Anthony T. Browder: Lies That Won't Go Away, Three Falsehoods in the National Geographic "Black Pharaohs" Article
To the average “mis-educated” American who saw the National Geographic magazine on the newsstand, its cover would incline them to believe that the issue was a timely tribute to the national celebration of Black History Month. Were they to read the magazine, they would be amazed to discover that, “For 75 years Nubian kings ruled over ancient Egypt, reunifying the country and building an empire.” Many would be shocked upon discovering this “chapter of history lost in the shadows,” and wonder how much more Black History there is waiting to be revealed....But to a formerly “Mis-educated Negro,” one who discovered in 1977 that the Egyptians were black, I read the “Black Pharaohs” article and found it to be guilty of deliberate acts of omission and commission. I reached this conclusion not because I am a black radical who believes that white men are devils not to be trusted. On the contrary, my life’s experience has taught me that I should believe in someone until I have reason to believe otherwise....Without an understanding of historiography (the history of researching and writing history) one can be easily mislead and conditioned to embrace unreasonable falsehoods as fundamental truths. History has clearly demonstrated that when falsehoods are repeated with conviction by “experts,” and popularized by the media (principally print, TV and film), an unsuspecting public will be incapable of recognizing truth when it is presented to them. When accustomed to being fed a steady diet of falsehoods this mentally malnourished population will become incapable or unwilling to consider opposing viewpoints which they have been conditioned to find impalatable....What Dr. Woodson referred to as mis-education, social scientists now call “cognitive dissonance.” Both states of mind can be summed up in the declaration, “My mind is already made up…don’t confuse me with the facts.” These intellectually stifling states of un-consciousness can be minimized and overcome when one learns to recognize falsehoods and replace them with sound, factual data....Thus, it is in the spirit of Dr. Woodson (and Black History Month) that I submit my assessment of the falsehoods imbedded within the National Geographic “Black History Month” cover story for your consideration.
