By Jermaine Broadnax
Due to the colonization Africa. Africans would lose their indigenous cultural goals and standards, they lost full control of training young members of the society. The colonizing Europeans understood that they gain power not through physical control but through mental control. This mental control is implemented through the school system. The negative impact of colonialism in political terms was quite huge, because Africans would literally lose power overnight.
“Ngugi Wa Thiong’o”, a famous African writer in his book ‘decolonize the mind’ displayed his anger towards the isolationist feelings colonial education causes. He asserts that the process annihilates a people of belief in their names, in their language, environment, heritage of struggle, unity, capacities and ultimately in themselves. When speaking about the Indigenous and Africans in America. We had four Black inspirational educational icons.
Marcus Garvey
When speaking about education, Garvey stated the following: “”It is by education that we become prepared for our duties and responsibilities in life. If one is badly educated, he must naturally fail in the proper assumption and practice of his duties and responsibilities because the Negro has been badly educated.”
By educating and employing Black Americans, while holding secret meetings for blacks to converse on building. By creating a nation for Africans in America, creating towns for Africans to move into here in America, in a situation only the black dollar is circulated. Had Garvey pulled this off, Black Americans and Africans would of been able to share educational systems, while building foundations together.
Elijah Muhammad:
Elijah took the uneducated black man off the street, and into an educational spiritual system.
Redevelop, the black man into a disciplined solider of black power. Kind of what Elijah did for Malcom X and Muhammad Ali, they represented how black men should be viewed to the world. Develop a black school for boys, who are separated from girls. Teach the doctrine on how to be a black man in America, and how to be a husband to his wife. Today, we need a system of doctrine that gives black man the proper way to dress, talk and intellect, to get worldwide respect from all.
Malcom X:
Malcom, was the perfect example of self-education, overrides colonialism rhetoric taught in schools. By giving education to the youth, to prevent the brainwashing by the beast. Malcom X showed how reading books and learning knowledge , brought him from a thug to GOD status in the human form. Once black man has knowledge of self, he doesn’t want to hurt any black people anymore.
Martin Luther King:
Martin represented the integrity of the culture. Which was an educational system in itself. Martin showed the blueprint, on how black Americans in 2021, need to boycott only when we have a black alternative to go to. Money is American’s religion. If blacks were to shut down the money, they will crumble because the money is the only thing they have on this earth. We need to start another Poor people’s campaign, all the poor people in America, need one sponsor who can make the statement worldwide, a poor people campaign is the reason MLK was assassinated, it was so dangerous. He educated the culture on what “society” considered “doing too much”.
The Africans elites who became educated post scramble for Africa were Kwame Nkrumah, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Casely Hayford and other educated leaders, were able to gather support of the masses of Africans against colonial rule. These educated African elites came together under the National Congress of British West Africa and through this body ideas were articulated, and actions taken which brought to an end colonial rules in the continent. After Kwame set the blueprint for other nations to follow. 17 former African colonies became independent members of the United Nations in 1960. Which included Nigeria, Britain’s west African territory; Somalia, the last Italian province in east Africa; Zaire, the Belgian colony in central Africa; and all of the French possessions in western, central and eastern Africa.
African leaders took advantage of a weakened European military due to World War Two. African students took advantage of missionaries and colleges. Now that Africans are educated in English at an elite level. The peace negotiations would transpire during the 1960’s. The key factors is displacement of military, and education of western culture.
Without Education, Africa would of never been able to negotiate itself out of being colonized. When you fast forward to 2021. Nigeria and South Africa are the most western education African countries out of the entire continent. Those missionaries’ schools in the 1930’s are the difference. This is why many Nigerians come to America, because they had the head start almost one hundred years ago on Westernized education.
