I’m on a journey to figure out my cultural identity. I've embraced the Akan principle of "Sankofa" – “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.” In other words, I want to go back and get it. I've started with Ancient African history and as Robin Walker says “it’s a history people of African descent can be objectively proud of”’. From the Nile valley civilizations of Egypt and Nubia, the construction of the pyramids that cannot be replicated by modern-day technology, the West African empire of Songhai, from the richest man who ever lived ( modern net worth of 400 billion) Emperor Mansa Musa, who ruled the Mali empire that was characterized by the relative high status of women. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to African history. As well as the Dogon people of Mali, with their discovery of Sirus B and vast knowledge of astronomy that has baffled NASA or the heavy influence of West and central Africans on Pablo Picasso's Cubism Art. I'm ashamed to say but I did not accept this history easily. I initially thought we were telling ourselves of these civilizations to make ourselves feel better. It did not help that the education system did not validate this information. Nevertheless, there is significant evidence from scholars such as Dr. Henry Lois Gates and Cheikh Anta Diop that verify this information. I'm not one to blow the trumpet on prejudice and conspiracy but there is a putrid racism that has permeated the supposedly objective fields of Biology, Anthropology and History, especially throughout the 19th and 20th century. Which continues to distort the history of Africa in the eyes of the world and people of African descent. For example, In 1871, German geographer, Karl Gottlieb Mauch "discovered" the stone ruins of the Ancient city of Great Zimbabwe. He thought the ruins were the remnants of the Biblical city of Ophir, described as the origin of the gold given by the Queen of Sheba (Ethiopian woman) to King Solomon. He refused to believe the city could be built by the local people even though further research suggested the structures were indeed developed by local Africans. Or in recent years, when former French president, Nicholas Sarkozy said "The tragedy of Africa is that the African has not fully entered into history ... They have never really launched themselves into the future...The African peasant only knew the eternal renewal of time, marked by the endless repetition of the same gestures and the same words… In this realm of fancy ... there is neither room for human endeavor nor the idea of progress.” This was one of the leaders of the free world. By western standards he's an educated man but was confident when spouting this type of nonsense. How are Africans supposed to get the due credit of civilizations when the people that validate that information have often not valued their intellect or humanity? History is powerful. It gives us something to latch onto and something to be proud of. So where does that leave us? We have been greatly sinned against but we are not victims. Our ancestors traversed some of the most turbulent waters humans have endured but did not give up. It's our job to take the narrative into our own hands. It's our duty to study, grapple with and pass the information on to our peers. As Jamaican- Pan Africanist said "A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” We are complex yet simple . We are great yet flawed. We are joyful yet burdened. We are people of African descent and our understanding of what that means, makes us better human beings and contributors to humanity.
4 Comments
Linda
10/30/2017 12:46:44 pm
This was a really interesting article. It's a very important topic that doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should so I'm glad you've decided to talk about it. I find that the education that we receive fails to give credit to some of the great African innovations. Because primary and secondary schools are big socialization tools, this very thing tends to alter the attitudes and perspectives of both Africans and non-Africans. This article gives a good summary of the problem but what do you think the solution is? Is there one? I'm interested to hear your thoughts.
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Mary
11/7/2017 05:35:12 am
Amazing & Inspiring 🙌
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Kwaku
11/12/2017 12:44:12 pm
I enjoyed reading this article. I felt like you had given voice to my thoughts. In other words, you have neatly summarized the information that I have come across over the years into one succinct article. I would recommend using citations. Find the scholarly works of the people you talk about in the article such as the books that they have written and cite those books. If their books are cited they gain more recognition among Africans and non-Africans which contributes to the validation problem that you mentioned in the article.
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Judy Oduro
1/2/2018 08:07:12 pm
"This was one of the leaders of the free world. By western standards he's an educated man but was confident when spouting this type of nonsense. ...How are Africans supposed to get the due credit of civilizations when the people that validate that information have often not valued their intellect or humanity?" amazing
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AuthorMy name is Akua B and I'm a lover of all things Africa, natural hair and poetry... Archives
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