The lecture Dr. Carr gave focused on ancient khemet symbols that represented knowledge and wisdom. These symbols include mahat, the sankofa bird and many others. These symbols served as proof that Africa was the origin of language. In addition, the topic of language in the black community was discussed. Phrases that are distinctly African that isn’t understood outside the community were broken down and analyzed. These include “Doing Me”, “I be chillen”, etc. Even though those who think from a Eurocentric perspective consider this “improper” English these phrases speak much more than what’s in between the lines. Furthermore, this correlates with Ebonics; a sub group of language that is present in all areas that the black Diaspora is located.
Carr’s lecture continued moving from Egyptian symbols to the Egyptian society in general. The most surprising fact from this section of the lecture is where the Egyptians were originally from. Most media sources make Egypt seem un-African and more of a cluster of different ethnic groups. However, modern research proves convincingly that Egypt was mostly inhabited and founded by inner Africans who migrated when the Sahara dried up. Another aspect of the lecture that was interesting was how Egypt was so successful. It was one of the first great civilizations because of the food production system which allowed numerous new jobs to be developed and eliminated the need for a nomadic lifestyle. What is most important about this information is that we (African Americans) are the originators of all human interactions but we continue to live from the paradigm of slavery. A wise man once said “If you start your history from slavery then everything looks like progress”.
Written by: Stanford Fraser
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