Is the black male energy stupid and violent by default?

A couple of days a go a close friend while having a general conversation told me, “Gerald, I know you do not like some scholars.” I guess the word dislike was wrong - disapprove could have been a good replacement. “Here I have one for you to add to that list.” He went on to say, “Hegel (German Philosopher) believes that Africa has nothing to offer apart from North Africa.”  From my research I had already known that, many believes that only Alexandria and the rest of Diocese of Africa in the ancient Roman Empire has anything to show in the academia arena.

I took a short and quick breath as I thought of my response. Look here, I said, Hegel is not alone, many close friends, sorry to say even those I look up to for spiritual direction, historians and of course politicians believes, through their talks and actions that Africa and philosophy can not exist in the same phrase, and if they must then words of negations must be introduced to make the two terms eternally incompatible.

Indeed Hegel is not alone, two summers ago when the ‘unemployed’, ‘hopeless’ and ‘disfranchised ‘ youth in Britain as they call themselves went on rampage to destroy their own social fabric, people came out in overwhelming numbers to condemn those who participated in those heinous acts. I deeply felt the pain and anguish in many peoples hearts.  One such condemnation came from one unexpected quarters. It was a voice of one elderly lady of Afro-Caribbean decent who spared no words in expressing her disgust of the crimes committed within her community by her own people. 

Another condemnation came from one gentleman (name withheld) who went on national TV to almost give synonmity of  being black with cruelty, violence, un-civilisation and went on and on. He could only find few exemptions though, the likes of Lamin  Sanneh who he was kind to associate him with etiquette and finesse. Those who know Lamin Sanneh will for sure attest to that fact but am sure he is not the only one.

At the beginning of the 20^th Century history will tell us that such thinking had already taken roots. Further search and reading from memoirs of the early explorers in Africa will attest that to be true. One Emil Ludwig upon visiting Africa asked, "How can untutored African conceive God?....How can it be?.....Deity is a philosophical concept which savages are incapable of framing." According to me this meant that the African was incapable of thinking about God, both in abstract and philosophical terms.

This sort of background forms how some of us acts and reacts today. Every time I need to ask for directions or some help along the streets I find people reactions quite interesting. Some just literally look the other way and walk away; others probably with amazement or shock do not know what to do but unwillingly shows the way while others without reservations happily engage you even longer than expected. At times I have to say sorry I have got a bus/train to catch. 

On few occasions, I have been quick to offer help to someone on the streets, to pick up stuffs they have dropped or extra luggage on them. It is their reactions that amaze me most. As a matter of principle (of course with wisdom) I jumps in and help before they respond to my offer. In most cases some do not seem to reconcile the fact that I am capable of such. Some have held their bags closer and tighter to themselves whenever I sit next to them in buses or trains.  Whenever that happens I always smile at them but in my head am thinking I bet if I was to run away with you bag, you would have to employ the services of Mo Farah to catch me, but that is not me at all. Almost like telling them on their so they do not have to guess what am thiniking--- mum I am not a thief.

Recent official police statistics in Britain indicate: ”Twelve per cent of London’s men are black. But 54 per cent of the street crimes committed by men in London, along with 46 per cent of the knife crimes and more than half of the gun crimes, are thought by the Metropolitan Police to have been committed by black men.”  Such statistics, as true as they may, only fuels to already existing stereotype.

In the eyes of the rest of the world, the African boy is depicted as one clothed in military/guerrilla combat uniforms, with an ammunition belt wrapped around his waist struggling to control a machine gun and whose face-- to grin would be unforgivable criminal act punishable by death.

Contrary to the popular belief,  the African male is also dominant, loving, caring, tender amongst other quality humans posses but by nature--very fallen too. This could be a hard thing for many to process but the fact is corruption, cruelty, robbery, atrocities, name them all have nothing to do with black heritage. To me they are just human evil and clear evidence that human race requires the hand of The Saviour, a message which Christians should know better.  There ends my ‘rants’!