Newark Op-Ed: 'Stomping On Racist Education'

NEWARK, NJ — The following op-ed was written by Bashir Muhammad Ptah Akinyele, a community activist and a member of ASCAC (the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations). He is also a history and Africana Studies (Black Studies ) teacher at Weequahic High School in Newark. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

I felt inspired to pose in the stance of our ancient Kemetic (Egyptian) ancestors next to the Black Liberation flag at Weequahic High School where I teach history and African American studies.

The stance — with intentional foot and hand placements — represents the stomping out of negative or bad energy. In using this pose and choosing the backdrop of the Black Liberation flag I wanted to send a powerful message: We are stomping over the vestiges of white supremacy driving the miseducation of our people and denying the proper education of our youth in schools across the country.

It was in history books on ancient Kemet that I learned of the mystical Medu Neter, which translates to ‘words of God,’ ‘divine words,’ or ‘sacred words.’ The Medu Neter is the original African name for the hieroglyphics. Kemet’s Medu Neter is the first known writing system in world history. Medu Neter is the basis for all written languages in the human experience.

Additionally, Kemet, when translated from Medu Neter into English, means ‘land of the Blacks.’ The term “Kemet” (also spelled “Kmt”) was used by the ancient Egyptians to refer to their country. It is derived from the word “kem,” meaning “black,” and it likely refers to the rich, dark soil along the Nile River, which was in stark contrast to the surrounding desert but is also representative of it’s people.

In the summer of 2021, I traveled to ancient Kemet to study African culture with Professors Ashra and Merira Kwesi as part of their educational program to northeast Africa called, “Kemet Nu” (the Know Thyself tour.) I saw carvings of our ancestors in this stance everywhere in Kemet.

And by the way, the Kemetic carvings depicted the people as distinctly Black people. But the most important part of the tour examined the African origin of mathematics, science, astrology, the calendar, writing, philosophy, medicine, government, theology, and architecture.

Black people are the fathers and mothers of human civilization. Unfortunately, white supremacy has made us believe civilization started in Europe, Asia, the Middle East or somewhere else other than Africa.

Scientific evidence shows that Africa is the origin of humanity, civilization, and religions. Once our youth understand the facts of non-racist history, two things will occur within our students. Students of all cultures will understand that Black people contributed to the development of humanity, civilization, and religions. People of African descent will be inspired to master everything on the planet Earth to rebuild the Black world and make it an independent entity in humanity.

Knowing these things will help us create a better world for all people.

Hotep! (The ancient Kemetic word for peace)

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here.