Ashamed of Slavery?

i'm currently reading about different religious histories of Black people in the US, and there have been some glaring similarities and consistencies among many Afro-centric Black leaders and religious leaders in our past.

i can't speak for all those within the diaspora, although many probably share this sentiment, but i think collectively, we are still deeply ashamed of slavery; of being descendants of people who have been enslaved.  and i think a number of issues and problems within our community have stemmed from this feeling of inadequacy and, ultimately feelings of inferiority.

when Black Americans organized their repatriations to Africa, resulting in the devastating results of Liberia (and, in a similar but a bit different case, Sierra Leone), it was to Christianize Native Africans, to "civilize them" in a sense, and to restore Africa to it's rightful place among the other great civilizations (whatever that means). while i have a ridiculous amount of respect for these men, Marcus Garvey, Henry McNeal Turner, Paul Cuffe, and others, these men bought into the idea that Africa NEEDED to be civilized, assuming it already wasn't and felt that they, and that all Black Americans, were the ones that were supposed to bring it to Africa in accordance with a plan from god. this not only makes African-Americans special (more special that other Africans that weren't enslaved through the Tras Atlantic slave trade), but it makes our history more opulent than it was and makes up for us being enslaved.

this constant need of African Americans and other diasporans to pull knowledge and reverence from everywhere but West Africa speaks of more feelings of inadequacy. Rastas look to Ethiopia and consider Black diasporans descendants of them, Noble Drew Ali believed we were a tribe from Morocco, which is why he referred to his organization as the Moorish Science Temple, and referred to his followers as Moors...although, ironically he referred to them also as "Asiatics". Master Fard Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam, believed that we came from Mecca....that is, Saudi Arabia. not to mention the omnipresent references to ancient Egypt. it also brought to mind Q-tip, who when taking DNA samples to discover which "tribe" he originated from in Africa, said he believed we was Zulu...although anyone who has studied the basics about the Atlantic Slave Trade knows that almost no one came from anywhere south of Angola. so why Q-tip (and i'm sure some others) felt he was from the Zulus is beyond me. although i can surmise a probable reason.

so, compiled, we're from Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Morocco, and South Africa; we're Moors, we're "Asiatics", and we're the lost tribe of Judah. what next, we're a group of Blacks from the 3rd moon of Jupiter, sent by the Black god of the next galaxy over?? in addition, this constant need of African Americans to believe these idealized myths that "we're descendants of kings and queens", "we come from royalty", or "we come from a land of warriors", which i have heard too many times to recall, is simply sad. no, we don't come from King and Queens. even if African societies had what would be equivalents of "kings" and "queens", which in most cases, it did not...we still ALL wouldn't be descendants of them. not everyone living in Africa was a leader. nor were they all warriors. there has never been any society in which every single member were warriors.
the fact, that many of us are trying to avert, is that we are also and most recently, descended from people who were enslaved. we have to come to a place in our mental collectivity to being comfortable with this. and i don't think we're anywhere close to that. and note that i don't mean comfortable in the sense that we stop fighting for justice and recognition of what was done to us in the past, but internally, we have to be comfortable that this is also our history.

slavery, as much as it ruptured many connections and knowledge systems that we had in Africa, should also be seen as another dimension to our history. it isn't something we shouldn't speak about and should feel ashamed of. the only folks that should be ashamed of slavery are white people - i.e., enslavers. and i know many individuals who don't like to learn about slavery, mainly because it makes them feel victimized. and this, is nothing more than ignorance regarding this history.

i can recall a friend of mine in high school, who, in one of our history classes made it clear that she felt uncomfortable speaking about slavery in particular. i also had a friend who wanted to distance himself from Black people (although he was as Black as any other Black person) because he felt that we were "pathetic" - in reference to our history. but did either of them know that Africans have resisted from the jump? that within every single stage of enslavement that we have revolted?
Africans fought being put in chains in Africa, some fought back in droves, and others rallied some leaders to do the same (e.g., Madam Tinubu). Africans jumped over the sides of ships and committed suicide in protest of their conditions. nearly every nation in the diaspora have had organized revolts, from Nat Turner and Denmark Vesey to L'Overture in Haiti to the Maroons in Jamaica. unorganized, it has been documented that hundreds of individuals resisted in ways they could - enslaved cooks putting crushed glass in slave-owners food, killing owners' children, poisoning was notorious of those enslaved in Jamaica particularly, enslaved women also had abortions, some even killed their own children, while others set fire to crops and sabotaged other productions and business ventures. many have also resisted Christianity (if somewhat futile...), by incorporating aspects of West African beliefs into Christianity (that can still be seen today), while others, more notably in other diasporic nations, have resisted Christianity altogether and still worship the ways our ancestors did. point being, there is nothing to be ashamed of. personally, i find learning about our experiences during slavery empowering. and while that could just be me, i think if more Black folks were to know what they don't know....the sentiment would be mutual.

but many Black people don't know this, and furthermore have been bamboozled into believing that we come from nothing and went willingly and submissively into slavery. this is where the shame of slavery originates.

Black people have to be willing to let go of these idealized and mythologized histories that we have created to make up for our contrition in reference to slavery. being enslaved was a happenstance that occurred simply because Europeans had guns and we did not. we were not weak, docile, or dumb in any capacity. the more i learn about our past, the more evident this becomes. and hopefully, in time more Black folks will gain this knowledge and stop feeling this need to invent histories and myths regarding our origins.

also, this continual overlooking of West Africa is a manifestation of this shame as well. many of us know nothing of Nok society, reputed as one of the first societies ever to have iron-work, in present-day Nigeria, in addition to the Mali, Songhay, and Ghana empires. but beyond that...why are we still looking for "great civilizations"? why are we still looking for different versions of Egypt, which in itself is just a colored representation of Greece and Rome. must we constantly be looking for Black Greece in Africa? do we see the issue in this?
i was reading about the Nuer (Naath) recently of southern Sudan. they're a pastoral people (although "people", "tribe" and any other moniker referring to a collective body is problematic. for more info check out The Nuer by E.E. Evans-Pritchard) whose wealth is in their cattle. they aren't materially rich because they have beliefs that anything in excess should be given away to others. their dwellings are simple and efficient and easily movable. they don't have cities made of gold, they don't have kings, queens, chiefs, or anything of the sort. in every since of the word, they would not be considered part of these "great civilizations", however, these are people that have survived, and have surmised their own complex social ties, cosmologies, and epistemologies that deserve a lot more respect than they get. not to mention the fact that the book i recommended was from an anthropologist sent out to figure the Nuer out because their land was the only one the British had yet to conquer because the Nuer were fierce enough to keep them at bay well into the 1900's -  the Brits literally had to go around them.
we have to rethink the ways in which we evaluate "great civilizations/societies" that don't revolve around material wealth and structures resembling European societies (e.g., kings, queens, stratified systems that include specialists, religious officials, etc.). and it seems as though more and more recently, diasporans have been trying to construct the Yoruba into these molds, but we have to resist this need to look only to one or two societies and idealize them. we all come from an amalgamation of West Africans - not just one group. and all of them deserve recognition, respect, and reverence.

in time, maybe we can start understanding our histories without the need for a certain type of history; to be descended from or a certain type of society. i believe we can overcome this, (which should be understood as simply another manifestation of colonialism) and with it, i think other necessaries within our communities will arise on their own.

comment. think. criticize. learn.

What is and what is not an African?

so recently, on tumblr, there was a days-long discussion about what is and what is not African. i made some posts about it on my tumblr, got really angry and frustrated, deleted them because i was tired of the discussion and tired of trying to validate myself to other Africans, but i still have some thoughts lingering.

you can view some of the posts (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) just to get an understanding of feelings in the discussion. this conversation has happened before on tumblr, and i'm not completely sure how it was resurrected. i think it had something to do with the idea that African Americans (or possibly various diasporic ethnicities) culturally appropriate items from African cultures.

if you're unfamiliar with the term "cultural appropriation" (this blog deals with the appropriation of Native cultures), it means taking from another culture (usually wardrobe, jewelry, make-up and things worn on the body, but can also extend to food, dances, and other items such as furniture, art pieces, etc.) without having the knowledge of the culture or the significance of the said item/style - and, thus adding to the overall culture's erasure and disregard.  an example is the cultural appropriation of of the Native headress. white girls who are feeling "in touch with nature" feel the need to appropriate the headress (of which there are multiple ones, some of which are reserved for special people who are members of the nation, and some only for certain ceremonies) without acknowledging any Native culture. the issue with this is that these cultures, Native cultures (along with many non-European cultures) are being or have been largely marginalized, ignored, disrespected, and face extinction. when hundreds of Natives are living on reservations in which the life expectancy is that of a third-world culture, where many cannot understand that there are hundreds of Native cultures, not just one, and certainly not the one from old Cowboys & Indians movies. it continues the mockery Europeans have made of indigenous societies and adds to the upholding of European societies as the only ones worthy of any distinguish or deeper understanding and respect.

many of the Africans in the discussion felt that when Black Americans don dashikis and whatever else from Africa, that we are culturally appropriating African styles, and thus, the cultures; and ultimately contributing to the erasure of various African cultures that continue to be oversimplified, disrespected, and face extinction by being forcibly amalgamated with other African cultures to make a monolithic, stereotyped, "African culture" (when ultimately, there is no African culture-there are thousands of African cultures). when Black Americans call themselves "Nubians", they are, culturally appropriating; considering that those of us descended from enslaved peoples come from West Africa, and Nubia (or what was) is a region in East Africa, we contribute to the erasure of Nubian culture. i think many Black Americans believe that "Nubia" is another word for "Africa", which shows you where the issue lies. if those that referred to themselves as "Nubians" truly respected the culture, they would do some research, and know that they have no real idea about Nubia, let alone Africa and its vast diversity.

with that said, i don't believe it should be looked at or even termed "cultural appropriation". while other people of color can culturally appropriate other cultures, the situation of AA's and African culture is very different than any other situation. not only have we been moved against our will into European (minded) lands, but we have been told outright lies, mis information or nothing at all about Africa. so, when someone does ANYTHING associated with Africa, it should be understood that there are a number of hurdles one has had to overcome in order to be comfortable with that.

we should be educated (granted it is a genuine interest) in such a way that does not mock us as if we're the dumb, uneducated stepchild that continues to be an embarrassment to the family. of course we're uneducated on African cultures; this is a pillar or colonialism. we have to remain separate, and those of us in the superpower nation that is the US have to be so far removed from our traditions and from those on the continent because there might actually be an international revolution is we unified.

when South Africa was dealing with apartheid, the Black Panthers (among some other Black American groups) were protesting for boycotts, intervention, divestment, and calling general attention to what was happening to Blacks in South Africa. and they were shut down by the government. the Black Panthers were ravaged  by COINTELPRO, half were either murdered, jailed, or exiled from the country. this should tell you how important the diaspora/African unity could be and why it is important for the powers-that-be to keep us at each other's throats and ignorant about each others plights. once we become truly unified, it is not a matter of IF colonialism, capitalism and general Black (or other) oppression can be defeated, but WHEN.

with that said, i completely agree with the issues some of the Africans brought up. we, as African Americans or within the diaspora and are several generations removed and/or descendants of slaves, need to stop treating Africa as a monolithic culture. we have to stop allowing the idea that Africans are running from cheetahs all day, all of them are walking around naked (which, apparently, is equivalent to barbarism), and speaking in clicks to permeate our thoughts. we have to research Africa as a whole, the diversity of the people, of the past and the present and of the distinctions between different ethnicities. understand that we descend from West Africa and none of our people were Nubians, were speaking Swahili or anywhere near Kemet/Egypt. we also have to understand that not all Africans feel the same way about us. many of them will not associate with us or consider us Africans-and that is their right to feel that way. we must learn the virtue of listening. listening to their experiences, their uniquewants/needs/feelings and their frustrations with those of us from the diaspora.

but when Black Americans identify, ignorantly, with Africa - i understand it, and Africans from the continent that seek to criticize us should understand it as well.
Egypt is probably the only place in Africa discussed more than once in public education. one Nigerian sister i responded to mocked the fact that so many AA's know/wish to know Swahili and wondered why none of us knew any Igbo words. the first time i ever heard the word "Igbo" was maybe 3 years ago (i'm 25) and that is because i'm close with some Nigerians and follow a ton of blogs/websites operated by Nigerians. Swahili is the only African language discussed in the media/education and is, along with Arabic, the most common language featured as college courses. and this is what Africa has become to us and most of the world - naked Black bodies, speaking Swahili (which apparently sounds like a bunch of clicks and grunts) and the Egyptians. Egypt, especially, is presented (by whites, of course) as the one and only "civilization" of Africa. most of the things i've learned about Africa has been outside of school, on my own time and within the last 4 or 5 years. and the sources have had to be things i searched for, mostly on the internet. if i didn't have internet access, or any internal push for knowledge of my ancestors or different cultures in general, i'd probably be calling myself a Nubian Princess too.
correct, criticize, and inform us, by all means. but i really resent the tone of informing us of our faults with no cultural or historical context. not to mention the assertion that we aren't/will never be "African". that, honestly, hurts on multiple levels.

we damn sure ain't American, so what are we? for some time, i've looked at the cultural remnants we've kept even through slavery and other oppressions as nothing more than crumbs left over from a meal. but now, i find myself hanging onto them for dear life. parts of West African religions, beliefs, communal and familial relations and even food have been maintained to an amazing degree, given the circumstances. not in all parts of the diaspora (Suriname, Southern US, Brazil, Haiti, and other West Indian communities have sustained multiple parts of West African traditions much more than say, Black communities in Canada and other parts of the Americas), but enough of them do. these things came from West Africa. this cannot be disputed. and at the root of our communities, we are African.

the question for me, is whether or not a Black person can ever completely/truly remove themselves of being "African"?

while some Africans feel that there has been too much time and generations (that have forgotten most of the ways) lapsed in order for AA's to ever be considered "African", some feel as though with time, genuine interest and a push for knowledge while respecting and honoring the customs that we can eventually be considered African (i'm very thankful for those of you that feel this way). but so what are we now (without the effort)? what of the Africans who move to the US, change their names, and start telling people their family is from "the islands", but they they're "proud Americans"? what of the first generation kids who turn their noses up at egusi soup and Nollywood and are, by any stretch of the word, Europhiles? are they not African?

i'm not suggesting that by categorizing them as African, they get some type of pass for kissing white ass; not at all. oppressors and those that aid in our destruction come in white just as well as Black. and they should be ostracized from those of us that seek unity and liberation. however, denying that they're African (or Black, as some AA's have said of other AA's) is something completely different. is Clarence Thomas not African? are the Egyptians and other lighter-skinned North Africans who identify more with Arab cultures and would consider it an insult to call them "African" or even "Black" not African?
i suppose that gets into the complexity of what is and what isn't African. and from what i've learned, there never has been a collective "African" identity. the "African" collective/identity is one born out of years or ravaged and raped societies resulting from colonialism, exploitation, slavery, and forced industrialization. unity is needed; unity is PARAMOUNT. and this category was more and likely the result of that need.

it is up to us to decide what it is and isn't. and while i'm not included in many Africans' idea of "us", my "us" includes those on the continent and those not; those several generations removed, and those practicing the cultures how our ancestors did. and while this conversation upsets me at times, i think we should have more conversations like this - otherwise unity can never be achieved.

comment. think. criticize. share your experiences/beliefs/issues.

The Rift between Africans and the diaspora

not too long ago this post came across my dash on tumblr. you can read my response at the very bottom, so i won't repeat it. i mainly wanted to talk about the rift that exists and hopefully some solutions to building bridges and make amends.

i've spoken about this before in another post, and every time it gets brought up, i can feel hostility and pain on both sides. it is such a touchy subject that i have to remove myself from it at times because too many emotions arise from just speaking about my reality and my personal identity.

but it's become more and more evident to me that if we are to survive in this world, there has to be unity between us. ultimately, amongst all people of color, but we have to start in our own communities. i don't think it was a coincidence that the American revolutionaries that reached out to Africa or other diasporic communities have been swiftly assassinated, jailed, or considered the most dangerous by their respective governments. Assata Shakur, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Marcus Garvey, etc. when detrimental links are shown between American (US) consumers and government, it is almost always silenced in some fashion because unity between us would mean unfathomable change on every level.

once we become unified and our struggles intertwined, there will be no mission that is unachievable.

so here are some ideas i've gathered from reading the views from those born on the continent and those that weren't that i think will aid in the bridge for both sides:

For Africans from the Diaspora:

Learn: it is a wonder just how little i knew about Africa last year, and the year before that, and before i read this one book or got linked with that blog. our system is sustained by our ignorance, so why would our public education have more than 2 pages on the entire continent of Africa?

go to the travel section and pick up books about Africa to get a basic feel (although, note, most of these books are written by white people who have their own experience in Africa that may or may not be based on their status as tourists/voluntourists).

the internet IS YOUR FRIEND. there is no excuse to not know about Africa, people from the continent, and various cultures within it. i have learned an immense amount of information from friends i've linked with through the internet, African blogs i've followed, and people i've met in person that have been very helpful. here are some blogs and websites about and from people from Africa:

• The AfroFuturist Affair
• Dreams-From-My-Father
• Valrain
• African Style
• Daughter of the Soil - from Nigeria
• Fuck Yeah Black History
• Nok-Ind
• The Ase Fountain
• Kilele
• Monochromatic Black - Nigerian American
• Black Acrylic - from Uganda
• Obia, the Third - from Nigeria
• Dynamic Africa
• blogs recommended from Fuck Yeah Africa
• Eccentric Yoruba - from Nigeria
• Afri-Love
• Africa Style Daily
• Afroklectic
• MsAfropolitan
• Pop Africana
• African Proverbs on Twitter
• Africa is a Country
• That African Girl - from Togo
• B Sama

Mingle: find out about African clubs, restaurants, organizations, and stores in your area. shop there, chit chat there, become facebook friends, etc.

Read: get some books and read your ass off. there are a number of fiction books from authors like Wole Soyinka, Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi, and Chinua Achebe that write about experiences in different African cultures. Chinweizu Ibekwe, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, John S. Mbiti, Cheik Anta Diop, and Ifi Amadiume are non-fiction writers that should be looked into as well. aside from books, read up on the history of different nations and colonialism. read about apartheid in South Africa, the Blood Diamond trade in West and Central Africa. read about respected leaders like Thomas Sankara, Patrice Emery Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah and leaders that have aided in the destruction of their country like Robert Mugabe and Charles Taylor. and don't forget the revolutionaries such as Leymah Gbowee, Steven Biko, and Queen Nzinga. wikipedia does a great job of having a good amount of info about a country, its population, language, etc. all in one place.

Watch: Ousmane Sembene, one of my favorite filmakers from Senegal, has done a number of films about West African culture. search 'Africa' on netlfix (Lumumba is awesome!), youtube, vimeo, and Google Videos. there are a number of Nollywood flicks on youtube in full. watch them and ask some people you've become acquainted with any questions you may have.

Important to note: everything you read about and hear through the news is not always reality and that you must interact with the people in order to get their reality. no one else can tell their story. it is also imperative that you understand that Africa is a gigantic continent with an immense amount of diversity. what is true for someone in West Africa is not necessarily true for those in the Horn of Africa. even within the same country - Igbo is something separate from Ijaw and Yoruba.

classism and political rifts exist within African communities as well and those with money and political standing do not have the same reality as those without.

also, and most importantly for those trying to reconnect, understand that those living on the continent are not waiting for us to come back so that they can embrace us and have a period of mourning for our destructed history. they have their own lives and may not even know, let alone understand, those of us that wish desperately to return and reconnect. it isn't good or bad, it simply is what it is. this is something we have to understand and move on (something i'm still trying to do...).

For Africans from the Continent:

Learn: from what i've heard, most Africans know a lot about the US and even television shows from the US are aired in a number of African countries. those shows tell about the lives of rich/middle class white America. many African immigrants come to the US with stereotypes about Black Americans birthed from these diluted and edited media outlets.

the US is not a land of milk and honey where we all have money, good education, and equal access to prestige and power. racism, classism, and sexism are thriving in the US at this point and have since its conception. these media outlets and television shows will never show you the dozens of Black males the police have murdered, the Black and Brown women that have been forcibly sterilized or the number of Black people who are working 2+ jobs and still can't pay their bills. and it damn sure won't tell you about our history of lynching, genocide, and the systematic dehumanization of people of color. not just of Blacks in the US but of Native Americans and immigrants of color.

here are some blogs and websites of people from the diaspora that speak about our realities:

• Waheed Photo Archive
• AfroDiaspores
• Aikura
• Colorful Diaspora
• Stark Reality
• The Runaway Slave
• Red for Gender - focus on gender in the Caribbean
• Crunk Feminist Collective
• Soul Eyes - Ghana via Canada
• Yearning for Unity
• Tembo Nzuri
• Imsoblackimbright
• Guerillamamamedicine - American in Egypt
• The New Black Woman
• Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist Mind
• Reparations for Enslavement and the Blackside of Things
• Futuristically Ancient
• Shadow and Act: Cinema from the Diaspora
• Abagond
• The Nu Black

Mingle: as much as you can. this may have to be done via the internet, but it's mingling nonetheless.

Read: there are a ton of books written about Black experiences in the US and other diasporic communities. writers in the US like Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, Saidiya Hartman, bell hooks, Angela Davis, and James Baldwin, and Stacey-Ann Chin are just a few. unfortunately, i cannot name any other writers off the top of my head from the Caribbean or South/Central America, so feel free to add to the list or do a simple google search. books that speak about our histories can be found from writers like Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. DuBois, Fredrick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston. and if these books are not available, google searches with yield just as much information.

Watch: watch films about slavery so you know what they did to us and why we are still recovering. i would suggest staying clear of most news outlets because they tend to focus on and even exaggerate negative aspects of us as a people. there are a number of contemporary films you can watch to see Black life in the US (like Precious), but almost all of these films come along with baggage so it is important to read the criticisms in addition.

Important to note: in turn, as your realities are not the same across the continent, nor is ours. i am from the southern US middle-class background in a small rural military community. this is not the same for someone raised in an urban lower-class (financially) background in Northern US. not everyone is rich in the US, regardless of what they tell you on the news. most of us live in debt up to our eyeballs acquired from college. public education may be better than some places around the globe, but there still exists a hierarchy in which rich white kids have better resources and opportunities than Black and Brown children living in largely colored communities.

i cannot speak of the other diasporic communities, but if you come to the US, understand that you are Black. you will probably get special treatment from whites that like to fetishize you or look at you through a pitying eye ("the poor malnourished, uneducated, savage African that just needs a pair of TOMS shoes and a check from UNICEF..."), but otherwise, you are Black and will be looked at the same way those of us born here are seen. that being, if you're male-a criminal/rapist and is you're female-an emasculating bitch best used as a sex object. all of these can be usurped depending on your level of assimilation, of course. this whole mess about i'm not Black, i'm Somali, i'm Igbo...ain't happening in THIS country. it is true, but once you step in this country, the color of your skin is most important. most people in this country could not tell you whether "Igbo" is a people from West Africa, or a city in Jamaica. and frankly, most don't care. so understand that you may spend ridiculous amounts of energy and time on foolish questions and categories Americans may try to force you into.

also, regarding those that want to reconnect with you, your culture, your country, etc. (note that it is not all of us...not even most...unfortunately) please understand that this is vital to some of us. there is a lot we simply do not know and/or have yet to understand about you or your particular culture. be patient, please. but don't be afraid to set us straight about misunderstandings.

comment. think. criticize. feel free to add to my list if you like.

Vintage Africa

i recently found an amazing website full of colonial era photos of The Congo, Central African Republic and Angola. i found them while searching for one of the photos below i found in a book about ethnomedicine in postcards. they're beyond beautiful. it doesn't specify what people's they're from, but i believe some are of the Banziri.



























this photo is the one i was searching for. the book says this about it:

Enema among the Banziri (in what is now the Central African Republic) - Collection L. Martin
Instillation or insufflation of enema liquids into small children is a common type of self-care in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly for young children. modern estimates suggest that at least one million enemas are being used every month is Soweto and that infants in Swaziland may receive as many as 50 enemas a year.

interesting, yea?

if you know of any other websites that feature vintage photos of indigenous people, feel free to share.

The Mis-education of the Negro

"The most disastrous aspect of colonization which you are the most reluctant to release from your mind is their colonization of the image of god." -France Cress-Welsing

"i saw no African people in the printed and illustrated Sunday school lessons. i began to suspect at this early age that someone had distorted the image of my people. my long search for the true history of African people the world over began." -Dr. John Henrik Clarke

since i've moved back to the south, i've had much more contact with the two smallest people in my nuclear family-my niece (4 years old) and my nephew (7 years old). i see the shows they watch, see the food they eat, and get a since of how they see the world in everyday conversations with them. unfortunately, this is has lead me to realize that there are some serious issues in how we raise our children, especially black children. i believe most people have already come to this conclusion, but i think that every single aspect of a black child's life needs to be examined in order for us to get back to pride, solidarity, collective respect for one another, health, economic stability, etc.

for one, i will say that they have all they need-meaning food, shelter, well-rounded and well-intending adults caring for them, love, acceptance, etc. what they do not have is an African centered education; an education or a foundation that enables them to be strong, intelligent, and proud black adults.

the other day, i was showing my nephew a cartoon on youtube based on one of the African Folktales of Anansi the spiderman (or the spider??). there is a part in the video where Anansi goes to the Sky God and asks him for his stories. the Sky God looks something like this. this is the conversation that ensued:

nephew: (with one eyebrow raised) thats god?

me: yea, whats wrong with him?

nephew: thats not what he looks like.

me: well how does he looks?

nephew: he has a beard and long hair and....and he has a tan. Jesus has a tan. he [the sky god] is dark. he [god] ain't dark like that.

me: so god isn't black?

nephew: no. he's tan like Jesus.

in essence, he believes god to be white. this should not have shocked me, but it did. it hurt, actually. this is probably one of the worst things a black child could say. i shouldn't be shocked, considering even the images in our house is white, the ones at the churches he's been to are white, the ones in his Sunday school books are white, and the ones on television are white.

the only response i could gather to say was "some people think he's black", to which he didn't respond. i don't hold any beliefs in any gods or god-like entities, so i feel as though telling him "god is black" would be lying to him. however, if he is going to believe in a god (which, in itself, i have no issues with) i would rather it be one that looks just like him.

i think it's one thing to understand the level of dehumanization it took for us to forget the gods of our ancestors and that it began with the onset of colonialism, but it is another to attempt to change that colonized concept in someone else's mind, especially that of a 7 year old. how does one (one that is not the parent) begin to even address it? and how can i, someone who has no concept of "god" even tell him that his idea of "god" is incorrect? i do, however, believe that having a concept of god that looks like oneself is best for the individual psyche. Cheik Anta Diop and Dr. John Henrik Clarke have both spoken about the tragedy of our dissociation from African religions and philosophies.

the problem is not just a concept of god, but what consequences this idea will have on him as a black person. his concept (like most black and brown peoples') of good and bad will have a white/black dichotomy. and considering he isn't "tan", his identity will never be content with his level of self-worth, or with that of other blacks.

but this isn't just from church and religious organizations, white supremacy is also very evident in the shows they watch. The Disney Channel is, like most shows on television, mainly white with black and brown people peppered here and there. my niece likes Justin Beiber and her favorite show is Hannah Montana. Justin Beiber is a sack of nothingness and boredom who has more hype than talent, but Hannah Montana is interesting. although she's already white, she embellishes herself with a blond wig in order to become the famed, loved, and talented teen-aged pop star. the only black people on The Disney Channel's shows are service people, baby-sitters, the chunky, loud, neck-twisting black girl or the comic relief, hip-hop loving, urban black boy. and considering i've been told that my hair is "busted" on a number of occasions by my neice (whose hair is also natural), it's already visible how this show has manifested itself in her ego.

i think as adults, we tend to think that children do not pick these things up; that they don't see color, but one only has to see the doll test to know that this is far from reality. if we do not educate our children (our; not just our own but the collective), they will be mis-educated, as many of us have come to realize too late.

so right now, i'm thinking of whether i can actually have any influence on them. even if i were to embark on a complete African history lesson, equipped with philosophies, gods, goddesses, religious concepts, names, dates, books, videos, maps, instruments, and everything else...it would be only me doing this, and thats only for a portion of the day. is it enough to combat hours (upon hours) of white-washed television, religious books and church full of white imagery all of which is happening in a 70% white populated town? even though i, admiteldly, am far from knowing enough about Africa. i suppose i'll have to at least try.

comment. think. criticize. educate. recommend any books, videos, etc. you think might be useful.

Africa for Africans?

i watched a very interesting and informative documentary last night (just got Netflix. yea. it's on like Donkey Kong...) titled Mugabe and the White African. i didn't read any commentary on the film, i just watched it because i was curious about the title.

the documentary is about a white family that is in the process of being kicked off their land in Zimbabwe by a new law president Robert Mugabe made making all land transactions void, although the only ones being effected are the land-owning whites. Michael Campbell (shown in the photo on the left with his son-in-law in front of their farm workers), owns a mango farm he purchased after independence from the government. the farm is equipped with 10 to 15 black workers whom they claim will lose their jobs if the farm taken over by the government. the Campbells consist of a couple, with their son, his wife, and their two kids. apparently, Mugabe is against the ownership of African land by whites, even if they self-identify as "African" and have been there since their birth. and most importantly, even if they purchased their land legally and have no history of mistreatment or wrongdoings against their workers.

the film follows Michael and his son-in-law from their farm in Zimbabwe to court to challenge Mugabe, who is in the habit of postponing the court hearings. the film dances around questions of whether or not a white person can be an "African", whether or not a white person should or shouldn't own land on the continent and the moral implications of being white and owning land in Africa.

i don't know much about Robert Mugabe, but the little that i do know is all negative. from the film, they have audio clips of him saying "Zimbabwe is mine", he's shown admitting on camera to operating a corrupt government, and the video details his ruthless political standing. he "won" his most recent (supposed democratic) election in which he was the only candidate and he's notorious for stifling any opposition (his political opponents and citizen uprisings are usually beaten, jailed or suddenly disappear). the film paints him as a callous, racist dictator who, while saying he wants to return the land to "peasant blacks", is really looking to take over the land himself (or a close family member) and sell the parts and resources for profit. and this is aside from him comparing himself to Hitler and sporting a mustache that looks as though it is inspired by the genocidal authoritarian.

i'm not sure about the validity in these claims against him, considering the way the western media distorts facts. however, it is a fact that the 30+ year reign of Mugabe has left the country in a far worse state that when he took office, although his wealth has continued to build (he has taken over at least 3 of these farms he's seized).

at one point in the film, a black man thats come to Michael's farm to intimidate him, says "we want you out! OUT! you come here, you take our land! i cannot go to UK, to Britain, to England and get land!" to which Michael Campbell responds "yes and we are less than 2% of the population....you say want this land for black peasants?? you come here in a new vehicle every time. and you're worried about the peasants?"

what i found interesting about this film was that, for one, it was obviously from the white perspective. the reckless use of the word "racist" was thrown about so much that i'm not sure the users actually knew the weight or the proper definition of the word. Mugabe and his "African for Africans" mentality was called racist many a times. but is he?

every white person living on the continent that was born there is more and likely a descendant of a colonist. and i think most people have come to the agreement that colonists have pretty much destroyed...the world. and while they populate less than 2% of the Zimbabwe population, they (according to Wikipedia) own more than 70% of the farm-worthy land. and i doubt this is the case for just Zimbabwe. so how "racist" or even "wrong" is it for Mugabe to want to give the land back to black people whom these whites' grandfathers and great grandmothers took it from? i don't believe he's wrong at all. if they're in the minority, they should be holding as much land as they do population. at this point in history, as i've been discussing with a friend of mine, is that Africa, Africans and all colored people need to abandon Europe. in order for colonized people and their countries to get back to a state of stability, they need to take measures, firstly, to assure that the people that have been disenfranchised in the past have an economic foothold to get back to stability. if that means kicking the whites out, or taking their economic standings from them, then so be it.

that being said though, i don't agree with Mugabe's means of kicking these people off the land and misusing the land by giving it to his family in a nepotistic giveaway. workers of Mugabe's often move these white farmer people off the land using violence, usually resulting in death.

in the film, after the farmer's case was postponed a second time, workers for Mugabe (i'm guessing??) attacked the couple and their son in the streets and beat them almost beyond recognition. and considering they were, in a sense, occupying land that wasn't their's, they couldn't legally retaliate. eventually, they won their case. unfortunately, the farm was burned to the ground soon after by the same people they were beaten by. what that case says for Zimbabwe, Zimbabweans, and Mugabe was not all that clear at the end of the film, and it probably isn't in reality either.

should other nations be doing something similar (that is, forcibly taking economic leeway away from the white minority and/or kicking them out of the countries they've come to call home)? should all African nations at least encourage whites to "go back to Europe"? what repercussions would that have between African countries and western ones (importing; exporting; job outsourcing; alliances; treaties; etc.)? can white people born and raised in Africa be "Africans"? is the removal of the economic stronghold that whites have in certain African countries instrumental in the recovery of Africa from its colonial past?

criticize. think. comment. watch the film and tell me what you think about it. watch the trailer.

Lost Kingdoms of Africa

a friend sent me a link to this video about the lost civilizations of Nubia. very very interesting. i think everyone; every single person should watch this. i think the majority of people on earth (black, brown, or other) believe that besides Egypt, the rest of Africa was a bunch of savages singing and dancing all day. we may have moved past the word "savage" as of recent times, but we still know nothing about these Nubian, South African, and Central African civilizations. Henry Louis Gates Jr. does a similar voyage to West Africa in his short series Wonders of the African World, and interestingly enough, this is the first i'm hearing about most of these facts and discoveries. theres iron work dating back to the 6th century in places like Chad, Nigeria, and Benin. why have i never heard about this?

anyway, watch the film. it is in 6 parts. also, check out the others he does in Benin and Zimbabwe.