Africa is the Cradle of Civilization

By Chiekh Anta Diop & Dr. John Henrik Clarke

Learning the true history of the world would provide a clear understanding of
the many different contributions that came from various cultures and peoples
around the world. White supremacy has elevated the European culture while
downplaying and attempting to destroy other cultures.

Let’s look at African
culture and pay tribute to its awesome accomplishments in technology and math,
which led to the establishment and maintenance of classic infrastructure. Then
try to understand the exceptional manner in which Africans governed their affairs
and the significance of their impact on the advancement of their civilization
and these various cultures around the world.

According to Dr. Leaky, the European paleontologist who discovered Lucy, the
oldest set of human bones ever found on this planet, Africa is the birthplace of
the human family. According to Mendel, the European scientist who proved that
dark genes are dominant and light genes are recessive, Africans are the original
people, and the parents of all human beings.

According to the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad, the African prophet who brought a sense of self worth to millions of
Blacks in America, Black people are the original people and they have been on
this planet for trillions of years. The original people were created in the
image of God, and as God’s chosen people he gave them the knowledge to create and
advance all of the arts and sciences, including the concepts of theory, time,
language and structures. Those original people were very dark Black people. They
called the land where they lived the home of the burnt and dark skinned people.
A place that is commonly known as Kemet among Black scholars.

The great ancient African civilizations consisted of knowledge and wisdom that
was so powerful that it provided the diagrams for most of the wonders of the
world, and also the foundations for society as we know it today. These great
civilizations produced great African Kings such as Akhenaton, the world’s
greatest social reformer. He was a wizard at administration and he loved life so
much that he outlawed warfare. His respect for God and love for life was evident
in his admiration for nature and animals; he was such a spiritual man that he
would not even hurt a flower.

The knowledge from God and the will to submit to
his wisdom paved the way for Akhenaton to become such a great leader, since the
African peoples shared his spirituality they were blessed by God and encouraged
to build the pyramids, the Sphinx and a variety of great temples with beautiful
ancient artifacts within. The Europeans were amazed at these structures and the
calculations required in constructing these
monumental architectural phenomena, even though, they cannot figure out how
the Africans accomplished these great feats during ancient times.

The Europeans gave up trying to understand God’s knowledge along with the advanced African
civilizations and began attempts to make the structures appear as though they
would reflect European heritage. They even went as far as chipping away at the
nose of the sphinx and claiming that Egypt was a European civilization.

Chiekh Anta Diop, the great Senegalese Historian, Egyptologist and
Paleontologist insisted on proving to the European educators and scholars, once
and for all, that Egypt was undeniably of Black African heritage, and that
Europeans should bring an immediate halt to chipping away at the great African
wonders of the world and accept Africa as the home of spirituality and higher
learning. Europeans have been successful in reserving a place for Aristotle,
Plato and Socrates as the great thinkers of early times but documentation proves
that they received their training in higher education from Africa.

In 1974 Diop also told them he could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Egypt was located
in Africa and that Egyptians were Black people. When Diop told them he could
prove this by obtaining pigment from the mummies, the Europeans had to agree on
the fact that Egypt and all of the ancient civilizations along the Nile were in
Africa and populated by Black people, until the bastardization of the African continent began with European invasions.

A few of the glorious ancient African civilizations that flourished in Africa
were Ghana, Mali and Songhai. Ghana is a West African country that is known for
its abundance of wealth in gold. Though she is rich in wealth and has priceless
traditions, Ghana took a turn for the worst when invasions began.

Ghana and most African nations today exist as nations in turmoil plagued by persistent poverty,
mounting debt, political instability and overwhelming problems like famine and
disease, which came as a result of slavery and colonialism. The ASANTE Empire
controlled most of the territory until the British arrived. Their rich tradition
included communal land holdings by lineages or clans and they commanded the
loyalty of their peoples.

The AKAN peoples were matrilineal, while the GA, the
EWE and most other northern groups were patrilineal. The matrilineal cultures
were led by strong Black women leaders that Africans were proud to uplift. This
is a custom that is favorable througho!
ut Africa. The African traditionalists were pleased with their women leaders
and warriors, just as African-Americans are proud of their women leaders today.

Mali covers territory of the former French Sudan. It was a prime location for
the early trade between African nations. It also flourished as a result of the
trade in gold. By 500 BC the agriculturalist along the Niger and the Senegal
River valleys developed the skills to make use of metals, (copper, iron and
gold). The ability to mine and develop precious metals was the basis for
prosperity in ancient trading centers such as Djenne’-Jeno. According to oral
traditions from the MANDINKA, Sundiata Keita gained control of the lucrative
Sub-Saharan trade. In the early 14th century Mali was at her high point under
Mansa Musa 1. Mali extended from the Atlantic Ocean to Gao along the middle
Niger. Mali was a federation of kingdoms that came together under one king.

Songhai is also a West African Nation that prospered from its salt and gold in
the trade arena at the great trade cities of Djenne’, Gao and Tombouctou. In the
late 15th century the empire was led by SUNNI All, after his death the empire
was taken over by Muhammad I Askia, who was from a Mande-speaking tribe. These
new rulers were kin to the peoples who controlled Mali. They were Muslim rulers
who reached their greatest potential in having an empire stretch from Kanem-
Bornu and the Rausa states in the east to the upper Senegal River in the west,
which included the salt mining area of Teghazajn, the desert to the north. The
ancestors of the Songhai established a kingdom on the Niger bendas as early as
the 7th century C.E.

As Europeans began exploring and trading with Africans they were mystified at
the beauty of Africa and the efficiency in which the Africans governed their
land and peoples. Europeans became preoccupied with taking the land and
resources from the Africans. They developed the evil practices of slavery and
colonialism to carry out their desires to rape Africa, her people and her
riches. The greatest lie the world has ever known came when Europeans tried to
cover up their evil practices, claiming they were civilizing the dark African
continent. A part of reparations should include European educators and scholars
writing and lecturing on the true history of the world. Africans had gone
through 24 great dynasties before the first sign of European intelligence
arrived on the planet in 850 BC with the Odyssey and the Illiad. Africans were
living in a state of peace and in tune with nature when the first act of
European aggression came from the Roman invasion in 332 BC. The Greeks di!
d go to Africa in 525 BC, but they went with the intent of learning and seeking
trade. The Greek civilization owes all of her heritage to the African peoples,
as do all the other nations of the world.

The proof lies in the father of medicine. Many European scholars and educators
have labeled Hippocrates as the father of medicine. That is why doctors are
sworn in with the Hippocratic Oath, however, the true father of medicine is
Imhotep. Hippocrates has even written that he was a student of the great
Imhotep, so how can Hippocrates be the father of medicine and unfortunately the
lies have never stopped. There is proof of an early African presence in every
culture on earth, from the olmecs in America to the wa and the twa in far east
countries. The truth will show that man originated in Africa and branched out
across the earth.

There have been many lies past on from generation to generation that have upheld
false ideals for white supremacy, while these same lies have been used to
degrade and depress Black people. They range from lies like Christopher Columbus
discovering America to lies like whites are intellectually superior to Blacks.
African-American adults are at a crucial stage in their lives. Their parents and
their hip-hop generation have contributed a great deal to the dilemma and
dialogue on race in America. The message was loud and clear with their parents
in the Black Power Movement when James Brown said, "Say it Loud", "O’m Black and
a’m proud". The message was also clear in the "Self-Destruction" compilation
message sent by a multitude of hip-hoppers. Their parents called for self-esteem
among their people, while their hip-hoppers called for self-determination. The
African¬American adult message that is missing today should be to expose the
lies and tell the truth.

The truth will permit Africans to know they have played a significant role in
societies progressing since the beginning of time and in America becoming a
superpower of the world today. They should strive to implement lessons that show
the excellence of the African in the American educational system, from K-12,
college and including professional diversity seminars. This will provide a light
of hope for Black people in their own eyes and through the eyes of others in
society, where citizens and residents of this nation can begin to respect Black
people, and African-Americans will also find an aspiration to pursue the
American dream. It is not healthy for Blacks or Whites to continue to allow lies
to be forced on the American public. A mutual respect can materialize among the
races if the truth is told. Blacks do not have to have rebellions and riots in
order to have the truth told. All they have to do is form an organization with
the purpose of looking out for the best interes!
t of their people. When they form this organization where the members are
genuinely concerned about the well being of Blacks and their communities, Whites
and others will join and support them in their effort, because the people in
this nation know Blacks have been treated very bad for a very long time, and
that they should receive some type of compensation for enduring the hostilities
and legalities that have prevented them from having peace, liberty or the
pursuit of happiness. Let’s look at the condition of Black people today and see
if we can find correlations between the way Blacks were treated on slave ships,
during slavery, the Jim Crow era and today. The one constant a person can find
as it relates to Africans and the way they have been treated in America, during
and since slavery is racism. They should form the Reparations Union to address
the institutional and systematic problems that racism has created. Understanding
the African culture from an African perspectiv!
e will provide the incentive for Blacks to mobilize in mass numbers to
deal with issues facing their people. A special thanks goes out to these two
great scholars for initiating that difficult task. They are our pioneers on
presenting the truth about Africa and her peoples.

Source: Assata Shakur.

Photo: Cheikh Anta Diop.