It
is a sad and unfortunate fact that many people of Afrikan descent need to be
reminded of black history month, once a year, in order for them to grasp at a
few straws of self-awareness. The minds of these victims are too busy trying to
emulate European behavior and “civilization” to initiate a serious
exploration and “inploration” into their true essence. This goes to many
extremes and is something that affects our situation negatively as well as “niggatively".
I am often dismayed but no longer surprised at the amount of my brothers and
sisters who lack knowledge of self to the extent that, they are not aware of
what melanin is. This fundamental determinant which makes us who we are as a
people has not been taught to them and they have not taken the initiative to
find out about it.
To start at the beginning: Melanin is a Greek name (from melanos) which
denotes the color black. It is true however that before the Greeks appropriated
Afrikan civilization and science, in KMT or
In humans, tyrosine, an amino acid, is the main nutrient. Tyrosine is a
precursor of melanin and lays the foundation for melanin to be produced. The
body must contain an enzyme known as tyrosinase
and copper to be able to use tyrosine to create melanin. In humans there are
three types of melanin. The first being Eumelanin which has a high electric
charge, high molecular weight and density and gives rise to colors from dark brown
to blue black. A less dense form of melanin with lower molecular weight is known
as pheo-melanin or pseudo-melanin. It has been established that those with no
melanin have quite a few more cancers and genetic disorders than those with pheo-melanin.
It is also true that people with pheo-melanin have also quite a few more
cancerous developments than those with Eumelanin.
The
organ of the human body with the largest surface area is, of course, the skin.
Many people are aware that the deep concentration of melanin in African peoples
skin makes them black and enables them to use the rays of the sun more
effectively than our less “melanated” counterparts, but what few know is
that melanin is not only present in our skin but it permeates our whole physical
being. It is contained in a small battery cell called a Melanosome. The degree
of blackness in various organs in Afrikan people depends on the type of melanin
contained and its weight.
Melanin
is present in each organ and regulates the workings of our brain. Within the
human brain stem are 12 centers of black melanin. On the earth, only humans have
deep pigmentation of all twelve-brain centers. The brain center with the deepest
pigmentation is the Locus Coeruleus or Black Dot. The Locus Coeruleus supplies
the pineal gland with norepinephrine. The
pineal gland controls the flow of melatonin during the night hours to activate
R.E.M sleep which allows us to communicate with internal memory pools or other
dimensions of life in nature. Melanin also causes seratonin to flow more
effectively in the waking state so to “inspirience” more spirituality. This
also helps to keep spiritual intunement at an apex. The less melanin in an
individual, the more calcified the pineal gland and less access the individual
has to the spiritual world.
Melanin exists also as biopigment for vision in the eyes of humans and
all vertebrates. Color vision is produced in the retina by melanin through
photopigments. These allow deeper melanin concentrations, offer protection from
the sun as well as a fuller vision of the color spectrum. The melanin content in
the inner ear also is of great importance. Through this ear pigmentation, it was
found that increased melanin increases hearing frequencies. Melanin is also used
to make the Black Dot more in touch with the universe. This Black Dot (Third
Eye) was seen by our Kemetic ancestors as the access point to inner wisdom and
divinity. This was the invisible door to the pyramid which when activated would
decipher the mysteries.
Melanin in its most concentrated form is black. It is black because its
chemical structure will not allow any energy to escape once that energy has come
in contact with it. This gives us an insight and shows that melanin dominant
people do not require the same amount of minerals and nutrients in their diet as
people with less melanin.
Melanin
absorbs light rays and stores them so that they can be used as energy later on.
This is why Melanin dominant people are able to use sunlight more effectively. A
perfect example of melanin’s use is related to Vitamin D. Vitamin D can be
found in the skin of melanin dominant individuals after sun exposure, whereas
less “melanated” people require the intake of dairy products to secrete
vitamin D. It is important for people with high melanin content not to indulge
in dairy products because after the age of 5, 80% of highly melanated people are
lactose intolerant. For our people, eating diary leads to blockage diseases in
the body. So instead of asking your
brothers and sisters if they “Got milk?” you need to ask them the question,
“Got Melanin?” This is just one
example and also a brief look at the pervasive manifestations of melanin and its
uses. It is a fact that we have ceased to know about our melanin and ceased to
use it accordingly. The key to our liberation is the reactivation of our melanin
faculties.
The
author of this article intends for everyone who reads it to research melanin and
hence research their true self. It is important for us to know some basic
fundamentals on the energy governing our life. For further research, two highly
recommended books upon which this article was fed are: Melanin:a key to freedom by Richard King M.D and Vitamins
and Minerals: from a to z by Jewel Pookrum.
By Unblind Africanus
"Unblind Uncut-live from the T-dot" CD released on 27th Oct 2001. The CD was also one of the three final Spoken Word nominees for a Canadian UMAC (Urban Music Association of Canada) award in 2002. Winner of the Editor's Choice Award for outstanding achievement in poetry presented by the International Library of Poetry in October 2001 and was published, along with other talented poets, in their publication "The Harvest of Dreams". In 2003 Unblind was one of the featured artists on CBC Newsworld, as an entertainer on the show 'Play'. He is the 2002 and 2003 winner of the 'Grand Toronto Slam', and featured in 'Up From The Roots' production of "When Brother Speak" at St Lawrence Theatre in 2002. Unblind was the featured poet in the cultural magazine 'Ambassador' in December 2002. He was also featured in the 'All African Student's Conference' in Kingston Jamaica in May 2003. Visit him at http://www.unblind.net.