The Initiation Process
The goal of the organization is to develop young people who are productive members of their community. We will accomplish this by introducing youth to different ideas and experiences that will broaden their worldview and self-concept. We believe that "culture cures" and exposes our youth to experiences that gives them a sense of belonging and partnership of the future direction of the community.
This process requires:
- 2 meetings a week (Warrior Training/Leadership Classes I & II)
- Camping experiences that will take place at least 4 times a year.
- International travel.
Warrior Training/Leadership Class I - This class consist of at least one class a week. In these classes youth will learn about self-mastery (using the Gye-Nyame Nation Builders hand book), leadership, and the organization they belong to. In the class, the youth also learn about different cultures through exploring myth and discussions with mentors and class leaders. They will learn about and discuss principle and values (personal, culture, and those of the group). They learn about philosophy through discussion of proverbs (Book “African opening to the tree of life). They will also be exposed to basic strategy games (chess, mancala, risk, etc.). The youth will be held responsible for all assignments that they receive from class by mentor and class leaders. They also are exposed to creative writing. We also discuss what we call the three levels of learning:
- Memorization - The youth have to learn 37 question and answers (found in the Nation Builder handbook). This empowers youth by allowing them to learn and then teach the information that they have acquired. Questions and answers cover topics such as morals, definition of concepts, principles, responsible behavior, and cultural symbols. Question and answers also provides the youth with small victories, which will help to build their self-esteem.
- Intelligence of the Mind - After the youth have memorized the provided information, they are challenged to discuss it, and teach it from their understanding of the questions, and answers. This helps the youth improve their cognition skills, boost their confidence in their learning ability, and promote peer-to-peer knowledge transfer. This process covers 27 of the 40 developmental assets created by the Search Institute.
- Intelligence of the Heart - In this phase of the learning process, the youth are challenged to live the information they have been learning.
Warrior Training/ Leadership Class II - This class will take place once a week. Youth will be exposed to Capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian martial art), drill and ceremony. Through this training, the youth will learn to control their body, learn history, philosophy, and how to apply each concept to their life's Journey. They will also learn to play instruments (conga, berimbau, tambourine, etc.). They will be able to release aggression and their competitive spirits in a healthy way, and they will learn to sing songs associated with game (Capoeira) in Portuguese. The youth will also participate in community events as volunteers (clean-ups, urban gardening, celebrations, etc.) They will basically be putting what they are learning into practice in the community in which they live.
Warrior Training
Warrior training prepares the initiate for Nation Building through physical mastery. The purpose of the process is to expose their weaknesses and teach them to deal with them. All tasks are designed to push the initiate to their limits, and test their commitment to the idea of Nation Building. The training will go deep into each area of life and expose them to actual Nation Building skills such as:
Building (masonry, carpentry, etc...)
African Reality Therapy (3 days)
Martial Arts (Capoeira)/Dance
Africentric World History
Service & Humility
Drill & Ceremony
Exercise/Sport
Diet/Cooking
Meditation
Music
Discipline
Study Skills
Order of Nation
Discussion & Debate
Dealing With Pressure
Completing Tasks/Quests
Volunteering/Entrepreneurship
Memorization of Nation Concepts
Sewing/House Care (laundry, cleaning, etc...)
Nation Builder Training
Everything that was learned in the warrior phase is pushed to higher levels. Improvements in all areas must be evident. The Nation Builder not only has previously learned information memorized, but they can expand and demonstrate the concept of African deep thought. At this level, Nation Building information must be applied in life. They must assist the tribe reach its goals moving to the next level in their mental and spiritual development, and they must have made pilgrimage at least once. This training will expose them to actual Elder skills such as:
Self-Mastery
Codes of Conduct
Building Warriors
Application of Life Skills
Walking Within Principles
Philosophy of Nation Building
Teaching Class/Becoming a Self-Mastery Coach
The ranking system is designed to provide goals to strive for. Progress is monitored through our ranking system, which is broken down into 3 levels. Each level has a color so that each member can recognize, identify with and understand their progress through group categorization. With each level, there is new information that they are required to learn, retain, and eventually teach. We use the colors of the African flag presented to us by the Honorable Marcus Garvey (Red, Black, & Green). At the beginning of each level, each trainer provides the initiate with an initiate necklace. The initiate is then responsible for learning the basic "Lessons" of the Gye-Nyame which consist of 37 questions. As the initiate moves from one level to another, he/she will receive a corresponding ranking necklace. Below, you will find a complete progress outline...
Initiate Level: The ranks that fall under the Initiate levels (from lowest to highest) are: Initiate Red, Initiate Black, and Initiate Green
Warrior Level: The ranks that fall under the Warrior levels (from lowest to highest) are: Brother, Majestic, and Royal
Nation Builder Level: The ranks that fall under the Nation Building levels (from lowest to highest) are: Grand, Supreme, and Master