The federal government denied black people justice after the civil war, when Robert Reed told his story about being shot and having his store looted they did nothing. after a investigation by the federal government ensued in which Robert reed named one of the assailants who’s name was officer Dave Roach they opted not to bring charges. all the policemen kept their jobs even after 46 black people were killed,5 black women raped, 75 people injured, over 100 people robbed, 91 homes and 12 back schools and 5 black churches burned and an extensive amount of property damage assessed. The federal government concluded that none of those crimes were worthy of federal charges. The southern local government was guilty of the same inaction and they didn’t do much to protect and serve black people immediately after the civil war. Black people were caught up in a war between north and south and they lost a significant amount of new found wealth.
Decolonizing African Studies is bold call to action and challenges us to rewrite our History through African lens. There is no Africa in African Studies says it all. The writer convicts Europeans of writing about Africa without any understanding of the rich and diverse cultures that the African continent possesses. This reading also challenges us to take our destiny in our hands by taking control of our own narrative thus reshaping it in the face of the mean-spirited western media. It is vital to decolonize our minds when studying Africa and its history because the Eurocentric perception of knowledge has been imbalanced because it is male dominated. One of the steps that we can take to dismantle European narratives is to approach knowledge through an Afrocentric lens by utilizing the feminization of knowledge, wisdom and understanding.
One of the most memorable and impactful moments from How to write about Africa was the line in which stated “Among your characters you must always include a Starving African, who wanders to the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West”. How to write about Nigeria was filled with many impactful moments in which Dr. Alozie highlights many of the demeaning terminologies that are hurled at us by the western propaganda machine. Phrases like a “Failed State” or “Underdeveloped Country” or “Desperately Poor Country” or “Crime Ridden Disgrace” are often used to describe Africa. These terms resonated with me because in the Virgin Islands where I’m from terms like Crime Ridden and Blacklisted are often used to describe our territory.
The portrayal of Africa as a dark continent in the media and western literature perpetuate racist and colonial ideologies because oftentimes anything that is dark is synonymous with doom and gloom. The “Black plague” or the “Black Death” for example is the term that was used when Europe was ravaged by a bubonic plague pandemic in the 1347.” Black Friday” is another term that was used in regard to the death of Christ and somehow it’s considered a “Good Friday” around Easter. Being “Blacklisted” by the world bank is another term that is used as well. Even the color of the man on the neighborhood watch sign is Black and this is rooted in anti blackness as defined by Orlando Patterson. The African studies readings challenge these notions and brands them as single stories told through Eurocentric lens. They pushback against the narrative that Africa is just a Safari of Darkness riddled with voodoo practitioners, monsters and gold.
One of the most significant achievements that challenges common stereotypes is the success of Mansa Musa in the kingdom of Mali. It is said that he was known to be the richest man in the world with a net worth of 400 billion, so move over Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet and Elon Musk. The fact that Malian sailors got to America in 1311 AD 181 years before Columbus refutes the narrative that the African American presence in the North American and South American continent started with the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It is important to highlight this aspect of African history because it further proves that Africa was very advance in terms of civilization. There is no story of the Malians coming over here killing and conquering the Native Americans which shows our civility and our ability to coexist amongst other groups of people. We the diaspora embody the spirit of diplomacy. The National Geographic described Timbuktu as the Paris of the Medieval world, on account of its intellectual culture, According the Dr. Henry Louis Gates 25,000 university students studied there. The first world’s first encyclopedia was created in Mali in the 14th century before the Europeans got the idea 4 centuries later. The reading materials also highlighted the fact that Bling culture existed in early Tanzania. A Portuguese chronicler of the sixteenth century wrote that ” They are finely clad in many rich garments of gold and silk and cotton, and the women as well; also with much gold and silver chains and bracelets, which they wear on their legs and arms, and many jeweled earrings in their ears.” It is also said that the ruined Mosque in the ruined Kenyan city of Gedi had water purifier made of limestone for recycling water. All of this newfound knowledge demonstrates Africa’s influence and interconnectedness with the rest of the world. Now I see why they call this area the New World, it’s clear that Africa was the First World and these readings provided evidence that Africa was never a Third World thus reshaping my understanding of Africa’s role in global history. The world owes Africa a tremendous amount of gratitude. Once again I’ve come to the conclusion that Africa has suffered many ills because of jealousy and envy and the settler mentality that was written about in the book titled The Wretched of the Earth continues to be a threat to Africa and the Diaspora.
James Sweet makes mention of the commemoration of the Jamestown settlement museum which opened in 2007 in celebration of 400 years of Virginia’s history. Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom was present during the celebration of the founding of Jamestown which begun in 1607. In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and in 1892 His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie from the famed House of Judah was born, 400 years. The book of Genesis chapter 15;13-14 says “And he said to Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve them; and they shall afflict them 400 years. And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterward shall they come out with great substance”. This is our story and an accurate representation of Africa and its diaspora. It was in Queen Elizabeth’s best interest to hide the identity of who the passengers of the Transatlantic Slave Trade really were. This is why it is of paramount importance for students and researchers to incorporate Afrocentric methodologies in all fields of study, so that the truth may reveal and we can have a clearer picture of the future and what it holds
One of the generalizations that really bother me as someone from the African Diaspora is the assertion that Africa is a Third World Country. I’ve heard this term a lot and without knowing the meaning of it I didn’t like it because I could tell that it carried a bad spirit and negative connotation. In a world where we are viewed as second class citizens and subjugated under the European power structure I just knew that the ideology behind a “Third World” couldn’t be good. Upon researching the term it states that third world countries are normally defined by high poverty rates, lack of resources and unstable financial standing. The idea that Africa is poverty ridden is a dangerous single story. While I was growing up the mass media doubled downed on this narrative by showcasing commercials filled with African women holding babies in their arms while dozens of flies swarmed around them. The commercials went on to say that for just 69 cents a day you could provide an African child with clean water and food. It is crucial to examine these misleading notions of Africa because this type of imagery will deter anyone from visiting the continent and damage African pride abroad. It would also lead you down a path of miseducation. I say this because the narrative that Africa is poor deserves closer scrutiny because Africa is the most resource rich continent on the planet. Only a pirate would create the narrative that there is no treasure in Africa because they usually suffer from an evil disease called greed.
I really enjoyed this film. It was very realistic and relatable. This week was a rough one considering the mood shift after the election. A lot of black women would’ve really appreciated having a president that looked like them but here we are unfortunately. I remember the feelings of being anxious during his last presidency and here we are again. If possible I think it’s important to retreat to a happy place and unplug for a bit. This film made me realize that we can’t take life so seriously at times and there comes a time when we just have to dance our sorrows away. This life is ratchet anyway.
The curse that I would like to cast would be called “La Revelacion” and this curse would focus on the entire human race. This curse is latin for the word Revelation and it functions as a curse and a blessing simultaneously. The nature of this curse is both feminine and masculine so it houses a heavenly body of perfection within its duality. Once these words are spoken it would reveal whether a person is from the seed of Cain or the seed of Abel. A mark would appear on a person if they are from the seed of Cain and the conjurer would know immediately if they’re dealing with a person who is predisposed to hate and jealousy. If no mark appears on the person then you know that you are in the presence of someone who is their brother’s or sister’s keeper and has a heart filled with pure love. The benefit of this spell is knowing how to interact with every person you encounter, so it acts as a gift of discernment instantaneously. The archangel Micheal was given the power and the instrumentality of this curse over Azazel and one third of heavens host who were filled with jealousy in the 10th heaven. The most high dwells theres as a spinning sword of light. Azazel was hurled out because of jealousy and rebellion. Any person who is unsure of the true intentions of the person they encounter would be given the revelatory power of this curse to know if said person is a brethren, sistren or a betrayer like Judas Iscariot who sold his brother for 30 pieces of silver who was a vagabond like Cain. Judas hung himself in a place called Akel Dama and it said that nothing grows there. He’ll be given a chance to redeem himself during the resurrection of the dead because the curse kills the earthly body that is corrupt but it gives birth to the heavenly body which is perfect.
This was a great African film filled with valuable lessons about life. In a way this film reminded me of the people of Ibo Landing, life was simple and they didn’t have much yet they seemed happy. the desire of wanting more was present even though they had every thing they needed which was food, clothes and shelter. In the system of things we are constantly bombarded with things that we don’t need and the powers that be refer to us as consumers. Market strategist study our behaviors with goal of arousing our desires. In the case of Dramah Drameh, I would say that he chose the wrong woman to marry, he had already started a family with linguere ramatou but he chose to marry the other woman because she had money. According to ramatou her faith was sealed when she became a mother without a husband and she was labeled a whore by society, this is a harsh consequence of the current patriarchy we live in and how it manifests itself in different cultures around the world. drameh was the richest man in town and he was on top the world, he had the only shop in town which gave him a a sense of purpose and ranking in the world. Ramatou made a grand entrance and her presence was felt as soon as she stepped off the train, A donation to the lonely women fund she said, the satirical way in which she exposed the colobane village for not having resources for lonely women was a righteous judgement on the village. the post colonial surrealism was comedic in many instances, for example the yellow shoes for an underfunded police department, fans and refrigerators, and a whole amusement park. I thought to myself where did they get electricity from, maybe they had some generators? the hierarchy that drameh enjoyed would be short-lived when ramatou offered to buy the court in exchange for a hundred thousand million dollar donation, if such a dollar amount existed. this was a classic way to show the citizens of colobane that their values could be bought. drameh’s faith was sealed, he became an old lion to be hunted by the hungry hyenas of his village in which he scolded at times for not having money to pay off their debts. Ramatou enjoyed her day to day revenge on the patraichy that shunned her, so justice was served. what shook me the most was the scene in which Ramatou showed drameh the island in which she said she would take him so he could be hers forever. drameh said that he would be dead and she told him to die in peace and come join her, she was dead already. that scene was chilling and it made it seem like even in death she was going to torture him perpetually. it reminded of a scripture in the book of Ecclesiasticus 25:13 that says give me any plague but the plague of the heart and any wickedness but the wickedness of a woman. But was it wickedness or was it Justice?
Music Is Life 