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Today, there are more French speakers in Africa than there are in France .

There are more English speakers in Nigeria than there are in the United Kingdom .

There are more Portuguese speakers in Mozambique than there are in Portugal .

The Organization of African Unity never approved an African language as one of its official languages.

We won the battle of decolonizing our continent, but we lost the war on decolonizing our minds.

Many acknowledge that globalization shapes the future, but few acknowledge that it shaped history, or at least the world's perception of it. Fewer acknowledge that globalization is a two-way street.

Africa was a colony, but it is also a key contributor to many other cultures, and the cornerstone of today's society.

The world's views tend to overshadow and dismiss the value and aspirations of colonized people. Again, I must impart my own experiences to illustrate this point.

I grew up serving as an altar boy to an Irish priest. I wanted to become a priest, but ended up becoming a scientist. Religion is based on faith, while science is based on fact and reason - and science is neutral to race. Unfortunately, scientists are not neutral to race.

Take, for example, the origin of AIDS, an international disease. According to scientific records, the first person to die from AIDS was a 25-year-old sailor named David Carr, of Manchester , England .

Carr died on August 31, 1959 , and because the disease that killed him was then unknown, his tissue samples were saved for future analysis.

The “unknown disease” that killed David Carr was reported in The Lancet on October 29, 1960. On July 7, 1990 , The Lancet retested those old tissue samples taken from David Carr and reconfirmed that he had died of AIDS.

Based upon scientific reason, researchers should have deduced that AIDS originated in England , and that David Carr sailed to Africa where he spread the AIDS virus.

Instead, the white scientific community condemned the British authors of those revealing articles for daring to propose that an Englishman was the first known AIDS patient.

If these scientists were neutral to race, their data should have led them to the conclusion that Patient Zero lived in England .

If these scientists were neutral to race, they should have concluded that AIDS had spread from England to Africa, to Asia, and to America .

Instead, they proposed the theory that AIDS originated in Africa .

Even history has degraded our African roots. We come to the United States and learn a history filtered through the eyes of white historians.

And we learn history filtered through the eyes of Hollywood movie producers.

Some of us complained that Hollywood is sending its distorted message around this globalized world.

Some of us complained that Hollywood is a cultural propaganda machine used to advance white supremacy .

George Bush understood Hollywood was a propaganda machine that could be used in his war against terrorism. Shortly, after the 9/11 bombing of New York City , Bush invited Hollywood moguls to the White House and solicited their support in his war against terrorism.

Some will even argue that schools play a significant role as federal indoctrination centers used to convince children during their formative years that whites are superior to other races. Fela Kuti, who detested indoctrination, titled one of his musical albums: “Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense.”

It scares me that an entire generation of African children is growing up brainwashed by Hollywood 's interpretation and promotion of American heroes.

Our children are growing up idolizing American heroes with whom they cannot personally identify.

We need to tell our children our own stories from our own perspective.

We need to decolonize our thinking and examine the underlying truths in more than just movies.

We need to apply the same principles to history and science, as depicted in textbooks.

Look at African science stories that were retold by European historians; they were re-centered around Europe .

The earliest pioneers of science lived in Africa, but European historians relocated them to Greece .

Science and technology are gifts ancient Africa gave to our modern world.

Yet, our history and science textbooks, for example, have ignored the contributions of Imhotep, the father of medicine and designer of one of the ancient pyramids.

The word “science” is derived from the Latin word “ scientia ” or “ possession of knowledge .” We know, however, that knowledge is not the exclusive preserve of one race, but of all races.

By definition, knowledge is the totality of what is known to humanity . Knowledge is a body of information and truth, and the set of principles acquired by mankind over the ages .

Knowledge is akin to a quilt, the latter consisting of several layers held together by stitched designs and comprising patches of many colors.

The oldest patch on the quilt of science belongs to the African named Imhotep . He was the world's first recorded scientist, according to the prolific American science writer Isaac Asimov.

The oldest patch on the quilt of mathematics belongs to another African named Ahmes. Isaac Asimov also credited Ahmes as being the world's first author of a mathematics textbook.

Therefore, a study of history of science is an effort to stitch together a quilt that has life, texture and color. African historians must insert the patches of information omitted from books written by European historians.

There are many examples of the mark Africans have made on world history. Americans are surprised when I tell them Africans built both Washington 's White House and Capitol .

According to the US Treasury Department , 450 of the 650 workers who built the White House and the Capitol were African slaves.

Because the White House and Capitol are the two most visible symbols of American democracy , it is important to inform all schoolchildren in our globalized world that these institutions are the results of the sweat and toil of mostly African workers.

This must also be an acknowledgement of the debt America owes Africa .

Similarly, discussions of globalization should credit those Africans who left the continent and helped build other nations throughout the world - most nations on Earth.

Philip Emeagwali can be contacted:
E-mail: [email protected]