The latest uproar surrounds wrestler/entertainer Hulk Hogan and his alleged liberal use of the n word when referring to African people.  The fallout has the usual tired narratives being put forth as legitimate content around whether it's appropriate to use the word:

1.  African people use it liberally so why can't Europeans use it (Hulk Hogan's argument)?

2. It's just a word.  Sticks and stones break bones, but names cannot hurt.  People should just get over it.

3. The word is a term of endearment and no longer has a negative connotation connected to it.

First, let's say that all of these silly premises are based on the false assumption that all things are equal when they aren't.  The 500 year colonial, slavery, and neo-colonial process of exploitation of Africa that fueled the industrialization and development of the capitalist system causes ongoing and unprecedented damage to the psychological well being of all Africans and everyone else for that matter.  This is true because in order to justify the systematic murder and brutality that has been policy against Africans for centuries, the framers of capitalism had to create a narrative that justified their system.  That narrative was that manifest destiny was a necessary phenomenon because Africans, Indigenous people, women, etc., were not mentally and physically developed enough to govern and develop their own societies.  As a result, any comprehensive information about advanced African civilizations, that in many ways helped shape European societies, were written out of history.  The same applies for Indigenous societies and matriarchal societies were women were the leaders.  While those contributions were hidden, the accomplishments of European male led civilizations were presented as the only viable human history.  This is the reason everyone knows at least something about the Kings of the Roundtable in Britain and the Greek and Roman empires, etc., while knowing nothing about Africa or the Americas before 1492.  So all things are not equal because African children have been left with an empty interpretation of history which was filled with the lie that we needed Europeans, the greater people, to save us.  To provide us civilization, religion, and humanity.  As a result, most Africans today believe some version of European superiority and most Europeans do to.  So, all things are not equal.  And, if you take this current reality and spread on top of it the concept that Africans are less than human, the practice of the capitalist system for 500+ years, then the n word becomes much more than a word.  It becomes a very effective tool in perpetuating the inferiority of African people by reinforcing the myth that there's something wrong with us and that our entire station in life is to try and become Europeans to rid ourselves of the curse of being ourselves.  Every time someone uses the n word, they are on some levels perpetuating that sickness.  It doesn't matter whether they mean to do so or not.  It doesn't matter whether they are a good person or not.  That's what they are doing.  And, if you don't believe that, all you have to do is observe any social interaction between African people, especially if alcohol or other stimulants are involved, and take in the hostility in which the n word, this word that means nothing that's a term of endearment, is passed around.  You will be able to literally observe the negative impact the word has in this environment.  You can do the same in any school, etc.  How do I know this?  Because I've spent my entire life in those environments doing this work.

In addition to that, to argue that calling Europeans or another nationalities the n word is the same as using it against Africans is an analysis that lacks an intellectual element to it.  Calling a European the n word has no historical context and means nothing more than calling them a fool or anything else.  It's a cruel thing to do, but it cannot be compared to how the term impacts African people.  In fact, calling Europeans anything ethnic cannot be compared.  Names like honky, cracker, and pec a wood, at best have questionable historical origins, but even if we agree on their origins, none of those words are tied to any clear cut historical pain and oppression so they also are nothing more than cruel names that may hurt for a moment, but don't have the staying power to become systematic tools of oppression.  The n word has that staying power and the reason it does is because that word has always been a part of the oppressive system against African people.  So, when the word is said, as it's designed to do, it brings to mind images of powerlessness, of being beaten into submission on the slave plantation.  Of women being savagely raped.  Of children being cruelly separated from their families for a small price.  Of people being savagely killed as sport.  Of being systematically denied the right to be treated as a human being.  I remember the pain and trauma my parent's conveyed to me from their childhood growing up in Louisiana.  Every day, my mother carried the fear of having her humanity attacked by drunk (or sober) European men who could take whatever liberties they wanted with her without threat of legal consequences.  For my father, he knew that the simple act of accidentally brushing up against a European women in line at the store, stepping on a European man's foot, or forgetting one of the many unspoken rules would be all that's required to become forced to mobilize the entire family to expect a violent raid by posses at some point at the house.  For my parents and for African people in general, the n word flashes mental concepts of fearing for your life, of being not good enough, of being eternally disrespected.

So, although there is without question a difference between using the n word against Africans compared to Europeans, that doesn't mean it just shouldn't be used against Africans.  For any sensible people, the word should be eliminated entirely because to continue using it dismisses the historical experience of so many Africans who braved unbelievable conditions to permit those of us here today, who have no sense of that history, to live in relative comfort, compared to those that came before us.  And, anyone who argues the word is just a word isn't qualified to properly assess the conditions of African people.  Anyone who does that analysis, would realize immediately that there is a direct correlation between the deplorable mental condition that afflicts African people in terms of depression, anxiety, frustration, etc., due to our conditions, and the direct method in which the institutions around us, including the language used to describe us, plays a role in nurturing the oppressive conditions.

Finally, the concept that the word is one of endearment is at best an extremely limited concept and at worst is betrayal against our people.  To go further, I would say that anyone who makes this argument hasn't felt the sting of the word and is instead just reacting to a very limited, non-scientific (and selfish) perspective of the consequences of this awful word.  This is especially true when it comes to the scores of Africans who sadly have made using the word profitable through products, music, screen play, etc.  These people are benefiting from our oppression and they should be seen exactly as they are; pimps who prey off the suffering of our people.  These people are clearly comfortable with ignoring the damage their work does because they want to continue to benefit from it's usage.  A sensible analysis of this situation would require us to think for a moment about the consequences of what's happening today.  For example, take a snippet of a lyric from any song - say the Notorious B.I.G. (it could be anyone, not picking on Biggie) song "Big Poppa."  Place the lyric where he says "money, cars, and h - - s, all a n - - - - r knows" in a time capsule.  People one hundred years from now find that song snippet.  You mean to tell me you cannot see anyway that those people would have to wonder what the hell we were thinking about when we permitted that type of thing to become the popular culture norm and that we actually supported it?  If you can't see that, all I can do is recommend counseling for you.  And I must say this.  For some who are slow to comprehend, there are of course artists who use the word in an effective way designed to convey the crushing effects of its oppression.  I'm certainly not talking about those artists.  This section applies to those who use the word simply for shock value in an effort to make their product more marketable.

Of course, the reason the n word can stick so easily is because Africans don't know who we really are.  We don't know we are Africans and we don't know what being Africans means.  This is true wherever we live, even in Africa.  We don't know the majestic history that we are produced from.  We don't know the outstanding accomplishments Africa has made to world religion, science, and all the disciplines.  We don't know the glorious contributions Africa has made to the advancement of women.  We are unaware of our humanist, egalitarian (the most misunderstood word in English), and collectivist culture which has helped civilize the Western world.  Lastly, we are completely ignorant about the importance of Africa in the future of us as a people and the world as a viable economy that can properly meet the needs of the people of the planet Earth.  Because we don't know any of this, we have no defense to protect us against the vicious system of capitalism which has convinced us that our only hope is to dissociate ourselves from who we are and try and assimilate into the system that is the cause of our suffering.  This is the true story behind the n word.  Hulk Hogan?  Just another ignorant European/white man talking.  There's one of those for every conversation and there are plenty of ignorant Africans to join them.  Hopefully, this analysis can provide some relief from the confusion and can serve as medicine to continue our struggle to bring truth to the surface while crushing the lies that attempt to keep us subjugated.

A cursory look at simple current events illustrates the point.  Critical thinking is at an all time low.  Examples?  Police agencies own and control all the heavy weaponry which they use to routinely shoot down African people in Europe, the Western Hemisphere, and Australia everyday with documentation and without reason.  In the hundreds of years since slavery and colonialism created this scenario, millions of Africans have been murdered while only a very small handful - less than 100 - police have been retaliated against by the people, yet, you won't have a difficult time finding anybody who will tell you that police are under attack.  This is the same logic that explains how humans kill hundreds of thousands of sharks per year while sharks bite, not kill, but bite about a dozen people per year, yet sharks are considered the predator.  

Men routinely brutalize women, yet you can find people, including women everywhere, who defend the men that do it.  The people of Greece vote to reject being re-colonized which brings condemnation down on them for not accepting 21st century slavery with gratitude.  Meanwhile, the Libyan Jamihiriya provided free education and healthcare for its citizens while solving one of the great problems of modern times by building the Wasra dam project in the Sahara desert - which provided clean, potable drinking water to millions of people, yet they are bombed into submission by the capitalist powers and as the dust settles Qaddafi is called the dictator and Obama is heralded as the guardian of the free world?

People in the U.S. and other capitalist countries are bombarded with hardcore evidence daily confirming that no matter which political party, no matter which candidate, no matter what campaign promises are made, the interests of multi-national corporations always win out over the needs of everyday people, yet millions of people are still 100% committed to participating in the capitalist election cycle with the slogan that "this election will be the one that makes things different!"  Then, when the capitalist governments continue to carry out their political agendas of exploitation around the world, not only do people still refuse to break ranks with them, but people, even so-called progressive people, continue to claim responsibility for the actions of the super rich by declaring "we did this" and "we did that" when the truth is you cannot even occupy the same physical space of the people dictating your life and your future.  Or, as Kwame Ture said "the Democratic Party has people convinced that millionaires and homeless people have the same interests."

The climate continues to reflect global warming trends in every area from increasing average temperatures to melting glaciers to resulting weather chaos, yet you can still easily find people who deny that this entire phenomenon which is happening right before our very eyes, is happening.

Finally, the most conscious of the society are perfectly content to limit our capacity to fight back to mobilization direct action work, choosing the easy route of resisting against the system while the masses of people still remain confused, disorganized, and un-involved in the struggle for justice.  This is clearly an unwinnable strategy since the numbers of people engaging in this mobilization/resistance work is small and thus unsustainable.  Meanwhile, the elephant in the room is the masses of politically unconscious people who are just waiting on someone to organize with them and help them raise their consciousness.  Although this is clearly the winning strategy e.g. the more people who understand, the more people who will support, the weaker the enemy, the higher the probability of victory.  Yet, this consciousness raising approach requires a sustained organized approach to working which is much more difficult and much less exciting, therefore, although it's easily and clearly the work that needs to be done, serious, reasonable people refuse to do it simply because it's harder and will require more focus and direction.  

Again, we go to Kwame Ture who used to say all the time that "capitalism makes that which should be crazy seem logical and that which should be logical seem crazy."  My example that I use in presentations to youth is if I took a sound system to the quad of their school and got on the microphone talking about the need to get involved in organizations for justice and to do work to change this society, most of them would walk right by me while trying their best to pretend they are unaware of my presence and especially my message.  This is true even though what I'm saying makes perfect sense to any rational minded person.  By the same token, if I was on that same sound system, blurting out songs with crazy lyrics that degraded women, African people, and humanity, if my songs had a decent beat, and I have the capacity to deliver them in a way that resonates, people would forget about class and everything else to stop and listen to what I was saying, although what I'm saying is absolutely insane.  

Well, what all of this says is there is obviously quite a bit of work to do and we are going to do our part to do it, but we cannot be successful unless you participate as well.  We must get people involved in organizations and we must make sure those organizations have a strong political education process and that people are participating in that process seriously.  Then we must insure that those organizers are doing strong work to organize our communities for revolutionary change.  If all of this isn't happening, we will undoubtedly be in worse shape 20 years from now than we are today and so on and so on.  Franz Fanon told us "each generation has its mission and you will either fulfill it or betray it."  Changing the low level of political consciousness is the work.  It always has been and it always will be.

It's very popular in African spaces these days for people to authoritatively and repeatedly state that they have no desire or intention of organizing Europeans (white people) and/or that such work is not worthy of respect.  First off, Bob Marley told us decades ago that there is "so much trouble in the world!"  As a result of this truism, I realized years ago that anytime anyone starts talking about what work doesn't need to be done, that's usually a for sure sign that that person isn't doing any real work because anyone who does justice work seriously knows that any work that makes a dent against injustice is valuable work.  Work that should be respected.  

Now the question of Europeans being organized isn't just some small issue of insignificance.  The capitalist system and it's systematic exploitation and oppression of Africa, African people, and humanity, is rooted in the foundation of insuring that Europeans maintain loyalty to it's principles.  Since capitalism is based on the lie that the people (primarily Europeans) who thrive within it are the people who are smartest, possess the highest moral fiber, and who work the hardest, fundamental to the continued success of capitalism is keeping Europeans tightly within it's ideological sphere of support.  After that, its important to get as many Africans and others to drink the capitalist kool-aid.  If that analysis of this decadent system is properly understood, then it becomes necessary to stop talking about European existence for justice as being defined as simply supporting African self-determination, Indigenous self-determination, etc.  Instead, we must speak about Europeans actively organizing to fight against capitalism.  And, this fight must include a component where Europeans begin to challenge the concrete effort by capitalism to bind European identity to capitalist values.  This is of course the battle for all people, but since Europeans are the face of capitalism, they are the people who are most closely connected to it's values and therefore the people who will pose the most difficult challenge in transforming into anti-capitalist - pro-socialist - people for humanity.  In other words, the task of Europeans is to disconnect the umbilical cord to capitalism and struggle for a socialist reality where European children have a world based on justice like all other children.  

Of course, it is not the responsibility of African people to carry out this work with Europeans.  We have our hands full trying to organize the African masses for Pan-Africanism e.g. one unified, socialist, Africa.  It is the responsibility of Europeans to do this work among their people, but they will need our help developing a proper understanding of exactly what capitalism is and how it is exploitative as a rule, not an exception.  They will also need inspiration from our struggle for liberation.  We have always provided that inspiration to the world.  In fact, Kwame Ture was correct when he said "Africans inside of America have civilized America with our humanistic struggle for justice!"  So, anyone who thinks that in this colonial and neo-colonial world, we can expect to exist while ignoring what's happening with Europeans, I would ask you to get the opinions of those Africans who are routinely brutalized by police departments from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia, to Paris, France.  Get the opinions of those nine Africans who were gunned down in the South Carolina AME Church.  Get the point of view of the millions of Africans living in Africa who's very existence is tied to the whims and aims of Europe and America.  

It's clear that any African who is consciously involved in our struggle for liberation must see European conscious raising as a part of the struggle for justice and forward human progress.  It doesn't mean you have to do anything to directly engage in that work, but you do need to stop acting like the work doesn't matter.  Portland has a new European group named the Marilyn Buck Abolitionist Collective (MBAC).  This group is still working to develop it's ideology and objectives, but it has made a decision to support the work of the All African People's Revolutionary Party and the Black Lives Matter movement.  They have done that by providing material assistance to the All African People's Revolutionary Party's free breakfast program in N. Portland.  They don't feed the children, we do that, but they help us maintain supplies to do so since we fund this program out of our pockets my friends.  Its my hope that MBAC can evolve to develop an anti-capitalist/pro-socialist framework that seeks to live up to the principles of the person the group is named after.  Having had the privilege of meeting, visiting, and building a strong personal relationship with Marilyn Buck when she was alive and being held at the Women's Federal Prison in Dublin, California, I can say that I've loved and respected Marilyn since I was a very young man.  Her principled commitment to revolutionary ideals, her refusal to snitch on revolutionary comrades, African revolutionary comrades, and her willingness to sacrifice her entire life for the goals of the African liberation movement and one of it's most respected personalities - Assata Shakur - says all that needs to be said about Marilyn Buck (if you don't know about her, you should).  

Like Malcolm X said in 1964; "we don't mind working with white people...We just want some John Brown white people!"  Well, we still want those John Brown people along with the Marilyn Buck people.  We want them working in European communities as we work with the African masses.  We want Indigenous and Asian communities to develop the capacity to do the same.  Since America needs Africa to be exploited to maintain American capitalism, Africa's liberation changes the game in America which helps Africans, Indigenous people, and every working class person. Irish liberation weakens British imperialism which helps Africans and does the same.  Palestinian justice weakens zionism which helps Africans and does the same.   Asian liberation contributes accordingly and it goes without question that the liberation of the Indigenous people's of the Western hemisphere obviously changes everything here and around the entire globe.

If you don't understand all of this you really can't be concerned about true liberation for anybody.  Quite possibly, your real intention is to just blow off steam and/or feel better about being oppressed.  If so, do the responsible thing and at least stop talking and spreading confusion.  Our movement is weak today, but one day we will have capacity to hold those who sabotage this glorious work accountable.

My license to speak about this comes from the fact I've been involved in organizing work since 1979 when I joined the Pan-Africanist Secretariat (Brother Oba T'Shaka for those that know) at 17 years old.  In 1984, I heard Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) speak and I joined the All African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP).  I've been an organizer/member of the A-APRP ever since.  That means decades of working with people, all types of people.  I've worked in organizing efforts in Africa.  In Europe.  In the Caribbean.  I've worked with African street organizations (what you would probably call gangs), church groups, women's collectives.  I've worked with students.  I've worked with African people from every segment of society and I've also worked with European allies, Indigenous people, Asian allies, and Palestinian comrades.  I've done significant work with organizations as broad as the Nation of Islam to White Women against Imperialism.  My political organizing work created the opportunity to work as a paid organizer for the labor movement which I do as well.  In that work, I work with right-wing workers.  Workers who have no experience interacting with African people.  I'm still responsible for moving these folks.  So, with all that outstanding experience, if there's one thing I know about, it's how to work successfully with people.  I'm not saying I know everything because the more work I do, the more I realize I need to learn, but I am saying, I have at least learned some valuable lessons that some of our newer organizers would do well to pay close attention to.  

Dont's - No nos in organizing work 101:

1.  Make sure you are in an organization.  If not, your message is you don't seriously believe what you are spouting because you don't think enough of it to create a plan and work to bring it into existence.

2.  Don't criticize other people's work.  It makes you look like a hater and opens you up to questions about what you are doing (which is usually not to much if you have time and the lack of focus to criticize other people's efforts).

3.  If there is a problem with another organizer and/or organization, take that problem directly to the people involved and engage them in principled ideological struggle around the problem.  DO NOT, under any circumstances, talk about people behind their backs.  It will come back against you and will make you look cowardly and dishonest, the crippling ingredient for anyone attempting to become a respected organizer.  Plus, principled struggle creates a stronger movement.

4.  Do not permit yourself to see the struggle simply as an extension of your personal experiences.  You are just a speck in this work.  Remember that and carry yourself with humility at all times.

5.  Do not view the struggle as the flavor of the week.  Get a focus people and stick to it.  If you change what you are doing every other week you send a clear message that you are not serious, about anything.

Do's - Great things in organizing 101:

1.  Make sure your organization has a dedicated study process where you can rotate facilitators, everyone is required to participate, and you have a praise/criticism process to properly assess your work.

2.  Use the praise/criticism process to challenge yourself honestly around improving your weaknesses

3.  Practice your writing skills by putting together articles, leaflets, etc., that address the problems you are fighting against.  Getting people to read is a critical component of this struggle so help out by developing your skills while contributing relevant material.

4.  Develop strong habits in your organizing work around study and work.  Be where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there.  Don't be late and don't make excuses.  If you are always consistent, the message you will be sending out is that you are serious about your work and there is an urgency to make that work happen.  If you are always late and disorganized, the message you send is that you say it matters, but you really don't believe it.  A credibility problem again.

5.  Lastly, base your personal behavior and your organizational work around one principle - what's right and just.  An African proverb is "even a dead fish can swim with the current."  Don't be a dead fish.  

If you heed these do's and don't's you are guaranteed to be an effective and respected organizer.  Everyone won't like you because waging principled struggle, being consistent, and making things happen challenges those who desire to function without accountability, but just remember Sekou Ture's correct statement that "if the enemy isn't doing anything against you, you aren't doing anything."  Do the dos and don't do the don'ts and you will become stronger.  You will also realize that all work is important and should be respected (I always know someone doesn't know what they are talking about when they start talking about work that isn't relevant).  Even standing on a street corner with a sign saying "ORGANIZE!" is good work and anyone who does this work seriously knows that.  So, take these and use them.  They don't belong to me, they belong to humanity.  And make sure to share them.  Good organizing to you!

This past Saturday -  July 4th in Portland, Oregon - some of the most revolutionary and progressive forces in the Pacific Northwest gathered in Peninsula Park.  The grill was cookin and the music was blaring, but unlike most of the other people in the park that day, and around the U.S., we weren't celebrating America's independence.  Instead, this group of African, European, Asian, and Indigenous revolutionaries and allies came together to commemorate the fourth of the lie.  Our message was clear.  America as a nation was founded, and is maintained, on exploiting the human and material resources of Africa and the rest of the world.  Therefore, it is impossible to say you are on the side of justice and humanity while also calling yourself an American.  European (white) speakers preached that the American identity and white supremacy are one and the same.  African speakers promoted the concept that since America's industrialization was based on seed money acquired through the chattel slave system, and this capitalist system operates by exploiting every mineral resource Africa (and other places) have to offer, it's therefore impossible for any African to be an American.  We are Africans in America fighting against capitalism.  And by extension, any European settler descendant is properly defined as a working person (with German, British, Nordic, Italian, etc. ancestry) who is 100% opposed to capitalism and committed to the struggles of all people's to overthrow this decadent system and replace it with a system where people are more important than money.

This is a critical message for White people in particular because this message, by and large, is absent within white communities.  African people, and most people of color, are reminded daily that we are not a part of the established order of this society.  In fact, it's not at all uncommon to find Africans who do not feel comfortable using the designation of "American" to describe themselves.  African people experience systematic racism daily and we talk about it daily, whether as academics, activists, or working class people, it's talked about all the time in our culture.  Children are raised to understand this is a racist society and how to behave accordingly.  So, the message of being Africans against capitalism is only difficult because of the constant propaganda directed at our people, but five minutes of truth exposes the contradictions we experience (as opposed to what the capitalist system tells us), so that in no time, once our people hear it and understand it, they have no problem accepting this analysis.  Europeans on the other hand have much more invested in America from a psychological standpoint.  You are trained that this is your country.  You say "we" even when describing the most disagreeable practices of this government.  Millions of Europeans not only watch FOX and listen to people like Limbaugh, but support the simple minded views those entities express. There isn't a European reading this who doesn't have relatives close by who support these backward views.  History has taught us that even some of the most radical Europeans can easily be tempted to side with capitalism.  The case of Tom Watson is an example.  He was a popular grassroots activist around the turn of the 1900s who ended up joining the KKK.  These are not problems we have in the African community.  This is the reason such concentrated work by European people with European people is necessary.  Dyann Roof, the young man who killed nine Africans in South Carolina recently, was said to be influenced by European racist writings.  White supremacists, many of them violent to the core, are working daily to recruit young people like Dyann Roof.  Where are the scores of European revolutionaries who are working to combat those backward ideas with counter ideas of white solidarity with peoples of color and themes of justice and liberation for the entire planet?  This is the reason we come out and have the fourth of the lie event.  So, that we can talk to people about getting involved to build greater capacity to do this work in all communities.  This is why we invited the most serious of the African, Asian, Indigenous, and European communities so that we can continue to support one another and build strong solidarity.  Of course, your ability to understand any of this is rooted in how you see America.  If you see it as a great country that has flaws, you will miss this entire analysis.  On the other hand, if you see it as we do, as a country founded and maintained on injustice - an empire - than whatever nationality you are, you will join up with people from your community to organize for a better world, without capitalism.  It has to go without saying that those who endorse the former point of view are the "Americans" - the problem.  Those Europeans who are open to learning and participating in the latter point of view are our allies.  For Africans, if you see yourself as an American I shouldn't have to say anymore because the same goes for you.  This is the criteria.  It's non-negotiable.  What side are you on?
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