"In this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate." — Toni Morrison

For the last 50 yearz, america has seen its former enslaved victimz rise. For 500+ yearz, the criminalz exiled from england have tried to eliminate, from its captives, any affiliation with Mother Afrika. From taking away the drum to changing our names, these ailments still plague the psyche of Afrikanz worldwide. Analyzing this dis-ease, it has had detrimental effects on Afrikanz, collectively, since re-emerging in the “New World” as slaves.

The naming of a people has a direct link to a their identity and unity (or disunity). We’ve seen our people in search for ourselves merely through the definition of a name. A name of significance to a landmass is rehabilitating to the lifestyle and culture of any ethnicity. If that wasn’t so, italy wouldn’t have italianz, china wouldn’t have chinese, and europe wouldn’t have europeanz. Even more vital is how one’s origin is carried with them as they venture to new regionz (ie. chinese-american, italian- american, etc.). So why has it taken so long for Afrikanz to call themselves Afrikan-American?!

50 yearz ago we were called “negroes”. This name links to the spanish term “black”. However, the spanish version is interpreted from latin and they got theirz from the greeks. The greek word is “necro” which meanz “DEAD”. Now think about that for a moment... are we not a disfunctional-braindead race?

Next was “colored”. Neither of the two ever influenced any racial pride; being the origin of ‘negro’ was played-out and 'colored' was basically unclean (many Afrikanz, after the constant reminder that black was dirty, thought they could literally wash the black off themselves!).

Movin’ on to the 1960s, we saw an emergence of attributing “black” with positivity and pride. COINTELPRO and other spy networks made sure the resurrection was halted counter-attacking with the hippie age, where interracial relationships boomed (Jungle Fever), as well as the planting of addictve drugz in Afrikan communities like cocaine, weed, upperz, downerz and gunz.

The mid-80s saw the “politically-correct” Afrikan yearn for yet anutha change. “Afrikan- American” would be the first to link us to a landmass, reconnecting us to Afrika and broadening our spectrum to our victimized brotha and sistaz on the Mother continent and abroad.

This was good, but far from great. At a minimum, there remainz 3 stages of names we must go through before this “name-changing-thing” can rest. Next is, “American-Afrikan”, “Afrikan” and finally “Alkebulan”, “Wo'se”, or "Nowe".

Looking at the difference between “Afrikan-American” and “American-Afrikan” needz serious reanalyzing. In “Afrikan- American”, “American” serves as the noun or the essence and “Afrikan” becomes the adjective. This implies one who is, first and foremost, an American, and the kind of American they are is Afrikan. The fact that Afrikan people were here before there was an “America” was even a word is supported by the pyramid and Olmec Head findingz in Mexico and South America. And according to Websterz Dictionary, “America” was not a term used until around the 1500s.

Named after Amerigo Vespucci, he was one of the early exploiterz, I mean, explorerz of the New World. He assisted the infamous pirate, Christopher Columbus get ships ready for his second and third voyages to the New World. His villainous deedz against people of color were forever honored when the continents of North and South America were named in his honor.

Poet, Heru Ptah summed him up in the poem, 'Che Guevara':

Like all europeanz profess the disdain for all thingz Afrikan,
for this fathers presence he found stifling,
but for his mother he so yearned for the suckling.
And so his Oedipo complex led to papal conquest of a people who were naive to the depths of evil.
They were cargoed and embargoed language, culture and religions far goed
to assure, where a little before, came a man born by the name El Boriquo,
who saw the indianz of the los amerigo's and then changed his name to amerigo.
And so with the devil, he made a convenient,
stole the name and then named the continent,
diseased its residents and implanted Afrikan enslavement.
And from such acts of brutality,
offsprung a new people of prophecy.
Now the dominion kept the religion and idiom the same,
this was best to keep them tamed,
but what would be the name?
for they had a color and culture too rich,
so they dare not call them spanish
so from the marriage [came] a misogynistic menage twa...

According to a Slavery Timeline I found online, in 1499, more than 200 slaves were taken from the northern coast of South America by Amerigo Vespucci and Alonso de Hojeda and sold. After his exploitationz — my bad again — explorations in 1501-1502, he came up with the idea these places were not part of Asia — as Columbus thought, but rather were part of a "New World."

In 1507, a pamphlet was published called "The Four Voyages of Amerigo", influenced by German publisher, Martin Waldseemuller where the suggestion that the new land Amerigo explored be named in his honor. At first, the name of America was only meant to apply to South America, but later on, both continents of America became known by his name.

The Western world, including its educational system wants us to believe that the history of Afrikan people in America didn’t begin until 1619 in Jamestown, VA. We all know many of our Ancestorz during that period were brought here against their will. In fact, according to the CONstitution, we were NEVER CITIZENZ (and still aren’t), but classified as “chattel” or moveable property. So we are not American... and definitely not “first and foremost”.

A more appropriate term (for those who must have “American” in their name) is “American-Afrikan”, which is the complete opposite; therefore stating that I am, first and foremost, Afrikan and am a kind of one who resides in America.

This rehabilitating method allowz the link of Afrikanz worldwide to gel more cohesively. Instead of being just Jamaican (because colonializm included the West Indies via the triangular Atlantic Slave Trade or Maangamizi), they now become “Jamaican-Afrikan”, “Brazilian- Afrikan”, “Canadian-Afrikan” and so on. Think of how dope the annual Brooklyn West Indian Labor Day parade would be then; when everyone sees themselves as descendants of Afrika and not some British colonial pirate!

There are those however who agree not to associate America’s accomplishments, because most have been done by murder and theft. We insist on being called “Afrikan” alone. And what deemz even more overstanding is that the Afrika, as we know it, is not called Afrika, but, as mentioned, the land of "Wo'se”, or "Nowe", or what YT called Ethiopia, the heart of the Nile Valley— the land of burnt faces (Afrika was a term given to us by YT as well, from the greek word, Aithiops).

The fact is, WE ALL COME FROM THE NILE VALLEY. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we people will unite!

*read Chancellor Williams, 'The Destruction of Black Civilization' for reference.

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