A Review of
Jamal M. Abraham's
21st Century Vision
for Black America
by
Steve Williams, Staff Writer
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Jamal Abraham is an Electrical Engineer with a degree from Michigan State University and over 30 years experience in Electrical Engineering with many of the country's most prestigious corporations.
In his book, “21st Century Vision for Black America” (Trafford Press, 2007), he sets out a plan for African Americans to build a nation of their own, through technological aid in select African countries in exchange for land grants. It is an ambitious plan, calling for 1,000,000 African Americans to participate, though Mr. Abraham asserts that as few as 100,000 would be a sufficient number to accomplish the goal.
The book contains a great deal of historical background, beginning with the earliest civilizations in Africa, and continuing with the history of African descendants in America, up to the present day. He then addresses the current state of affairs in various African countries, focusing specifically on education, leadership, and technological capabilities. The book concludes with concrete recommendations for how African Americans can help to address these issues, while at the same time gain a homeland for themselves.
Before getting into specifics, and because I take issue with certain aspects of the book, I wish to make clear that I do recommend Mr. Abraham's book as worthwhile reading. He has obviously put a great deal of thought, research, and effort into the writing and publication of this book, and his ongoing efforts to make a positive change in our world.
EDUCATION
One of the most important themes stressed throughout Mr. Abraham's book is the significance of math and science education. He shows the reader how civilization flourished in Africa when math and science was given weight and likewise, how it declined when superstition and mysticism prevailed. As examples, he discusses early North African civilizations and again when the religion of Islam penetrated large parts of Africa; a religion that values learning. In these cases universities were founded, libraries collected and the value of education was recognized. This led to the ability to convert raw material into products which added value due to the additional labor component in processing them and increased wealth for all.
Likewise, the application of science and technology resulted in more efficient food production. Conversely, when education was abandoned, the economy became based on export of the raw material only, which left the ability to add value to those materials in the hands of others who instead benefitted. In addition, the relatively little wealth left to the African nations providing the raw materials would be concentrated in the hands of a few, who, in turn, kept the larger population in a state of superstitious awe.
Mr. Abraham goes on to explain how this shortsightedness of an economy based on export, led eventually to the slave trade, where slaves were viewed as just another commodity. Once put into slavery in various parts of the world, a similar situation became entrenched, where slaves were not furnished the advantage of an education, which would have aided them in self-determination, independent of their masters. He chronicles the struggles of African Americans to first achieve their freedom, subsequently improve their education, giving due credit to the HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and to eventually show their ability to be the equal of any in math, the sciences and any other endeavor.
Mr. Abraham's goal is to now make these hard-won achievements work to the advantage of both the African motherland and those African Americans desiring their own homeland, by recruiting a corps of African Americans to perform a transfer of technology back to the African nations.
While agreeing with Mr. Abraham's assessment of the importance of math and science, as an engineer myself, I think education needs to be looked upon in broader terms. There is real value in the study of the humanities as well; a fact that is overlooked to a great extent in American universities. Our universities are structured such that students of science are given very little leeway in taking what is deemed non-essential courses in the humanities and vice-versa. As a case in point, I reluctantly will point to Mr. Abraham's book itself. I make the assumption that it is a self-published work, because it does not seem to have had the advantage of an editor. Not to nitpick, but there are enough grammatical and spelling errors, that in some cases, it is difficult to discern the authors meaning. A book is a great undertaking and I admire Mr. Abraham's devotion in getting it published. But, it would be a better read had he employed the help of an editor.
BLACK NATIONALISM
Things begin to become a little problematic for me at this point. I am not a black man, nor am I a white man. That is not to say I am mixed, either. Rather, I am of the opinion that a person is not identified by skin color, or as some would say, race. The only race I recognize is the human race.
concrete proposal for African Americans and the people of modern day Africa. Much research has gone into the historical section and I learned a great deal from it, while at the same time, it raised many interesting subjects and questions for further study. The goal of the book is how to aid African nations in advancing education. This will create more sustainable economies by means of a more educated workforce, while simultaneously, bringing American experience to bear in the immediate development of key areas that can be improved with the application of technology.
Mr. Abraham discusses how a specific number of nations could be approached by spreading across different parts of the continent, achieving targets country by country, and thereby eventually aiding the entire continent. He also believes this should be the work primarily of African Americans, with the collective goal in mind of building a nation of their own for African Americans. I was not quite able to understand just how land grants would be achieved and result in a single nation for African Americans, but I will leave that aside for a moment, as the specifics may yet need to be developed.
As we all know, Africa is the cradle of civilization, from which we have all descended. Any of us can have a common concern for humanity as a whole, and interest in improving the state of the people of Africa. Mr. Abraham seems to be of the opinion that African Americans have more of a well founded interest in Africa. In further reading he also believes the African people will be more accepting of African Americans' help. Although this may be true, I would hope it is not and that all citizens of the world could be and should be included in this endeavor. Furthermore, that an African American homeland need not be the goal, but that we can all act out of our common humanity.
I encourage you to read Mr. Abraham's book and judge for yourself.
Revisionist History Month
