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FROM PYRAMID BUILDERS TO PROJECT DWELLERS: HOW DID WE GET HERE? | METAMORPHOSIS aka NEIL FRAZIER

The transformation of African people—from the builders of civilizations that astonished the world to inhabitants of projects that stifle dreams—should be seen as a travesty, not only for Black people but for humanity as a whole. How did we fall so far from the pinnacle of human achievement to this abyss of disrespect, marginalization, and systemic oppression? This is a deep and multi-layered question that exposes uncomfortable truths about both external forces and internal challenges.

As I dive into this exploration, let’s peel back the layers of deception, historical manipulation, and self-inflicted wounds to understand the journey from royalty and greatness to the bottom rung of the societal ladder in America. We need to understand where we came from, how we fell into this position, and—most importantly—how we rise again.

The Greatness of Our History

To comprehend how far we’ve fallen, we must first recognize the heights from which we once stood. Black people, African people, are the original architects of civilization. We were the pyramid builders, the guardians of vast knowledge, the creators of written language, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, and more. Ancient Kemet (Egypt), Nubia, Mali, and countless other African kingdoms and societies not only thrived but laid the foundation for much of what the world enjoys today.

The rest of humanity has borrowed from our accomplishments, whether they admit it or not. Our ancestors were scholars, scientists, and philosophers while the rest of the world was still in darkness. The world’s greatest thinkers—Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—stood on the shoulders of African knowledge and wisdom.

Yet, look around today. Our descendants languish in poverty, crime, and despair, often confined to the projects, to ghettos, and to prison cells. What happened?

The Engineered Fall: External Forces

No discussion on the fall of African people can be complete without addressing the carefully engineered strategies used to undermine us. The Transatlantic Slave Trade, colonization, segregation, Jim Crow laws, and the prison-industrial complex are but a few pieces in a long, deliberate process to strip us of our identity and power.

Slavery was not just physical bondage; it was the systematic destruction of African cultural identity, history, language, and spirituality. Once emancipated, the chains didn’t simply fall off—they were replaced with economic disenfranchisement, discriminatory laws, and mass media portrayal of Black inferiority. Redlining, disenfranchisement, and the manipulation of political systems ensured we remained on the bottom, no matter our potential.

Let’s not forget how the destruction of Black leadership—through assassination or character assassination—has been used as a tool to destabilize movements toward progress. From Malcolm X to Martin Luther King Jr. to Fred Hampton, the suppression of Black power by external forces has been relentless.

The Internal Deterioration: Forgotten Identity

But we must also take responsibility for where we are. A people who once followed principles of ma’at—truth, balance, order—now indulge in consumerism, hedonism, and self-destruction. The world of projects, crime, drug addiction, and prison is not just a result of external oppression, but of us forgetting who we are.

There is no denying that we have been seduced into a culture of self-indulgence and materialism, driven by a hyper-focus on wealth without purpose and sex without meaning. The global systems of capitalism, neoliberalism, and media have been engineered to drown us in superficial pleasures and distractions. We must ask ourselves: how did we allow ourselves to be drawn into these traps?

Black culture in America, in many ways, became defined by what was promoted by mainstream media: material success, hyper-masculinity, and an abandonment of traditional African values of community, spirituality, and self-determination. The projects were not just physical spaces—they became mental and spiritual prisons. The financial elite benefit from our enslavement to low-vibrational behaviors that keep us from attaining real power.

The Role of Media and Culture

Media, particularly in the West, has been one of the most potent tools of our destruction. Whether it’s the degrading portrayals of Black men as criminals and Black women as hypersexual, the power of mass media in shaping our self-perception and the perception of others cannot be underestimated. What began as an intentional campaign to demonize Black bodies during the days of slavery has morphed into a constant bombardment of negative stereotypes and glorified dysfunction.

Let’s be honest—modern music, entertainment, and celebrity culture, often controlled by non-Black entities, have played an integral role in the destruction of our dignity. From the glorification of gang culture to the obsession with materialism, it’s hard not to notice how we’ve been turned into our own worst enemies. Black billionaires may be paraded as symbols of “Black success,” but they often serve as distractions, leading the masses away from building real power and community wealth.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Where We Stand

Let’s break it down further. In America, Black people make up around 13% of the population, yet we lead in statistics that reflect poverty, incarceration, and broken families. How is it that we, who once led the world in innovation and civilization, are now disproportionately represented in prisons and poverty?

This is not by accident. Systemic racism plays a role, no doubt. However, it’s not just the system—it’s the choices we make daily. We have, in many ways, embraced the conditions that were designed for us. Rather than rebelling against the indoctrination and oppression, too many of us have adopted it as normal. We are constantly bombarded with messaging that reinforces the idea that our value is tied to things that ultimately destroy us.

How Do We Get Out of This?

We have to reclaim our identity and elevate our collective consciousness. This is not a new age, feel-good call to action—it’s about breaking away from the systems designed to hold us down. We have the potential to rise once again as the original people of this planet, but we need to make some serious changes.

FROM PYRAMID BUILDERS TO PROECT DWELLERS: HOW DID WE GET HERE? | METAMORPHOSIS aka NEIL FRAZIER

About The Author

LANCESCURV IS A SOCIAL MEDIA PROVOCATEUR | ILLUSTRATOR/CARTOONIST | PODCASTER | CULTURE CRITIC | DIGITAL NOMAD WHO FOCUSES ON THE INTRICACIES OF HUMAN NATURE, TRENDING NEWS & THOUGHT-PROVOKING TOPICS OF INTEREST. HE IS NYC BORN & RAISED, WHO HAS PERMANENTLY RELOCATED TO GHANA, NOW A PROUD GHANAIAN CITIZEN. RETIRED AND NOW A FULL TIME CONTENT CREATOR HAPPILY RECLUSIVE AND TUCKED AWAY IN THE SCENIC MOUNTAINS OF WEST AFRICA FAR AWAY FROM THE MADNESS OF AMERIKKKA.

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