European Historiography and Oppression Exposed: An Afrikan Analysis and Perspective

This lecture was conducted by the late, great Amos Wilson who as a Black psychologist and political activist, has helped Afrikan people all around the world come to grips with the European system of Oppression and Domination and how it impacts them. Amos Wilson’s lectures allows the oppressed and colonized to see how we as Afrikans perpetuate oppression and domination as victims of the tentacles of white supremacy. This lecture focuses in on how the Europeans understanding, writing and rewriting of history can and tend to be used as a weapon. European historiography (European writing of history) is used as a myth to shape and condition the minds of the oppressed. Wilson argues that “the history of the oppressed as written by their oppressors, shape the consciousness and psychology of both oppressed and oppressor.”

Wilson argues that an Afrikan centered approach to the re-writing of history is vital to the process of self-determination and self-recreation. Wilson argues that, “this is a call for the healing of the wounds of Afrikan peoples; for Afrikan unity; for the freeing and expansion of Afrikan consciousness; for the re-re-conquest of Afrikan minds, bodies, lands, resources, and Afrikan autonomy.” Wilson argues that the reason there is such push back against the establishing of a truly Afrikan centered school, community or worldview is that something of this nature challenges the consciousness and psychology of the European. In 2017, black political activism must be in direct contention with the status quo of the European.

Wilson argues that European institutions, organizations and practices are not for the benefit of the Afrikan. Wilson writes, “The Eurocentric mental health establishment cannot provide adequate explanations, rationales, preventative and remedial practices for Afrikan peoples who psychology is of a singularly unique history.” We want what the European has so much that even if it comes at our expense or demise we want it. At some point, we as Afrikan people must embrace the fact that our needs are unique and require a unique approach. So, in fact, what is good for the goose may not be good for the gander.

The agenda of the black educator, lawyer, doctor, business executive, etc should be “the development of incisive critical disciplines which can make decisive contributions to the establishment of a new world social order.” The day and time for us as Afrikans to simply imitate and regurgitate the works of others must come to an end today. We must assert our stances, our agendas and programs for the betterment of the group. Wilson reminds us that we can and must cease to lay all our power in the hands of European law and judiciary process. He argues that laws alone cannot protect oppressed peoples. Oppressed peoples tend to need peoples or groups to enforce the laws. Wilson writes, “If it arises at some point in the future that Whites have to make a decision between feeding their children and ours, irrespective of what kinds of laws are on the books they are going to feed theirs and starve ours.”

One of the greatest tragedies of European colonization and imperialism has been the fact that our minds have been attacked and erased.  Wilson argues that we “have bought into the American concept of progress: the idea that things must over time necessarily get better.”  Wilson uses the supposed “Reconstruction” period to challenge the western concept of progress. Wilson writes, “the worst thing that can be said about some leaders of the Reconstruction period is that they did not seem to understand that the only issue was power.” Here, Wilson, highlights the fact that for any people whose status is based on the good will of another group of people or government then the status of that group is always in jeopardy. Wilson hypothesizes that if the group or government in power ever decides to change its mind regarding those people in need, then those folks lose the supposed gains provided to them by that group or government in charge.

Wilson argues that “if our education is not about gaining real power, we are being mis-educated and misled and we will die educated and misled.” Without a proper and critical analysis of the European historiography and pathology, oppressed people the world over are subject to be victims of European influence. Wilson argues that a critical study of Black history should “Instruct and Inform and transform.” He argues that the study of Black history has not proven to be a threat to white supremacy. Wilson argues “they do not see our study of it as a threat to their power…then we are studying it incorrectly, and our celebration of it is helping to maintain us in a state of deception.”

Wilson argues that the history and economics of the European serve “vital economic, political and social functions for the European.”  Wilson argues, “we must understand that it is in the nature of this racist culture to hide its political agenda. Therefore, it presents so called facts and information as if they have no political connections or implications.” The Afrikan of consciousness must understand that European economics, religion, sports, medicine, etc are serve the political functions and agendas of the European. Wilson uses the Skinner Rat as a metaphor for the oppressed.

Wilson argues that “the experimenter determines when this rat is going to eat, when it is going to drink; he determines the living conditions under which this rat must survive. The rat becomes conditioned and changes as a result of the fact that the man has control of vital things in its life.” Wilson argues that Skinnerian Psychology impacts the oppressed and their condition “reflects the conditions under which they are forced to survive as the result of a set of power relations.” Wilson goes on to argue that the conclusion from the political analysis of the Skinnerian rat is that the condition of the rat/oppressed is a socially created condition.

Wilson argues that the conditioned person (a result of Skinnerian psychology) “personality is a social creation.” That what it learns is the result “of a power differential between the conditioned and the experimenter, because the experimenter has power over the oppressed and uses that power to transform and create something new” in the conditioned person or people.

Wilson’s solutions and suggestions for overcoming the psychological trickery of European historiography is to combat it with, “political, economic and military action.” The psychohistory- or the psychological result of undergoing certain historical experiences creates the whole persons. Wilson argues that “we cannot take the psychology of Europeans…the educational psychology based on the history and experience of another people, and despite the best intentions of these educators they will mis-educate our children in terms of that psychology.”

The educational school system in America was designed for Europeans by Europeans. The agenda of American education is to educate American children (not Afrikaans, Asians and Latinos). Wilson argues, “we have a school system that is based upon the psychology of White children and White people. We are trying to educate our children in that system; they are bound to fail. The very structure of the educational; system itself is based upon a white model and therefore it has a built-in failure mechanism for us, one way or the other.”

Reprogramming is necessary to the survival of the Afrikan in America. Wilson argues that “the psychology of a culture is a symbolic precipitant of the kinds of experiences forced upon a group pf people by their history.” We as Afrikan’s born in America must understand that the reality that we experience is a socially constructed one. We must study our history before European contact and before mental and physical imperialism took root. Without critical analysis and understanding of our true history, we do not know our personality. Thus the false belief and perpetuation of white supremacy is possible by “lying, deceit and force.” Wilson argues that “European historiography functions to maintain a social system, to psychologize and create a personality orientation in its readers or hearer.” Through force, deceit and mental manipulation, European historiography creates normative beliefs and pathologies that conditions the mind and behaviors of the oppressed.