WHERE IS THE 21^ST CENTURY ‘DANIEL’ GENERATION?

In Memory of Ivan, Asa, Margaret, & Manning

By

Sistah Sharon... 

Biblical references:

Book of Daniel (entirety); Book of Nehemiah (entirety); Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Book of Luke 4:1-13; Luke 24 

I.

The other day, in the middle of my introducing several theories developed by African and African American scholars, a student asked the question, “Then, are you saying we should hate White people”? My mouth dropped and I was momentarily speechless. So much so, that I only half-answered her inquiry with what one student opined as a rather ‘dismissive’ response (she felt we should have discussed the matter, further, which would have taken us way off target for the rest of the class).

 I don’t recall my actual response…all I can remember is I said “no”, and moved on. I knew I had to keep focused upon the theories and methods because such information would later impact how the class would interpret future assignments. Such assignments would also include observations within places of worship scheduled in the very near future. At that very moment, I realized just how difficult it would be for some Black students to “think” like Black people!

If this had been an introductory course to race relations, or even Black Studies 101, perhaps continued discussion would have been warranted and in order. But by the time a student enrolls into my classes, they are juniors and seniors, not freshman. In other words, they have already consumed a healthy diet of “academic meat”, and have been weaned from the “curdled milk” of remedial and introductory courses. Once in a while, a sophomore will “slip” in and after a few weeks may realize the intensity of the course requires much more rigor than they are prepared to do at this juncture of their academic career. However, I have had one exceptional sophomore, who not only aced the course, but instilled within her own teenage children to attend my classes, regularly! Undoubtedly, they will all become successful achievers in whatever subjects they choose because they were “obedient, alert, and engaged in spite of their preferences”.

But I digress. Getting back to the situations of “hating” White people. What would cause a person to interpret focusing upon Black theories and methodology to mean “hating” anyone? Why would a professor who teaches at an institution that serves a diverse population want to spew any form of “hatred”? Why would an institution of higher education continue to employ people (like myself) who may have diverse research methodologies and ideologies, if they are encouraging “hatred” within the academic community?  Why would a student enroll in an institution, a course, or read texts that encouraged, “hatred”?

Here are my views on this matter. As I reflect upon this issue, I am thinking of the work and wisdom of Dr. Asa Hilliard, Dr. Margaret Burroughs, Dr. Ivan Sertima, Dr. Manning Marable…and a “Doctor to Doctors”, Jesus Christ…

II.

Whenever a discussion is centered upon the issues of Black people, especially one that focuses upon Black interpretations of worldviews and diverse realities, there seems to be some instinctive expectation that such discussions opposes somebody else, especially White people. Such an approach to phenomena that focuses upon Blacks seems more an indication of how one thinks about their own worldview, and how information is “filtered” within their own understanding of what it means to be “Black”.

Such a reality only allows information to ‘fit’ into two categories…it must be this way, or that way.  There is no recognition, or value, for thinking that an issue, a belief, an idea has far more possibilities than those already discovered by one or more ways of seeing or believing. Such a reality is so closed-minded to other ideas, especially those handed down by generations of Black scholars, that they often reject, sometimes resist, and more prevalent today, rebel against it, as well as those, who represent it.

I am encountering today within too many Black students a reality that has been provided for them via reinforced methods that totally reject the thinking ideas of Black scholars and scholarship. Even when presented with ideas and views that do not “fit” within historical evidence of foreign belief systems, their choices are to cling to the familiar and repeated images of degradation over and over that are portrayed through a variety of media and educational methods. That which was once valued and preserved within their own culture is no longer familiar, and has become “alien”. Far too many Black students will reject and even attack those who represent any other perspectives that do not “fit” into what they already think and believe. While what I am saying may apply to many others, I am intentionally and deliberately focusing upon Black students because…I can!

III.

Today, Black scholars and scholarship may find themselves in what I term “Neo-Imperialistic Witch Hunts” where their work is scrutinized and mocked by comediennes, entertainers, and media “talking heads”. However, the hunters of today are not only those of olden days. These neo-hunters have become some of our own students! They are the ones who refuse to open their books; take even one set of notes (Asante suggests “two”); successfully complete assignments; and take seriously the need to pass examinations.

Two decades ago, the battle was often between Black and White scholars who waged war over territory within Academia. Today, many students who have little interest in rigorously approaching the scholarly work of those who made such departments and institutions possible have taken over the battle against Black scholarship. They are the 21^st century foot soldiers against Black scholarship and studies. They enter the academic battlefield ill-prepared with dated armor from years of elementary and secondary mis-education that has taught them to repel anything that would suggest Black Studies is credible. For far too many students today, they are also over-burdened with apathy, consumed with complacency, and readily-focused upon what will get them employed, happy, and a secure place within the “New World Order”.

As I hear of many outstanding scholars who have fallen prey to this new form of ‘hunting/gathering’, I can only shudder at the future of our upcoming generations of Black students. For too many scholars, death has prematurely taken them away from their much-needed work. Their years of tireless research, public professions, and rigorous instructions, will invariably go the way of many cultures that are left with no intellectual and sacred walls of protection. Their work, like the spoils of any war, will go to the victor, only to be reinterpreted (if not destroyed) by the now imprisoned children of the victims.

Where are the Daniel’s of this generation? Where is Nehemiah? Where is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Where is Mary and the other young women who first encountered the “Empty Tomb”? Who will refuse to sit at the dining table of the malevolent king who doles out scholarships and vouchers that read within the fine print “denounce your heritage and ignore your birthright”? Who will reconsider that being educated also includes humility, modesty, and respecting those who sacrificed their lives for them? Where are those who, like Jesus when visited by Satan in the desert, refuted such deconstructed nonsense by having studied, interpreted, and concluded that the enemy can destroy only those who do not “know”…Kujua…which means, “to know already”?

Another generation is on the verge of destruction because of their innate disdain for their own heritage. Myopically, too many enter higher education with little or no preparation for higher learning. While current technology makes knowledge as available as the vastness of the river Nile, one can only lead students to the water. It is up to them “to drink”. Those who would promote and feed them intellectual emptiness already know this! Like King Nebuchadnezzar, they prepare an appealing and seductive table for them in the presence of indulgence. But, where is the 21^st century Daniel generation? What will they do? What will they consume?

There was a time when the church provided such preparation through its focus upon spiritual practices and sacred rituals. Today, too many places of ‘worship’ are better described as places of entertainment, employment, psychiatric wards, and coves for building personal wealth among its own “tribe” of worshipers. Unfortunately, those who subscribe to such places are rarely the beneficiaries of the actual mission and totally miss the core values of Jesus Christ. Only an inner circle may reap what is sown; and they also may find themselves expendable if the “Invisible Benefactor” chooses to eliminate them.

The original question still remains, “Why are Black students afraid of ‘thinking’ Black?”

And an even larger question begs for an answer also: “How does what Black people think of themselves reflect what they think of Jesus…and God?”