NIGGERS, NEGROES, Black People – Africans   by Paul Grant
Pub. Aikebulan Express.

reviewed by Imani

With the onset of the Bi Centenary Commemoration and Lamentations  many books picking, unpicking, explaining and informing cross this desk. Many are interesting, and many inform us of things we may not want to be informed about – but the message is too strong to resist.

Paul Grant’s book is certainly one of the irresistible and you will certainly have a very clear idea of what ‘Afrocentrism’  means.  If the title doesn’t attract the content certainly will. Mr. Grant covers a lot of territory. And, if you are still fuming about the ‘Messenger’, rest assured, this one offers not only questions, but also answers. He discusses myths, mysteries and stereotypes that have successfully kept Black people firmly in their ‘place’, now so subtle that we enter by the back door – without any prodding. Freedom?  Well, not quite yet. We’re not there until we are able to control our communities and most of all our children.

We must (advises Mr. Grant) learn to control the infrastructure of our communities so as to create opportunities for ourselves and our children without depending on hand-outs and  advice which really undermines.   ‘Integration’ came at a price, it meant the dismantling of black businesses and the example that black people could run things. The problem of black boys in prison must be addressed and initiatives like mentoring and supplementary schools must become more widespread.

We must develop a sense of who we really are and ask ourselves if the values of the market place serve us well. The Pan Afrikanists had an idea in common; Marcus Garvey, George Padmore, W.E.B. de Bois, they all advised that we reconnect ourselves with the rest of the Afrikan world and stop behaving like a ‘minority’, and most important, that African people must build an independent economic base.  After all, white people only comprise ten per cent of the world population.

We must think of ourselves as not beginning with slavery but dating back to the Nile Valley.  Our ‘leaders’  we don’t have them, what we do have are what he calls HNIC (Head Negro in Charge)– what we really need are foot soldiers, who will take risks, get out of the ‘Negro Income Trap’, stop subscribing to ‘The Curse of Ham’ as an excuse for failure. And consider some home truths, like, we really do not trust each other, have a poor understanding of the difference between income and wealth, and many Afrikan men are full of revolutionary chat – but short on revolutionary action.

Read Paul Grant’s book with interest and attention because it’s loaded with lessons that should be taken seriously. Nobody gets an easy ride, not even Nelson Mandela. He pulls up and points out much of the negativity in the community and continually reiterates that we have to have a vision, we will not get this from our ‘leaders’.  We must also develop a mechanism for making our leaders responsible – to us.  Everybody with a black face is not a friend. And, if you still haven’t recovered from the ‘Messenger’, this book will provide lots of answers.