Slate Stone Music: #DoYou "Anyone committed to the effective improvement of the lives of human beings in general and of African American lives in particular must always deal with the vexing question of "so what?" Is the discussion just one that is supposed to be philosophical, entertaining or provocative or is it supposed to make a real difference in the social & personal lives of people. The "so what?" question for this definition of education is in the description of education as power. It is precisely this education that is as described as "self-knowledge," that empowers people to influence the environment to produce those necessities that ensure their advancement as a people & heals those disabilities that interfere with this advancement. "So what?" With a proper understanding of what education is & then the acquisition of that education, we become more acceptable vehicles for the advancement of other people's objectives, but we cast ourselves in starring roles on the stage of human progress. As we enter this new millennium, we must be clear that our positions must be dictated by our empowerment as human beings. We cannot continue to be reactors or participants in the vision & worldview of people who see us as fixtures in their world rather than as co-builders of the world that places our priorities & prospective at the top of the human agenda. The experiences of human degradation & challenge that have been endured & overcome by people of color during the last half of this millennium have been preparatory for African people. It has given properly educated African people a perspective on moral, social & spiritual world leadership that must be included in the continued progress of human beings on this planet. To exclude the perceptions from this misrepresented & ignored perspective simply dooms the world, as we know it to a pit of its own karmic destruction. It is for this reason that there is urgency for African people in particular to "know thyself," & for all of humanity to be committed to the honest knowledge of themselves and of others." #NaimAkbar #KnowledgeIsMoney #KnowThyself #WE #WeOnDeck #WeDV8 #WeWillNotBeSilent #1000Network