“Historiography may function as propaganda- propaganda being an effort to persuade people to a point of view on an issue. History can be used to intimidate. European achievements are inflated and the next thing we know, we are asking ourselves ‘How can we fight this great people?’ We’ve been frightened! They talk about the great discoveries they’ve made and we say to ourselves, ‘Hey, we’d better hang in with these people because if we lose them we’re going back to the Dark Ages.’ We think this way because they’ve destroyed our confidence, our capacity to think for ourselves and to believe that we are capable of creating a world as great or greater than the Eurocentric one that presently exists. In this way European historiography functions to maintain a social system, to ‘psychologize’ and create a personality orientation in its readers or hearers.” -From, “The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness” By: Amos N. Wilson

“If we don’t know our history, or if we’ve made our history unconscious and therefore placed it out of awareness, that unconscious history becomes a source of unconscious motivation, then why we behave the way we do becomes a puzzle. We’re confused by our own behavior. If we want to know why we behave the way we do then we must know our history: the unconscious must be made conscious.” -From, “The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness” By: Amos N. Wilson

“We have an issue here that I call the projection and image of history. History has been down-played in this society. History has a poor reputation; often it is looked upon by too many people as essentially a set of dates and events. People ask: ‘Why should I study these events; what does it have to do with today?’ It is as if they say, ‘OK, it may be used to explain how some things came about in today’s world, but probably we could live without it.’ Often history- among even many of our people- even so-called Black History itself, has been looked upon as irrelevant and unprofitable. The idea is, ‘Why study Black History; it’s not going to make me any money? It’s not going to get me a job; what can you do with it? You should get yourself a degree in computer science; get yourself a trade. I’m not interested in Black Power; I’m interested in Green Power.’ These statements express foolish concepts. When we hear them we recognize that the individual has not seen the connection between history, power and money. There is a direct connection between history and economics.

I often say in this regard that if there were not a direct relationship between history and money, a direct relationship between history and power, history and rulership, history and domination, then why is it that the European rewrote history? Why is it that the European wants to rewrite our history and distort it? Why is it that he doesn’t want to present it at all? Apparently the rewriting, the distortion and the stealing of our history must serve vital economic, political and social functions for the European, or else he would not bother and try so hard to keep our history away from us, and to distort it in our own minds. Let us meditate on these issues and I think we’ll come to realize that there is a direct relationship between history and economics, political and social development.

History is projected in this culture as being irrelevant, I don’t think by accident. Again, if it is made to look irrelevant, if it is made to look unprofitable, then making it appear so must serve some profitable purpose. When courses in college or university are apparently presented ‘non-politically,’ ‘objectively,’ ‘neutrally,’ they are actually presented in the most political way. We must understand that it is in the nature of this racist culture to hide its political agenda. Therefore, it presents so-called facts and information as if they have no political connections or implications.” -From, “The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness” By: Amos N. Wilson

“The study of history cannot be a mere celebration of those who struggled on our behalf. We must be instructed by history and should transform history into concrete reality, into planning and development, into the construction of power and the ability to ensure our survival as a people. If not, Black History Month becomes an exercise in the inflation of egos; it becomes an exercise that cuts us further off from reality. Ironically, we now even see other people who are not our friends joining us in this celebration, which means that they must see in it some means of protecting their own interests, and see in it something that works for them, and possibly even against us. If they can celebrate our history and see it as something positive, then it means that we are not using it in a revolutionary sense. They do not see our study of it as a threat to their power. If we are not studying it in a way that it is a threat to their power then we are studying it incorrectly, and our celebration of it is helping to maintain us in a state of deception. So let us make sure that we look at and study history in a light such that it advances out interests, not inflates our egos and blinds us to reality.” -From, “The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness” By: Amos N. Wilson