It takes and entire village to raise a single child

African Proverb

DIA: THE FUTURE AMERICA ASHANTAWA PLAN

Ashantawa means free village. This proposal is written with the African  proverb "It takes an entire village to raise a single child" in mind. It is  based on breakthrough basic research, the application of which will generate a  model for freedom and transformation.

This program is designed to provide new attitudes, new understandings, new  will, new realities measured by new visions, new values, new efforts and new  tools. It is a program for the whole community-for parents, teachers,  administrators, health care providers, businessmen and women, government  officials, and all others. It is a program designed to transform our towns and  cities into free villages that address the holistic needs and rights of our  children and of all people.

For an antidote to a problem to be adopted a proper diagnosis must be made.  In the case of the American people, this means acknowledging the historical  roots of the social crisis in the United States of America. Dr. Nkosi Ajanaku,  Esquire, founder and chief researcher of the Future America Basic Research  Institute, has discovered that slavery still exists in the United States of  America and that it dominates the lives of all Americans. How this is manifested  varies based on one's ethnic background. However its reach is total. Dr. Nkosi  has developed a plan to end slavery beginning with the least among us, the  African American child.

If slavery is the diagnosis, what is the antidote? This is the breakthrough  discovery made by Dr. Nkosi more than a quarter of a century ago. The antidote  to slavery is Ethnicity.

Ethnicity is a scientific principle which identifies the individual as being  whole from birth and accountable for his or her own freedom. It is through  instituting Ethnicity that the design of the American revolution and the  potential of the American dream as expressed by Dr. Martin Luther King can be  fulfilled.

Ethnicity is the starting point for love, trust, confidence, responsibility,  accountability, etc., all of which must be presented for the principles in the  Declaration of Independence to be actualized. In slavery Africans lost their  memory of Africa and accepted the language and psychology of slavery as being  real. The language and psychology of slavery is represented, among other ways,  by race, by the words "black" and "white." In a racial mindset the emphasis is  on what, not who. "Black" and "white" are adjectives describing what we are, not  nouns describing who we are. In reality there are no such thing as "black"  people or "white" people. This plan is designed to reverse this and other slave  dynamics which still exist to this day.

The plan will be instituted initially in one or more specific neighborhoods,  perhaps identified by the boundaries on school districts. It will include  teachers who instruct at district schools but live outside the district, as well  as police and fire personnel, librarians, other city workers and others.

Specially trained Future America workers will take a census of the area,  while at the same time seeking the availability of the citizens for  participation and partnership in the project. Specific applications based on the  unique demographics and psychographics will be made immediately following a  computer analysis and the generation of a strategic plan. From beginning to end  this process will take no longer than one month.

While this process is occurring, a general education and orientation process  for the community will be taking place. Renaming the community will be an  organizing theme, with a community celebration to take place on the date the  strategic plan is to be unveiled.

This strategic plan will involve organizing the community into a working  village, within the political auspices of the existing municipality. It will be  focused, from the outset, on building a community for the African American  child. We must build this community from scratch because a whole African  American community has never existed in the United States. Not in a holistic  context. There is no precedent upon which to model this project.

In the Ashantawa village, an environment will be created that is socially  nutritional for the child. Community norms and values will be established based  on the needs of the children. Socially non-nutritional behavior will be  immediately addressed by community systems. Backup systems will exist. If any  laws exist which contradict the needs of the African American child, a campaign  to change those laws will be initiated involving a network of Africans and other  ethnic associates.

The communities activities will be directed toward equipping the children  with what they need to prosper. The objectives include:

• Producing children who know who they are
• Producing children who know what country it is in which they live; how it  came to be what is and what opportunities it offers; and how its procedural  process interfaces with its people
• Producing children who know the tools of free enterprise and how to use them
• Producing children who understand how they function in relation to the rest  of the world.

To create this kind of environment, some new things must be added to the  designated district community. Some old things, habits and customs must go. As  these two things take place, the child will sense them naturally. We want them  to get caught up in the dynamics of change and become part of them.

We have basic standards of behavior we expect to see as change unfolds. Our  expectations now are molded into a plan designed to equip the African American  child of 16 with a self-developed plan for his or her life and give them the  tools to get started.

For a child born in 2000, this is how we would expect him to behave and  develop within the environment we create. Let's call the child in the play DIA  (DIA means champion).

DIA will be identified in a census of the community. By age four, the streets  on which his mother raises him and his brothers and sisters will not have groups  of idle men hanging out at corners around liquor stores. Ten social scientists  at work in the district will organize the corner dwellers. This organized force  will take the lead in keeping the community clear and get a chance to get  trained on how to organize the community, including entrepreneurial  training.

During these first 4 years, DIA will be around people planning businesses as  part of planning for his future. A social scientists will be employed to  document the first four years of DIA's life and what was going on in the world  around him. This process will continue for 18 years.

DIA's mother will learn to teach him that he is an African culturally and an  American civilly with specific rights and responsibilities in the Republic.  She will teach him the difference between culture and civics and guide his  development accordingly.

DIA will be around a Brotherhood and Sisterhood of men and women selected to  teach him about his community and history.

A Council of Elders will be established to record the community's history.  The Council will set up a youth advisory council to make recommendations about  the community plan for raising children. It will represent the social authority  in the district, with social structures established for creating the environment  DIA needs.

In the renamed district, a community leader would be tapped by the  Brotherhood, approved by the Sisterhood and affirmed by the Council of Elders.  The community leader would operate from a central administrative point with  staffed satellite offices located throughout the district. The community leader  is responsible for seeing that the plan is executed and that everyone knows what  to do.

By the time DIA is 8, we expect him to have been exposed to concepts and that  he will be able to do what they call for. He should know the history and nature  of the new businesses that will have been set up in the district, who runs them  and who works there.

We expect DIA to learn the necessity of buying and spending within the  district by watching buying and spending going on. We expect DIA to begin  learning the art of trade and bargaining by being around both.

At age 8, DIA should know ho America came into being. He will know that money  is a means by which production, distribution and consumption is facilitated  because he will have started working in the community.

At age 8, DIA will be able to explain his background and how it relates to  other ethnic groups. He will be able to do so without a sense of  inferiority.

By age 8, the community will have developed one districtwide product that  would employ children DIA's age in some manner.

At age 12, DIA will begin to work on a plan for his life and his community.  He will draw upon the previous years of his life as recorded on community  record.

By age 12, DIA would have learned enough discipline, responsibility, and  creativity and would have refined his general knowledge base to the point where  he would be ready to start an apprenticeship.

By age 12, the new businesses started within the district would have started  a trust fund that was fed, in part, by their contributions. It will have reached  a level by age twelve to ensure DIA of the tools he needs to carry out his life  plan.

In 12 years the district will have developed a theater, playgrounds,  neighborhood parks, etc., so that DIA can nurture his natural talents in art,  music, literature, science, etc. The best artists from around the country will  perform at the district and offer special teaching sessions.

At age 16, DIA would have served an apprenticeship(s) in local business and  have the opportunity to learn enough to operate the business.

At age 16, DIA joins the Brotherhood and should have a plan developed for his  life and community. He will refine the plan for two years and be eligible to  draw from the trust fund at age 18.

At age 16, DIA will know what is expected of an African American man in the  community by having observed the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood.

At age 16, DIA will be able to teach his brothers in the youth council about  Africa, America, the Republic and free enterprise.

By age 16, DIA will be able to assist elders in their recording of the  community's history.

At age 18 DIA will get a recording of his life in four four-year phases and  on two-year phase. It will include what happened in the world around him. It  will be on video tape and computer disk, accompanied by photographs, news  articles, landmark memorabilia, etc.

• STEP PLAN -

The first four-year phase will combine the development of Future America  Technologies with core organizing within the Ashantawa district. A full time  staff from Future America will be employed to coordinate the project and a  Future America satellite office will be located within the district. At the  local office will be a director of outreach, two secretaries, one file clerk and  ten social scientists. It will be the pivot point for all programs designed for  the district.

NEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN

Dr. Nkosi's research shows the African American does not know how to  initiate, develop, administrate, maintain and sustain institutions that will  insure his self-interest and growth in a community. Therefore seven principles  will be learned and applied in the model freedom district during phase one. The  principles set the foundation to govern the direction neighborhoods are to take.  They are called the Nguzo Saba:

1. Unity (umoja) -- to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community,  nation and ethnic group.
2. Self-determination (kujichagulia) -- to define ourselves, name ourselves,  create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
3. Collective work and responsibility (ujima) -- to build and maintain our  community together and make our sisters' and brothers' problems our problems and  to solve them together.
4. Cooperative economics (ujamma) -- to build and maintain our own stores,  shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
5. Purpose (nia) -- to make our collective vocation the building and developing  of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
6. Creativity (kuumba) -- to do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in  order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
7. Commitment (imani) -- to commit ourselves to our people, our elders, our  teachers, our leaders and our children.

STEP:

A Council of Elders will be organized to serve as a warehouse of wisdom of  knowledge for the leaders and youth. A mechanism for recording the oral history  of the elders will be initiated and responsibilities outlined to keep the elders  active in the community.

Elders will begin a series of classes geared toward understanding the  dynamics of the community and its needs. Their initial project will be to  develop and implement a process to record the oral history of the community and  to select a youth advisory council designed specifically to meet the needs of  the youth in an advisory capacity.

STEP:
The "People's Futures Market" will focus on establishing new  businesses to produce in-house economics. It seeks investment, contribution  and/or aid form available and interested sources in and out of the community  toward the development of new businesses designed to meet community needs.

One major product will come from the community utilizing complete  participation in striving for self-determination. This product can be anything  from an African cookie, baked in the shape of Africa, to a theater rooted in the  art and depth of dance, drum and song, to anything unique the community devotes  itself to.

Examples for community businesses include:

• A computer store, including hardware, software and internet services
• Holistic car care service, that maintains vehicles in top condition
• A tool bank for use in the community for garden projects, part of which  includes converting empty lots into vegetable gardens.
• African fashions and imports on a national and international level.
• A community holistic health center
• A health food store
• An African restaurant
• A printing shop
• Vehicles for producing and marketing cards, sewn clothing, jewelry, posters,  artwork, etc.
• A theater
• A dance company
• A newspaper

A percentage of moneys from program-initiated businesses will go into a trust  fund for the children.

STEP:
A comprehensive whole life plan has been designed for the children  within a womb-to-womb context, including:

• Ten specially trained social scientists in the community, available around  the clock to educate, encourage and stimulate mothers to higher expectations  from themselves and others in the child's life.
• Social scientists will organize street-corner men to be responsible for  removing litter and garbage in the streets and on walls. Citizenship, business  and education meetings will be available for the men to enhance their own lives.
• Establishment of a childrenhood with areas allocated to babies, toddlers and  young children.

 

0-4 years:

• The basic assumption concerning the level of a child's learning capacity has  been false. In the Ashantawa district, a higher level of programming at an  earlier age will be used, keeping within the framework of adapting the center to  the child's needs.
• Children will demonstrate knowledge of African words, foods, clothing, games  and countries. They will demonstrate an understanding of phonetics.
• State of the art computer technology, with African software systems, will be  used to facilitate the learning process.

4-8 years:

• Reading skills developed through continued use of phonetics.
• Children demonstrate knowledge of African and African American history.
• Joining young Sisterhood and Brotherhood for educational field experiences  and how to function within groups.
• Development of group communication and leadership skills.

8-12 years:

• Children join next level of Sisterhood and Brotherhood youth groups.
• Children demonstrate knowledge of different businesses.
• Demonstrate Big Brother and Big Sister roles through supervisory roles with  two proceeding levels.
• Demonstrate knowledge of business telephone handling.
• Demonstrate proficiency in computer software including business  software.

12-16 years:

• Apprenticeships with various businesses.
• Demonstrate ability to handle responsibilities at designated administrative  base for center.
• At end of 16^th years, child should have developed holistic  life-plan for themselves and their community and be able to request the specific  tools and aids needed.
• Leadership of Brotherhood and Sisterhood role programs.
• At end of this cycle, child should be able to assist in completion of a  recorded history of their lives in four-year spans. This information would have  been kept for him/her up to this point. It details their lives in relation to  what was going on in the world around them.
• Completion of recorded history up to age 18 will make child automatically  eligible for available trust fund.

STEP:

Development of model Sisterhood and Brotherhood units to begin a series of  classes immediately, dealing with leadership development, communication and  language skills, assertiveness, psychotherapy, and community organization. Upon  completion, they will serve as community managers. This nucleus group will have  spill over effect that will be achieved by using dramatic presentations,  speeches, video tapes, town criers, records, cassette tapes, CDs, etc., to funnel  new information into and beyond the community.

STEP:
Identification of native residents of the community for possible  first investors in established businesses.

STEP:
A special program will be established for convicted offenders from  the Ashantawa district to set up a link back to the community. Participants will  demonstrate an understanding of African history, the American republic, and free  enterprise through designed teaching material that varies with skill levels.  Program completion could be tied to probationary status.

Additional steps will be required that will be discovered as the creativity  and genius of African men and women unfolds in the presence of Ethnicity.

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