Excerpts From Reawakening Of The African Mind by Dr. Asa Hilliard

"To counter the MAAFA, (is a Kiswahili word used to describe real calamity, catastrophe, tragedy or disaster  Africans must go through a WHMY MSW, a Kemetic term which means the repetition of the birth, or a reawakening. The WHMY MSW is also a healing. But before any substantial healing can take place we Africans must 'begin at the beginning' and peruse the wisdom of our ancestors. Numerous African civilizations have left the legacy of a holistic socialization process built firmly on a spiritual foundation. In these paradigmatic African societies, spirituality could not be seaparated from education, science, politics, health, nature, culture or anything else present in the society. This holistic approach can be useful in healing African people today.
We africans, however, have not viewed our problem holistically. After years of living under conditions of extreme oppression, we have settled for limited definitions of our problem. A classic example may be taken from the period of the civil rights movement. The evil and gross injustice of slavery and segregation violated the civil rights of African people and had to be addressed. However, the necessary task of fighting for civil rights was insufficient to allow for the healing of our people. Our healing requires a greater conceptual frame than that provided by civil rights.
First, we must see ourselves as an African people, or we will be unable to develop this critical frame.
Second, we must understand not only the role that white supremacy has played in our subjugation, but also the role that we ourselves have played by not practicing self-determination in our struggle to counter the MAAFA.
To reawaken the African mind we must ensure that the goal of our educational and socialization processes is to understand and live up to the principle of MAAT.
MAAT is a Kemetic term that represents the singular whole for the concepts of truth, justice,order, righteousness, balance, reciprocity and harmony. Ancient African socialization processes show us that communitiies can function and be productive when everyone, young and old, has a sense of purpose and value that contributes to the community's well being. The principle of MAAT provides one such approach that Africans can follow. To arrive at MAAT, however, requires SBA, another Kemetic term which refers to teachings, wisdom and study.