. This negative self-concept will lead to codependent relationships.

The idea of women as a weaker vessel is also not substantiated by the Bible. In the Genisis account of the garden of Eden, Eve is offered the apple first. This shows that Eve was more important to corrupt than Adam. If an entity wanted to control and harm a people the women will be attacked first. The Garden Eden story serves as a great metaphor for the current state of Black America.

The idea that women are the weaker vessel also does not explain why more violent crime is committed by men. Polight describes the fratricidal war that is ongoing in the inner city as complete perpetuated by men. Men believing that they are inherently stronger or less susceptible to strong emotions is not supported by fact.

Polight also points out the Bible is outdated. The most important issue in the black community is a lack of Capital. There is nothing in the Bible about building an economy. The Bible also causes divisions in the black community as evident in all the Hebrew Israelite factions. Hebrews spent time arguing the fine points of the bible instead of building a community. Many proponents of the Bible point to all the prophecies in the Bible that have come true. Polight rebuts this argument with the fact that people are capable of psychic ability. The presence of true prophecy does not prove the existence of G-d or validate a religion. Any book separates people from the direct experience of G-d. People should interact with the divine directly.

Hebrew Israelites also exclude black people that want to help in empowerment because they do not want to join the Hebrew Israelites. Polight preaches “race first”. The inclusion of all black people that want to be active in the community is paramount.

What Polight has right and what he has wrong

The arguments that Polight makes against the Israelites are relatively common. The Bible is an old book and many aspects of the Bible are antiquated. There is no large-scale economic plan in the Bible. Also, many Biblical views on women will not be compatible with today’s society.

Even considering all these issues, the Bible still has validity. People need to supplement their knowledge of the Bible with information from modern sources. Polight expresses an adequate understanding of the Bible and his advice on the religion should be taken seriously.

Islam

Islam began in Arabia and was meant for Arabs. Black people or Africans were never intended to be included. The propagation of Islam spread the idea that Arabic civilization is superior to all other cultures. Indigenous African religions began to be suppressed. The Africans that adopted Islam devalued their native civilization and countrymen and aided Arabs in the slave trade.

In addition to the subjugation of Africans in Islamic culture, no one can be sure if Muhammad actually lived and if he did live what he actually said. Arabic was not a codified written language at the time it was purportedly transmitted. Muhammad spoke a form of Proto-Arabic called Al-Fusha. His original seventy-two followers wrote the transmission in Syriac, the only codified written language in the area. By all accounts from Orthodox Muslims, Muhammad could not read. Therefore, he could not verify if the written account was accurate. Arabic was codified into a written language sixty years later. Later Califs forced the Koran to only be written in Arabic.

The word Muhammad is also a moniker, not a name. Polight cites instances of the word Muhammad being used to describe great kings before The Prophet was alive. He also points to a Byzantine coin that depicts Jesus with the moniker Muhammad. The written account of Muhammad’s life, The Hadith, was written 200 years after his death. It is possible that The Profit Muhammad was an amalgamation of various great leaders and spiritual teachers from 500 AD to 650 AD.

The Arab slave trade lasted longer and was more brutal than the European slave trade. The Arab slave trade lasted 800 years longer and transported six million more people. The most brutal aspect was the double castration of all male slaves. The double castration resulted in very few living descendants of slaves in Arabia.

Historical records prove Arabs felt their African slaves were less than human. IBN Khaldon a Muslim slave trader said Africans have no family structure and are naturally submissive. Muhammad was a slave owner, and there are no records of widespread opposition to slavery from any of his followers. Mulay Ismail Ibn Shariff fathered eight hundred children by slave women and castrated the male children. Also, Africans that converted to Islam, such as Tippu Tip, sold his countrymen into slavery.

Islam was adopted by Black Americans to fight against White Supremacy, not because the religion was properly analyzed and questioned. Black people needed something to fight against the white power structure. The largest and most successful American Islamic organization is the Nation of Islam (NOI). The NOI has independent news outlets, financial assistance for members to start businesses, and agreements with foreign governments to provide educational support. The economic success of the NOI is not due to Islam, due to the fact there are no economic plans in the Koran. The success of the NOI is not due to Islam; the ingenuity and perseverance of the membership are the reason for success.

As stated earlier, Brother Polight does not believe that Islam is a religion that was cruel to black people. The success of Islam in Black American as due to hard working members, not divine intervention. It is time for blacks to cast off foreign gods and return to themselves and their ancestral heritage.

What Polight has right and what he has wrong

Polight’s arguments against Islam are similar to his arguments against Judaism. However, the racist past of these religions should not prevent people from following the path. Each follower must fully understand how the religion has treated his people and how he will relate to the path. Everyone reinvents their religion to fit their life.

The NOI is a perfect example of how to take a religion and reinvent it to be useful in a personal struggle for freedom. The members were able to create a semi-insulated economy because they were grounded and united in Islam. Despite there not being an economic plan in the Koran, members were able to invent an economic plan rooted in Islamic values.

It is also important to remember that Kemet is one of the oldest slave societies. Many of the arguments used by pharaohs to keep Hebrew, Cushite, and Nubian slaves is similar to arguments Arabs and Whites used. Polight has reinvented the Kemetic religion to fit his present day needs. He should allow others to do the same.

Scientology

L. Ron Hubbard invented Scientology to control Africans in South Africa. Derogatory statements of Africans fill Hubbard’s original works. The statements center around Africans being unable to learn, needing constant supervision, and imbuing inanimate objects with personalities (hyper-superstition). These views were common in the 1950’s among white people.

Scientology has made no effort to denounce these statements and make sure members do not hold these views. However, they are making efforts to proselytize black people in New York City. When proselytizing, they do not make it know that L. Ron Hubbard was racist. They evaluate the mental health of black people, various diagnosis pathologies, and prescribe therapy based on Dianetics. The psychological evaluation does not take into account the effects of living inside a culture that is often hostile toward black people.

Dianetics has also been proven ineffective in various court cases in numerous countries. Hubbards Ph.D. in psychology was a University founded by Hubbard. He awarded himself and close companions PhD’s as soon as the Univeristy was established. Independent research of Dianetics shows no significant improvement in the mental health of patients. Reviews from psychologist show Dianetics over-simplifies the human personality and make wild generalizations that can not be backed by facts.

Scientology is not a valid religion for a black person because the founder was a racist. No effort has been made to remove racism from the religion and make amends for past damage done. Scientology is not open with the racism in the religion with new members. Therefore, black people should not only leave the religion. The religion should not be allowed to proselytize in the black community.

What Polight has right and what he has wrong

Again Polight does a good job pointing out flaws in the religion of another person. As stated earlier everyone has to reinvent the religion to suit their needs. Scientologist should be working toward a more racially inclusive philosophy.

Extraterrestrials

Brother Polight put on the First UFO Conference for Melanated People. When Brother Polight speaks of Extraterrestrials he is not talking about little green men. Polight considers an extraterrestrial any being or consciousness outside of earth. Therefore, if a person believes in G-d, then that person would believe in an extraterrestrial. G-d exists outside earth therefore, G-d is an ET. Polight explains if a Christian believes Jesus is coming back, then he is not currently on earth and is extraterrestrial. UFO’s and extraterrestrial consciousness give a physical mechanism and explanation of how many spiritual prophecies.

When Brother Polight speaks of being abducted he means that he was infected with a consciousness greater than the surroundings around him at that time. An ET consciousness allowed him to turn away from gang life and study holistic medicine. In the same way, the ancient Egyptians had to have access to a consciousness outside of earth to build the pyramids. The technology available at the time would not allow for a building to be built with such precision. Polight cites other civilizations with extraordinary knowledge of astrology as having access to extraterrestrials.

The government and religious organizations keep knowledge of extraterrestrials away from the public. If celestial beings exist in the physical realm then they are accessible to anyone. This will remove the need for priest and pastors. If people en masse learn to communicate with ET’s then people can get aid in fighting and overthrow their government. This is why the government jails people that expose ET’s.

To be completely clear, Polight does believe there are actual physical beings on other planets that visited earth, but the definition of extraterrestrial is not limited to physical beings. Polight claims the sports and entertainment industry is used to hide extraterrestrial hybrids in plain sight. An example is the NBA. In the NBA, a person can see numerous people above seven feet in height. People of this height are rarely seen in normal life. The circus may have people with hair all over their body, again something rarely ever seen. However, putting these people in the circus and telling the masses that they are just odd humans reduces the likelihood that people will question the origins of these people.

Polight believes that ET’s have influenced and contacted human beings. An example is the Dogon tribe of Western Africa. This tribe has had knowledge or a star called Sirius B which was not known to western scientist until the early 1900’s. The pyramids are another example of possible ET’ intervention, due to the fact no one can build anything that precise and that large with modern technology.

Polight also contends the major world governments know about ET’s and purposely hide information on ET’s from the public. Polight references the NASA program named Search for Extraterrestrial Life (SETI). The United Nations creates land grants for areas of Mars and the Moon. The world governments also control the media and ensure that portrayals of extraterrestrial life and contact border on the absurd.

Polight’s views on extraterrestrials put him at odds with most Kemetic Scientists. The idea that the Kemetians were not solely responsible for their civilization reduces the grandeur of the civilization is very offensive to most Kemetic Scientist. The argument that aliens built the pyramids has also been used by white supremacist to prove a civilization of black people could not do great things. The Nuwuabian and NuCovenant schools are on the fringes of Kemetic Science in that regard.

What Polight has right and what he has wrong

Polight berates Muslims, Christians, and Isrealites for believing in things they cannot prove. Then he presents a UFO philosophy that is completely conjecture. There is no verifiable evidence that UFO’s have interacted with ancient man or modern man. His persistence and belief in UFO’s should invalidate Polight in the eyes of most people.

If UFO theory needs to be debunked, the following ideas will be presented. If aliens came the ancient world, why did they stop coming. If they have technology to travel through the Cosmos and they discovered earth, they would come and go as they please. The government could not find evidence of their presence because they would be landing on earth all the time. Contact with alien life would be impossible to hide.

In Conclusion

Brother Polight is a blue meme thinker. He has made an idealized version of ancient Kemet Utopia. His solutions are heavy in the WE- Space. He does not have a basic understanding of science and the reader should thoroughly check his sources. The reader should not buy or take his financial advice. Polight has detailed my problems, but his solutions are sketchy at best.

Brother Polight is somewhat proficient in his analysis of religion. He will, at times, make sweeping statements, but his overall methodology is correct. However, Polight should take a more critical look at his own religious beliefs and understand how much faith is required in his beliefs.

More Information

For the playlist used to create this article follow Spiral Dynamics and Race. Playlist is entitled SD Brother Polight.

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November 11, 2016 10

Black Leadership Analysis

This is an unofficial Spiral Dynamics blog. It is not endorsed by D. Beck PhD.

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