revolutionary

Seeking the Past & Looking Towards the Future

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Greetings fam! Willing all is well with you all today on this beautiful Sunday. I spent my Saturday with my children. I took The Tribe (my affectionate nickname for my children) first to the Charlotte Museum of History. They were having a free event in which we able to tour the property of the first magistrate of Mecklenburg County. He was also a slave owner and the descendant of the household cook, spoke on her journey of discovering her ancestor.

As we made our way up to the house, I instantly felt the heaviness of the spirits on the grounds. The house was made of stone and we learned that the house was built by the slaves and that the actual stone had to be blasted from the ground and pieces laid to build the house. When we entered the house, the dank smell overtook us and I could “see” how this magistrate and his family lived. He owned many acres of land and the slave quarters have not yet been discovered, yet we know they existed. I could feel the remnants of times past, the extreme weight of oppression, and how many of us continue to carry those burdens from their ancestors.

I strive to show proof to my children of our illustrious past but also the ugliness of all that has been done to us. I need for them to know their history, the roots in which they sprang from, the journey we continue to travel.  Knowing the type of people that you come from is so important because how can you know where you going if you don’t know where you came from.

I began many years ago, researching, digging, and seeking my ancestors. I have found many different characters, discovered some hard truths, and found peace in my discoveries. Some of the history was painful, some triumphant, but all of it helped to create the person that I am today. I stand on the shoulders of those who passed before me. I weep for their struggle and I smile at their tenacity. May peace be upon their spirits.

Visiting historical sites has always been important to me. I enjoy digging into the past and seeing how far we have come but also realizing how much further we must go. May you seek the past with determination as well and find more of yourself.

 

Peace, Love, & Abundant Light,

Ashaki

 

Photo cred: Literary Hub

We Need a Revolution

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace and love to the fam on this beautiful (though little gloomy) morning. Man oh man, what a turn of events we are experiencing at this time. Donald J Trump is president. I never thought I would be typing that but it is true. I did not partake in watching the festivities on yesterday because to be honest I have absolutely no desire to do so and really am not concerned with him at all.
I recently created a video on my YouTube channel discussing why people should not concern themselves with his election and focus more on their local government and their homes. I still feel the same way. This next statement may make some people be angry, unfollow me, even curse me but in my opinion, Barack Obama did no more for black people than any other president.

He made many, many, many statements in support of law enforcement when we all know the overseers, I mean officers of the law have been attacking and murdering our people like never before, with no recourse. He even signed into law the “Blue Alert Law”, a law that specifically protects police officers. He has helped many segments of people in America, including transgender and even Jews. The one action that I have seen him take that has affected the Afrikan community in Amerikkka is his commutation of sentences of non-violent drug offenders. But, I honestly feel that there is something to that action and not all positive. Nevertheless, his time in office is over and now we have Trump at the helm.

Historically, Amerikka has not served Afrikan people well at all. We were viewed as property, brainwashed beyond belief, and still have issues from all that has been done, even though some of us have family that were here before the Europeans. The presidents of Amerikka are in place to maintain the corporation. We that live here must learn to navigate effectively within this system because whether we want to believe it or not, we are a part of it. Change come not through focusing on what we have no control over, but by working on issues that we absolutely do have control over. Revolution begins in the mind. Many of us are sick, mentally ill, and delusional. The most important work one could ever do is on self. Everything else will align once we break the chains off the brains! We have way to many niggas and not enough gods!

My challenge to my people is to do the work that you can within your own community. We have more power than we realize and working on self and our immediate environment is of utmost important. Doing worthwhile work with others working towards liberation is highly important. In the words of Assata Shakur “we need a revolution of the mind. we need a revolution of the heart. we need a revolution of the spirit. the power of the people is stronger than any weapon. a people’s revolution can’t be stopped. we need to be weapons of mass construction. weapons of mass love. it’s not enough just to change the system. we need to change ourselves. we have got to make this world user friendly. user friendly.”

 

 

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali

What is a Revolutionary?

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace, love, and light fam! As always, I hope this message finds you in a peaceful space and place. I have been thinking and reading a lot about the concept of revolution, the role of revolutionaries, as well as what is perceived as revolutionary acts. We are in a very peculiar time, a time of apprehension, and acute awareness of a very changed world and country. With the election of Donald Trump, much has been brought to light as far as to the regular Joes who really believed that most people were not prejudiced. They truly had the notion that their neighbors were cool until this election season. Many people showed their true colors and an air and atmosphere of hostility exists in so many communities and cities abroad.

I have been teaching and spreading the message of the broadened concept of revolution via a hashtag #BeingRevolutionaryIsNotWhatYouThink for some time now. I had to take a seat and really meditate on what being a revolutionary really is. I think that the concept is most certainly multi-faceted. It is not all about physical fights even though I know and understand that there is a time and place for revolutionary activity to involve physical combat. But, being and living as a revolutionary is varied. We all have a place and position to play. Growing food on land that you own is revolutionary, educating your children on true history, not the miseducation that is pumped through the classrooms of the public school system is revolutionary, embracing and infusing our culture into our lives is revolutionary, feeding and clothing our less fortunate brothers and sisters is revolutionary. It is not simply spreading information. Knowledge is useless unless it is applied. Can you make the information that you provide beneficial to the people by showing and proving? How can it be applied? I could go on and on and on but you must get my point by now.

Find your place and do what you can to help liberate your people. If you see a need and you are able to fill the need, do it! Don’t sit around and complain about what needs to happen, be the solution. We have enough lecturers. We need boots on the ground. Our people are waiting  for you. We are the saviors we have been waiting for. I know and overstand that every single time that I blog, disseminate information, sell healthy bath products, assist a sistar with finding more healthy ways of living, teach my children more of our history, challenge my fellow comrades to do more, I am behaving in a revolutionary stance. I am a lover within this war but I love hard and tough. Some of our people need correction. So many are seeking the limelight but it is an absolute waste of time if you are not using the light to help the people. We must not be selfish in our pursuits. We are too reactionary. I have been seeing so much bickering online and I am left feeling depleted. I know we will not be on the same page in all things but to be openly bashing others in the struggle is unacceptable. I see a whole lot of bitching and moaning which is deflecting from what is truly important.

Now is the time for strategic moves. The revolution is now. There is much going on; from the bombing and warring in Aleppo, to the election of Trump, to the last actions of Obama, and so on and so forth. We are literally inundated with information and all types of activities that it can be overwhelming. It is my belief that we must take actions in our immediate locations and be of assistance for bigger issues as the need shows fit, such as issues continuing in Flint, MI. There is so much we can do. Time out for the bullshit. So, the ball is now in your court. Are you riding the bench or are you in the game? The team needs you. Time is always of the essence. And the time is now.

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali

 

“I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they’ll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.”

-Malcolm X

 

Enough is Enough…

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace, love, and light fam! Can you believe that we are nearing the end of 2016? I certainly cannot but 2016 was quite a year on my end! Anyway, this past week has been very trying for me which is why I have been mostly absent from my blog space, as well as YouTube etc. My laptop took her final bow and I have not gotten a new one yet but, I will soon!  So many things are on my mind but one thing that is particularly nagging me and that is the barrage of bashing of black women by black men online.

Let me start with this, I know that these men do not represent the majority (or I sincerely hope not!). Nevertheless, it is an issue that seems to be ongoing and not stopping anytime soon. I don’t know if they have mother issues, a string of failed relationships, or just terrible experiences with the sistas and personally, I don’t give a damn if they have! How dare any black man spew such hatred to the one who birthed him? There is so much wrong with this dynamic.

First of all, the Afrikan diaspora has been under constant attack since the first invaders hit the shores of our beautiful continent. We have NO room for disunity! We have enough outer enemies without there being battling between our own. The war is on and some of the brothers feel as though they are somehow exempt by choosing to lay with a woman that does not share the same experience as he does. No matter how many women he chooses to procreate or have relationships with, he is still an Afrikan and still a part of the struggle, whether he is fighting against the system of racism or fighting for comfort within the system of racism. Some of these men actually are bigger white supremacists than you could imagine.

Secondly, where is this hatred coming from because it could not have just started. And as a mother/sister/daughter, I have to make certain that I am not absorbing the negativity that I see and hear into my own psyche because it can be damaging. I almost feel as though the men who are attacking us are damaged themselves and instead of dealing with their issues, they have instead chosen to attack those who are closest to him—his mother, sister, lover, cousin.

And I will wrap this vent session up with a few points. It is heartbreaking to see some of the memes and discussions about how undesirable we are, how untrustworthy, how annoying, how disagreeable, how “everything negative that one could conceive” we are.  It is as though a huge target has been placed upon us and they are taking aim. Now again, I do know and understand that these men are not the majority but in the day and age that we live and with the continued attacks against our people, one would think that they would put their pettiness aside and rise above the bullshit. And yes, I said bullshit because that is exactly what it is.

Now, please do not misunderstand. I am in no way naïve. I know that not all black women are living to their full potential. I know we have work to do; we have women who would rather twerk than cook, whose full time job is going to child support court or the Department of Social Services.  But there is work to be done amongst the black men as well because we continue to have men who will not take responsibility of seeds that have created, whose full time job is playing Madden, and who have been in jail more than they have been free. We all need pruning!

In all honesty, I have had some absolutely terrible relationships, had a very dysfunctional upbringing with a less than warm step father,  yet you will not hear me utter “Niggas ain’t shit!”  I absolutely adore black men! They are my brothers, suns, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins. They are the strength of the community and are so needed.  Our community is in desperate need of weeding! Let’s weed out those who seek to destroy the nation.  Make them accountable for their actions and make consequences for their wrongs. The black woman has suffered long enough. Damn can she catch a break!!

 

 

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali

 

 

 

 

Revolutionizing Our Lives

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace, love, and light to all of my fam! It has been quite some time since my last post. Life happens and you become so preoccupied that you end up neglecting your gifts, your talents, and the like. Anyway, let me not get bogged down into that and jump right into the issue at hand. As I type this, I feel weighed down and heavy in my heart. The burden of being an Amerikkkan Afrikan is heavy indeed and the social climate in our communities is one of absolute exhaustion.

With the continued and repeated attacks on our people by officers of the so-called law, lack of conviction and justice, we are left with a feeling of hopelessness. I have been saying that there is an apparent open season on black folks and it continues. And still there is no clear course of action as to what we as a people should do to bring all of this to an end. Some want to pray about it. Others want to take revenge. Some want to attack economically through boycotts etc. While others look to repatriation as a feasible option.

I have been meditating on the murders of Keith Lamont Scott and Terence Crutcher. As the protests began in my city of Charlotte, NC, I felt just as I had during the Mike Brown protests. After all was said and done, no conviction was to be had and we all were left broken hearted. And the hash tags have become almost insurmountable. The cycle of murder, calls to action, the old adage of “I feared for my life”, missing evidence, lack of evidence, and the sort, followed by “No conviction” is well known by us all. Often these murderous police officers walk away with tons of cash via GoFundMe and pension plans.

We have had tapes of our people being murdered (remember Eric Garner), we have had children murdered as well (Tamir Rice), we have had people who were not officers get off Scott free after murdering our people (Trayvon Martin). These people have been immortalized but not in a positive way. Now we are in an election year and we all know that neither candidate truly cares about what is happening to us on a daily basis. Even the United Nations has brought the brutality to light. So, what is the solution?

I believe that the solution must be multi-faceted and all actions strategic. I am at a point in my life that I do not believe that liberation for our people can be found on the shores of Amerikkka. But, I do also understand that leaving this country may not be feasible for everyone. So, we must live as separate and as unified as possible. Participation in elections on a local level is of the utmost importance, boycotting oppressive corporations and spending black, educating our own youth—via homeschooling or afterschool enrichment programs, growing our own food, utilizing alternative methods for power such as solar energy, opening co-op grocery stores, etc. All of these actions are feasible and I feel necessary. We must stop doing what we have always done in order to achieve the change we seek. All change begins within. Revolution begins in the mind. By changing your mind, you can change your life. One person can create a ripple and cause great change and affect the lives of generations. One step at a time…..

 

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali

The Tru Lioness

What is Liberation?

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace, love, and light fam. I hope all is well with you and yours. I am stupendously busy as usual. I did take a small break this weekend, enjoying much needed free time with friends and extended family. I have been thinking about what freedom and liberation really looks like and feels like. For the vast majority of us living in this world, liberation is an abstract idea, a dream, a beautiful fantasy. Many of us would struggle with day to day operations as a truly sovereign individual. Let’s talk about what liberation could possibly look like.

First of all, a truly liberated people would own things such as land and property. According to an article published on www.blackisonline.com in 2010, there are only 68,000 African American land owners in the US and they only own 7.7 million acres which is miniscule in the land that has a mass of 2.3 billion acres. Land ownership is essential to wealth creation and sustainability.

Secondly, a truly liberated people would have their own their own systems in place for government, education, healthcare, commerce/economics, etc. Currently, the Amerikkan African (a term coined by a dear friend and leader M’Bwebe Ishangi), depends on those who have oppressed us for the last several centuries for almost everything in our lives, including our foodstuffs. We attend their schools, we go to their doctors and medical facilities, we use their banks, we operate under their self-proclaimed democracy. And we suffer. We suffer from being disenfranchised, over charged, underserved, and miseducated. But many are so comfortable in their oppression that they will fight you if you attempt to suggest another way of living is possible.

Lastly, a truly liberated people will embrace true unity. Living communally; working with others in farming, hunting, craftswork; giving of their talents wholly; fully embracing ancient practices of medicine, eating, and living. When I think of freedom, I visualize a community of my people living and working together, traveling to the medicine man or wombman for health issues, community policing, bartering for goods. I visualize peace and freedom from the threat of police violence, micro-aggressions from those not of the culture, blatant racist acts, and most of all the systems that are diluting a lost people. Every day when I rise , I remind myself of who I am and what I have come to do. I am Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali and I am a revolutionary. I am here to fight for the liberation of my people and I will not stop until my last breath.

 

 

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali

Unity is Strength

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace, love, and light as always fam! The hot days of summer have descended upon us and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I have begun to start my days a tad different lately. Instead of sitting around and collecting my thoughts (or rather getting lost in them) when I wake in the morning, I rise and ride my bike a few miles each day. The daily bike ride serves me in several ways—it of course is strengthening my body, it is also a time for me to meditate and zone out, it is building my endurance, it is also allowing me to see the world and my surroundings more clearly. Riding my bike each day allows me to see my community for what it is.

I wish I saw more unity among our people. I spend time online as well as out and about within my community and the lack of unity is apparent. We have families that don’t even have relationships and it is a sad state of affairs. Have we lost the core love we had for each other? What has happened to us? No matter what word you use for unity, whether it be umoja or isokan, the lack of unity is literally killing us. Sadly, I see more of us getting together for nonsense than for events, discussions, and likewise that are serving us. Why is it that we don’t mind gathering to party but refuse to show up to events that would help build and sustain our people? Is it complacency? Is it lack of consideration? Or is it that most of us truly do not care?

We live in a very materialistic world. We are bombarded with media that is full of misogyny, violence, superficiality, and things that degrade our people day in and day out. What will it take for us to tune out the noise and tune in to what matters? We don’t realize how truly powerful we are. Yesterday, I spoke to my dear friend Mia who lives in Memphis. She told me how a friend of hers, who  is a little person, had been mistreated at a local store. She said he was going back to the store and she told him to stay away from the store. Why would he continue to spend money at a store that had treated him poorly? Now, she will not shop at the store either because she is standing with him. This is unity. Now, imagine if that community decided to boycott the store. If no Afrikan spent money with the merchant, the store would be forced to close. This is just one example of unity as strength. Imagine if we stood together on all fronts—our children’s education, our healthcare delivery, where we purchased our household goods, our groceries, etc. We have to grow beyond waiting on anyone to come in and make things right. We have all the power. We simply have to apply knowledge and be consistent. Onipa nnye nwura (Unity is Strength!)

 

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali

Peace to Brother Malcolm

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Today is the day that we celebrate the bEarth of one of our most beloved ancestors, El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, better known as Malcolm X. I was first introduced to his philosophy and life as a child. I was always on the search for information (I’m not too different now). I needed to read stories about my own people, about Afrikan people in this country and no one was speaking on it. All I ever heard about was Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks—I needed more. I stumbled upon a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X in our neighborhood library. I was eleven years old but my life was changed on the day I checked that book out from the library.

As I read the book, I saw myself through his eyes. I realized that racism had been just as prevalent in my life as anything else; a kind of ugliness that had become so commonplace that it was permissible. No one had explained to me microagressions, the fake smiles, the push by parents, teachers, preachers to “fit” in to European standards of beauty, education, attire, speech. No one explicitly told me to fight back or that I should be angry about what I felt was wrong. Malcolm made it okay for me to be angry. When my white friends mom said I couldn’t sleep over or go inside their house; when the teacher refused to teach anything about Afrikan contributions to Amerikka; when store keepers followed me in the store because I obviously must be a thief—Malcolm spoke to me and said that their actions were not warranted and I should fight back. My anger became a very important tool in my development. I embarked on an exploration of my life and the lives of those connected to me. Malcolm made me proud of my Afrikan self.

He reached to the very essence of who I was and who I am today. Although he is not a blood relative, he is one of the most important ancestors in my life and I would not be the Lioness if it were not for him. He has been a master weaver in the tapestry of my life as a revolutionary-minded Afrikan wombman. So today and for the rest of my days in this earthly plane, I say salute to my dear ancestor Malcolm. I appreciate and love you for all you have done.

 

 

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali

The Tru Lioness