Instructor: Mba Mbulu Title of Course: Integration 101

Textbooks: Not To Be: Essays On Integration and The Black Studies Book: A Black Studies Guide for TeenAgers and Adults.

Class #7

The essay that follows is from the book Black Smart. It deals with a psychology concept called "recognition". Read it and relate it to the following questions:

(1) What might recognition have to do with Black People's tendency to seek to integrate with white people?

(2) The essay says Black People have failed to prove to white people that We can reject them, and until We do We will never receive the respect human beings should receive. Would rejecting whites be more beneficial for integrationists or Black nationalists? And, is this referring to the respect of white people or other people?

(3) The essay asks "Are We human?". Is integration relevant within that context?

(4) The essay closes with "PEACE be with you, Brothers and Sisters, if you are willing to do what is necessary to get it." Can integration get Black People peace?

Questions? Email aset@asetbooks.com and list your course title as the subject.

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How Far, Recognition?

It is natural for Us to want other people to recognize Us, Brothers and Sisters. It is natural for Us to want to prove to all people that We are as "good" as they are. It is natural that We should want them to admit that We know how to act properly, that We know how to add and subtract, that We know how to make an intelligent decision, etc. It is natural that We should want them to know that We are not dirty people and that We don't rob and steal and cheat as a matter of course. We want them to know that We can live in the suburbs without contaminating its attractiveness, that We can work at a desk just as efficiently as anyone else and that We can direct an organization or business and represent numbers of people just as well as anyone else. We have to prove to other people, especially those who think they are superior to Us, that We are as "good" as they are. For this reason We have continually sought the recognition of the white race.

Members of the white race have charged that they were/are superior to Us. To support their contention they boasted that We could not read, write or talk properly, and that We did not understand simple arithmetic. We learned to read well enough to understand America's judicial system and become lawyers and judges; to write well enough to become poets and authors, and to issue magazines and newspapers; and to talk properly enough to report the news on television and speak to thousands of students on America's most respected college campuses. To prove that We could add and subtract We became cashiers at department stores and clerks at the largest agencies of the U.S. government. We went even further! We used Our mathematical genius combined with Our knowledge of electricity and developed the automatic traffic light; and We studied the heavenly bodies, calculated their courses and predicted eclipses. We planned the city of the District of Columbia, became "sought after" engineers, and discovered how to refine sugar. Still, We failed to get the recognition of those who enslaved Us.

We have proven beyond any doubt that We are capable of doing anything anyone else does, Brothers and Sisters. Therein lies the rub! We have proven to the white race that We can talk like them, calculate like them, do their work efficiently and live according to their standards. In short, We have proven that We can overcome all obstacles and adapt Our tendencies to their way of life. What We have failed to prove, however, is that We are capable of breaking with the sickness that is basic to their way of life. We have failed to prove that We can reject them and establish a social, economic and governmental order based on Our tendencies which other people would want to imitate. Until We do this We will never receive the respect which human beings should receive.

We have to de-brainwash Ourselves, Brothers and Sisters. We can do this by first asking Ourselves if We are in fact inferior. We must ask Ourselves if the white race possesses characteristics or tendencies which any civilized people would want to imitate, and if they don't We must ask Ourselves why We continue to imitate them. We have to determine if We should want them to recognize Us! Should We want barbarians to recognize Us? After all, man is human only to the extent to which he tries to impose his existence on another man in order to be recognized by him. We know well that domination is what the white man seeks primarily, not recognition.

Another question We must ask Ourselves, collectively and individually, is "Are We human?" Humans attempt to impose their existence on another human in order to be recognized by him/her. All We have attempted to do is surrender Our existence in order to better imitate another man's existence. It follows then that We don't deserve to be recognized because We haven't attempted to impose Our existence, Our way of life or Our "reason for being" upon other peoples of the world.

What are We all about, Brothers and Sisters? A boring eight hours a day job and 24 hours a day of frustration caused by petty-mindedness, selfishness, lack of concern for others, lack of justice, hunger, poverty and unnecessary disease? Or can We express life (Our existence) with a lot less tension and uncertainty/insecurity? Do We care about Ourselves and the young and unborn Black babies who wont give a damn about whitey but will end up in whitey's prisons or doing what whitey wants them to do because We failed to prepare them to do otherwise?

We have to build and make operable some vehicles which will carry Our young to positive points Brothers and Sisters. Whitey's vehicles will not benefit Our young, so We must stop bringing his vehicles into Our life and stop imitating them in any manner. We as a group need to go through a lot of social changes, but each of Us needs to go through some individual/personal changes as well in order to make it easier for the social changes We must instill (among Ourselves) to hold ground and grow.

Our vehicles, Brothers and Sisters, Our institutions and Our way of life! Nothing less will do!!!

PEACE be with you, Brothers and Sisters, if you are willing to do what is necessary to get it.

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