The Return of Civilization

The Return of Civilization

I can’t tell you how much fun we had putting together this issue of Metropolis!

You’ll see as soon as you start turning the pages and realize what wonderful things are on offer for little or no money. But, the deal is that you can’t just take your own child. You must take someone else’s too! You know that neighborhood kid who’s always hanging out with nothing to do? Yeah, him. Or, the single mother who works around the clock so her children get little or no attention? Right. Take one of hers.

Before slavery, our people had cities of high cultivation and science and civilization must be taught in order for us, to once again, thrive and be the beautiful, well-educated, cultured, and courteous people Almighty God created.

But, what is civilization anyway? Is Black America a civilized society? We know well what uncivilized behavior looks like, but what does it really mean to say that someone is civilized or to the contrary, uncultivated, uncultured, ignorant, or uncivilized?

Education alone does not make someone civilized. Otherwise, with all of the degrees floating around, Bronzeville and other Black metropolitan areas would be pillars of American society and foremost in technology. Instead, we as a group, are lagging embarrassingly behind and partaking in some of the most unbecoming behavior known since days of old. So, education without civilization simply makes you a tool for someone else and useless to Almighty God and your own people.

A civilized person is one who has been nurtured in Spirituality and taught the Arts & Sciences. Nurtured and taught. Spirituality not religious dogma. The honeybee could care less if you believe in Jesus or Moses or if the economy crashes because he is fulfilling his purpose in life by obeying the command - Be a bee, colonize, and make honey.

What is the command for our lives? Surely, we have all been given gifts to benefit humanity, even in a time of suffering, but are we being true to them? Culture appeals to our higher selves and helps to unveil our natural, God-given gifts.

The Arts are considered disciplines and creative endeavors where, simply put, an artist creates something beautiful. Including, but not limited to, literature, dance, drawing, painting, architecture, theatre, and film. And under these broad headings, are even more subheadings.

But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so what is actually beautiful? The creations of an artist expand the psyche and senses of the aficionado. They experience an immediate, measurable, positive emotional and chemical reaction as they behold the artist’s creation. Indeed, a song from the days of our youth invokes an instant memory and an instant smile or tear as we have bonded a life experience and the accompanying lesson with the creation of an artist.

The word “science” means chief knowledge and the Sciences are divided into two fields, natural science and social science. Natural science would include astronomy, chemistry, biology, physics, and earth science. But, you cannot be a student of any of the natural scientific disciplines without mathematics. Social science is the study of humans so we have sociology, anthropology, education, history, law, etc.. And like the Arts, the Sciences also contain many subheadings and groups.

Since science endeavors to know all there is to know about the universe and man, scientists are relentless in their pursuit of knowledge. They are always busy and they are always challenging their own findings. Although many consider them nerdy, they really live an enviable life and others should be so lucky. Almighty God’s creation is their playground and He has veils and coverings that they spend their lives trying to reveal and recreate because each discovery is like a new toy.

You may not see a scientist falling out in the aisle with the Holy Ghost but it is interesting that the few (less than nine) that I know all believe in a Supreme Intelligence. But, a scientist does not succumb to emotion or express his belief with shouts. His life is lived and problems are solved in a very deliberate and calculated way based on proven techniques and delivered results. He does not pray to God over, what he perceives as, trivial matters. Only for guidance in matters that perplex him. He believes praying childlike prayers are a bother to the Creator and that’s why He equipped man with guidelines to solve problems.

The first charge of a scientist is to disprove an established theory or explain unexplained phenomena based on scientific method. So, he sets up experiments and situations to challenge the existing theory in order to prove it is correct or incorrect. Inconclusive is not an answer so his trials will continue. Or, he could be a trailblazer as Galileo was to gravity or as Mendel was to genetics.

When I enrolled in college for the first time, a few years ago, I took Biology, Chemistry, Algebra, Microbiology, Anatomy, and Physiology and managed to get an A in every subject except for microbiology. (My professor gave me a B and he and I are still at war.) Nevertheless, I looked forward to class and while others were falling asleep, I would debate with the professor over the AIDS/monkey/Africa theory, the West Nile Virus, and other non-proven theories the books were pushing as fact.

I couldn’t pick a favorite subject because they were all related and I would rush home to tell anyone who would listen what I learned and proclaim that I could decipher some of the coded language in the Bible and Quran that was hidden from the disbelievers. Deep, huh? I know. (laughing) The point is that being a student does not mean being a drone, a male bee without a stinger who makes no honey and is the result of an unfertilized egg. The drone is only there to procreate and then he dies.

The Arts & Sciences allow plenty of room for challenge and debate because Almighty God is the only one who knows it all and He reveals it to whom He pleases. These disciplines allow the intellect to develop by figuring out the forces of nature. The mind exercises control over the body instead of the body controlling the mind. An artist takes what is in his mind and manifests it on a canvas or in a dance. Powerful lesson indeed.

Even if Almighty God revealed the science of something to you, knowing it is not enough. It must be proven in no limit of time. Meaning - over and over and over until it is accepted as a Natural Law.

If our community becomes nurtured in the Arts & Sciences, certain behavior would be beneath a civilized society. Julian Dawson, a Bronzeville architect who lives in a solar powered home that he built from the ground up, told a seventh grader down the street that if he passed to the eighth grade he would buy him a new bicycle. The boy, like so many others, got F’s in all of his classes except for gym but was still passed to the eighth grade. Is this acceptable for a civilized society?

Louis Farrakhan said it best, “Without a moral backbone, the nation cannot stand upright. Those creatures that have a backbone but cannot stand upright are known as four-legged beasts. Those creatures that have no backbone at all generally belong to the species called serpents. It is written in Genesis that beasts and serpents caused the fall of man. The artistic community has historically been in the vanguard of social change. What is now needed is for the artistic community to lead a cultural revolution. On the physical level, man is what he eats. Spiritually, “…as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7) If the American people are constantly fed filth and garbage through newspapers, magazines, television, movies, plays and music; if the public, like the proverbial swine, has become a lover of filth; and if thoughts guide behavior, what do the thoughts of the American people produce?”

Even with the evolution of Black music such as gospel, rock and roll, the blues, soul, hip hop, etc., Black America is being left behind in the Arts & Sciences. Our individual success and cultivation are not enough to save our people so, don’t forget to pickup one of the neighborhood kids on your way to one of our exhibits or performances! He’ll thank you later and so will the community. Metropolis

PHOTO: METROPOLIS/LEILA KHALED

Miss Bronzeville 1946 was Madelyn Smith, the aunt of John Cook of Bronzeville Community Club House who proudly displays this collage in the club house.

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