Pawned Sovereignty presents an evolutionary political and philosophical outlook on America, Africa, and world affairs.  Regardless of what you presently think, the challenges it poses to societal norms will either enhance or make you rethink your views.  It carves straight through the heart of mainstream thoughts and positions, and deals with issues facing Black America from a strict standpoint of political and economic self-preservation.

Compelling arguments are developed through insightful analyses of history, statistical data, and current affairs, in ways that will add new dimensions to progressive Black dialogue.  The language and concepts express deeper-most truths and sentiments that speak straight to the soul of Black America.

Most of all, it’s solution-oriented.  Since many of Black America’s problems lie beyond conventional democratic remedies, Pawned Sovereignty identifies latent sources of Black strength and blueprints how to leverage them into bona fide vehicles of progress and power.

Born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Passaic, Ezrah Aharone earned a BS in business from Hampton University in 1980.  He has lived and worked in West Africa, where his relationships span from presidents and government officials, to people in remote villages.  His international experiences offer a valuable frame of reference that is shared throughout this work.

ezrahaharone@juno.com

This book comes at an uneasy time in history when the world is plagued with problems related to poverty, disease, racism, ideology, terrorism and war.  The inflamed nature of these issues leads to the inevitable conclusion that conditions will worsen before improving.  Rather than respecting the array of humanity’s cultural, religious, and ethnic differences, some people and governments are more motivated by skewed forms of nationalism that superimpose particular “ways of life” on others.  In today’s world, might often makes right.

The one word that best links all the subjects of this book is “thoughts.”  Like every other nation, America is the result of thoughts.  Its customs, traditions, laws and constitution are all products of thought.  Americanization can be summed up as constellations of thoughts that people have learned to accept and apply as a “way of life.”  As valuable and benevolent as this “way of life” may seem to Americans, some people in other countries will always embrace “thoughts” and “ways” of their own.

The central message that runs through all the subjects is that Black America lives in a “world of thoughts” and has adopted a “way of life” that do not incorporate enough input of our own “thoughts” and “ways.”  By the 1960’s when the establishment thought it was finally time to concede to integration, the political and ideological design of America was already well thought out.  Hence, we did not participate in casting the actual mold of Americanization.  And since our specific political and economic interests as a sub-culture did not always fit, we were forced in many instances to painfully adjust to the prefabricated contour and contents of the mold.

Pawned Sovereignty is therefore written from a strictly Black perspective, to “shuffle the deck” of American democracy, so as to put some different political and ideological factors into play, and to provide a keener awareness of international affairs.  Although some subjects undertaken may perhaps be considered “politically incorrect,” these are the very subjects that need more examination and discussion.  I say this because history presents enough examples for us to know that legitimate Black interests have not always been in conciliation with “political correctness.”

The title, “Pawned Sovereignty,” is not to suggest that Black America should launch a sovereignty movement of self-government, but rather to contrast our life without sovereignty and to draw attention to the resulting quandaries thereof.  What I call “Sharpened Black Perspectives” in the subtitle, are based on interpretations of history and a discernment of the world from viewpoints aimed exclusively to advance and safeguard Black interests.

Black America has a history and experience unlike any other people on earth.  To use the word “resilient” to describe our nearly 400-year sojourn in America understates reality.  Even though we have more-than paid our dues to society in full, we still face uncalled-for domestic hurdles.  Instead of continually trying to reform away the effects of these hurdles, the wise thing is to understand what lies at the core of our age-old struggle for equality.

One of the best ways to do this, as Pawned Sovereignty does, is by conducting two distinct levels of objective scrutiny.  The first involves scrutinizing the history of Americanization as it evolved into what is now regarded as an “ideal.”  The second level scrutinizes the circumstances under which we as Africans resigned ourselves to accept and pursue Americanization as a “goal.”  The sequences of these particulars offer telling insight about America’s character as a nation, and unveil political and psychological influences beneath the surface of democracy, that pose inevitable limitations to true equality for Blacks in America.

If you were to regard Americanization as an ongoing journey to a specified endpoint, this book would be a rest stop and refueling station for you to pause, take a look around, and survey the political/economic terrain, as well as the surrounding obstacles.  From this vantage, you will be better positioned to see where Black America came from, and then properly gauge our present status to determine if we are traveling in the right direction, at the right speed.

Maybe we should have arrived at our destination already; maybe we need to veer at the next fork; or maybe the vehicle needs repair.  And just as importantly, we need to assess if the company of people we keep are helping, or hindering, our progress.  You will find that the contents of Pawned Sovereignty unfold an updated roadmap of “new thoughts” to help navigate this journey.

The positions and conclusions, however, should not be viewed within the context of a racial standoff with White America.  Racism is an outward shadow of spiritual immaturities within man that cannot be legislated away in bills or constitutional amendments.  Its only cure is for people to search the depths of themselves, with the desire to root out pollutants lurking within.

Racial themes are however unavoidable, since racism is intrinsic to America’s political and economic construct.  But another unique factor that differentiates Pawned Sovereignty from other works is that it surgically dissects and challenges the components of this construct, as opposed to trying to harness the elusive shadow of racism.

Its rare insight and information penetrates the armor of this construct, while offering an alternative construct, designed to improve the life conditions of Black America and Africa as well.  After turning the final page of Pawned Sovereignty, you will be enriched with proactive ideals and renewed concepts of self-preservation that can effect a far more productive and empowering “way of life.”