Up
From Slavery
.
John Karrys [8/4/2004 2]
Booker T. Washington is
my life-long inspirational soulmate.
Being
born a slave, sleeping on the pavements of America, he rose towards
international prominence as an educator and visionary.
Reading his autobiography, Up From Slavery, I really got to strenghten
my mind and ask,'What does it mean to be educated?' 'What is the difference
between an eduaction and the schooling you've recieved?'
.
It is also interesting to note that I came across his work only by accident
as I was browsing through the library.
Throughout all the 'Black History' months I have endured as a student
and a teacher, I had only heard the name Booker T Washington but I never
got to study and celebrate the life and legacy. I studied the usuals,
Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Fredrick Douglas, Rosa Parks,W.E.B Du
Bois, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou etc.
It is interesting that this man is usually left out of the intellectual
cannon yet he charted the blueprint for anyone to rise out from slavery,
then and now. That's right, anyone. Why is that?
In the same library, and most other ones, I also frequent the music
section and the various books on the History of Rock and Roll and music
in the twentieth century. It is also shocking to see 'scholars' rewrite
music history and marginalize the achievements of Michael Jackson and
the achievements of the Jackson Five.
One book after the other, one observes the outright trivalization of
Michael's trailblazing achievements and undermining the fact that he,
singlehandedly, smashed the barriers for today's hip hop artists, producers
and successful labels. Most, if not all, music VJ's and program directors,
know who ignited the industry and the jobs they now enjoy today.
Watching Thriller, Smooth Criminal, Remember The Time and both versions
of, 'They Don't Care About Us,' now, and you can't believe the timeliness
of this artistry. However, it is fascinating that one won't read that
in any 'sophisticated' musical 'scholarship.' Thank you Mark Twain for
teaching us to ignore and trivialize the 'sophisticated.'
People aren't born stupid, they are trained to be.
This is done through conforming people into being afraid through education,
media and pressures to 'fit in' socially by looking the 'right way'.
Booker T. Washington, Michael Jackson, Thomas Sowell and others said,
'I choose not to conform. I choose to exercise freewill and not live
my life as a slave.'
This is why mainstream public opinion managers try to marginalize pathmakers
like these. They fear that one may choose to really exercise and accelerated
their minds and have the intellectual tools to assert rights and discover
the freedom they only wanted for themselves! God forbid Michael should
be artistically gifted and a shrewd businessman. Thank you for the lesson
Mr. Washington.
John Karrys can be reached at [email protected]
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