The Battle of the Symbols: Slavery Versus Liberation and Revolution

In the Service of our Ancestors and African Love,
Listen Seeker, I come in Peace

“Men need images. Lacking them they invent idols. Better then to found the images on realities that lead the true seeker to the source.” — African Proverb

The Ancients have stated long ago that symbols are necessary, for lacking symbols, people will latch onto anything so it is best for there to be symbols which lead our people to the truth. To this extent, we are disobedient descendants. A fellow Race Warrior, intellectual-maroon, had shared an image of six symbols of slavery (see below). All six have become popular idols in the imagination of African people, particularly in america. They also stand largely uncontested. In the following article, I look into the Battle of the Symbols, and not only interpret and explain the symbols of our enslavement but offer counter-symbols or speak where we are lacking.

Organize and Technologize! Abibifahodie! (African Liberation!)

The Battle of the Symbols: Slavery Versus Liberation and Revolution
By Onitaset Kumat

Top row from left to right: A whip, noose, and confederate flag. Bottom row: A cross, bible, and religious figure.

In the image above there are six easily identifiable symbols. The top three are easily identifiable with the enslavement of Africans in america, the latter three are identifiable through reasoning. However, all symbols are popular in the imagination of Africans in america to this day. The symbol, also, had a strong presence during the enslavement of African people. What makes this image poignant is the diversity in the type of symbols, and, worse, the lack of symbols in the imagination of African people anywhere that constitute Liberation or Revolution.

It should be noted that during our enslavement, at least one group of revolutionaries had used the symbol on the Virginia state flag to communicate and, eventually, execute a revolt. This image has been on the African Blood Siblings website, with races modified and words modified, for a number of years. However, though a symbol of liberation, this symbol has little popularity in African populations anywhere.

Earlier version.

Latest version.

Looking back at the image of six symbols, we identify a whip, a noose, a confederate flag, a cross, a bible and a white religious figure. The whip is a symbol for white-over-Black discipline, the noose, white-over-Black executions, the flag, white-over-Black unity, the cross, white-over-Black conquest, the bible, white-over-Black supremacy, and the white religious figure, white-over-Black divinity.

These are not the exclusive symbols for their respective categories, the image could easily replace the whip with prison bars, the noose with an electric chair, the confederate flag with the american flag, the cross with a crescent moon and star, the bible with the quaran and the white religious figure with a white man with a long beard or even any number of so-called white prophets; but what’s telling about these symbols is that while some are more subtle than others, the symbols of Liberation or Revolution, in the popular imagination, are not even as comprehensive.

So, when one views the whip as a symbol for white-over-Black discipline, the author can not even suggest a potential symbol in the popular imagination for Black-over-white discipline though he can name numerous more for white-over-Black discipline (penal system, justice system, education system, kwk.)

A representation of Nat Turner.

For the noose as a symbol for white-over-Black execution, again, the author fails to find a popular image of Black-over-white execution. At best, one can suggest the revolutionaries of Kenya (Mau Mau), Haiti, Maroons or Nat Turner, kwk, yet while all are significant and admirable, can they be called popular? For reasons unknown to the author at the time, despite many Haitian friends, he had no idea about the Haitian revolution throughout his formative years, yet he definitely knew about nooses. If nothing else, this speaks to the need for African people to propagate the images of revolutionaries–as clearly these images are being suppressed by whites.

Regarding the confederate flag as a symbol for white-over-Black unity, we do have our Pan-African flag, a symbol for Black-over-white unity. This flag however has not reached critical popularity, and unfortunately it’s not regularly flown. Indeed, with certain exceptions, a whole day’s observation at a busy intersection would rarely count more than five Pan-African flags, lest the observer carried five. Some say the UNIA-ACL gifted the flag to us in 1920 in response to the 1900 song “Every Race has a Flag but the Coon (sic)”.

However judging by our treatment and attachment to this flag (compare our treatment to the facts that as late as 1990 it was illegal to burn an american flag and as early as 1862 a white man was killed for taking it down) it must be asked whether we do enough for our Pan-African flag and whether we truly understand its symbolism. Many readers may observe that different African nations and quasi-African nations have pride in their flags (Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Haiti, kwk.) However, while these flags are national symbols, they are not Black-over-white unity symbols. Any race can rightly fly these flags and few would bat an eye. The only flag that’s awkward for whites to fly or celebrate is the Pan-African flag (they do it anyway but it’s senseless [like when Black people fly the american or confederate flag.]) Another symbol with much greater popularity in the imagination of the masses is the Black fist. However, it’s very avoided and when not usurped by other populations often more symbolic of an era than Black-over-white unity or worse weakly displayed. Clearly there is a necessity for both of these symbols to be more widely used and understood.

The cross as a symbol for white-over-Black conquest was articulated by the roman leader constantine I who claimed to be visited by ‘christ’ who explained to him that he should use the cross to conquer rome’s enemies. In latin the words uttered were ‘in hoc signo vinces’ or “In this sign you will conquer.” The cross now spans the globe and is one of the most popular symbols. It can have multiple meanings, especially when related to the Ankh from which it is derivative. The Ankh, which used to be an incredibly popular symbol for Life, Reproduction, Male-Female intercourse and complementarity, kwk, isn’t, in this day, a symbol for Black-over-white conquest. It does however inform that the cross can have other meanings, for instance as a symbol for Death, Male Genitals, Homosexual intercourse and pedophilia, kwk. Regardless, popular symbols of Black-over-white conquest escape the author. In fact, in this day and age, Black-over-white conquest seems non-existent, particularly compared against white-over-Black conquest which seems omnipresent. A candidate for Black-on-white conquest could be the

An Akoben

Akoben, or even the “Abibifahodie” symbol on the African Blood Siblings website, yet neither are popular among African populations. Worse, many of the more popular images by African people in america today are symbols of white-over-Black conquest.  “Hands up, don’t shoot” is such an example.  Protests are other examples.    Protests are an unwitting symbol of being a conquered people; including but not limited to ‘protest’ marches, ‘protest’ lectures and even ‘protest’ pictures.  The popular example of the names of fallen Africans as victims of white violence, without any revolutionary or liberation-minded undertone, has the subconscious effect of driving home and encouraging white-over-Black conquest and lowering Black self-esteem.  Most Africans look to “Hands up, don’t shoot,” #blacklivesmatter, or the anti-police-brutality marches as symbols of weakness.  In the author’s estimation, a counter-conquest motto that our race should adopt is “Organize and Techologize,” or, better, examples and images of Africans organizing or developing counter-conquest technologies.

The bible as a symbol of white-over-Black supremacy is incredibly interesting, especially as the bible is an old book of fiction. Literature is very accessible to African people and writing talent is abundant among us, yet despite the utter foolishness of the bible, the author can not fathom which book would replace it as a symbol of Black-over-white supremacy. Granted, the bible can be seen as symbolic of other things, but it remains to be seen, in this critical aspect of the bible, why there is not a single book that is popular but also functionally in-line with this goal. There are candidates, of which I can say, to my cognizance, the most functionally in-line is Drusilla Dunjee Houston’s “Wonderful Ethiopians of the Ancient Kushite Empire,” a book which ‘coincidentally’ had three volumes but only one is extant (go figure). Another candidate would be “Stolen Legacy” by George G.M. James, the author of whom was notably killed the year after publication. And still there are others, though as for being symbolic of Black-over-white supremacy, they are not as explicit: “Blueprint for Black Power” by Amos Wilson, “The Destruction of Black Civilizations” by Chancellor Williams, “The Isis Papers” by Frances Cress Welsing, “Message to the People” by Marcus Garvey, “Yurugu” by Marimba Ani,”The Teachings of Ptah Hotep” by Ptah Hotep, kwk. Still, none of these are popular–in fact, some of these are hardly accessible to the layperson (or even the author [‘Yurugu’].) Granted, literature is an easy field and truly the bible wasn’t written in a day. One of the easiest symbols to attempt to replace would be the bible. Yet those who can replace it do not seem to be making the effort. If one views the bible as a series of vignettes of white-over-Black supremacy with several different writers, it behooves our Race from producing even one vignette to the effect of Black-over-white supremacy. Separately, if the bible is viewed as a book of fiction or non-fiction relating white-over-Black supremacy, it still remains to be explained why there is an absence of popular books of fiction or non-fiction relating Black-over-white supremacy. Particularly as African people are unquestionably superior to non-African people and should unquestionably be supreme.  To wit, the obvious candidates for replacement are the spiritual texts of different African spiritual systems: ancient, like those of KMT (the Black Community [sometimes called Egypt]), or modern, like those of Odu Ifa (a spiritual text for the Yoruba).  It goes without saying, however, that these texts are not popular today or accessible to most.  In the case of Ancient KMT, the author is unaware of a full indigenous translation of any extant texts.

Lastly, the white religious figure (so-called jesus) as a symbol of white-over-Black divinity almost needs no explanation. The original image of ‘jesus’ was Black, hence the

The Black Madonna . . ..

Black Madonna and the Black Mother and Child, which were derivative of the images of Asar, Aset and Heru, commonly referred to as Osiris, Isis and Horus. The images usually portrayed were painted by michaelangelo and based off of either his uncle or, possibly, a white man named cesare borgia. They were purposely made white for the purpose of inspiring white-over-Black divinity. In fact, in ancient times, when the ‘gods’ of europe were Black, the ancient europeans redid the images of their ‘gods’ as white and their devil as Black, which prompted ancient Africans to portray our evil figures as white. This may all be uncommon knowledge, yet it’s as plain as day that when they invent a ‘god’ and claim that ‘god’ as the creator of the universe and the most divine that if that ‘god’s’ son is white, that ‘god’ is white; and clearly if ‘god’ is white then ‘white’ is more divine than Black. Truly ‘god’ shouldn’t be used by Africans period (something sublime shouldn’t be articulated in a white language), but that many do, it’s a ridiculous notion to have the world’s most evil people being more divine than the world’s most good. All in all, no popular images of Black-over-white divinity come to mind. Truly, there are numerous African indigenous spiritual systems with numerous images of Black divinity, but whether these capture the popular imagination has yet to be seen. For instance, few outside of the Yoruba belief can say what Ogun looks like. And who among us can say what Amun looks like?

Amun. In some translations Amun is known as the highest of the Ntru.

However, it must be stated that once upon a time, in every land, the images of divinity were African, whether it was the Buddha, the Lord of Days, Tehuti or Amun. It begs the question of why if it was done earlier is it not done today?

The image which assisted in this article (which the author intended to write notwithstanding the image) may have been intended as a chastisement of christianity as associative of our enslavement, yet I hope the reader grasps my intention to promote our propagation of our own symbolism, as symbolism has not only proven effective in organizing and mobilizing people, but it’s also an easy enterprise that can benefit our Race more so then what is usually propagated (disputes, theories, music videos, opinions, images with no revolutionary or liberation-minded standing, kwk.) What’s more, in a meta-symbolic way, this article symbolizes the old adage ‘an image is worth a thousand words’ (this article is over 2000). Something to think about in lieu of the lack of symbols we are propagating.

Your eternal servant, “Organize and Technologize,” Abibifahodie,
Onitaset Kumat