Dr. Na’im Akbar enlightened students on Tuesday as he emphasized the importance of acknowledging the achievements of African-Americans and remembrance of a great ancestral legacy as a stepping stone in building their future in the Opal-Johnson Smith auditorium.
The Office of Special Programs and Cultural Series invited the renowned author and speaker who spoke on “Culture, Identity and Power.”
Akbar stressed the significance of knowing the history of where we come from which is essentially learning a greater sense of ourselves. In order to advance in education or any endeavors that one might want to pursue Akbar suggested that students obtain a strong consciousness of who they are as a person and as a culture, so that they will not fall victim to the cultural anti immunity deficiency syndrome, or C.A.I.D.S., an acronym created by Akbar in order to convey the seriousness of cultivating self-knowledge within communities. Not knowing can be detrimental to our growth, and we will be susceptible to poverty, violence, and ultimately be powerless, he said.
After Akbar’s lecture, there was a reception held in the MSC where he held an intimate book signing and answered questions from students. He promoted his book titled “Visions of a Black Man,” which speaks specifically to African-American men and compares the transitional phases from a male to a man.
Junior Michael A. Love, who actually read the book and expressed his opinions, said, “I felt as though I had to spread the word to my fellow brothers and felt compelled to give back.”