The Urgency for African Languages in HBCU's!

Bowie State University, which is located in Bowie, Maryland, USA, is what you would consider to be a Historically Black College or University (HBCU in short). However, one thing that really bothers me is the lack of choices given to us as students. First off, most of the foreign languages offered here are of European origin. Bowie State has not advertised and advocated the importance of learning African languages. Why? I don't know. Most of the student body is of African descent, yet most of the students would rather learn to speak French and Spanish instead of learning to speak Kiswahili or Yoruba.

In all the HBCU's nationwide, there needs to be people (preferably professors) who make it their responsibility to advocate with all their might the importance of learning an African language. If you do not know your history, you are bound to repeat it. The reality is that most African-Americans do not know their history outside of the United States. Moreover, there seems to be a lack of interest in learning about our brothers and sisters who live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the reason there is a lack of interest is because of the media and what is portrayed of Africans throughout American media. As European Culture has dominated the world, they've also dehumanized dark-skinned people around the world. Through mass media, they've portrayed that "Africa is the so-called primitive land and its people who live on the other side of the Atlantic are the lowest of the low. How can they be developed if they can't even speak our European languages (that we imposed on them)? Plus they live in huts and walk around barefoot and naked...Why would anyone want to waste their time by traveling there and dealing with those primitive beings?" This is basically how the Western media portrays our brothers and sisters.

The truth will set you free. With that said, most media is full of lies and deceit. We don't have to accept the lies. We don't have to settle for the separation which is currently the result of the evil associated with divide and conquer. First, through African History we are able to learn about who we are and how we are connected worldwide. Next, through languages, we are able to learn how to communicate with our brothers and sisters. And finally, through travel, we are able to see the land of our origin and to reunite with our long lost brothers and sisters. With all this said, it truly makes no sense for an HBCU like Bowie State University (or any other college) to put more emphasis on European languages rather than putting the emphasis on African languages (where it needs to be).

It is sad that with all the major European languages taught at BSU, only one true African language is "provided", and that is Swahili (Kiswahili). It is not taught, but provided. The reason it is not taught is because NOBODY will enroll in the course. Therefore, it is constantly left in the course catalog with no enrollment, semester after semester. One way this problem could be fixed is if more major African languages like Yoruba, Lingala, Zulu, and Amharic were added to the catalog of foreign languages. This would give the school a total of 5 African languages for students to choose from, leaving fair competition between the African languages and the European languages. However, this is not the reality. Moreover, the school's indifference to the situation is not helping either. If little things like this are not fixed in our school, then most of us will continue to remain ignorant of our true identity.

This Sad, Unfair, World...

It makes no sense how much the greed has corrupted most of the leaders of our current world. It takes a toll on people who have little to no control what-so-ever on the allocation and movement of capital in most countries. What is going on? Why is there so much greed? It is extremely alarming that over 3 billion people (about half the world's population) lives on less than $2.50 a day. It not only goes to show you how much the world economy is unfair in the way it operates, but it makes the average person living in the West rethink the silly little reasons for his/her daily complaints.

While we complain about not having the XBOX-360 or complaining about not being able to pay bills on things that we don't need, half the world's children struggle each day to find food. Did you get that? Half the world's population under the age of 21 struggles to eat EVERY SINGLE DAY! Listen to this: Governments boast in their ignorance while allocating trillions of dollars towards senseless and unneeded warfare. Trillions of dollars!!! That is 15 zeros....towards unneeded warfare! If you want to impress me, spend a trillion dollars on eliminating hunger in disadvantaged countries of the world. If you want to impress me, allocate those funds towards the elimination (not prevention) of preventable diseases like Malaria, Cholera, and HIV(yes, it is preventable and curable). If you want to impress me, stop depleting "defenseless" countries of their valuable resources like Oil, Gold, Diamonds, and other minerals.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the evil that is ravaging our world as I type this. We are not doing anything about it because we "think" we don't have power. Is that really the case or are we just too lazy to get off our comfortable bottoms to take control of and change our world? Our comfort is our self-destruction. We learn history to learn from man's mistakes in the past. Unfortunately, we treat history strictly as just an academic subject. Lord knows that if we were to learn from our dumb mistakes in the past, this world would be a better place. God, help us help ourselves. By your grace, we can once again be seen in your image. By your grace, we can once again love one another. By your grace, greed WILL become a thing of the past.

Either way, I will start changing this world one person at a time. God is calling me to the job, and I hope those reading this can do the same with or without your friends. BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE. But whatever you do, always make sure to do it for God and with God guiding you. That is the only way we can succeed in this crusade...A crusade against EVIL!

By Your Stripes, I am Healed

About 3 nights ago, I suffered two seizures back to back. It is starting to just annoy me. I am 20 yrs old and I am still dealing with something that has been for the past 8 yrs. When is this ever gonna stop???? Even my arm was temporarily paralyzed and in major pain...and still is. Don't ask me how I am typing this blog at this moment? It's nothing but a miracle from above. What's so funny about my seizures is that the day after I had them, I got onto Facebook (this is after I came back from the Doc) to just check if I had any messages or to see who I could chat with for the moment. To my surprise, this guy who I really don't know just started chatting with me and asking how I was doing. As I told him what happened to me the night before, he told me that "God had told him to just ask me how my day was going." He turned out to be an excellent prayer, as he prayed for me to be healed. "BY YOUR STRIPES I AM HEALED...SAY IT!!!!!" He kept chanting this thru the Facebook chat. Not only did it end there, but later that night, when one of my best friends (brother) came to visit me, he prayed the same prayer of healing for me, and I was just astounded with nothing to say. All I could do at that moment was smile, a smile that nobody else understood at that moment but myself. THANK YOU GOD. THANK YOU!!!! INDEED, BY YOUR STRIPES I AM HEALED!!!!

SCHOOL DAZED!!!

It's been a long time since I was last on. More than two weeks to be exact. However, the reason for this is that I was preparing for my Fall Semester at the controversial Bowie State University. Don't ask me why it is controversial! I was working on obtaining my housing and paying my tuition and just getting things done in bulk before school started on August 30th. By God's grace, everything was paid for; all my expenses which include books and a meal plan, among other things. I will tell you one thing though; Despite the drama that goes on at Bowie, I love this school because this is like my second family. In fact, I might see the people on campus more than I get to see my own family. They are family to me, and this is home to me. Just call it a LOVE/HATE relationship. That's what Bowie is to me.

The first day of classes (August 30th) went well. I only had one class, and that was Psychology 101. At this point in my life, I really think I should have taken all my required entry level courses when I was still fresh out of high school. But I was just being stubborn and picking only the classes which interested me at the time. My second day of classes (August 31th) was a little bit different. I had a Comparative Politics Course (GOVT 140) which I really liked, but my Anthropology course was just boring, and I knew that this course is going to be one of those challenging ones this semester. But no worries, because I leave everything up to God. Overall, my first few days of classes have been good so far. I was glad to see some of my old professors from last year and make those connections which WILL come in handy once I graduate and I need letters of recommendation to get into a good school for the Graduate Level. In this economy, it is important to know people not when you get to the job market, but before you get to the job market. Getting to know your professors is very important if you are going to be a successful student and a successful person in life, generally speaking.

This semester, I hope to accomplish a lot. First off, I PLAN on getting AT LEAST a 3.5 GPA. Now, that means I might have to sacrifice my social life for these next four months, but it's okay. There's nothing to do during the fall/winter anyway. I also plan on writing a lot of scholarship essays, which will really drain me mentally. This will take a lot of time, so I am aware that I will have to manage my time well this semester. I am tired of expecting financial aid to cover all of my expenses in higher education, and I am tired of taking out loans. I need to get on my "A" game, literally!!!!

Put God first in everything that you do in this life. Academics are not an exception to the rule! I know that when I put God first in anything, he moves and makes wonderful things happen in my life. So at this moment, I am speaking into existence of an excellent grade point average by the end of the semester. It has already been done in Heaven. Now all I need to do is just BELIEVE and do the work. TO ALL STUDENTS IN ACADEMIA-LAND, HAVE A GREAT SCHOOL YEAR!!!!

My Cup Runneth Over...

I have never had to experience the type of suffering and mental exhaustion in my life as I have in the past 10 months. I dwell from house to house during the breaks because I don't have a permanent home. I live strictly on God's grace...nothing more, nothing less. I have no dime to my name, but yet God continues to take care of me and give me above and beyond my needs. I am thankful for God's grace, and I know that this is just a test in my life that God will use to make me a better person, and most importantly, he has used my suffering to strengthen my faith. I am faithful that my God will restore everything that I have lost above and beyond what I can imagine. This is why I can't afford to lose my trust in my FATHER.

In the midst of all my trials, it is funny and no coincidence that God has moved mountains, valleys, and continents for me. Everything I needed was given to me by God as I prayed. Somehow, I always was at the right place at the right time because of all the wonderful things that happened to me this summer while I was volunteering at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC. Now that I am back in the DMV(dc, maryland, virginia area), I am facing different trials. My financial aid is not enough to cover both my tuition & room/board. It's either one or the other. But you know what? I am 150% confident that God will work it out in the next week, right in time for my check-in on Monday. I don't know how he'll do it, but I am already starting to see his work take place.

While I await the begininning of the Fall semester in two weeks, I sit and I reflect on the supernatural power of God and all that he has done for me in the past two months alone. Despite me not having a permanent home, this has indeed been the best summer I've had in 4 years. YES, four years. And 4 years ago, I had a permanent home. It is indeed true that God's foolishness is much much much greater than man's wisdom. Never doubt what God can do...or even the type of joy he can bring to your life IN THE MIDST of your trials.  I am living testimony of what God can do for those who STAND THEIR GROUND IN JESUS' NAME. Amen? AAAAA-MEN!!!!

U Gotta Have FAITH.

Lately, I have been dealing with some things that have caused me to believe some of the devil's lies, lies like 'God is not listening to your prayers' or 'You will never have peace of mind'. I had a lot of rage in me that was tamed but needed to be let out. Thank God he sent my brother at the exact right moment and a bunch of other people like my supervisor at the Billy Graham library to talk to me, and give me the chance to vent. I keep learning that we fight not against people, but the evil spirits inside them. Never let the devil lie to you and tell you that people can't be changed just because they are the way that they are at that given moment. You don't know what God has planned for that person to get saved or repent of their sins if they are already saved. You keep praying no matter what.

That's when Faith comes into place. Faith is the belief of things not seen. So when people tell you that praying is not going to help, that is the devil using them to water down the Faith that you have in your heavenly Father. I have recently learned that my Faith is what has kept me all this time in the midst of persecution by some of my loved ones and some. Matthew 6:33 says "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." This means that you shouldn't worry about the food you will eat and the roof over your head. When you put God first in your life, all these things will literally be handed to you. Again, Faith plays a big part in this, even with things like family conflict. Don't try to fix family problems by yourself. Put God first and he will work everything out. FAITH is very important. Build up your FAITH in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and God promises to give you PEACE!

Serving...not waiting to be Served...

My dear brothers and sisters: What I am about to tell you, please listen carefully. It is very simple, yet very hard for most to accept. What I want to tell you today is that IT IS BETTER TO SERVE THAN TO BE SERVED. Now some of you might have had a very hard life growing up. Maybe your parents or "parent" in some cases struggled to make ends meet. I understand that growing up like that can really do some psychological damage to some people when they become adults. Some feel they have to do WHATEVER it takes to get to the top, including running over other people, or in other words, back-stabbing them. Well, let me tell you, and let GOD tell you that you don't have to hurt others to get to the top. Most importantly, greed is not the way, and money is not everything. God will move mountains for his children who choose to live a life of servitude to him and others. This is my testimony of what God can do for his children who serve him:

My brother Edmund and I have been in Charlotte, NC this whole summer. We have been living (surviving) off nothing but God's mercy, and when I tell you how powerful FAITH is, there were many times I thought I would be homeless and without a dime, but God delivered. You see, I have been serving the Lord not too long...since November of 2009. Not long ago. In April, I went on my first week-long mission trip not too far from where I grew up...in and around the Washington, DC area neighborhoods...mostly in the highly disadvantaged neighborhoods of Anacostia in Southeast and I served there for about a week, but what I saw in one week changed my life forever.

Secondly, this summer, I decided to tag along with my brother Ed to see his parents in Charlotte for the summer. I know God led me here, because both Ed and I were given a wonderful opportunity to serve in the famous Billy Graham Library in our time here.

As if serving in the Billy Graham Library isn't enough of a big deal and just a pure blessing from God, our supervisor loved our testimonies so much, that she decided to interview us for an article about volunteering opportunities at the Billy Graham Library and those who have stepped up to the plate to do God's work. Edmund and I were among the volunteers mentioned within the article and both our pictures were taken. My picture is on the main page of the Billy Graham website under 'Volunteer at the Billy Graham Library': http://www.billygraham.org/. Ed's picture is featured within the article: http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=6175.

I have served God and that's how I know he will always take care of all my needs, and my faith is my most important weapon in this world in which I live. I encourage all believers and non-believers to serve, and not because you feel forced, but because you want to. God has a different plan for each one of his children. His plan for me is to serve and that is my purpose for living today. Faith is also very important. No matter how bad things may seem, just STOP whatever you are doing. Let God deal with your issues. Believe and it shall be done here on Earth.

Servitude is the product of many disadvantaged lives changed, from the people torn apart from their families in deadly earthquakes, to those torn apart from their families through drugs and alcohol. We all complain about how life is this and life is that, but we never stop to think that there's always somebody else in the world who has more problems going on in their life. Think about it!

If you would like more information about the Billy Graham Library, visit the homepage at the following link:
http://www.billygraham.org/specialsections/library/BGLibrary_Index.asp.