Les Lester's Chronicle, Message Board: Re: From Cairo to Memphis

Hotep Tarik, good to see you. Yes, indeed, the Mississippi Valley Civilization is worthy of an objective analysis beyond the Eurocentic throwaway analysis of anything they can't proffer themselves.

It would be sickening to find that indigenous societies similar to the Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs also inhabited the Mississippi River Valley.

I've heard about the Cairo, Illinois findings, along the Mississippi, but haven't had an opportunity to [deeply] peruse it.

All one needs to do is draw a 360 degree circle around the current offerings and scrutinize it based on primary sources, not just conjecture. Wish I had the time to do it.

Now, Mississippi Valley State University, an HBCU, might be a good starting point, since the Mississippi Valley is its namesake. The Chickasaw and Choctaw, inhabited the valley from Memphis down to New Orleans, but with the forced removal, in the 1800s, I'm sure a lot of the endemic history has been lost, and of course obscured.

Mississippi Valley State University

Previous Message

From Cairo to Memphis: The Mississippi River Valley and the Dawn of a New History
When I speak of Cairo, Illinois, and Memphis, Tennessee, I am referring to more than two cities. I am pointing to a sacred corridor along the Mississippi River—a river that may be viewed as the Nile River Valley of North America. This region reflects a profound significance for our modern era, our present epoch, and this dispensation.
As a follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I reflect upon his message to the Lost-Found Black people in the wilderness of North America. One of his profound axioms deserves far more attention than I have given it: "History is made every 35,000 years." As a new world people, we are called to recognize the history we are now walking into and the responsibility that comes with it. I need to quote this more often. Remind me.
Are we not doing remarkable things today? There was a time when society refused to allow dark-skinned Black people to realize the fullness of their greatness. Yet history continues to unfold.
From Cairo to Memphis stretches the heart of the great Indigenous civilization commonly known as the Mississippi Valley culture. Its influence reached from present-day Oklahoma across the Southeast to what are now the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. This civilization stands as a testament to the ingenuity, organization, and achievements of the ancient peoples of this land.
I offer these reflections to suggest a larger principle: As it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end. Some believe—contrary to mainstream historical interpretations—that the Egypt we associate with the ancient land of Kemet had a corresponding or sister civilization here in what is now called North America. Whether one accepts that view or not, it invites us to reexamine history with open minds and renewed curiosity.
I will stop here and invite your questions. Let us continue the conversation, explore the evidence, and seek a deeper understanding of our collective past and our unfolding future.
If you'd like, I can also �⁠format this in a more poetic, spoken-word style or �⁠in the style of a *Lester's Chronicles* editorial.