I've been on this journey for about 15 years now. I'm done with honoring slave masters with the last name that I have. I've done African Ancestry Dot Com for my Father's side of the family. Some of the results were disappointing, but some others they left out I knew from talking to family members. Anyway I plan on changing my last name sometime this year. I'll put in the paperwork, new SSN, Drivers License(which is due for renewal this year anyway), and let people process into calling me my new name. The only holdup is deciding if I want a Madagascar name or a Cherokee Indigenous People's name. Indians are from India folks, Columbus was lost and never set foot on this land. Yes I am up late writing this, I find the last few years writing is threapeutic for me. I'll never get rid of my first name because my Mother gave it to me. I will not insult her by changing it, I will though use either the Madagascar or Cherokee name for Timothy. I will not stop learning, as none of us ever should stop learning, otherwise you probably should be dead. I'll keep researching my family roots because the white man of America took it away from my ancestors. I am proud of my African heritage and if that's a problem for white America, I don't give a darn. Other races are proud of their Irish, German, English, Latino, Asian heritages etc. Why not us. The Nation Of Islam has it partly right in that we are a Lost Tribe. We do not know who we are as a people. This is part of the reason why we struggle in this strange land.
Yes I was born in America, as a lot of black people are, but this is not where we are from. I hope more of us try to discover who we really are. As a people we will not progress as we should as long as we are in bondage from who we really are. Well, I intend to not be in bondage anymore, and a name is very important. It says who you are, how strong or weak you may be as a person, as your constitution dictates. I'm writing this because I put this out on fakebook oops facebook a few years ago. I let my friends on that cowardly forum into what my plans were in this area. I made up my mind a long time ago, no one in this world would stop me from this discovery of myself and who I am. Not racists, not folks who think they are not racists but are, not other lost black people who have been so brainwashed, they have no clue who they are, or who their brothers and sisters as people are. I'm not falling for the banana in the tailpipe in people wanting to label me a racist for trying to find out who I am. Or telling the truth about the white establishment and wanting to keep black people brainwashed and in a permanent underclass. A lot of us are so blinded, we do our best to pull our own people down. We as a people have fallen for that trick for centuries and killing each other over territory that is not ours. Doing things to try to belong to groups that do more harm to our people than good. I can bet folks will treat me different with this first and last name. It's the epitome of what this country really is. I know some racist folks will say "go back to Africa". I say to them go back to where your ancestors came from, because you don't belong here either. Black people built this country into what it is with the infrastructure. Every day of my life my last name has honored slave masters who beat and forced these names on us. Kunta Kinte to Toby was real and to think a lot of folks laugh when that is talked about. Roots was a true story folks. Even the food we eat here is not what was meant for our people, our ancestors were able to bring some of our food to America, but we eat a lot of what we should not be eating. Yes I include myself because I am just as guilty as everyone else. I was raised on this food because we could not afford the good quality food that keep a lot of wealthy people alive longer than the poor. I might add Yeshua, to some of you Jesus Christ walked with the downtrodden, poor, destitute when he walked the Earth. He did not hang with the rich.
In any event as I said the name change is coming, and I will forgive folks for using my old name till they get used to it. I'll give my friends and family a year to get used to it. After that, if you use my old name there will be problems. Of course my Mother and my Father can use my old name anytime they want. Same for my Wife, Children, and family members. I will respectfully request that you call me by my new name, which I will carry with pride. I will be rid of that slave name, which unconsciously can make you carry a slave mentality. It creeps into your mannerisms, how you look, how you act, and how you treat other people. It's mostly a psychological thing not a physical thing. To my family, I always love you. I love all ya'll, I love all ya'll. A new beginning for me and I hope my self discovery emboldens other black people to want to go find out who they really are, Themselves and where their family came from. As the Nation Of Islam said we are a lost tribe, and will continue to be lost by allowing the white establishment to dictate to us, and it starts with our names, ends with our names, and would continue with our names. Names are very important. I'll leave you as I always do with people, God Bless and Peace To The Creatures.
