Dr Gloria Gordon

Over the period of 4 weeks, in March 2018, I facilitated small gatherings of people in a series of discussions on the topic: what does it mean for us to be human?  This post offers my reflections on the sessions.  Out of the 50+ who bought Eventbrite tickets because of snow and/or threat of snow a total of 17 people turned up.  Attendees trickled in: in the early weeks it was only a trickle of 3, 3, 2 with the final session culminating with 9 individuals!  I was the constant presence as I continue to honour the commitment made 28 years ago to making a contribution to the cultural evolution of DoEAs living in British society.  As such, like Paracelsus (Robert Browning) I say:

"I go to prove my soul! 
I see my way as birds their trackless way. 
I shall arrive! what time, what circuit first, 
I ask not: but unless God send His hail 
Or blinding fireballs, sleet or stifling snow, 
In some time, His good time, I shall arrive; 
He guides me and the bird. In His good time!"

The sessions focused on encouraging descendants of enslaved Africans (DoEAs) to explore what it means to be human as well as to think about the purpose of education.  I introduced the idea that central to the educational process is the need for bicultural socialisation into both a culture of residence as well as a culture of origin. Emphasised was that the most important education is into a culture of origin (the four dimensions beneath the waterline of the ice-berg).  Focus at these levels – mental, cultural, emotional and spiritual – is on securing the human flourishing of group members as the responsibility of ethnic groups (i.e. DoEAs).  Given this design we have the freedom to collectively shape our lifeworld for ourselves according to our desired vision for ourselves.  Unfortunately, locked historically in a state of unconsciousness, our focus remains on the physical dimension, as focused on by the the culture of residence in which we live.  This historical outcome keeps us largely unaware of the inner life, keeping us under the cultural control of the ‘white’ ethnic world post-slavery.

With these ideas surfaced in our minds, I offered an integrated and self-authoring/transforming British African Caribbean (BAC) researched perspective on what it means to be human.   This was followed by a discussion of the implications of the BAC perspective and so strategy for DoEAs, unconsciously assimilated, socialised and stratified in British society as racially ‘black’ in the culture of residence.  This is having been historically de-ethnicised with slavery and maintained as such through its ongoing progeny, i.e. institutionalised racism.

The focal point of the presentation centred on the fact that our identities were changed from human to that of being ‘race-based’ with those unconsciously socialised ‘black’ being generationally maintained under ‘white’ ethnic control beyond our conscious awareness.  Participants were thus being reintroduced to themselves as DoEAs, a group of people who have historical work to engage with in the PRESENT, the NOW.  This is in consciously, deliberately and systematically resolving the externally imposed racial problems we continue to grapple with TODAY.

The strategy recommended is that individual DoEAs, i.e. individual participants, take up our stage of life positions and responsibilities on the Life-Cycle.  In this way we recreate the life-cycle that was destroyed with slavery and maintained as such ever since.  Doing so allows us the opportunity to actively reconstruct our lives based on the model universally utilised by ETHNIC groups.  This model was destroyed for DoEAs when we were kidnapped from our cultures of origin with slavery and recreated RACIALLY as free energy to be harnessed in meeting the needs of the British for an empire.  The long-term outcome of this is ongoing ‘black’ dependence on the ‘white’ world instead of on ourselves and each other as a group.

I shared the example of undergoing racial crisis in 1990 just as I was making the transition from junior adult to senior adult on the life-cycle.  Since this time I have been actively engaged in taking up my stage related responsibilities, using the research process to apply knowledge in my everyday life.  This is in rehumanising myself to overturn the dehumanisation which is the chief outcome of slavery for DoEAs into the 21st century.  I am currently in the senior eldership stage engaged in generational work.  In initiating The Metanoia Project (TMP) 2007-2034, as a social movement for achieving transformational change in the life-world of DoEAs, I am fulfilling stage related responsibilities in sharing what I have learned with younger members of my group as well as the wider society.  This is in ending racism by returning DoEAs to the ‘ethnic’ trajectory of human life and so the bicultural socialisation which characterises it: a position from which we were removed with slavery.

Our next planned session on 21 April 2018 (and then on Saturdays from 12 May through to 9 June, 2018) is a ‘The Life-Cycle Project’ workshop focusing on initiating participants into an understanding of the various stages of the Life-Cycle and what this implies in terms of individual and collective responsibilities, obligations and privileges.  I am anticipating that these participants will support my ongoing efforts at ‘pimping’ the black butterfly in higher education by accepting the challenge of turning knowledge into action to achieve transformational change in our lives as DoEAs.  In this way, by these small initial steps, we will be moving in the direction of fulfilling The Metanoia Project 2007-2034 vision of the presence of a thriving self-authoring/transforming British African Caribbean (BAC) COMMUNITY in British society by 2034.  This achievement will provide group members an alternative to the unchanging problems of the ‘black’ racial category that currently exists.

I’m continuing to do my part in the countdown to 2034 in creating an alternative future for our younger generations!  Are you?  Take up the challenge of doing your part so we can share and acknowledge each other’s noble achievements on our annual countdown to 2034 celebration on 10th December 2018!