the woken youth

1. PRESENTATION MADE BY S.S
NDLOVU
“I WAS BORN INTO A WORLD THAT ALREADY HAD
MALCOLM AND KARENGA, DUBOIS AND BIKO. HENCE I
WAS FORTUNATE NOT HAVE TO WONDER AROUND THE
CULTURELESS DESERTS OF HUMANITY”
ALIK SHAHADAH

2. I AM AN AFRICAN
‘LEGENDS OF THEIR TIME AND OUR
TIME’

3. AFRICAN HISTORY IS THE OLDEST HUMAN
HISTORY IN THE WORLD. FROM ANCIENT
EGYPT TO THE PRESENT GREAT LEADERS
(ALIVE AS WELL AS THOSE IN TRANSITION)
HAVE SHAPED AFRICAAND WORLD HISTORY.

4. WITHOUT YARED, ASKIA, BELLO, SUNDIATA,
IMHOTEP, MENELIK, WE WOULD HAVE NO
HISTORY TO CELEBRATE. WITHOUT GARVEY, DU
BOIS, DUSE AND DELANY THERE WOULD BE NO
REVOLUTION. WITHOUT ELIJAH THERE WOULD
BE NO MALCOLM, WITHOUT MALCOLM NO
AFRICAN HOLOCAUST SOCIETY. OF ALL OF THE
LEGENDS/ELDERS OF AFRICA NONE OF THEM
HELD THE TOTAL SOLUTION, THEY EACH
BROUGHT DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF
PERFECTION.

5. SO WE DO NOT QUOTE DIOP FOR ECONOMICS,
BLYDEN FOR CULTURE, DU BOIS FOR HEALTH,
GARVEY FOR WARFARE, KING FOR IDENTITY, OR
BIKO FOR CULTURE. UNLIKE THEM, WE HAVE THE
JOY OF HINDSIGHT AND THE BETTER WORLD
THEY CREATED FOR US TO REFLECT ON. THEY ARE
REMEMBERED BEST BY EMULATING THE BEST
ASPECTS OF THEIR CHARACTER.

6. THEY LIVED AND DIED TO GIVE US A BETTER
PLATFORM TO SPEAK ABOUT OUR OPPRESSION (OUR
HOLOCAUST) AS WELL AS OUR VICTORIES. THEY ARE
BEST HONOURED BY CONTINUING THE SPIRIT OF
THEIR MISSION: ORPHAN QUOTES; AND AN X ON A
CAP IS NOT HOW SERIOUS PEOPLE HONOUR THEIR
ANCESTORS. NOT BEING CRITICAL OF THEIR
SHORTCOMINGS IS ALSO NOT HOW A PROGRESSIVE
PEOPLE HONOUR THEIR ANCESTORS. WE MUST
THEREFORE BUILD UPON THEIR LEGACY TO BRING
ABOUT A NEW AFRICAN FUTURE.

7. AND NONE OF THIS CAN HAPPEN IF AFRICA'S
HEROES ARE "CULT" ICONS TO BE
CELEBRATED WITHOUT CRITIQUE OR TO BE
ABSORBED WITHOUT CRITICAL THINKING.
CONSCIOUSNESS DEMANDS THAT WE
REFLECT ON THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS BUT
STUDYING THEM WITH THESE FACTORS IN
MIND.

9. 'ALIK SHAHADAH (12-2005 (UPDATED 5/2012) .
LINGUISTICS FOR A NEW AFRICAN REALITY.
LANGUAGE AND AFRICAN AGENCY