In the New Panther Vanguard Movement we believe that at this juncture in our efforts to build a mass, sustainable  movement, our greatest enemy is our people's internalized hatred of themselves. Negative images about us, our history and our culture bombard us every moment of our lives. This negation of anything African or indigenous dates back to the days of slavery and the need of Europeans to justify their slaughter and savage enslavement of people of color. It was around this time that ideas of race and racism were developed. "Scientists", often funded by stolen wealth or profits made from slavery gave racist beliefs respectability. Theories were developed about the natural inferiority of non-white people, all of which have since been proved to be false. These ideas, such as Blacks having a smaller brain, are now ridiculed. Yet even though the more outlandish of these theories have been discarded since the abolition of slavery, and even though the language of institutionalized racism has changed, the central message remains: People of color are inferior to whites.

During slavery, whites understood that in order to keep Blacks "ignorant" they had to be kept from any knowledge or understanding of their own history. Many methods were employed to try and maintain a "slave mentality"  Black people were forbidden from practicing their own religious beliefs, from speaking their own languages or learning to read. Since that time, through commitment and sacrifice, we have won our basic human rights; and do now have access to "free education," at least form K-12. However, this education that we receive is designed to continue our mental slavery and to keep us ignorant of any knowledge of who we really are. Our rich cultural heritage is never taught; in American schools our history begins with the arrival of Europeans and our enslavement. We are never taught about the amazingly peaceful and highly developed civilizations predating the emergence of European "civilization."  It is practically "forbidden" to teach about the numerous slave rebellions of our ancestors, nor are we taught the "whole truth" about the Christianized Europeans.

 In fact, the education system is leading the efforts to keep our minds in chains. The absurd theories of the past have been replaced with others that are in reality equally absurd. In 1851 Samuel Cartwright, a prominent physician in Louisiana published an essay in which he identified two mental diseases afflicting Blacks. One of these, "Drapetomania" was an uncontrollable urge to run away form their "masters" the treatment was "whipping the devil out of them". The other "Dysaesthesia Aethiopis" was supposed to affect both mind and body, the symptoms of which were disobedience, answering disrespectfully, and refusing to work. The "cure" for this was to make the person do hard labor, which supposedly sent "vitalized blood to the brain to give liberty to the mind".

Today we laugh at these theories, but most of us accept their modern counterparts without question. In schools today our children are labeled as "hyperactive," "seriously emotionally disturbed," "learning disabled," and even "mentally retarded". Most of us dutifully accept such diagnosis and give our children the prescribed drugs like "ritalin" and never raise an eyebrow. The truth is that our kids cannot pay attention in schools because the curriculum has no relevance to them. The problems in the education system are not even acknowledged, never mind addressed; and once again we become the problem. Indigenous children are twice as likely and African-American children are more than twice as likely to be labeled as "retarded" compared to whites. Many of the drugs that are prescribed to these children are known to cause violent and suicidal behavior. 
 "To oppress a race, and then label its reaction as a "mental illness," is not only morally wrong, it is criminal and a fraud."

Is it not interesting that suicide rates amongst teenagers have increased massively? For example, the rate of suicide among African-American males between 15 and 19 has risen by 219% since 1964! 

Well, one might argue, at least now we can learn to read. The fact is that while in 1930, 80% of Blacks over the age of 14 could read, by 1990, only 56% of Blacks over the age of 14 could read. $31 billion of taxpayers money is spent every year on "special education." Lets be clear, it is used to negatively label and stigmatize our children and keep them ignorant. As a doctor, William Titman said in 1995 "To oppress a race, and then label its reaction as a "mental illness," is not only morally wrong, it is criminal and a fraud."

It is not only the educational system that is used to perpetrate this fraud, television, movies etc. are all part of the arsenal used to keep our minds colonized. The problem is not individual racist beliefs, but rather  the fact  that racism is thoroughly institutionalized and thus permeates practically everything. Understanding "institutional racism" requires learning the "history of racism." 

This is not your usual brand of "education," but is a form of "education for critical consciousness." There can be no "blind acceptance" of anything that is read in the newspapers, written in most "books," or seen on the TV and at the movies. The NPVM is dedicated and committed to leading and waging an uncompromising ideological fight against racism. The key component of this campaign is education; educating ourselves and anyone else we can, and understanding that education is a life-long endeavor. There is nothing glamorous about this work and it is not a "quick fix" solution, but in order to be sustainable the movement we build must be based on a long range strategy. "Education in Our Interest" is our motto. "Peace, Justice and Reparations" is our just demand.