The Falsification of African Consciousness

Dr. Amos Wilson

Know Thyself Study Group
www.kemetrise.org
Who Was This Man?
! IMO, Dr. Amos Wilson was the greatest psychologist
of all time
! Born in 1941, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Died in 1995, New York City
! Educated at Morehouse College and Fordham
University (Ph.D. in Psychology)
! Social Worker, Probation Officer, Trainer, Counselor,
and Professor at CUNY
! Applied Fields: Developmental Psychology, Child
Psychology
What Were His Goals?
! To contribute to our knowledge of self by studying
two aspects of our psychology: (1) our levels of
consciousness and (2) the connection between our
psychological development and our progress as a
people
! To provide information on our psychological history
! To analyze the ways in which we can re-structure
our psychology in order to change our political, social,
and economic circumstances
Our Consciousness
An Introduction
What Is Consciousness?
! Consciousness is a type of power
! We use consciousness to solve problems through our
will
! Our level of consciousness determines our behaviors
! Consciousness is affected by social interactions
! African consciousness has been tremendously
affected by our relationship with white people
! Contains 3 elements
Three Elements of Consciousness:
1. Contents
2. Instrumentalities
3. Directional Organization
Contents: Beliefs, Opinions, Knowledge, Perceived
Knowledge, Self-Perceptions, Worldview,
Conditioned Responses
Instrumentalities: The way we use the contents of our
mind
Directional Organization: How we show our
consciousness through the goals we pursue, the
values we hold, and the reasons behind our
thoughts
How Has White Supremacy Falsified
Our Consciousness?:
1. By giving us false contents: a false history, false
knowledge, false fantasies
2. By impairing our ability to think: We have become
confused about what knowledge is, who it belongs
to, and how it should be used
3. By Falsifying our Values: Causing us to value the
wrong things, desire the wrong things, pursue the
wrong thingsthings that are contrary to our well-
being and our interests as a people
The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness
The Book
What Is The Purpose of The Book?
1. The book was written to satisfy many requests to
make the information in his lectures available in
print format
2. The book draws on 2 lectures: (1) European
Historiography and Oppression Exposed and
(2) European Political Dogmatism
2. In both of these lectures, Dr. Wilson talks about
how history has shaped our psychological make-up,
has caused us to be in a perpetual state of amnesia
about who we are and what we should be doing
How Is the Book Organized?
The book is organized into 3 parts:
Part 1:
European Historiography and Oppression Exposed
This part of the book discusses the relationship
between history and psychology. Specifically, he
focuses on the aspect of oppression that has lead
to cultural amnesia, a loss of power, and economic
inequality
How Is the Book Organized?
The book is organized into 3 parts:
Part 2:
Eurocentric Political Dogmatism
This part of the book discusses how our mental health
has been affected by our political circumstances.
He ties in important concepts such as
individualism, sanity versus insanity, repression,
and self-transformation
How Is the Book Organized?
The book is organized into 3 parts:
Part 3:
The Political Psychology of Black Consciousness
This part of the book discusses how we have been
taught to normalize ideas that are not ours but
also how white psychology ideas have mis-labeled
us as deviant and abnormal. This is all part of the
plan to falsify our consciousness
What Should We Get From This Book?
For the most part, this will depend on what youre
bringing to it. But, we should at least be able to
understand these things:
! How the system of white supremacy has affected
and continues to affect our minds
! The process that was used to create a
psychological nightmare for African people. We
should see some parallels to Naim Akbars concept
of alien identity.
! What factors we must consider as we re-structure
our minds, our thinking, and our values so that we
can improve our condition.
A Final Note:
This is not necessarily a book geared toward
solutions. For that, youll have to take a look at
some of his other works (mainly Blueprint For
Black Power). Instead, this book offers an
explanation and analysis of psychological condition
so that we can better understand where we are at
this point.