And You Shall Know the Truth

I grew up on a little island thinking I was just a descendant of slaves, and only if I studied history at the university level would I have learned otherwise. We were not taught any in-depth history about our ancestors before slavery, and so it seemed we had none. And so the views of us descending from monkeys, or living in the wild wing on trees like monkeys stuck deep. Because let's face it when you know and believe that story of nothingness, it then becomes very easy to be docile and accepting of any basic existence you are offered.

Thankfully, despite being formally uneducated my parents emphasized the importance of education, and my mother especially instilled a desire and passion to read. She is still able to this day to read a limitless number of books daily. With this skill we would not be the people you could hide anything from in a book, an infamous statement about black people frequently used and often sadly true. So, in my assiduous reading which has consumed and compels me to read countless medical journals, books, articles, and blogs daily, I stumbled into a historical mind-altering truth. This has captivated my thoughts for the past three years now, and I consume information far and wide to feed my craving.

What was this profound finding? I discovered many so-called Africans that initially came to the West were not actually slaves. Yeah I know right! Many came as free blacks from the continent of Africa and Europe and traded with the natives across the West Indies, Pacific, and Americas, even before Columbus. And others came from Africa and Europe as prisoners of war and criminals from the fall of the great black empires all over the world. They came with seeds, gold, and most importantly knowledge. Because many were architects, bankers, builders, farmers, engineers, and pioneers of ancient technologies. Wow!

I am sorry, but my awe fuelled my hunger and so I started to talk with my late father who was equally excited and, we then began to extract our own family history. My Dad always used the phrase 'I am not black, I am Scotanaris' and I had heard several Jamaicans with that same saying so we traced our roots from oral history passed down through the generations. And what we discovered would forever change my Dad, myself, and my children forever.

My great grandfather was an astute scholar in medical science and a doctor for the entire village. He was fully literate, and the baby daughter of his very old age, recalls him teaching her to read and his eloquence coupled with exquisite handwriting. She remembers that he was taught by his father who was also an educated doctor. It would be impossible for people of color in those two generations outside of wealth to possess that knowledge unless they had come to the island with it. Her own eloquence in speech and knowledge without formal education also testifies to the validity of the information and my father's memories of the inheritance of books with all kinds of diagrams also confirm this reality.

So my earliest ancestors in the West were not if ever slaves, and we owned land and had high-level professions. We descended from an old great kingdom in Europe with artifacts and historical documents that proved it. Wow! This helped to solidify to my already confident father and children that we were great and the evidence only sought to increase our pride and self-worth. This also now emphasized to us that we don't have to apologize for our brilliance, beauty, and capabilities and that this is a historical and genetic legacy given to us by our ancestors.

The late great Marcus Garvey said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” I have roots now, which have made me even stronger and more resilient. We as people of color globally need this experience, but unless I was willing to invest hours, days, and resources into reading and exploring more than I was taught, I would not have gained this knowledge which is my legacy from those who walked before me for all those who come behind them.

Dedicated to my late father Bernard Gonzaga Merrick (Died March 2, 2021), "Thanks Daddy for being interested in this journey of our people and I am truly glad you were able to be excited about it before you died".