THE AFRICAN PRIDE PAGE

This is the story of a little boy named Theo, who woke up one morning and
asked God, "What if there were no Black people in the world?" Well, God
thought about that for a moment and then said, "Son, follow me around
today and let's just see what it would be like if there were no Black people in
the world. Get dressed and we will get started."
Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. But there were no
shoes, and his clothes were all wrinkled. He looked for the iron, but
when he reached for the ironing board, it was no longer there. You see Sarah
Boone, a Black woman, invented the ironing board and Jan E. Matzelinger,
a Black man, invented the shoe lasting machine. "Oh well," God said, "go
and to your hair." Theo ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was
not there. You see, Walter Sammons, a Black man, invented the comb. Theo
decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone. You see, Lydia
O. Newman, a Black female, invented the brush. Well, he was a sight, no
shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess without the hair care inventions of Madam C.
J. Walker, well, you get the picture. God told Theo, "Let's do the chores
around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store." Theo's job
was to sweep the floor. He swept and swept and swept. When he reached for
the dustpan, it was not there. You see, Lloyd P. Ray, a Black man, invented
the dustpan. So he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it
there. He then decided to mop the floor, but the mop was gone. You see, Thomas
W. Stewart, a Black man, invented the mop. Theo thought to himself, "I'm
not having any luck." "Well, son," God said, "we should wash the clothes and
prepare a list for the grocery store." When he was finished, Theo went
to place the clothes in the dryer, but it was not there. You see, George T.
Samon, a Black man, invented the clothes dryer. Theo got a pencil and
some paper to prepare the list for the market, but noticed that the pencil
lead was broken, well he was out of luck because John Love, a black man,
invented the pencil sharpener. He reached for a pen, but it was not there because
William Purvis, a Black man, invented the fountain pen. As a matter of
fact, Lee Burridge invented the type writing machine, and W. A. Lavette, the
printing press. So, they decided to head out to the market. Well, when
Theo opened the door, he noticed the grass was as high as he was tall. You
see, the lawn mower was invented by John Burr, a Black man. They made their
way over to the car and found that it just wouldn't go. You see, Robert
Spikes, a Black man, invented the automatic gear shift and Joseph Gammel invented
the supercharge system for internal combustion engines. They noticed that
the few cars that were moving were running into each other and having wrecks
because there were no traffic signals. You see, Garrett A. Morgan, a
Black man, invented the traffic light. Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their
groceries and returned home. Just when they were about to put away the milk, eggs
and butter, they noticed the refrigerator was gone. You see, John Standard,
a Black man, invented the refrigerator. So they put the food on the
counter. By this time, they noticed it was getting mighty cold. Theo went to turn up
the heat and what do you know, Alive Parker, a Black female, invented the
heating furnace. Even in the summer time they would have been out of
luck because Frederick Jones, a Black man, invented the air conditioner. It was almost time for Theo's father to arrive home. He usually took the bus, but there was no bus because it's
precursor was the electric trolley, invented by another Black man, Elbert
T. Robinson. He usually took the elevator from his office on the 20th floor,
but there was no elevator because Alexander Miles, a Black man, invented
the elevator. He usually dropped off the office mail at a nearby mailbox,
but it was no longer there because Phillip Downing, a Black man, invented the
letter drop mailbox and William Barry invented the postmarking and canceling
machine. Theo sat at the kitchen table with his head in
his hands. When his father arrived, he asked, " Why are you sitting in
the dark?" Why?? Because Lewis Howard Latimer, a Black man, invented the
filament within the light bulb. Theo quickly learned what it would be
like if there were no Black people in the world. Not to mention if he were
ever sick and needed blood. Charles Drew, a Black scientist, found a way to
preserve and store blood which led to his starting the world's first
blood bank. And, what if a family Member had to have surgery. This would not
have been possible without Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a
Black doctor, who performed the first open heart surgery. So, if you
ever wonder, like Theo, where we would be without Blacks? Well, it's pretty
plain to see, we could very well still be in the dark!!!

Gentlemen, I greet you here on the bank of the James River in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred an twelve. First, I shall thank you, the gentlemen of the Colony of Virginia, for bringing me here. I am here to help you solve some of your problems with slaves. Your invitation reached me on my modest plantation in the West Indies where I have experimented with some of the newest and still the oldest methods for control of slaves. Ancient Rome would envy us if my program is implemented. As our boat sailed south on the James River, name for illustrious King, whose version of the bible we cherish, I saw enough that your problem is not unique. While Rome used cords of wood as crosses for standing human bodies along its old highways in great numbers, you are here using the tree and rope on occasion.

I caught the whiff of a dead slave hanging from a tree a couple of miles back. You are not only losing valuable stock by hangings, you are having uprisings, slaves are running away, your crops are sometimes left in the fields too long for maximum profit, you suffer occasional fires, your animals are killed. Gentlemen, you know what your problems are; I do not need to elaborate. I am not here to enumerate your problems, I am here to introduce you to a method of solving them.

In my bag here, I have a fool proof method for controlling your Black slaves. I guarantee everyone of you that if installed correctly it will control the slaves for at least 300 years. My method is simple. Any member of your family of your overseer can use it.

I have outlined a number a number differences among the slaves, and I take these differences and make them bigger. I use fear, distrust and envy for control purposes. These methods have worked on my modest plantation in the West Indies and it will work throughout the South. Take this simple little list of differences and think about them. On top of my list is "Age" but it is there only because it starts with an "A"; the second is "Color" or shade, there is intelligence, size, sex, Size of plantations, status of plantation , attitude of owners, whether the slaves live in the valley, or on a hill, East, West, North, South, have fine hair or coarse hair, or is tall of short. Now that you have a list of differences, I shall give you and outline of action -- but before that I shall assure you that distrust is stronger than trust, and envy is stronger than adulation, respect or admiration.

The Black slave after receiving this indoctrination shall carry on and will become self re-fueling and self-generation for hundreds of years, maybe thousands.

Don't forget you must pitch the old Black vs. the young Black male, and the young Black male against the old Black male. You must use the dark skin slaves vs. The light skin slaves vs. the dark skinned slaves. You must use the female vs. The male and the male vs. The female. You must also have your White servants and overseers distrust all Blacks , but it is necessary that your slaves trust and depend on us. They must love, respect and trust only us.

Gentlemen, these Kits are your Keys to control. Use them. Have your wives and children use them, never miss the opportunity. If use intensely for one year, the slaves themselves will remain perpetually distrustful.

Thank you gentlemen.