If It Is 2 Be...

Kinfolk!

What's really good...

Before I get into my main message, let us pause and reflect for a second, and meditate on all great ancestors that came before us, on whose shoulders which we stand. Think about all the freedom fighters from the days on the plantation that died fighting for goals and dreams they never saw come to fruition, but knew one day we would be here. Ancestors who resisted chains and whips to read and write and who did not have luxury cars, mobile devices, homes, MONEY, or even their immediate families. Visualize those great black men and women who worked tirelessly from sunup to sundown, then still managed to find time to organize, plan, and act upon gaining freedom. We are their descendants. Take 5 to honor them.

Now, after letting that marinate, I have come to the conclusion that, personally, I have no excuse to not use my free time wholly and wisely on self preservation and dedication to breaking our chains still shackled to our people's minds today. Unfortunately, just as their were many who fought for freedom, as Harriet Tubman found, there were more who did not know they were slaves, and worse, those who KNEW they were enslaved, but casually became honored for acceptance into the dominant society. All for the love of money. So, to those people, how much is "The Man" paying you to keep quiet and stay in your comfortable life? Six figure, seven figure, eight figure individuals in our communities have more than enough resources and power to influence change. Yet, they either do not believe it is possible or know it is possible, they just love this dominant society more. Some people thought it was impossible to make it off the plantation, and those same people say it is impossible to win against elite oppressors today. How much does the money ease your pain when you see our young brothas and sistas die everyday? I digress.

Today, we have more than ever, yet we do less. Throughout our history within the dominant society, nothing has ever been handed to us, much has been taken away. Now, we have been put in the best position ever to succeed, we cannot let this opportunity slip away, or we will soon be as prominent as the Native American. At least they still know their real names....

My people, we CAN do this!!

First and foremost, we have to understand that self-preservation is a 360 degree process. My generation loves the term "No Days Off", well we really have to embody that mantra when it comes to fighting for our freedom!! I am not "left wing" or "right wing". I am for those that our left to fight for what is right. End of story.

I understand it is tough to visualize freedom. However, I ask you, have you ever thought what life would be like as the dominant society? Concentrate on that vision, and neglect the images from the teLIEvision and maybe we can start to put minds together to visualize that exact concept. Simply because, quiet as it's been kept, our ancestors were dominant in the not so distant history.

You see, Africa was, is, and always will be a PARADISE!! But the television will only show the negative. It won't show you the vast stretches of grassland and all the wild animals and fruits and vegetation you can eat right off the tree. Consider this, if Africa is so destitute, why are people who are void of color in every single country building wealth? Hmmmm.. Europe is completely void of many natural resources, but Africa is not. I bet, that if we had been slave traded to Russia, there's no way we would not already be back in Africa based on that climate. But here in America we do have seasons, which makes it bearable for us. However, it is Hotlanta in Africa all year round!! Let that marinate. I was just talking to my bro JG, who informed me that many African Kings would just give away gold, silver, and other gems to Europeans because it contained no monetary value to them. Yet, in Europe they had barely any gold, silver or other natural resources. My people, we have issues with money, because genetically, it was never embedded into our DNA!! I will let you figure out the message between my lines. I have to continue...

We are losing this monopoly economy game because we do not know who we are. Like Simba, from the Lion King, we have forgotten our MotherLand. We have forgotten who we were in our MotherLand. We have to return to Pride Rock to reclaim land stolen from us. First, we have to continue to educate ourselves on WHO WE ARE. We are not slaves, in fact, "slave" is linguistically a derivative of Slavic, because originally, the Slavic people were the first slaves. If we continue to believe we cannot win, the fight is over before it can begin. Do you know who your great great grandparents were? Do you know where they came from? You can ask almost any member from the dominant society, and they will tell you, "Oh, I my ancestors are from "Ireland" or "France" or "Czech Republic". They know who they are!! I ask my brothers and sistas and they respond, "Georgia", "Alabama". I mean clearly, just a little bit of research shows who was here before the 13 colonies, and who wasn't. Know yourself. Find out your roots, it is the best boost of self-esteem you can give yourself. Especially, our youth. We cannot continue to send them to school to learn about a bonafide killer (Columbus) and whitewash material. Ask yourself, what exactly is a "White Lie"??

I myself, at one point hated being called African, looked down on people from Africa, and denounced my own heritage. That is self-hate. LOVE WHO YOU ARE! That is why I fight so hard for this cause to wake up my brothers and sisters because I used to be exact person who I am trying to help! That is what HomeBase is all about. Giving you a solid foundation, a great place to start your self-education so you can find out everything for yourself.

I have a tendency to become long-winded when speaking about topics I am passionate about so I will try to conclude. I wish no ill will towards any other race, ethnic group, or class of people . However, I am solely concentrating on my people because that is who I am. I was taught family first. People of African descent are my immediate family members, thus their problems are my problems. I have no quarrel with any other group. Before, I myself, focus on them, my energy will forever be concentrated on my family until we all are free. Last night I watched the movie Vice, and there was one particular quote that really resonated with me. "When you delete something, it's not gone, you just lose the ability to access it". My people all is not lost, we just have to regain our abilities certain individuals deleted from our ancestral knowledge. Once we reconnect with that knowledge, we will become unstoppable.

I do not have all the answers, nor do I have all the knowledge or skills that I will have in 5 years. The thing is we have to grow and be productive everyday. I will not stop learning to be a better voice for my people. We can work together throughout this process of our conscious revolution. Let's believe and behave similar to Marshawn Lynch, and his infamous words, "I'm bout that action, boss", and "Shoutout my real Africans". Our time is now! Let's rise & ride.

Family, I love y'all!

AYE DOE..... HOTEP

~"If it is to be, then it is up to me"
(My father's favorite quote of mine)

ACTION STEPS
1. STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND TALK TO A STRANGER
2.  FIND ONE YOUNG PERSON, YOU KNOW, AND BECOME A MENTOR
3. READ "THE POWER OF FOCUS"