Insights | The Importance of History

In this post, we delve into the importance of history according to the Universal Zulu Nation , what motivates this interest , and why this subject is important to everyone, using some recent historical events as examples. 

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The Universal Zulu Nation has always placed three main points at the centre of its Infinity Lessons: 

- Knowledge

-The search for Truth related to facts 

-Sharing/Distributing these .

Indeed, the reason behind the birth of Infinity Lessons was the need to convey information and knowledge—for personal and intellectual improvement  (by intellectual, we mean general culture) to the ghetto population in a way that was more accessible and based on direct, experiential transmission based on trust . The word "trust" in this case has a truly significant specific weight, linked to its opposite: distrust of the system.

In fact, this type of transmission has an Afro-diasporic origin,  that is, it concerns all African culture linked to the diaspora created by  colonialism and  slavery , which continued with all its consequences even in the post-slavery era (civil rights movement and modern era). 

Slavery and post-slavery are  obviously  two very different eras, but they share an important common thread. The former saw the export of humankind and cultural annihilation coupled with Christian-based religious indoctrination (from which the gospels would emerge). The latter, on the other hand, is an era tied to the struggle for rights, equality, knowledge, and equal opportunities, which culminated in a search for one's own origins and OWN HISTORICAL TRUTH.  Indeed, it must be borne in mind that much of African culture and the value of the human race had been erased and diminished in order to facilitate human trafficking and exploitation, while attempting to prevent any form of rebellion.

The final part of the post-slavery era before entering the modern era (which, while better, still features many themes tied to the African diaspora), is an era closely intertwined and connected to the birth of Hip Hop and its culture.  The pioneers were born and lived through the end or birth of many of these movements, experiencing situations of social, racial, and economic injustice  firsthand, between the late 1960s and early 1970s . This was the dawn of an era linked to the possibility of "private and personalized" (i.e., outside the system)  information , dedicated to people of color and created by people of color, that is, by people genuinely interested in the well-being of that population. This was also due to the emancipation of many of these leaders and the resulting economic possibilities and the acquisition of the tools to do so, usually purchased with the financial support of the entire community. In those years, the black nationalist movements gave rise to the concept of a black and colored nation , a concept that had its strong point in the numerical union of people , where the union of a nation was strength, concepts that also strongly influenced the Zulu Nation, literally Zulu NATION, which has always had UNION as its fundamental principle.

Let us remember that in that period the use of knowledge in general could not be as widespread as in the future internet era , for this reason information was transmitted orally (especially in the slavery era and in the first part of the civil rights era, see the enormous importance that orators had in African-American culture ), through flyers, self-published books and music (see committed Soul and Funk). 

The struggle for personal rights and the long-lasting wound caused by the erasure of one's original culture has opened up issues and dynamics concerning subsequent generations , which are not coincidentally called , in America, "hip-hop generations," which include the entire American population born and raised after the birth of this culture. These are issues  that largely remain to be fully resolved , but which have permeated the Universal Zulu Nation (and therefore all hip-hop culture) and its Infinity Lessons, but not only that, but also the way in which these were formed and transmitted. Not only in hip-hop but also in reggae, for example.

The loss of self-esteem and underestimation , the loss of one's own culture and therefore one's roots, ultimately led to a distrust (I would even say justified given the events) of information and education, given that the history and appreciation of original African culture had been completely erased by colonial society. This was the motivation, in addition to the urban economic one linked to ghettoization and school cuts, why information was formed around a system of personal-experiential transmission also based on trust.  On the security and esteem of those who transmitted it , as they themselves wanted your best interests (as a member of your same shitty situation) stemming from a shared interest in social and economic improvement and personal revaluation. 

It was the basic system of the "Each One Teach One" model applied during slavery (an explanation of the motto can be found on our website and in our book ). The Infinity Lessons themselves are based on the same model , where knowledge was transmitted in every field of human   knowledge through direct transmission (especially for the initial UZN, as you will later understand that on a global level this is more complex) , written and unwritten ( especially for the initial UZN, as you will later understand that this is more complex on a global level), with a primary focus on Hip Hop Culture, Law, Civil Rights, Health and HISTORY.  This system has continued to persist through the UZN Books given to members, and at the Meetings of the Minds , where everything was explored and explained in depth through conferences .

In fact, aside from the Infinity Lessons on the history and philosophy of Hip Hop, and those on personal development, almost all the remaining ones concern history and law . Why , then , are history and law so important for UZN ? Obviously, given everything we've said previously, where history was written and passed down by the victors, erasing or omitting an important part regarding African culture, the African-American people also had to challenge the law and history to regain their rights . Furthermore, it must be taken into account that history and law often go hand in hand in their changes , thus becoming evident how important knowledge of history and law is for a people who were first subjugated and enslaved and finally freed through the latter, and deprived of their own through the former . 

This is why Knowledge is  a fundamental precept of the Universal Zulu Nation and of Hip Hop Culture as a symbol of Rights, Freedom, Independence, and Strength. Knowledge of one's own Culture and History  should safeguard it from within  (through the knowledge of its members; this is why the entry process into our chapter includes study and admission tests)  from possible rewriting and exploitation by others. This has, in any case, happened in Hip Hop Culture in some aspects, through the writing and dissemination of incorrect terms by the mass media, the recording industry , and the personal interests of many artists . However, those who have had direct transmission of knowledge, whether through luck or personal research, have understood the importance of keeping historical roots intact , and in addition to having Knowledge of Hip Hop, have also received more universal teachings. This has allowed the creation of a hard core that still has the strength to carry on the tradition and its history. If it hadn't been for all this, Hip Hop Culture would probably have fallen apart much earlier and very quickly.

In any case, one of the imperatives of the Infinity Lessons concerns the rewriting of history by the victors , where much of the history of other civilizations is erased.  This is why the Zulu Nation later became Universal , or Universal, because the goal was to collect true and real information from all cultures, in order to know their true histories and, knowing them, place them in a common (universal) pool from which everyone could input or draw the history of their own people without passing through external filters. Obviously , on a scientific level, this can create many difficulties since there would need to be careful control of the sources, but it is also true that from the African-American point of view (of the time in the 60s, 70s, and 80s), the educational-social-political filter could not be used given the situation . In this time of profound geopolitical change, where the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which recasts history in America's favor , may have been overlooked, we wonder how Mexicans of future generations will view it. These things have happened repeatedly throughout human history, losing valuable traditions and information. If, in 5,000 years, history books erased the name Gulf of Mexico and referred to the Gulf of America without explaining the abuse of power that occurred with this, history would be altered. Knowing and preserving it is a humanitarian duty, a service to all humanity, as well as a means of helping us understand various political and social contexts. This is true, for example, of the entire political issue and war between NATO and Russia, which did not arise in recent years, but since the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Not knowing history prevents us from having a clear understanding of the facts. History is important in every field, in everything we do, from the most micro to the most macro level. The African people have discovered this firsthand, and have transmitted it to the world through UZN and Hip Hop Culture.

We know it's a challenge, especially for the younger generation, to understand the scope of studying history, but know that it's important to do so. The Universal Zulu Nation has always focused on knowing the truth based on facts, and this cannot be separated from knowing the true and just history of all peoples. 

If it's difficult to start with general history, let's start with the history of what we like, in this case, Hip Hop Culture, and then expand to the rest. In fact, studying history is right and proper in any case: for example, studying one's own history can be a great lesson, and is used as an exercise in all schools of self-improvement: the history of one's family, the history of one's city, one's passion, and so on. Keeping in mind that 

STUDYING HISTORY IS LIKE STUDYING TIME.

STUDYING HISTORY IS LIKE STUDYING SPACE.

SPACE AND TIME THUS BECOME AN EXPRESSION OF OUR INDIVIDUAL STORIES WHICH TRANSFORM INTO COLLECTIVE STORIES AND HISTORY.

Peace

[article by Ahki Smogone]