Dr. Na’im Akbar, Ph.D - Nile Valley Conference, Part 1 | For The People (1985)

This episode of For The People kickstarts the series of the Nile Valley Conference held at Morehouse College in 1985. This episode features Dr.Na’im Akbar, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, author of “Chains and Images of Psychological Slavery” who speaks on “The Study of the Mind in Egyptian History.” Listervelt Middleton begins the episode explaining a prior interview with Dr. Josef Ben-Jochannan and his statements about Ethiopian Jews.
Dr.Na’im Akbar begins his speech with the notion of setting the record straight about Egyptology. He states that during his research he began to venture into “deep water” when studying the mind and its relation to ancient Kemet. Dr. Akbar dives into the Western ideology of today stating that western development is deficient because of the effect of technology, and how it exceeds human nature.
Dr. Akbar expounds upon the topics of sexism and racism, saying that “there is no place in the mind for soul stuff” and there is a fear of femininity in western society. On the topic of racism, he states that there was a fear of acceptance in the influence of Black people on western culture which led to the denial of any influence.
At the conclusion of the episode, Dr.Na’im states “we have lost the connectedness that belongs to our own science.”
Produced and hosted by Listervelt Middleton, For the People delivered African American history and culture every week to South Carolina ETV's viewers.