kontan jou endepandans: Happy Independence Day, Haiti!

 Happy Independence Day, Haiti!

Today, January 1, is Haitian Independence Day. On this day in 1804, Haiti declared independence from its colonial master, France, when General Jean Jacques Dessalines sounded the declaration of independence, after the thirteen years of The Haitian Revolution. Haiti became the first independent nation (and republic) in Latin America, and was the second nation to gain independence in the Americas (28 years after the United States of America). It is the only country in the Americas where former slaves fought and freed an entire nation from slavery and its colonial masters. Haitian leaders also abolished slavery in neighboring Santo Domingo (the present-day Dominican Republic).

Haiti not only inspired revolutionaries other colonies and slaves to revolt, one of its revolutionary leaders, Alexander Pétion, was a friend to Simon "the Great Liberator" Bolivar, giving him refuge in Haiti and aid in the form of arms, munitions and infantry. 

The following is a translation of the document by Laurent Dubois and John Garrigus as published in "Slave Revolution in the Caribbean 1789 - 1804: A Brief History with Documents."

The Haitian Declaration of Independence
1804

The Commander in Chief to the People of Haiti

Citizens:

It is not enough to have expelled the barbarians who have bloodied our land for two centuries; it is not enough to have restrained those ever-evolving factions that one after another mocked the specter of liberty that France dangled before you. We must, with one last act of national authority, forever assure the empire of liberty in the country of our birth; we must take any hope of re-enslaving us away from the inhuman government that for so long kept us in the most humiliating torpor. In the end we must live independent or die.

Independence or death... let these sacred words unite us and be the signal of battle and of our reunion.

Citizens, my countrymen, on this solemn day I have brought together those courageous soldiers who, as liberty lay dying, spilled their blood to save it; these generals who have guided your efforts against tyranny have not yet done enough for your happiness; the French name still haunts our land.

Everything revives the memories of the cruelties of this barbarous people: our laws, our habits, our towns, everything still carries the stamp of the French. Indeed! There are still French in our island, and you believe yourself free and independent of that Republic which, it is true, has fought all the nations, but which has never defeated those who wanted to be free.

What! Victims of our [own] credulity and indulgence for 14 years; defeated not by French armies, but by the pathetic eloquence of their agents' proclamations; when will we tire of breathing the air that they breathe? What do we have in common with this nation of executioners? The difference between its cruelty and our patient moderation, its color and ours the great seas that separate us, our avenging climate, all tell us plainly that they are not our brothers, that they never will be, and that if they find refuge among us, they will plot again to trouble and divide us.

Native citizens, men, women, girls, and children, let your gaze extend on all parts of this island: look there for your spouses, your husbands, your brothers, your sisters. Indeed! Look there for your children, your suckling infants, what have they become?... I shudder to say it ... the prey of these vultures.

Instead of these dear victims, your alarmed gaze will see only their assassins, these tigers still dripping with their blood, whose terrible presence indicts your lack of feeling and your guilty slowness in avenging them. What are you waiting for before appeasing their spirits? Remember that you had wanted your remains to rest next to those of your fathers, after you defeated tyranny; will you descend into their tombs without having avenged them? No! Their bones would reject yours.

And you, precious men, intrepid generals, who, without concern for your own pain, have revived liberty by shedding all your blood, know that you have done nothing if you do not give the nations a terrible, but just example of the vengeance that must be wrought by a people proud to have recovered its liberty and jealous to maintain it let us frighten all those who would dare try to take it from us again; let us begin with the French. Let them tremble when they approach our coast, if not from the memory of those cruelties they perpetrated here, then from the terrible resolution that we will have made to put to death anyone born French whose profane foot soils the land of liberty.

We have dared to be free, let us be thus by ourselves and for ourselves. Let us imitate the grown child: his own weight breaks the boundary that has become an obstacle to him. What people fought for us? What people wanted to gather the fruits of our labor? And what dishonorable absurdity to conquer in order to be enslaved. Enslaved?... Let us leave this description for the French; they have conquered but are no longer free.

Let us walk down another path; let us imitate those people who, extending their concern into the future, and dreading to leave an example of cowardice for posterity, preferred to be exterminated rather than lose their place as one of the world's free peoples.

Let us ensure, however, that a missionary spirit does not destroy our work; let us allow our neighbors to breathe in peace; may they live quietly under the laws that they have made for themselves, and let us not, as revolutionary firebrands, declare ourselves the lawgivers of the Caribbean, nor let our glory consist in troubling the peace of the neighboring islands. Unlike that which we inhabit, theirs has not been drenched in the innocent blood of its inhabitants; they have no vengeance to claim from the authority that protects them.

Fortunate to have never known the ideals that have destroyed us, they can only have good wishes for our prosperity.

Peace to our neighbors; but let this be our cry: "Anathama to the French name! Eternal hatred of France!"

Natives of Haiti! My happy fate was to be one day the sentinel who would watch over the idol to which you sacrifice; I have watched, sometimes fighting alone, and if I have been so fortunate as to return to your hands the sacred trust you confided to me, know that it is now your task to preserve it. In fighting for your liberty, I was working for my own happiness. Before consolidating it with laws that will guarantee your free individuality, your leaders, who I have assembled here, and I, owe you the final proof of our devotion.

Generals and you, leaders, collected here close to me for the good of our land, the day has come, the day which must make our glory, our independence, eternal.

If there could exist among us a lukewarm heart, let him distance himself and tremble to take the oath which must unite us. Let us vow to ourselves, to posterity, to the entire universe, to forever renounce France, and to die rather than live under its domination; to fight until our last breath for the independence of our country.

And you, a people so long without good fortune, witness to the oath we take, remember that I counted on your constancy and courage when I threw myself into the career of liberty to fight the despotism and tyranny you had struggled against for 14 years. Remember that I sacrificed everything to rally to your defense; family, children, fortune, and now I am rich only with your liberty; my name has become a horror to all those who want slavery. Despots and tyrants curse the day that I was born. If ever you refused or grumbled while receiving those laws that the spirit guarding your fate dictates to me for your own good, you would deserve the fate of an ungrateful people. But I reject that awful idea; you will sustain the liberty that you cherish and support the leader who commands you. Therefore vow before me to live free and independent, and to prefer death to anything that will try to place you back in chains. Swear, finally, to pursue forever the traitors and enemies of your independence.

Done at the headquarters of Gonaives, the first day of January 1804, the first year of independence.

The Deed of independence

Native Army

Today, January 1st 1804, the general in chief of the native army, accompanied by the generals of the army, assembled in order to take measures that will insure the good of the country;

After having told the assembled generals his true intentions, to assure forever a stable government for the natives of Haiti, the object of his greatest concern, which he has accomplished in a speech which declares to foreign powers the decision to make the country independent, and to enjoy a liberty consecrated by the blood of the people of this island; and after having gathered their responses has asked that each of the assembled generals take a vow to forever renounce France, to die rather than live under its domination, and to fight for independence until their last breath.

The generals, deeply moved by these sacred principles, after voting their unanimous attachment to the declared project of independence, have all sworn to posterity, to the universe, to forever renounce France, and to die rather than to live under its domination.

Sources: 

http://kreyolicious.com/10-things-may-known-alexandre-petion/14148

https://today.duke.edu/showcase/haitideclaration/declarationstext.html

Abeng Essay: The Beginnings and Development of Racism in The U.S.: Some Implications for Black Americans (Part 1) by Cicely A. Rodway

The Beginnings and Development of Racism in The U.S.: Some Implications for Black Americans (part 1)
by Cicely A. Rodway
copyright 1987 C. A. Rodway

"I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races; I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes nor qualifying them to hold office... I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will ever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as the cannot so live, while they do remain togerher, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race."  

~ Abraham Lincoln 1895

Lincoln, in this statement, presented a viewpoint which was not atypical in his time nor in the times before and after his presidency. It is a viewpoint which is based on the belief that black peoples are inferior to whites. It is a viewpoint which has led to individual and governmental acts and policies which have attempted to dehumanize Black people in the United States and to circumscribe their individual and group efforts.Finally, it is a viewpoint which has had devastating psychological repercussions on blacks as well as whites.

These views are steeped in prejudice, which prejudice as defined by James Jones, "is a negative attitude toward a person or group based upon a social comparison process in which the individual's own group is taken as a positive point of reference." (p. 3) He goes on to point out that the "behavioral manifestation of prejudice is discrimination - those actions used to maintain own-group characteristics and favored position at the expense of the comparison group," (p. 3)

Implicit in a position such as Lincoln's is the need to ensure that the roles of black and white people are clearly defined and positions of inferiority and superiority maintained. In order to ensure that whites maintain the superior position it often becomes necessary to set up structures within the society and to implement policies with this in mind. Carmichael and Hamilton have defined such policies as racism which they define as "the predication of decisions and policies on considerations of race for the purpose of subordinating a racial group and maintaining control over that group." (p. 1)

Individual Racism and Institutional Racism

Carmichael and Hamilton in continuing their discussion of racism in the United States, make a clear distinction between what they refer to as "individual racism" and "institutional racism". Individual racism is described as being overt and is therefore easily recognizable as it manifests itself by causing "death, injury or the violent destruction of property." The second type of racism, institutional racism, is much more insidious as it is less identifiable for it "originates in the operation of established and respected forces in the society." They give us examples of institutional racism, situations in which,

...five hundred black babies die each year because of lack of proper food, shelter and medical facilities, and thousands more are destroyed and maimed physically, emotionally and intellectually because of conditions of poverty and discrimination in the black community... or when black people are locked in dilapidated slum tenements, subject to the daily prey of exploitative slumlords, merchants and loan sharks and discriminatory real estate agents. (p. 4)

Heri Za Kwanzaa from The Abeng

Heri Za Kwanzaa

Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles)

Day One (December 26)
Umoja (oo-MOH-ja)
unity
building a community that holds together

Day Two (December 27)
Kujichagulia (koo-jee-cha-goo-LEE-yah)
self-determination
defining, naming, creating ourselves; speaking for ourselves; planning and strategizing our own objectives and goals; realizing our right to plot our own destiny

Day Three (December28)
Ujima (oo-JEE-mah)

collective work and responsibility
coming together and helping others within the community

Day Four (December 29)
Ujamaa (oo-JAH-ma)
cooperative economics
supporting our community businesses; understanding that supporting each other helps build a stronger economy within our community

Day Five (December 30)
Nia (nee-AH)

purpose
setting goals that benefit our community; commitment to learning and teaching black history and culture

Day Six (December 31)
Kuumba (koo-OOM-bah)
creativity
making the community better and more beautiful

Day Seven (January 1)
Imani (ee-MAH-nee)
faith
knowing we can create positive changes for our community, present and in the future; day of assessment

Nguzo Saba ~ Seven Principles

Source:

http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.shtml

The Abeng Collection: Practicing Garveyism

The Abeng Collection by House of Dalle: Application of Garveyism 

"Be Black, buy Black, think Black, and all else will take care of itself." ~ Marcus Mosiah Garvey

Holding fast to Garvey's vision by bringing members of the African diaspora into a creative collective and economic cooperation, The Abeng has partnered with Benny Dalle to bring forward The Abeng Collection by House of Dalle. Our new collaboration injects Afrocentric styles and ideas into fashion but also reflects principles that Garvey and so many other leaders propagated, self-sufficiency through building black businesses and trade. 

"For many years white propagandists have been printing tons of literature to impress scattered Ethiopia, especially that portion within their civilization, with the idea that Africa is a despised place, inhabited by savages, and cannibals, where no civilized human being should go, especially black civilized human beings. This propaganda is promulgated for the cause that is being realized today. That cause is colonial expansion for the white nations of the world." ~ Marcus Mosiah Garvey

House of Dalle Bernadette "Benny" Dalle is a creative, hard-working young woman living in Lagos, Nigeria who began designing and sewing her own clothes because, she longed to wear the latest fashions she saw in magazines, on TV and online. Her attention to detail is amazing and if you know Benny, you know she works her finger to the bone. Benny is the sole owner of House of Dalle, which creates custom clothing and keeps three people (two who are tailors) in Lagos employed.

The Abeng Collection

I, Kaya, don't know a thing about sewing or tailoring; I just love wearing what I like wearing. But I've dreamed about starting a business that would bring people of the African diaspora together and serve as a vessel for economic empowerment. I really wanted to create a venture where people of the African diaspora could control the supply chain, from manufacturing straight down to the user. 

The Abeng Collection is custom, fitted clothing and we just received our first shipment all the way from Lagos. I look forward to growing our partnership and business and am extremely proud to collaborate with Benny. Today, we're a humble hustle but with nuff  brain pumping and eye-brow furrowing, we goh definitely wave Garvey flag and turn this into a proud, black-owned business. 

"We must give up the silly idea of folding our hands and waiting on God to do everything for us. If God had intended for that, then he would not have given us a mind. Whatever you want in life, you must make up your mind to do it for yourself." ~ Marcus Garvey   

Marcus Garvey quotes about reading.

The Abeng Collection

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Abeng Op Ed: Systematic Racism in America (Part 2)

Continued from Sytematic  Racism in America (Part 1) 
by Le'bert A. Gordon

Institutional Racism

Institutional Racism can be defined as the collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their color, culture, or ethnic origin. This kind of racism is currently taking place in the form of the senseless killing of unarmed minorities by police officers without there being any criminal consequential results. Police officers are literally getting away with murder. And despite the fact that communities and individuals have risen up to shine the spotlight upon this injustice, (e.g., Black Lives Matter) day after day we hear about another Trayvon Martin, An­twon Rose, Autumn Steele, and Stephon Clark, etc. Unfortunately, this kind of racism has become an intrinsic part of our society today and is occurring more frequently with the targeting and discrimination against a certain group based upon their race. 

People who are affect­ed by Institutional Racism experience it in both the social and poli­tical institutions of society, in such disparities as those regarding Employ­ment, Housing, Health Care, the Criminal Justice System, and Education.

Employment:

Systematically, minorities in this country suffer from a higher rate of unemployment. People of color are more likely to be subjected to some form of discrimination when applying for a job, seeking a well-earned promotion, or with receiving the same salaries as their Caucasian counter-parts. Even when a person of color is more educated and has more experience than their Caucasian co-worker, they often still find themselves being forced to be subservient to them.

Blessed Earthday, Winnie Mandela

Bless Up, Winnie Madikezela Mandela... Blessed Earthday.
 Amandla! You meant so much to so many all across the African Diaspora and around the world.

We love you, Mama. Never Gone! Never Forgotten!




 

#WinnieMandela says ANC over-negotiated & lost the land in the process. Says she disagreed with Mandela on willing-buyer, willing-seller.#LandExpropriationRally#AllBlackWithADoek pic.twitter.com/UmBTsNLTWw

— Hloni Nyetanyane (@HloniNyetanyane) April 7, 2018

Perspectives From The African Diaspora: Seven Names in a Lifetime

African Diaspora: Seven Names in a Lifetime
written by Nana Kwabena Osei-Boadi (kongo wattu)

Akan culture says a human being lives to be called seven names in a lifetime.
1. Asukɔnoma - the water fetching bird. Feeds in fluids. Breastmilk, water, porridge, etc.
2. Abɔfra - just a part of creation and at peace and in harmony with nature. Crawling in all fours, eating earth does no harm. They tug on the dog's tail and the dog enjoys it.
3. Akoadaa - Always the slave. The being is up and standing and has learnt to walk and run. Enjoys running errands with the new abilities.
4. Aberaanteɛ (male) - the one who disobeys rules. Puberty and adolescence. Wɔ hyɛ mmra anaa wɔ bra no a ɔnnte.
Ababaawa (female) - the fashionable one. W'aba so. Fantse Akans refer to this stage as Akataasiewa. The one who should be covered and hid. At this stage the gender of the being is taken into consideration for the first time..
5. Opaanii - the worker. Odi paa.
6. Abansiriwa - the senior citizen who protects the walls from collapsing. The experienced one who is in a position to give help with wisdom or saved finances after a long working life.
7. Aberɛwa (female) - the tired one. Nea wabrɛ.
Akɔkora ( male) - the one who is indoors and out of sight. Wakɔ kora.
After having been called these seven names the person after death has a black stool placed in the family prayer room or shrine (nkondwadan mu). When prayers are said and ancestors are listed and called upon to carry the prayers into the spirit world and the creator, their names (akradin) are mentioned.
Food for Thought.
Ase
~ Nana Kwabena Osei-Boadi; Kongo Wattu

African culture is rich in traditions. Many of us in the African diaspora have retained and/or reclaimed many of our traditional customs. 


Sankofa - "Go back and get it"; reconnect with the past and learn from it

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Abeng Op Ed: Systematic Racism In America (Part 1)

Systematic Racism In America
written by Le'Bert A. Gordon; edited by @TheAbeng

Introduction

The term Systematic Racism, developed by Sociologist Joe Feagin, is both a theoretical and reality-based concept which has become a po­pular way of explaining the significance of race, both historically and socially, within today's social sciences and humanities. The de­velopment of this theory was influenced by other scholars of race, such as, Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. DuBois, Oliver Cox, Anna Julia Cooper, Kwame Ture, Frantz Fanon, and Patricia Hill Collins, among others. Systematic Racism is rooted in a foundation composed of in­tersecting, overlapping, and co-dependent racist institutions, po­licies, practices, ideas, and behaviors. 

Feagin used historical evidence and demographic statistics to create a theory which asserted that the United States was founded in racism. His theory noted that the Constitution classified black people as the property of whites, and that this legal recognition of slavery is a cornerstone of a racist social system - a system in which resources and rights are given to white people and unjustly denied to people of color. However, while Feagin developed his theory based on the history and reality of anti-black racism in the United States, it is now use­fully being applied to understanding how racism functions generally, both within the United States and around the world.

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Wanted: Abeng Guest Bloggers, Writers and Contributors

Greetings, all Writers, photographers and content creators!

The Abeng and My Conscious Pen is seeking short stories, news reports, articles, profiles and essays from the Black (African) Diaspora. Pieces/work must shed light on the black experience, its struggles and triumphs. Content must be informative, enlightening, inspirational and engaging; writers must express and reveal the human condition. Please keep in mind that an Abeng is a symbol of freedom and Conscious Pen refers to the writer's inward awareness (spiritual, conscientious, psychological) of the outward/worldly object or experience about which he/she is writing.

Sound di Abeng

We are looking for global voices from writers and/or bloggers who wish to utilize our platform so their voices can be heard. Please send submissions to Editor

Tell a friend!
*The Abeng and My Conscious Pen does not currently purchase content; if chosen, your work can serve as a published article for your personal portfolio and each writer WILL retain ALL copyrights. Full credit will be given for your writing.



You can also query Editor about being a regular contributor. Regular contributing writers will be given a profile on our page.  Tweet

Reading is The Right and Honorable Thing, Quotes by Marcus Mosiah Garvey

Marcus Garvey's father had an extensive library in his home and as a boy, Marcus spent countless hours reading every book he could dig his nose into. Garvey's ideas were definitely BIG, grand, outside the box, imaginative. His Pan-African  thinking was so far advanced for his time. For example, he imagined an African Union before there was such a thing and dreamed of the motherland being developed by Africans, at home and abroad. 
Moral of the story: Read! And start a library for your youth.

"Read!" Marcus Garvey instructed.

"Use every spare minute you have in reading. If you are going on a journey that would take you an hour carry something with you to read for that hour until you have reached the place. If you are sitting down waiting for somebody, have something in your pocket to read until the person comes. Don't waste time. Any time you think you have to waste put it in reading something. Carry with you a small pocket dictionary and study words whilst waiting or travelling, or a small pocket volume on some particular subject. Read through at least one book every week separate and distinct from your newspapers and journals. "

"Never forget that intelligence rules the world and ignorance carries the burden."

"The greatest men and women in the world burn the midnight lamp. That is to say, when their neighbours and household are gone to bed, they are reading, studying and thinking. When they rise in the morning they are always ahead of their neighbours and their household in the thing that they were studying[,] reading and thinking of. A daily repetition of that will carry them daily ahead and above their neighbours and household. Practise this rule. It is wise to study a couple of subjects at a time. As for instance a little geography, a little psychology, a little ethics, a little theology, a little philosophy, a little mathematics, a little science on which a sound academic education is built."

"One must never stop reading. Read every thing that you can that is of standard knowledge. Don't waste time reading trashy literature... The idea is that personal experience is not enough for a human to get all the useful knowledge of life, because the individual life is too short, so we must feed on the experience of others."

"Read history incessantly until you master it, This means your own national history, the history of the world - social history industrial history and the history of the different sciences; but primarily the history of man. If you do not know what went on before you came here and what is happening at the time you live, but away from you, you will not know the world and will be ignorant of the world and mankind."

"A reading man or woman is a ready man or woman; but a writing man or woman is exact."

If you want more Marcus Garvey quotes, check these out!

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Dutty Boukman in Bwa Kayiman (Bois Caiman)

Dutty Boukman in Bwa Kayiman (Bois Caïman) 

It is told that on the steamy, Caribbean night of August 14th, back in 1791 a slave named Boukman  ignited the Haitian Revolution during a secret vodou ceremony in Bwa Kayiman (Kreyol meaning literally, Alligator or Caiman Woods: Bois Caiman in French) in Morne Rouge, which is in northern Haiti. Boukman was a hougan (priest) and along with mambo (female priest) Cecil Fatiman, officiated the meeting where they planned the insurrection and held religious, vodou ritual, in preparation for what would become the most successful revolt and the greatest, far-reaching event in Caribbean history - The Haitian Revolution.

Dutty Boukman

Boukman is said to have been a big, strapping, fierce man, and like many of the early leaders of the Haitian Revolution, he held a position of power on his plantation (he was a slave driver and eventual coachman). Many of the 200-300 attendees at the Bwa Kayiman ceremony held such positions, or were chosen leaders of their specific plantations. The meeting held both political and religious significance - it culminated months of insurrectionist planning and strategizing; and, it served as spiritual, inspirational rally for the impending revolution. At Bwa Kayiman, the beginning of the Haitian Revolution was set for one week later.

Much of the information about Boukman and Bwa Kayiman was written many years after the event, so it's difficult to separate fact from myth. Many say that he was a literate Jamaican slave, Bookman, who taught other slaves in Jamaica to read and so was sold to a plantation in Saint Domingue. Some staunch Haitian historians insist that he was pure Haitian, and suspect that foreign people of African descent are trying to high jack Haitian history to support their own agendas. Since the 1990's, there has been a mostly African-American movement (but which included former Haitian president Aristide) to "Islamasize" Bwa Kayiman and Boukman, claiming Bookman was a "man of the Book" (Koran) and that Bwa Kayiman was in fact Bwa Kay Iman ( the woods by the Iman's house).

To be continued

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Boukman's Prayer in Kreyol

"Bon Dje ki fè la tè. Ki fè soley ki klere nou enro. Bon Dje ki soulve lanmè. Ki fè gronde loray. Bon Dje nou ki gen zorey pou tande. Ou ki kache nan niaj. Kap gade nou kote ou ye la. Ou we tout sa blan fè nou sibi. Dje blan yo mande krim. Bon Dje ki nan nou an vle byen fè. Bon Dje nou an ki si bon, ki si jis, li ordone vanjans. Se li kap kondui branou pou nou ranpote la viktwa. Se li kap ba nou asistans. Nou tout fet pou nou jete potre dje Blan yo ki swaf dlo lan zye. Koute vwa la libète kap chante lan kè nou."

Boukman's Prayers as translated by C.L.R. James 

"The god who created the sun which gives us light, who rouses the waves and rules the storm, though hidden in the clouds, he watches us. He sees all that the white man does. The god of the white man inspires him with the crime, but our god calls upon us to do good works. Our god who is good to us orders us to revenge our wrongs. He will direct our arms and aid us. Throw away the symbol of the god of the whites who has so often caused us to weep, and listen to the voice of liberty, which speaks in the hearts of us all." 

Boukman's Prayer as translated by IBW21.org

"Good Lord who hath made the sun that shines above us, that riseth from the sea, who maketh the storm to roar; and governteth the thunders. The Lord is hidden in the heavens, and there He watcheth over us. The Lord seeth what the blanc (whites) have done. Their god commandeth crimes, ours givethe the blessings upon us. The Good Lord (Bondye) hath ordained vengeance. He will give strength to our arms and courage to our hearts. He shall sustain us. Cast down the image of the god of the blanc, because he maketh the tears to flow from our eye. Hearken unto Liberty that speaketh now in all your hearts."

Boukman's Prayer Translation by thelovertureproject.org

"The god who created the earth; who created the sun that gives us light.The god who holds up the ocean; who makes the thunder roar. Our God who has ears to hear. You who are hidden in the clouds; who watch us from where you are. You see all that the white has made us suffer. The white man's god asks him to commit crimes. But the god within us wants to do good. Our god, who is so good, so just, He orders us to revenge our wrongs. It's He who will direct our arms and bring us the victory. It's He who will assist us. We all should throw away the image of the white men's god who is so pitiless. Listen to the voice for liberty that sings in all our hearts."

Cecile Fatiman

Abeng Op-Ed: Trevor Noah Wasn't Wrong About Africans Born in France

After France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup earlier this month, South African comedian Trevor Noah cracked a joke about the fact that France's victory was also an African accomplishment, since so many players on the French national team are of African descent. I and many people of African descent around the world hold similar views. As a matter of fact, many of us posted our comments and expressed our sentiments all over social media. Personally, I supported Senegal and Nigeria (the two Sub-Saharan African countries in the tournament), then I cheered for other teams with players of African descent as well. From my pan-African eyes, I love to see all people in the African diaspora excel. But is this, my perspective, racist?

"No Matter Where You Come From" / "I Know No National Boundary"
I grew up in an era when blacks in the African diaspora were reclaiming our roots. Omodele is a name my mother chose, Tesfa and Feyishola and Shango and Imani and Sudi are some of my cousins; Shaka and Dingane and Olatunji are some of my childhood, family friends. My mother and her sisters and brothers celebrated everything African. She was the younger sister and close friend to true life revolutionaries. Black culture was exalted; Fela, Miles, Hugh, Satchmo, Marvin, and them were Kings. "No Matter Where You Come From" by Peter Tosh was the national anthem. And Madiba was a living martyr. (When I was just fifteen, my cousin and I marched in a Free Nelson Mandela rally in Central Park) So, I know no national boundary where black people are concerned, the whole world is my province...

So, like many blacks in the Diaspora, I was turnt up that France's winning World Cup squad was comprised of so many players of African descent. When a French ambassador chastised Trevor Noah for bigging up the African-ness of Les Bleus (The Blues), pointing out that the black French players were French nationals, French-born, and trained in France, I understood this ambassador's view - that no matter these players were sons of immigrants, they were French, regardless of race or religion. And I admit that's seems a commendable and noble view coming from the French diplomat. My biggest question, is this a case of "You're not like those others."?

A couple years ago, I interviewed the Quai54 Streetball creator Bah-Pna Dahane, a French national of Chad origin, who stated in that interview:
"France's racism is different than the United States'; France's racism is more subtle...like a gas you can't smell but will kill you slowly from the inside."
And, I've read lately about racism rearing its head during the selection process of this said French national team. So, although the ambassador has good intentions, maybe, we won't pretend that brothers and sisters living in France don't feel marginalized, at the very least.
I'd love to hear from our French bredren.


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