The Optimal Development Theory (ODT) provides the people of African descent a platform to relate with their past experiences, which is an opportunity for gaining closure with past injustices. Through the ODT, African scholars and leadership can have a foundation for approving leadership and establishing shared values. The theory thus allows Black people to relive their experiences optimally, thus realizing their eternal peace and happiness. The ODT provides a cosmological metaphor for the relationship between the conscious and unconscious aspects of being. In between the two is the psychological aspect of human life. The two states, the cosmological psychological, defines the optimal and suboptimal civilization of humans. The cosmological aspect indicates the past and present situation of human civilization. Whereas the Whites were able to progress well through their civilization process to achieve an optimal status, the Blacks were denied this chance, which explains their sub-optimal civilization. Hence, the cosmological and psychological perspectives of the ODT explains the differences between Whites and Blacks in the US. The cosmological difference in civilization occasions the inequality strain in the US. For the gap to be eliminated, the Blacks must have an opportunity to relive their past, accept the ills meted against them, and have closure. The ODT is critical in explaining the power dynamics in the US. In the US, power has been an elusive element for Blacks due to the Whites' optimal civilization aspect. The Whites are perceived as the dominant group, which gives them an upper hand over the African Americans. For African Americans to achieve optimal civilization, they must be allowed to reconcile with their past. Such an effort must be a collaboration among all races laying a foundation for heterogeneously shared power.
Optimal Theory of Development
African psychology provides an opportunity to learn critical lessons on both the visible and concealed structural barriers to mental wellbeing and social justice for people of African descent. Over the years, Africans across the world and especially in the USA, have endured entrenched racial prejudices. The Optimal Development Theory (ODT) is hinged on the African cultural perspective through which African scholars and leadership can approve leadership and establish shared value systems. In essence, the ODT triggers the focus of psychology from service to certain dominant groups, thus prioritizing the study of the soul ( Myers et al., 2018 ). The theory thus provides Africans with a platform to acknowledge the world around them, ask the relevant questions and can test the truth of response provided. ODT thus opens an opportunity to relive the African experience optimally, thus realizing eternal peace and happiness, which is a departure from the sub-optimal system of Western psychology ( Bruce, 2012 ). In the US, African Americans are yet to have an opportunity to have a closure of past events due to the entrenched sub-optimal system. For Africans to realize optimal civilization, the current structural disparities must be removed, allowing room for healing and racial equality.
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Cosmological and Psychological Consequences of Optimal versus Sub-Optimal Civilization on Humans
From a cosmology perspective, the ODT provides an extraordinarily suitable metaphor for the association between the conscious and unconscious aspects of being. Consciousness only makes a fraction of human essence while the rest is comprised of unconsciousness. In between the two states lies the psychological relationship that defines the optimal and sub-optimal civilization of humans. For example, according to Myers et al. (2018), Africology provides a lens through which members of the African community can interpret their current situation. For them to achieve this, they must relate the modern to the past. The modern represents the conscious, while the past indicates the unconscious. The entire process of accepting reliving the past is the healing process characterized by psychological undertones.
The different assumptions of the ODT can be used to show both the cosmological and psychological consequences of the two states of civilization on humans. Whereas the optimal system attempt to unite the conscious and the unconscious states, the sub-optimal tends to be biassed towards one. Due to this, one will find that one race will appear to be more civilized than the others. According to Myers et al. (2018), the perpetuation of Western psychology has led to the complicity and the perpetuation of social injustice, especially for African descent people. For example, sub-optimal civilization in countries such as the US will deny minority races a chance to relive their past and relate it with the current times; thus, these races will appear inferior. The in-between psychological process would give African Americans the so much needed closure with the past. Such an outcome can only be achieved if races that are thought to be less civilized were allowed to recreate their historical experiences, which in itself is optimal civilization. For example, in sub-optimal systems, identity is individualistic, while in an optimal system, it is extended self, which is a multidimensional aspect ( Bruce, 2012 ). One realizes that the more civilized a race is, the more they pool resources and efforts to propel their society forward. The ODT provides a premise on which a race can move from a sub-optimal system of civilization to an optimal one.
The inequality strain is a cosmetology consequence occasioned by the gaping hole between the optimal and sub-optimal human civilization. For instance, the Africans in the US are left to play a catch-on game on their counterparts, the Caucasians. The Blacks' modern consciousness concerning their historical experiences has not come of age in that they have not reconciled with the past. This is an equality strain that has disadvantaged minority races in the US, especially African Americans. One will find that the areas where the Blacks are the majority lag behind compared to white-dominated localities. The ODT provides a framework that explains how Africans have been able to persevere through this inequality ( Myers et al.,2018 ). From this theory, one understands that healing and wholeness can be achieved across the human race to ensure that all are operating from a common cosmological and psychological perspective. The cosmological impact of the optimal and sub-optimal civilization can thus be realized if structural systems, for example, in the US, become accommodative of all regardless of their race.
Power Dynamics in the USA from the Perspective of how Blacks Are Treated
Power dynamics in the US favor the Caucasians over the African Americans due to the white privilege factor occasioned by the optimal civilization factor. White privilege bias is established because the Caucasians are the dominant ethnic group in the country, while others such as the Blacks are not indigenous members of the American society. Consequently, even on the social front, the Whites will feel entitled to more power than Blacks. Until recently, racial diversity and inclusivity have been a relatively alien concept in the US, whereby Blacks have been treated as second class citizens ( Egan et al., 2018 ). In the corridors of power, the Whites have had the upper hand over the Blacks who have struggled to match the efforts and achievements of the latter. The structural biases of the US system have roots in the historical injustices meted on the Blacks. From the ODT's premises, one recognizes that the current scenario is due to the lack of a supportive environment for Blacks' progress. As a result, African Americans have lagged civilization-wise, which has given the Whites a reason to perceive Blacks as a weaker race. Hence, the Whites have had more time and resources to enjoy power compared to Blacks. As the Caucasians progressed economically, the system was unfavorable to the African Americans because the majority of the Blacks had little education and economic leverage to compete with their counterparts.
For the Africans in the US to achieve optimal civilization, they must be allowed to reconcile with their past. However, this can only be achieved from a common front whereby all races join forces to ensure that past mistakes are rectified. For example, diversity and inclusivity training are on the rise in the US today's events, which are contributing towards unity among the races ( Egan et al., 2018 ). Society seems to take a shared path to revisit historical injustices meted against African Americans in the US. Relatedly, the US elected had its first president of African descent who led the country from 2008 to 2016. The US today is electing other members in other political positions such as members of the congress. Such dynamics set precedence on how power in a heterogeneous society, such as the US, should be shared. However, such events will only be perpetuated if the tenets of the ODT are applied. The US must thus consciously recognize its people's diversity, and this will be achieved by developing supportive policies. Such policies must recognize the historical injustices of the disadvantaged African Americans throughout US history. The US community must understand that the Black society must undergo the complete physiological process to heal completely.
In summary, the relevance of the ODT is founded on the historical realities of the need for equality. Therefore, the theory opens the door for equal rights in the US and especially as it concerns the relationship between African Americans and Whites. If the ODT principles are applied in American society, the racial disparities between the Whites and Blacks will be eliminated. The elimination of this gap will denote the shift of the African Americans from sub-optimal civilization to optimal civilization. The cosmological and psychological consequences are why, in the US, Whites appear to be more civilized than African Americans.
References
Bruce, B. E. (2012). The African Unconscious: Roots of Ancient Mysticism and Modern Psychology (1st ed., pp. 90-93). Cosimo Books, Inc.
Egan Brad, L. C., Spisz, T. J., & Tanega, C. G. (2018). Does “Privilege Checking” Make Us Less Racist, or More? Generation and Political Orientation Matter. Race and Social Problems. doi:10.1007/s12552-018-9246-0
Myers, L. J., Anderson, M., Lodge, T., Speight, S., & Queener, J. E. (2018). Optimal theory’s contributions to understanding and surmounting global challenges to humanity. Journal of Black Psychology , 44 (8), 747-771.
