Pres 1- Learning, Wisdom and the African World Experience

Aisha J. Brownlee
Freshman Seminar
Monday 12:10-1:00

In our first lecture in freshman seminar we discussed the topic, learning, wisdom, and the African experience. The objective of this lecture was to draw the connection to learning and wisdom, reflect on the African foundations of our intellectual scholars at Howard University, and to open our minds to the African experience and engage in our historical roots. Throughout the lecture we discussed the many intellectual works of Africans and their contributions to society, but, we focused heavily on the connection between learning and wisdom. We began our lecture discussing the basic terms that helps shape African culture. Learning and wisdom contributions such as these terms created by the Egyptians have transferred to today’s African communities. These basic terms were evidence of African deep thought. We discussed how Africans were the first thinkers and developed many concepts that Europeans adopted and called their own. Many Africans are mis-educated because the learning of African culture has been forgotten, hidden, and water down in the traditional textbooks. To treat this problem (the mis-educating of African Americans) there must be a trigger of remembrance of our genealogy of African learning and wisdom. To do this there needs to be a reconnection of our forgotten roots. To access these connections one could look to literature, music, or art. Hidden in each work are the ancestors’ experience and wisdom that Europeans have worked so diligently to hide from Africans. As we move forward to an advancing society it is more than ever important to trace our roots and educate ourselves on our history. To do that, a series of memories that our ancestors have left for us must be uncovered and remembered in order to pass them down to the next generations. When those generations receive the knowledge of our past they should continue to pass it down by educating African communities and helping them to gain insight to who they are and where they come from.