Change a Life 2 Change the World!
100 things an African-American/African-heritage/African diaspora/Black/melanated family needs to know or master to free themselves from the “plantation mindset”
Understand the true history of African civilizations before slavery.
Study Carter G. Woodson’s The Mis-Education of the Negro.
Reject inferiority narratives and embrace Black brilliance.
Learn how colonialism, capitalism, and slavery shaped modern systems.
Teach children about African empires (Mali, Kush, Songhai, etc.).
Study Black inventors, scientists, artists, and thinkers.
Practice critical thinking, not blind consumption.
Control your own narrative—write, tell, and publish your stories.
Understand propaganda and psychological conditioning in media.
Know that true freedom starts with a liberated mind.
Know your ethnic roots and tribal heritage.
Practice ancestral reverence and oral storytelling.
Celebrate African traditions, languages, dress, and music.
Practice African-centered rites of passage for youth.
Reclaim African names, symbols, and values.
Know the difference between race, ethnicity, and culture.
Normalize natural beauty—hair, skin, features.
Learn and use African proverbs, greetings, and customs.
Celebrate Pan-Africanism and global Black unity.
Protect cultural practices from commodification.
Grow your own food—garden or farm, even in small spaces.
Learn seed saving and heritage crop cultivation.
Teach children about plant life cycles and soil health.
Reclaim land and understand its importance to freedom.
Study Indigenous and African permaculture techniques.
Cook and preserve ancestral recipes and remedies.
Start a family or community garden.
Create a food co-op with neighbors.
Honor land as sacred—not just a commodity.
Understand environmental racism and eco-justice.
Practice Ujamaa—cooperative economics.
Support Black-owned businesses consistently.
Teach financial literacy to children.
Understand land deeds, trusts, and property law.
Invest in tools, not trends.
Build family credit unions and savings clubs.
Know the basics of entrepreneurship and business ownership.
Avoid debt slavery and materialism.
Pass down real assets—not just “stuff”.
Use money as a tool, not a trap.
Preserve oral history and family trees.
Teach children the names and stories of their ancestors.
Create “Legacy Boxes” with important documents and artifacts.
Hold regular family meetings or councils.
Reconnect estranged family members when possible.
Establish intergenerational mentorship.
Value elders as wisdom keepers.
Prioritize Black love, marriage, and community kinship.
Model respectful relationships and communication.
Practice collective care: “It takes a village.”
Learn self-defense, de-escalation, and safety strategies.
Know your legal rights and how to assert them.
Build mutual aid and community safety networks.
Understand state violence, policing, and carceral systems.
Resist assimilation and forced erasure.
Stand against all forms of oppression—gender, class, etc.
Teach children how to advocate for themselves and others.
Train youth in survival skills—urban and rural.
Prepare emergency plans and disaster readiness.
Defend your right to exist in dignity and peace.
Homeschool or supplement with African-centered curriculum.
Teach real Black history—not just slavery.
Encourage mastery—not just grades.
Prioritize trades, farming, coding, and craftsmanship.
Create youth programs that build practical life skills.
Reject Eurocentric standards of “success”.
Equip children to become future educators.
Teach through storytelling, music, games, and creativity.
Develop public speaking and leadership in youth.
Encourage lifelong learning, curiosity, and questioning.
Understand African spirituality and cosmology (Ma’at, Ifa, etc.).
Practice meditation, prayer, and libation.
Know that you are divine—not deficient.
Explore plant-based and natural living traditions.
Disconnect from religious dogma that promotes passivity.
Find healing through nature, music, dance, and ritual.
Connect with global spiritual allies and traditions.
Honor women as spiritual leaders and life-givers.
Teach the sacredness of birth, life, and death.
Let spirituality guide your values—not just your rituals.
Build intentional neighborhoods or eco-villages.
Form cooperatives, bartering systems, and community banks.
Share resources, tools, and wisdom.
Cook and eat together—build communion through food.
Solve conflicts without police or state intervention.
Host regular town halls and community circles.
Amplify youth voices and leadership.
Document your community's victories and struggles.
Develop trust and transparency in groups.
Rebuild the communal village: child care, elder care, everything.
Vision & Liberation-Focused Living
Develop a “family freedom plan” with long-term goals.
Write a personal and family mission statement.
Choose careers that serve your people and planet.
Prioritize health over hustle.
Detach from systems of dependency and control.
Celebrate wins, big and small, as acts of resistance.
Refuse to “make it” alone—lift others as you rise.
Reframe trauma into wisdom and healing.
Prepare your children to be builders, not beggars.
Live every day with purpose, dignity, and ancestral pride.