Obama, the African Colonial

American Thinker ^ | June 25, 2009 | L.E. Ikenga

[neverdem]

Had Americans been able to stop obsessing over the color of Barack Obama's skin and instead paid more attention to his cultural identity, maybe he would not be in the White House today. The key to understanding him lies with his identification with his father, and his adoption of a cultural and political mindset rooted in postcolonial Africa.

Like many educated intellectuals in postcolonial Africa, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. was enraged at the transformation of his native land by its colonial conqueror. But instead of embracing the traditional values of his own tribal cultural past, he embraced an imported Western ideology, Marxism. I call such frustrated and angry modern Africans who embrace various foreign "isms", instead of looking homeward for repair of societies that are broken, African Colonials. They are Africans who serve foreign ideas.

The tropes of America's racial history as a way of understanding all things black are useless in understanding the man who got his dreams from his father, a Kenyan exemplar of the African Colonial.

Before I continue, I need to say this: I am a first generation born West African-American woman whose parents emigrated to the U.S. in the 1970's from the country now called Nigeria. I travel to Nigeria frequently. I see myself as both a proud American and as a proud Igbo (the tribe that we come from -- also sometimes spelled Ibo). Politically, I have always been conservative (though it took this past election for me to commit to this once and for all!); my conservative values come from my Igbo heritage and my place of birth. Of course, none of this qualifies me to say what I am about to -- but at the same time it does.

My friends, despite what CNN and the rest are telling you, Barack Obama is nothing more than an old school African Colonial who is on his way to turning this country into one of the developing nations that you learn about on the National Geographic Channel. Many conservative (East, West, South, North) African-Americans like myself -- those of us who know our history -- have seen this movie before. Here are two main reasons why many Americans allowed Obama to slip through the cracks despite all of his glaring inconsistencies:

First, Obama has been living on American soil for most of his adult life. Therefore, he has been able to masquerade as one who understands and believes in American democratic ideals. But he does not. Barack Obama is intrinsically undemocratic and as his presidency plays out, this will become more obvious. Second, and most importantly, too many Americans know very little about Africa. The one-size-fits-all understanding that many Americans (both black and white) continue to have of Africa might end up bringing dire consequences for this country.

Contrary to the way it continues to be portrayed in mainstream Western culture, Africa is not a continent that can be solely defined by AIDS, ethnic rivalries, poverty and safaris. Africa, like any other continent, has an immense history defined by much diversity and complexity. Africa's long-standing relationship with Europe speaks especially to some of these complexities -- particularly the relationship that has existed between the two continents over the past two centuries. Europe's complete colonization of Africa during the nineteenth century, also known as the Scramble for Africa, produced many unfortunate consequences, the African colonial being one of them.

The African colonial (AC) is a person who by means of their birth or lineage has a direct connection with Africa. However, unlike Africans like me, their worldviews have been largely shaped not by the indigenous beliefs of a specific African tribe but by the ideals of the European imperialism that overwhelmed and dominated Africa during the colonial period. AC's have no real regard for their specific African traditions or histories.  AC's use aspects of their African culture as one would use pieces of costume jewelry: things of little or no value that can be thoughtlessly discarded when they become a negative distraction, or used on a whim to decorate oneself in order to seem exotic. (Hint: Obama's Muslim heritage).

On the other hand, AC's strive to be the best at the culture that they inherited from Europe. Throughout the West, they are tops in their professions as lawyers, doctors, engineers, Ivy League professors and business moguls; this is all well and good. It's when they decide to engage us as politicians that things become messy and convoluted.

The African colonial politician (ACP) feigns repulsion towards the hegemonic paradigms of Western civilization. But at the same time, he is completely enamored of the trappings of its aristocracy or elite culture. The ACP blames and caricatures whitey to no end for all that has gone wrong in the world. He convinces the masses that various forms of African socialism are the best way for redressing the problems that European colonialism motivated in Africa. However, as opposed to really being a hard-core African Leftist who actually believes in something, the ACP uses socialist themes as a way to disguise his true ambitions: a complete power grab whereby the "will of the people" becomes completely irrelevant.

Barack Obama is all of the above. The only difference is that he is here playing (colonial) African politics as usual.  

In his 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father -- an eloquent piece of political propaganda -- Obama styles himself as a misunderstood intellectual who is deeply affected by the sufferings of black people, especially in America and Africa. In the book, Obama clearly sees himself as an African, not as a black American. And to prove this, he goes on a quest to understand his Kenyan roots. He is extremely thoughtful of his deceased father's legacy; this provides the main clue for understanding Barack Obama.

Barack Obama Sr. was an African colonial to the core; in his case, the apple did not fall far from the tree. All of the telltale signs of Obama's African colonialist attitudes are on full display in the book -- from his feigned antipathy towards Europeans to his view of African tribal associations as distracting elements that get in the way of "progress".  (On p. 308 of Dreams From My Father, Obama says that African tribes should be viewed as an "ancient loyalties".)

Like imperialists of Old World Europe, the ACP sees their constituents not as free thinking individuals who best know how to go about achieving and creating their own means for success. Instead, the ACP sees his constituents as a flock of ignorant sheep that need to be led -- oftentimes to their own slaughter.

Like the European imperialist who spawned him, the ACP is a destroyer of all forms of democracy.

Here are a few examples of what the British did in order to create (in 1914) what is now called Nigeria and what Obama is doing to you: 

1. Convince the people that "clinging" to any aspect of their cultural (tribal) identity or history is bad and regresses the process of "unity". British Imperialists deeply feared people who were loyal to anything other than the state. "Tribalism" made the imperialists have to work harder to get people to just fall in line. Imperialists pitted tribes against each other in order to create chaos that they then blamed on ethnic rivalry. Today many "educated" Nigerians, having believed that their traditions were irrelevant, remain completely ignorant of their ancestry and the history of their own tribes.
2. Confiscate the wealth and resources of the area that you govern by any means necessary in order to redistribute wealth. The British used this tactic to present themselves as empathetic and benevolent leaders who wanted everyone to have a "fair shake". Imperialists are not interested in equality for all. They are interested in controlling all.  
3. Convince the masses that your upper-crust university education naturally puts you on an intellectual plane from which to understand everything even when you understand nothing. Imperialists were able to convince the people that their elite university educations allowed them to understand what Africa needed. Many of today's Nigerians-having followed that lead-hold all sorts of degrees and certificates-but what good are they if you can't find a job?   
4. Lie to the people and tell them that progress is being made even though things are clearly becoming worse.  One thing that the British forgot to mention to their Nigerian constituents was that one day, the resources that were being used to engineer "progress" (which the British had confiscated from the Africans to begin with!) would eventually run out. After WWII, Western Europe could no longer afford to hold on to their African colonies. So all of the counterfeit countries that the Europeans created were then left high-and-dry to fend for themselves. This was the main reason behind the African independence movements of the1950 and 60's. What will a post-Obama America look like?
5. Use every available media outlet to perpetuate the belief that you and your followers are the enlightened ones-and that those who refuse to support you are just barbaric, uncivilized, ignorant curmudgeons.  This speaks for itself.

America, don't be fooled. The Igbos were once made up of a confederacy of clans that ascribed to various forms of democratic government. They took their eyes off the ball and before they knew it, the British were upon them. Also, understand this: the African colonial who is given too much political power can only become one thing: a despot.

L.E. Ikenga can be reached at leikenga@gmail.com.

[Fred Nerks]

Faris Nimr, founder of the newspaper al-Miiqattam, flourished under Cromer, and became the father-in-law of George Antonius, author of The Arab Awakening and critic of Western imperialism. Another of the Lebanese Christian editors in Cairo was Yaqub Sarruf, uncle of Dr Fuad Sarruf who is today one of the Vice-Presidents of the American University of Beirut.

http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/viewtext/2573358?op=t&n=5596

[Fred Nerks]

The country we know as ‘Egypt’ was known as:

United Arab Republic

United Arab Republic, political union (1958–61) of Egypt and Syria. The capital was Cairo. The two countries were merged (1958) into a single unit comprising the Southern (Egypt) and the Northern (Syria) Regions, with Gamal Abdal Nasser as president. As an initial step toward creating a pan-Arab union, the republic abolished Syrian and Egyptian citizenship, termed its inhabitants Arabs, and called the country “Arab territory.” It considered the Arab homeland to be the entire area between the Persian Gulf and the Atlantic coast. With Yemen (North Yemen), it formed (1958) a loose federation called the United Arab States. In 1961, Syria withdrew from the union after a military coup, and Yemen soon followed, thus ending the union. Egypt continued to use the name until 1971.

~~

There was apparently a book published similar to WHO IS WHO which showed the relative of the famous baby-sitter as a student at the UAR University in Cairo. Any assistance in locating this reference would be appreciated.

[Fred Nerks]

FINDING A HOME IN AFRICA ...on page 61 of the book, in the chapter entitled ‘Finding A Home In Africa’ Maya Angelou makes it clear it was the stepson of Du Bois, David, who helped her obtain work and accommodation in Cairo.

[Fred Nerks]

Maya Angelou’s brother Bailey (Johnson?) lived in Hawaii in the early 1960s, and she visited him there for 6 months in 1965 after the assassination of Malcolm X.

PAGES 69-70

[Fred Nerks]

CROSS POSTED LINK FOR THE RECORD:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/backroom/2913366/posts?page=579#579

[bgill]

In writing the biography, Marable intended to highlight the missing three chapters from Alex Haley‘s The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

As if Haley is such a tower of truth and honesty, snort.

[Fred Nerks]

[Fred Nerks]

Shirley Graham Du Bois' personal papers are given to Radcliffe

David Du Bois said that the collection "reflects the various lives" lived by his mother - and it is the magnitude, range, and depth of Shirley Graham Du Bois' activities that her son believes will most surprise and delight scholars.

Knowles, who has already heard from one scholar interested in the collection, is looking forward to the day when it will become publicly accessible. "We wish we could wave a magic wand and open the collection immediately, but it will take months and considerable resources before the papers are organized, cataloged, and open for research," Knowles said.

While visiting Beijing in 1959, Shirley Graham Du Bois and her husband, W.E.B. Du Bois

[Fred Nerks]

Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Du Bois at the World Peace Conference in Paris, 1949.

W.E.B. Du Bois with Mao Tse Tung in 1959

[Fred Nerks]

Sorry, had to delete the images on #907 - the owner of the originals I linked to not happy.

[Fred Nerks]

FOR THE RECORD.

http://www.islamicpluralism.org/documents/black-america-prisons-radical-islam.pdf

[LucyT]

Senior’s Immigration file

http://www.scribd.com/doc/54015762/Barack-Hussein-Obama-Sr-Immigration-File

Scroll to page 20...File shows Senior having a wife in Kenya before he came to USA, file also references wife in Philippines that is a U.S.C. (United States Citizen?) Further, in the handwritten note under the typed message states he might have a wife in CAMBRIDGE, also.

[thouworm]

ELLA COLLINS --- Malcolm X's half-sister, legal guardian, and surrogate mother

************************************************

Ella Little Collins (1914 - 1996) BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES (taken from Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X, by Rodnell Collins (1998), son of Ella Collins

[Rodnell finished the book that Ella had started]

p 50 "Ma's resourcefulness and determination were strengths that she brought to Boston from Reynolds in the 1930's, strengths that she had gotten from Pa John and Ella Little, her grandparents."

p 50 "...good jobs - in fact, any jobs - were hard to come by in Boston, so she moved to New York City, where she was hired as a floorwalker for a department store."

p 51 "She moved on to Everett, Massachusetts, outside Boston, to live with her mother, Daisy Mason, and her brother Earl Little Jr."

p 51 "Ma met Lloyd Oxley, a physician at Boston City Hospital. Ma said one of his main attractions to her was his support of the political, economic, and cultural positions promoted by Marcus Garvey. Soon he became her first husband."

p 52 "On June 28, 1934 Dr. Oxley and Ma divorced. On February 16, 1945, Dr. Oxley along with Dr. Frank Butler, delivered me. By that time, Ma was married to her third husband, Kenneth J. Collins."

p 53 "Ma credits her business acumen to Grandma Daisy. 'When my mother left Reynolds for Boston, she had absolutely nothing but her will and determination. When she died in 1972, she had money in the bank and a third share of two hundred acres of valuable land."

upset with the way it had treated their brother Reginald."

p 95 "Whenever Malcolm spoke...with Ma present, he would ask her upon concluding, 'How did I do, Ella?'"

p 96 "One of the things that Ma liked most about Betty, Malcolm's wife, was that after they were married, she did her best to see that Uncle Malcolm ate right and got sufficient rest. Ma knew from experience that this was not an easy task."

p 187 "The money Betty had, mostly coming from the autobiography advance, was needed to take care of basic expenses for her and the children. There was none for funeral expenses. Ma agreed to take care of those. While in Boston, Ma., in a February 25 press conference, announced that at Malcolm's request she would now head the MMI and the OAAU and that she would pay off his debts. She followed through on that pronouncement."

p 200 "...Ma still had her memories of, and insights into, her brother - information that a diverse cast of characters sought to get from her. From 1965 up until her death from the effect of diabetes and two leg amputations in 1996, she received innumerable requests for interviews, comments, and observations."

[thouworm]

From the NYT obituary:

Ella Collins died Aug, 1996 at the age of 82. At the time of her death, she was survived by her son [mentioned below], three brothers, a sister, and two grandchildren.

She was the half-sister and surrogate mother (legal guardian) of Malcolm X during formative years (age 14-21). Malcolm X said of her, ‘’No physical move in my life has been more pivotal or profound in its repercussions.’’

Her husband, Kenneth Collins, “grew [up with] and attended the same school with Malcolm and his sibling in Lansing, Michigan.”

“In the 1950’s, Mrs. Collins was recruited by Malcolm X into the Nation of Islam, then called the Temple of Islam and often known as the Black Muslims...She broke away in 1959 [and] became an orthodox Sunni Muslim....”
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/06/us/ella-collins-82-relative-who-aided-malcolm-x.html
************************************************************

Notes of interest from the Ella Collins Institute’s web page-—http://ellacollinsinstitute.org/about/ellacollins/

She moved from her birthplace in Georgia “to Harlem, New York where she became secretary to congressman Adam Clayton Powell.”

“At the event of Malcolm’s death [Feb 1965], Ella described that his assassins “took something from me, something I put a lot into.”After Malcolm’s death, Ella became president of the Organization of African American Unity [founded by MX in 1964] in the hope of bettering the human condition for all people in the United States.

Malcolm had also secured 35 scholarships from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt and from the University of Ghana to send students of knowledge overseas. Ella took on this duty after his death and continued her investment and support of students seeking knowledge.”

Throughout Malcolm X’s life it was Ella who supported and defended him. It was Ella who gave [MX] and several others including her son Rodnell Collins [Yusuf A. Hamid], “carte blanche” for their Hajj to Mecca.

On top of being an excellent wife and mother, Ella was a self made business woman involved in real estate in Boston and New York City.
_______________

Below is the entire biography on the Institute’s website, which was written by her son Rodnell

Ella Lee Little-Collins
4 December 1913 – 6 August 1996

Parents: Earl Little & Daisy Mason-Little
Grandparents: John (Big Pa 6’5”) Lee Little & Ella Gray-Little
Siblings: Earl Lee Jr, Mary, Wilfred, Philbert, Hilda, Reginald, Malcolm, Wesley, Evonne

Long before Malcolm X became a household name in American history, Ella Little-Collins was a self-made businesswoman, passionate civil rights activist and nurturing mentor to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

From Butler, Georgia where she was born; to Harlem, New York where she became secretary to congressman Adam Clayton Powell; and to Boston, Massachusetts where she continued her extensive work on civil rights, Ella Little-Collins lived a life that is a compelling testament to faith, determination and the American dream.

Ella was born in Georgia in 1913. She completed most of her formal education at Fort Valley Institute, which is now the University of Georgia in Fort Valley. She accepted Islam in the mid 1950’s.

Ella and her husband Kenneth Jack Collins were the legal guardians of Malcolm X/ El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz from age 14-21 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Kenneth Collins grew and attended the same school with Malcolm and his sibling in Lansing, Michigan.

Throughout Malcolm X’s life it was Ella who supported and defended him. It was Ella who gave and several others including her son Rodnell Collins, “carte blanche” for their Hajj to Mecca. On top of being an excellent wife and mother, Ella was a self made business woman involved in real estate in Boston and New York City.

Most important to Ella was family, extended family and community. As Malcolm mentions in his autobiography, Ella fought for human rights and social justice. She also collaborated with others who sought to better the human condition, among those others were: Adam Clayton Powell (Chairman of Committee for U.S. Dept of Health/Education &Welfare), activist Cesar Chavez and U.S. Presidential Candidate Shirley Chisholm.

Ella supported black and ethnic studies programs in universities all across the United States. She founded the Sarah A. Little School of Preparatory Arts in Boston

At the event of Malcolm’s death, Ella described that his assassins “took something from me, something I put a lot into.”After Malcolm’s death, Ella became president of the Organization of African American Unity in the hope of bettering the human condition for all people in the United States. Malcolm had also secured 35 scholarships from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt and from the University of Ghana to send students of knowledge overseas. Ella took on this duty after his death and continued her investment and support of students seeking knowledge.

She tirelessly continued her struggle for civil rights until 1988, when she suffered the amputation of both her legs from gangrene infection.

Malcolm X’s faith in his sister Ella is perhaps best described in the words he spoke to his nephew Rodnell Collins, two weeks prior to his assassination, “Uncle Malcolm had called me aside one day while visiting us at home in Boston. Ma’ (Ella) was in the kitchen with her pots and pans and Uncle Malcolm sitting in my favorite lounge chair, and took my hand to express his concern for my future. With the press of his palm to mine, a stern look and a twinkle in his eyes he said, ‘Rodnell I want you to promise me something, you will always listen to your mother, I wish I had, if you do you’ll do alright Rodnell.’”

It was Ella, who upon Malcolm’s death, paid for all his funeral and business expenses and tried to carry on Malcolm’s good works. More woman than you will ever get and more man than I’ll ever be.

-Rodnell Collins, son
Yusuf A. Hamid

[Fred Nerks]

Rodnell Collins, nephew of Malcolm X (right), speaks with Edmund Barry Gaither, director-curator of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA), during a March 2008 event at the Museum of the NCAAA on Walnut Street in Roxbury. Collins spoke about his book, “Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X” and shared insights about the relationship between Malcolm X and his mother, Ella Little-Collins, whom he likened to the archetypal warrior woman Queen Hatshetsup. (Lolita Parker Jr. photo)

Source, Baystatebanner

[LucyT]

Ella Collins -- Malcolm X's half-sister, legal guardian, and surrogate mother:

Check out # 914 , 915 , 916 .

.

[Fred Nerks]

Organization of Afro-American UnityFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) was a Pan-Africanist organization founded by Malcolm X in 1964. The OAAU was modeled on the Organisation of African Unity, which had impressed Malcolm X during his visit to Africa in April and May 1964. The purpose of the OAAU was to fight for the human rights of African Americans and promote cooperation among Africans and people of African descent in the Americas.

Malcolm X announced the establishment of the OAAU at a public meeting in New York's Audubon Ballroom on June 28, 1964. He had written the group's charter with John Henrik Clarke, Albert Cleage, Jesse Gray, and Gloria Richardson, among others.[1] In a memo dated July 2, 1964, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover described the nascent OAAU as a threat to the national security of the United States.[2] Malcolm X, along with John Henrik Clarke, wrote the following into the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) Basic Unity Program: 1.Restoration: "In order to release ourselves from the oppression of our enslavers then, it is absolutely necessary for the Afro-American to restore communication with Africa."

2.Reorientation: "We can learn much about Africa by reading informative books."

3.Education: "The Organization of Afro-American Unity will devise original educational methods and procedures which will liberate the minds of our children. We will ... encourage qualified Afro-Americans to write and publish the textbooks needed to liberate our minds ... educating them [our children] at home."

4.Economic Security: "After the Emancipation Proclamation ... it was realized that the Afro-American constituted the largest homogeneous ethnic group with a common origin and common group experience in the United States and, if allowed to exercise economic or political freedom, would in a short period of time own this country. We must establish a technician bank. We must do this so that the newly independent nations of Africa can turn to us who are their brothers for the technicians they will need now and in the future."

The OAAU pushed for black control of every aspect of the black community. At the founding rally, Malcolm X stated that the organization's principal concern was the human rights of blacks, but that it would also focus on voter registration, school boycotts, rent strikes, housing rehabilitation, and social programs for addicts, unwed mothers, and troubled children. Malcolm X saw the OAAU as a way of "un-brainwashing" black people, ridding them of the lies they had been told about themselves and their culture.

On July 17, 1964, Malcolm X was welcomed to the second meeting of the Organization of African Unity in Cairo as a representative of the OAAU.[3]

When a reporter asked whether white people could join the OAAU, Malcolm X said, "Definitely not." Then he added, "If John Brown were still alive, we might accept him."[4]

source link

Collapse [edit]Malcolm X did not have sufficient time to invest in the OAAU to help it flourish. After his death, Malcolm X's half-sister, Ella Collins, took over the leadership of the OAAU, but dwindling membership and Malcolm X's absence eventually led to the collapse of the organization.[citation needed]

[Fred Nerks]

Caption: Leaving a second summit in August Malcolm traveled to Kenya...

And as the wiki entry shows, he was in Africa in April and May of 1964. Then Kenya in August. Actually, his conversion to sunni islam dated from April 1964. So it would seem that the 'dedicated civil-rights advocate' spent at least five months overseas in 1964.

The face of the person in arab dress in the montage has been obliterated.

[Fred Nerks]

So now we have April, May, June, July, August, September and November...1964.