Mwalimu K. Bomani BarutiA Warrior Scholar Speaks:
Seems like more and more concerned adults have been asking me “what to do now.” This response is taken from the “Seeds” essay in Clarity.
In no particular order, what follows is a short listing of various ideas which we should consider as we busy our spirits, minds and bodies with finding commonsensical answers to how the best possible security can and will be maintained for our children and Elders by Warriors. We suggest that Warriors add their own ideas to this list and circulate it among those who have a need to know.
Security should be an automatic priority at every single solitary Afrikan gathering. Centered Afrikans should never congregate without a responsible, security-conscious adult presence. The number, age, sex or agenda of those who have come together makes no difference. This rule should apply, even if only two are gathered in our name, even if it is a “Mamas Only” event, whether the gathering is planned or formal or not. Security does not have to be inside the space where the activity is occurring in order to have an effective presence. In the event of larger activities, there needs to be a formal coordination of the various centered security forces beforehand. Of course, this is something which requires an ongoing dialogue between Warrior men’s groups.
Our children need to be made to understand that we are not trying to restrict or constrain them when we limit their movement inside and outside of our secure, sacred spaces. As many times as necessary, explain to them what’s out there beyond our control and the signs which can alert them to it. Certainly, keeping them safely within arm’s reach might be difficult in a reality mouthing children’s “rights” and “personal freedoms” in all situations. However, adult control is critical for their safety and our sanity as their parents and guardians. Warriors have to recognize that spoiling children directly hampers our ability to control and protect them. It undermines the probability of safety in dangerous situations because spoiled children have not learned to listen and obey the instructions of someone old and wise enough to sense danger and keep them from it. Therefore, they can easily run into deadly situations even when under our watch.
Security clubs/groups which emphasize weaponry (gun, bow and arrow, stick, knife, slingshot, kwk) training (i.e., safety, practice and construction) should be formed and permanently maintained. Every Warrior and Warrior-in-Training should become skilled in making weapons and individually select one in which to become an “expert.” Excursions need to be designed to regularly take the mamas (and babas and children) to the range or, especially, any rural property we own for weapon and survival training. Families and communities should together map out and go on regular camping trips together. Readings and videos on survival issues should be made a regular, required part of the school and home curricula. Martial arts and weapons training must be made readily available for the Sisters and any others whose responsibilities constantly keep them in close proximity with our children.
Every child should learn some form of martial arts, be it capoeira, karate, tae kwon do, wrestling, boxing or some other. (Every Afrikan child needs to learn an Afrikan martial art. If it’s not available locally, then any martial art will do until an Afrikan one can be found since these fighting skills originated in the Motherland. Poor or not, our children need to learn how to defend themselves and the discipline that goes along with it. Our Sisters, in particular, need to know the mechanics of artillery and develop a confident marksmanship in some weaponry, be it a handgun, rifle, crossbow, knife, kwk. For those who have not noticed, almost every gun magazine out has a cover or articles featuring european women and children learning the art of survival and marksmanship. All of them are being prepared for what they know is inevitable, while we and our children are mastering the art of being entertained and entertaining them. There has never been a time when these agents of disorder have not been engaged in or preparing to engage in war against others. Those they destroy are quickly pacified out of any desire to defend themselves. Knowing the innate need in Europeans for violent destruction and domination of others, only a fool would not find some weapon to master. If there are no practical, potentially effective weapons available, then the body must be trained into one. No Afrikan should ever be defenseless in a european reality.)
Security drills are of extreme importance to family and community security, whether in enclosed spaces or out in the open. Being prepared means knowing what to do in case of emergency. But, because we are in a state of war, we must be primarily concerned with military preparedness. There is no excuse for any Warrior family, school or community activity to not have a way of quickly making our children “invisible” so that the adults can freely handle any intrusion without having to be concerned for their safety. (“Interestingly, and though it should be common sense, security drills are the one aspect of communal security that we seriously overlook. However, their importance to our safety in the face of this terror we call western society can never be emphasized enough. At this time, wherever we are on this planet, we are in alien occupied spaces. And nationalists should never feel secure in any space we do not fully control. Never. Therefore, we must take our security drills more seriously than any other type of survival strategy because the greatest threat to our existence comes from other people, not natural disasters. So, what do the children do and what do the adults do when an lien threat comes to the front door? the back door? any given window? is able to successfully enter the premises? What plans have been put in place? What early warning systems have been established? What drills are regularly exercised which will alert and move us into planned, practiced action in defense of our children and space? If we truly believe that we are at war, then we should be acting accordingly.” — Baruti, Message to The Warriors)
In our immediate families and the larger centered community, we must make our children feel a deep sense of responsibility for each other’s welfare. Every child (and each cohort) must be made to feel that it is their personal duty and obligation to look out for any child younger than them.
Not only must we protect our children from confused or alien adults, we must also teach them how to protect themselves from the influence or physical violence of corrupted children. We must especially be aware of the children of parents who claim to be of the “conscious” community but whose politics and behaviors indicate otherwise. Peer pressure is very real and compromised children use it as leverage to turn uncompromised children against their righteousness. This is a form of mental violence which our children should never have to experience. We must teach them how to stand behind their Afrikan mind and show them the way to be courageous enough to physically and mentally separate themselves from other children who will lead them into the desert.
Children should not be exempt from our formal defensive activities. They can easily be arranged into junior security forces with specific age-appropriate responsibilities. Channels of communication between these groups and the adult security forces must be formally established so that, in the case of a threat, danger or other form of emergency, there is no miscommunication and age-appropriate responsibilities are understood. Generally speaking, their role is as additional eyes and ears of the adult security forces. In this role, they should be trained to immediately report any suspicious activity to responsible adults. I am constantly amazed at the pride our children take when they are given this honored responsibility, an honor they see as usually reserved for grown folk.
We have to begin to think in terms of being in constant training. We have to begin to locate the military/survival aspect of everything we do so as to enhance our skills in all areas of combat and survival. Therefore, every situation, from driving to gardening to reading to listening to the stereo, must be interpreted as a survival/security practice situation.
In the same way, we have to develop our scouring skills to where they become second nature. No matter the environment, we should be on the constant lookout for things which can be used as weapons and places which can be used for leverage or concealment.
Our children deserve around the clock deliberate, not incidental or accidental, protection. No child should be left behind or by themselves, or be allowed to find their way into such a situation. They must always be in our sight, whether we are referring to our own schools, play areas, yards, homes, meeting places or alien spaces. The hunt is on and our children are the prey.
Danger areas need to be identified for everyone. Specifically, they need to be identified as being anywhere we find ourselves outside the centered community.
Know who is in your center. Know their backgrounds. Do not dismiss contradictions as irrelevant. They are indicative of the quality of one’s character. Thoroughly investigate any question of character or intent. Keep homos and promos (those who pretend not to be homosexual but defend the homosexualization of Afrikans even more fiercely than those who are openly homosexual) out of our communities and away from our children, by any means necessary. Remove whoever does not belong, immediately.
In short, Warriors have to build communities where we know each other and have established inviolable, human, Afrikan parameters for everyone within them. When we know each other, we will help each other because we trust each other and know we are one. When we trust each other and know that we are our Ancestors, we will protect each other from harm and evil without fear or qualification.
Akachineke Azubuike
Udemezue Onyioha