Finding Truth In Kemet

To be a person who chooses to live by the validation of their own experience rather than conform to the reality that someone else has imposed on them is an act of bravery. – LaWanda Thomas

Initially, we know only what we are taught as children and blindly accept the tenets of what our first teachers believe because we don’t know any better. Growth comes when we are confronted with information that contradicts everything that we have been taught and begin to challenge commonly accepted notions because our own experience demands it. To be a person who chooses to live by the validation of their own experience rather than conform to the reality that someone else has imposed on them is an act of bravery. By simply searching for truth and attempting to live in it, you have waged war on society and the power structure that supports it. Given the chaotic state of the world, Maat demands that we search for Truth regardless of the consequences.

In his great work, “African Origin of Biological Psychiatry,” Dr. Richard King states that,

“reality must both make sense logically and feel right emotionally.”

In the midst of all the chaos that is going on in the U.S., I was struggling to reconcile the world around me with what I intuitively knew to be true. After all, I am an African. I know the creativity and genius of African people. I also know the humanity and deep spirituality of African people. To me, it makes no sense that we should consistently find ourselves victimized, powerless and impoverished. My intuition and plain common sense tell me that something is not right. I searched my soul and read a ton of books looking for answers about Blackness, history, religion, and the origins of humanity that could explain why we continue to find ourselves at the bottom despite all that we have contributed to the world.

Works by scholars like Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, Dr. George G. M. James, Dr. Marimba Ani, Anthony Browder and Dr. Charles S. Finch detail the greatness of African history and provide concrete answers about our predicament that make logical sense. I went to Kemet, the name our Ancestors gave to ancient Egypt, to see for myself. And it was there, walking through the remnants of our ancient homeland, that the plight of African people became clear. At one time, we, Black Africans, ruled the world and left evidence to prove it. And because we were the envy of the world, a persistent enemy invaded, conquered and assumed ownership of Kemet and her intellectual and spiritual property. Though I had read about the pyramids, the temples and the tombs, no book could adequately convey the magnificence or the vastness of Ancient Kemet. The civilization was spread out for hundreds of miles up and down the Nile. Books alone also could not convey the sophistication and mastery of the ancient builders. Time after time, I was struck by precision and the artistry that is still apparent after thousands of years of dust.

I was also struck by the multiple attempts to destroy the evidence of the Black African founders of Kemet. The instances of statues that have been defaced to remove the African noses and lips and multiple places where the reliefs have either been chiseled out or removed are too numerous to count. As I walked through the sites, I could see how only foreigners who have no cultural or spiritual connection to the pyramids, temples and tombs, would dare to desecrate them. I also began to understand that the suppression of knowledge about the Black African origins of Kemet has been orchestrated for thousands of years and was done to hide the truth. And the truth is that the world we live in is a complete fabrication of liars and thieves. As you visit the sites it becomes apparent that the Western world stole everything that it claims as its own from Kemet. Even the red, white and blue. (U.S.A. national colors)

You simply will not understand how upside down the world is until you visit Kemet. There is this idea that we are more “evolved” and technologically advanced than in ancient times. That is simply not the case. If anything, we have devolved, as a race and as a species. The builders of Kemet built on a grand scale and did so in harmony with nature. The pyramids, the tombs carved inside of the mountains, the temples carved out of the mountains, the colossal statues, and the many works of art testify to the technological achievements of our ancestors that cannot be replicated today. The Metu Neter, also known as hieroglyphics, bear witness to the early development of literature, philosophy, mathematics, science and religion that form the bases of world civilization. They wrote endlessly and tirelessly all over Kemet so that we would be able to one day travel back to reclaim our history and our identity.

I travelled with Ashra and Merira Kwesi of Kemet Nu Productions, who explained the significance of many of the artifacts and Metu Neter. It was their videos on YouTube that convinced me that now was the time to go and that they should be the ones to take me on this journey. The videos of their tours to Kemet impressed me because they were so thorough and seemed to express a genuine desire to teach Black people about our history. I was also impressed by the fact that they had been traveling to Africa for thirty-seven years and knew the ins and outs of traveling in modern day Egypt. I felt safe at all times as we traveled to Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Nubia and Abu Simbel.

Although the tour lasted for two weeks, there was so much to see in Kemet that I’m already planning my next visit. My trip to Kemet has ignited a passion to travel to other countries and reconnect with my African roots because I realize how much I don’t know about who we are, where we come from and the magnitude of our potential. I also plan to visit Ethiopia, the mother of Kemet, so that I can take a step back further in time to better understand the origins of humanity which unarguably began in Africa. My goal is to learn as much as I can be a light within my circle of influence.

My goal is to learn as much as I can so that I can be a light within my circle of influence. – LaWanda Thomas