One of the biggest and most insidious problems resulting in the lack of black scholarship, and i do no simply refer to that coming out of academia, is that Black people, do not have the time that other people have to dedicate to the simple and sometimes complex activity of ‘thinking.’ By thinking I am referring generally to the act of contemplation, which may or may not lead to problem solving, inventions, elucidation of philosophical or spiritual ideas and concepts, etc.
How can we as Black people do these things when for many of us our lives are on the line daily, whether from external forces, i.e. police, military, legislative, etc. Or from internal forces of poor health, mental or physical, a weakness of internal physiological strength, manifesting itself as lack of self-esteem, apathy, failure to thrive, intense pessimism and other states of neurosis, and anxiety brought on by being viewed as ‘enemies of the state’. Ask the question; how or when will there be the next (black) Focault when Micheal was never worried about his domicile being invaded mistakenly while he was meditating or writing his theories of power or post-modernism.
Would Fredrick Nietzsche be absconded while taking his daily walk or at the moment he was reentering his house to put to paper that latest radical thought that occurred to him during his morning stroll.
How can there be progress, achievements when our lives are disrupted on a daily basis?
Peace (which infers continual experiences of justice), harmony, and continuity, are necessary ingredients for intellectual or rather progressive (i.e., productive), thoughts and thought-processes to take place.
The absence of peace in the lives of BIPOC is the underlying cause for the lack of Supra-ordinary thoughts, philosophies or advancements, not withstanding the amazing amount of contributions the BIPOC community has made in the face of the oppression that they continually suffer.
Do not think for one minute that I am dismissing or minimizing any of the problems or issues that exist within those communities. I am not. I am simply giving voice to the overwhelming issue, the bedrock of the issue, not as it may appear to some, trying to scapegoat one community to cover up the shortcomings or misgiving of another.
