African Symbolism Hidden in Plain View at the Inauguration

On January 20th we all saw President Obama and many different things. I have watched so much cable my eyes have shorted out. However, I saw one of the great symbols from Classical African Civilization all day, what was it? Did you see what I saw?

I enjoyed the great words and pageantry of the inauguration like everyone else. That is not the objective of this article. Now it is time to act on Obama's "..new age of responsibility..." by improving our Cultural Literacy about the Capital in general and African Americans in particular. Here is my contribution to the lessons of January 20th as it passes into the history books.

My Cultural Health commentary is primarily on two facts about the capital that you may not have known and will not see on MSM cable.


Did you know that 400 of the 600 builders of the capital were African Americans? That is, they were enslaved Africans with about fifty Free African Americans. When I was in school they told me that the statue on top of the dome was an "Indian". This turns out not to be true, see the real story below.

Role of Slavery in Construction of the U.S. Capitol (2:23)


To learn more about the African American role in building the Capital I recommend the book, Black Men Built the Capital, Discovering History in and around the capital by Jessey Holland. See Holland Interview on Democracy Now, Click Here

While it is important for all Americans to be Culturally Literate regarding modern African Americans and the enslaved Africans in early America, it is also important to know something about the cosmological orientation of the founders and designers of the United States of America and our capital.

The answer to the symbol question is Tekhenu (What the Greeks called an Obelisk)

"N" Word Alert - If you are culturally sensitive do not watch the video.

The video was made by young people and may not be as polished as you or I would like, but absorbing the information in a short format is what is important here.

Nubian/African Origins of the Washington Monument (3:55)


It is interesting to note that it was our youth including hip-hop youth that were the energetic force of CHANGE. In the Obama Era of Responsibility, like in all other great change the youth are a foundation. Here we find the youth dropping knowledge as they say.

You may recall that it was George Washington that said, I will have no general in my army that is not a Mason. Many of the founders from Washington to Lincoln were "Free Thinkers". They studied Classical African Civilization, Kemet (Ancient Egypt. The African temple/university Karnak model that the brother mentions is what the "Mall" was designed to model here in America. So let it be known that long before Obama came to Washington some African cosmologics did exist in the capital. If you wish to claim the title of Culturally Literate American one should learn how the past, the present and the future of all Americans are tied together.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America
• The Day Few Thought Would Come
• "He's For the Whole World"