Return From Home

"All Is Fair" - Living Proofe (Peace to the God!)

Peace,

My daughter Azania returned to Pittsburgh last week after being in South Africa for a month. Azania's mother is South African, so for them it was a return back "home" in a sense. My daughter's name is what the original people of that land called South Africa during apartheid, and dates back to Zanj, which is what the Arabs called the people of East Africa upon their arrival. She had a great overall time, and saw and experienced things that many of her classmates could never imagine. As she recounted her experiences to me, I thought "So many of our children never leave their immediate environments, much less the country."

In order to our children to be world citizens, it is imperative that we give them an international scope. All over the world, many children speak more than one language, and some speak three or more. Although my daughter can communicate in Spanish and Mandarin, in SA she had a slight problem communicating because the first language is Afrikaans. With the world "shrinking" through increased channels of communication and globalization, we must make sure that our kids know things outside of their ethnic and cultural experience. The babies are the greatest, b.u.t. only if we prepare them properly.

Travel To the North

"Be" - Common

Peace,

To further show who we are as a Nation of Gods and Earths, I want to give a review of my trip a couple of weeks ago. Knowledge Build Allah and I traveled to the Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Hamilton Ont. Area in order to see the Gods and Earths in Our region. For those who may not know, the NGE has been structured into regions in order to increase local and regional development. Areas that have a close proximity to each other can share best practices and build together to develop the infrastructure needed for functional community building. Our region includes Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Western New York (Which includes Buffalo, Rochester, and Niagara Falls), and Southern Ontario (Which includes Hamilton and Toronto).

Our first stop was Buffalo. We visited the God Divine Allah who welcomed us into his home, and gave us a brief rundown of the city and it's history. Later Divine and the God Shatik took us on a tour through the streets of Buffalo, and allowed us to interact with the people of that community. We then traveled to Niagara Falls (Known as Atlantis) to meet with the God Saladin, who recently had a profile done on him in the local newspaper. The God also runs a mentoring and youth development program in the community. We built at length about a variety of topics and then dined at a Indian restaurant blocks from the U.S. - Canada border.

After breaking bread, Knowledge Build and I departed and traveled to Hamilton (Steel City). Fortunately, we were able to cross the border with a minimum of hassle, and made it to Steel City in about 45 minutes. For those who may not know, there is a thriving community of Gods and Earths in Hamilton, and the Nation has had a presence in that area for the last 10 years. Putting to rest the idea that the NGE is a "Black" (African American) thing, In my time in that area, we met Gods & Earths whose families were from Jamaica, Mexico, The Philippines, Trinidad, and Ghana. In many ways, this area represents both the goal and the future of the NGE, speaking to and representing the needs of a global community with a value system that makes more of the similarities than of the differences. We attended their annual Asiatic New Year celebration (more on that later), and departed that evening with a weekend full of memories and a renewed appreciation for the work that Gods and Earths are doing across North America.

It's been a longer time...

Song: "Black Girl Pride" - Talib Kweli

Peace,

Pardon for the delay, as things have been very busy and productive. Number 1 on the list is the death of Pope John Paul II, which sent shockwaves throughout the world. With the passing of the pope, many are waiting to see who will be the next pope. The thing that makes the choice interesting this time is that the largest population growth for the Catholic Church is in Africa, while growth in North America and Europe has stalled. Because of this, the Face of Catholicism has become darker over the last 50 years. The question is this: Does the Church have the guts to elect a African Pontiff if he represents the future of the church and it's largest population? If they do, it will represent a new day for the relationship between Christianity and African people and allow the world to see Catholicism as a religion of acceptance vs. Paternalism.

Number 2 on my "hit" list is the subject of Globalization. Last Sunday, New York Times writer Thomas Freidman tackled the subject in a article entitled "Globalization 3.0" that chronicled the technological advances that are taking place in countries like India and China. These changes and advances are having and will continue to have a profound effect on all Americans, as other countries make up the curve that was created by imperialism and the industrial revolution through technology that levels the playing field and gives the advantage to the worker who is most qualified and/or the cheapest, no matter the location. When you call for tech support, there's a good chance that you're speaking to someone in Bangalore instead of Boston. Ironically, the field was leveled in part by the internet rush and subsequent telecom infrastructure development. This has enabled people all over the world to do business together and to compete.

In last year's election, much was made of outsourcing without the average person realizing the true issue at hand. Globally, Americans are falling behind in the areas of Science & Math, and the Black community is even further behind in being able to compete in today's economy. After reading the article, I was able to reflect on Allah's wish that his suns and daughters become scientists, mathematicians, and architects so that we would be able to create and maintain a civilization. We need to reinforce these lessons to our youth so that they are prepared and even ahead for the world that they will be left with.

Finally, My beautiful daughter Azania I Queen turns Build or Destroy (8) today. Nothing makes you more aware of your duty and responsibility to the world than a child, and as God, realizing your Equality in your daughter is doubly inspiring. The first universe is the family, and through the children, we see our future.

The Gods & Earths as Hip Hop's "Intelligensia"

Peace,

On monday, I will to build more about this, so please check out this article on Hip Hop and the NGE.
http://www.popmatters.com/music/features/050401-edutainment.shtml