If you want to see the impact of 500+ years of colonialism on African people, anywhere in the world, all you have to do is spend an afternoon watching Face Book or Youtube videos. These social media channels are filled with negative interactions between African people. And that's Africans from all over. Africa, Europe, the Americas. The Caribbean. The common themes are us fighting each other. Patriarchy and homophobia are often present, but the most consistent element is intense hatred of ourselves, by ourselves. Along with these images, which promote the most base anti-African/human aspects of our existence, there are anti-African ideologies and philosophies swirling around everywhere. There are the folks promoting the concept that Africans in the Eastern world do not identify with Africans in the west. There are even the people who are proudly claiming that those of us in the African diaspora (outside of Africa) do not even descend from Africa! Is all of this a reflection of our abilities and rights to believe whatever we want? Or, is all of this a result of something much more sinister?
Here's what we know for sure e.g. meaning there's plenty of science, and not just emotional foundations, to back these ideas up. First, the capitalist system has never promoted the emergence of an educated mass population. School systems in Africa, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere, are filled with curriculum that lies. Evidence of this is overwhelming. In the Western Hemisphere we just experienced one of many backward holidays where millions of intelligent people ignore and dismiss the trauma the day represents for Indigenous people simply because they haven't been able to figure out how to find a better and different time of year for loved ones to get together. And, within the last two years, I've seen "Huck Finn" as a featured book for children in schools in West and East Africa. In schools all over the world, African history is non-existent. Even basic information about Africa, such as its role in creating and/or advancing the world's major religions; Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, is no where to be found. Nothing about Africa's role in advancing some of the world's original scholarship around math, philosophy, science, and art is taught anywhere in organized education around the world. This vacuum of scholarship has left Africa open to the racist and stereotypical image that has been aimed at it for centuries to justify colonialism and slavery. Examples are the beliefs that our people are lazy and lack initiative. That's why they starve and are unable to solve basic problems of technological underdevelopment and poverty. These distorted images have been institutionalized in the consciousness of African people. The results are today, everything American, British, Israeli, or French, in Africa is given more prestige. Since it comes from European people, it must be better. You can even find Africans wearing confederate flag emblems in Africa because if its from the U.S., no matter what it actually means, it has more value. People in Africa commonly see the road to progress leading through the Western capitalist countries e.g. the countries dominated by Europeans. For Africans in the West, there is a desire to be associated with the (perceived) winners. Based on how history is taught, that is not Africa. It can even be argued that African identity in the U.S. is tied specifically to the wealth, or the desire to achieve wealth, that people believe exists in this country. It cannot be effectively argued that African identification to the U.S. is related to patriotism? Besides a few token sell out individuals, there is no evidence in our communities here of that. So, under these conditions, its not hard to understand how many Africans in the West would see it necessary to disassociate themselves from Africa, or at least be highly indifferent about it.
The miss-education of African people has worked in disconnecting us from Africa, but its even more important to stress why this process is necessary. Many well meaning African people agree with the impacts of colonial education, but these good people believe this system has prevailed because of the evil of Europeans e.g. they don't like us so therefore, they work to demean us. If only the truth were so simple. The destruction of Africa's legacy is a thing because that process was created by the same multi-national corporate message/image makers that sell you everything you buy. The same people who rose to economic prominence on the backs of our African ancestors. The same people who continue to profit and control world resources today on the backs of our Mother Africa. The only way this system could ever work for so long is if the majority of people in the world believe it. And, the architects of this system need you to believe it because that's the only way they can continue to get away with their exploitation. In other words, I had a conversation last night with a wonderful and younger developing African organizer/activist. We discussed the anti-European reaction that is prevalent within African circles today. Their comment to me was "white people stop us from doing anything we need to do." Certainly, the vast majority of Europeans on Earth are equally imbued with this white supremacist ideology. So, that means most of them are going to play their designated role as the shock troops protecting white supremacist capitalist interests. The fact that besides limited white privilege moments, they never see the benefits of their loyalty, they continue to play that role. Still, the question of how they stop us is a valid one because the answer is that if we decided to organize ourselves there is really nothing all the Europeans on Earth could do to stop us from doing anything. The fact we haven't organized ourselves is more a result of our buying into white supremacy than it is white people stopping us from doing anything. In fact, I'm sure that if African people began engaging in serious efforts to organize ourselves, it would force Europeans to start doing the same within their own communities. Anyone who doubts that doesn't understand history or mass movements. It was the African independence movements that sparked the U.S. civil rights and Black power movements. It was those African U.S. movements that sparked the women's liberation and LGBTQ social justice movements. So, what's needed is an African awakening to the reality that we are disconnected from Africa because us doing so permits the European capitalist network to continue to exploit Africa without us doing a single thing to stop them.
Its clear that Africans are divorced from who we are through misinformation. And, the purpose of this misinformation is to keep us from seeing the value of Africa and how us reclaiming Africa (from the clutches of imperialism) is really the salvation to all the problems we face as a people. The problem cannot be solved by us watching youtube videos. All that is accomplishing is us being won over by opportunists and reactionaries. We have to figure out how to create a culture of intellectualism where study of Africa is not only desired, but seen as necessary by our people. Once we seriously study Africa, we erase the confusion about Africa. Once we do that we begin to relate to Africa. When this happens we want to see Africa strong and independent because we realize that doing this makes us strong and independent. Once we know this, we begin working for that strength and independence. The more of us who do that, the closer we get to victory. And when victory comes into the horizon, there will be very few of us running around here talking about "I ain't no African and I ain't concerned about Africa."
Here's what we know for sure e.g. meaning there's plenty of science, and not just emotional foundations, to back these ideas up. First, the capitalist system has never promoted the emergence of an educated mass population. School systems in Africa, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere, are filled with curriculum that lies. Evidence of this is overwhelming. In the Western Hemisphere we just experienced one of many backward holidays where millions of intelligent people ignore and dismiss the trauma the day represents for Indigenous people simply because they haven't been able to figure out how to find a better and different time of year for loved ones to get together. And, within the last two years, I've seen "Huck Finn" as a featured book for children in schools in West and East Africa. In schools all over the world, African history is non-existent. Even basic information about Africa, such as its role in creating and/or advancing the world's major religions; Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, is no where to be found. Nothing about Africa's role in advancing some of the world's original scholarship around math, philosophy, science, and art is taught anywhere in organized education around the world. This vacuum of scholarship has left Africa open to the racist and stereotypical image that has been aimed at it for centuries to justify colonialism and slavery. Examples are the beliefs that our people are lazy and lack initiative. That's why they starve and are unable to solve basic problems of technological underdevelopment and poverty. These distorted images have been institutionalized in the consciousness of African people. The results are today, everything American, British, Israeli, or French, in Africa is given more prestige. Since it comes from European people, it must be better. You can even find Africans wearing confederate flag emblems in Africa because if its from the U.S., no matter what it actually means, it has more value. People in Africa commonly see the road to progress leading through the Western capitalist countries e.g. the countries dominated by Europeans. For Africans in the West, there is a desire to be associated with the (perceived) winners. Based on how history is taught, that is not Africa. It can even be argued that African identity in the U.S. is tied specifically to the wealth, or the desire to achieve wealth, that people believe exists in this country. It cannot be effectively argued that African identification to the U.S. is related to patriotism? Besides a few token sell out individuals, there is no evidence in our communities here of that. So, under these conditions, its not hard to understand how many Africans in the West would see it necessary to disassociate themselves from Africa, or at least be highly indifferent about it.
The miss-education of African people has worked in disconnecting us from Africa, but its even more important to stress why this process is necessary. Many well meaning African people agree with the impacts of colonial education, but these good people believe this system has prevailed because of the evil of Europeans e.g. they don't like us so therefore, they work to demean us. If only the truth were so simple. The destruction of Africa's legacy is a thing because that process was created by the same multi-national corporate message/image makers that sell you everything you buy. The same people who rose to economic prominence on the backs of our African ancestors. The same people who continue to profit and control world resources today on the backs of our Mother Africa. The only way this system could ever work for so long is if the majority of people in the world believe it. And, the architects of this system need you to believe it because that's the only way they can continue to get away with their exploitation. In other words, I had a conversation last night with a wonderful and younger developing African organizer/activist. We discussed the anti-European reaction that is prevalent within African circles today. Their comment to me was "white people stop us from doing anything we need to do." Certainly, the vast majority of Europeans on Earth are equally imbued with this white supremacist ideology. So, that means most of them are going to play their designated role as the shock troops protecting white supremacist capitalist interests. The fact that besides limited white privilege moments, they never see the benefits of their loyalty, they continue to play that role. Still, the question of how they stop us is a valid one because the answer is that if we decided to organize ourselves there is really nothing all the Europeans on Earth could do to stop us from doing anything. The fact we haven't organized ourselves is more a result of our buying into white supremacy than it is white people stopping us from doing anything. In fact, I'm sure that if African people began engaging in serious efforts to organize ourselves, it would force Europeans to start doing the same within their own communities. Anyone who doubts that doesn't understand history or mass movements. It was the African independence movements that sparked the U.S. civil rights and Black power movements. It was those African U.S. movements that sparked the women's liberation and LGBTQ social justice movements. So, what's needed is an African awakening to the reality that we are disconnected from Africa because us doing so permits the European capitalist network to continue to exploit Africa without us doing a single thing to stop them.
Its clear that Africans are divorced from who we are through misinformation. And, the purpose of this misinformation is to keep us from seeing the value of Africa and how us reclaiming Africa (from the clutches of imperialism) is really the salvation to all the problems we face as a people. The problem cannot be solved by us watching youtube videos. All that is accomplishing is us being won over by opportunists and reactionaries. We have to figure out how to create a culture of intellectualism where study of Africa is not only desired, but seen as necessary by our people. Once we seriously study Africa, we erase the confusion about Africa. Once we do that we begin to relate to Africa. When this happens we want to see Africa strong and independent because we realize that doing this makes us strong and independent. Once we know this, we begin working for that strength and independence. The more of us who do that, the closer we get to victory. And when victory comes into the horizon, there will be very few of us running around here talking about "I ain't no African and I ain't concerned about Africa."
RSS Feed
