Creative writing from the Conscious I- thoughts, reflections and ideas expressed in urban literature, Caribbean-themed prose and poetry. This blog celebrates the African Diaspora.
"Since 1973, legal abortion has killed more Afrakan Americans than AIDS, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and violent crime combined. Every week, more Blacks die in American abortion clinics than were killed in the entire Vietnam war. And the largest chain of abortion clinics in the United States is operated by Planned Parenthood" - Documentary Maafa 21
It is time to rid ourselves of this un-Afrakan mentality. We didn't have teenage pregnancies and all of these abuses we are dealing with right now are a direct result of our enslavement from not just the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Maafa), however, the 1st and current slave trade as well the Sub Saharan (Arab-Islamic) Slave trade still continues. Let's get back to our Black-Afrakan center through our entire being.
"Racism (White Supremacy) is the local and global power system and dynamic, structured and maintained by persons who classify themselves as white, whether consciously or subconsciously determined, which consists of patterns of perception, logic, symbol formation, thought, speech, action and emotional response, as conducted simultaneously in all areas of people activity (economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex and war), for the ultimate purpose of white genetic survival and to prevent white genetic annihilation on the planet Earth - a planet upon which the vast majority of the people are classified as nonwhite (black, brown, red and yellow) by white-skinned people, and all of the nonwhite people are genetically dominant (in terms of skin coloration) compared to the genetic recessive white skin people."* ~ Dr. Frances Cress Welsing
"If you do not understand racism white supremacy, what it is and how it works, everything else that you understand will only confuse you" ~Neely Fuller Jr.
"The minister's work is also important and also he should be trained, perhaps by the Federation as to our ideals and the goal we hope to reach. We do not want the word to get our that we want to exterminate the Negro population and the minister is the man who can straighten out the idea if it ever occurs to any of the more rebellious members" ~ Margaret Sanger Founder of Planned Parenthood
13 MILLION
The concept of abortion Is an extortion Of exponential and consequential proportions It is marketed heavily and deceptively As a quick fix “Problem solving remedy” Stressed indirectly And created by white supremacy For our hue man depopulation losses Just like with Harriet Washington’s book “Medical Apartheid” As she describes How Black-Afrakan people worldwide Especially our women and children Have been tested on like lab rats Dead or alive Without their knowing or permission These actions have been ritualistically purported Researching and testing on Black-Afrakans Has been despicably A common and inhumane practice But is not typically made public or recorded Just like with the late revelations And public confirmations Of how counter-intelligence (Cointel) programs And the Tuskegee experimentation
While standing outside my friend's home waiting for her come
out, I looked down and after a few seconds I saw a new world- a world of ants
and other small insects. If I hadn't been concentrating, I would have taken it as a non-consequential world; it required focus to see it. There, among the bustling ants was one so
small, probably a worker, dragging a sand grain twice its size. What caught my
attention was the number of grains reduced by one every time one of these tiny workers snatched one up. Someone may argue that
one less grain of sand is hardly a change, but that depends on one’s perspective.
The bottom line was there was a change, no matter how small; there still was
a change.
It came down on me; we meet people; we hear things, speak and act on things, it does not matter how small they may be; they
bring about change, we may not even realize it but the change is there.
When I walk every day, I see people and know each person is a soul
striving for fulfillment. Some of us look for it in the wrong places; we seek it in what people say about us, we search for it in what people declare as
"perfect". But this validation is really someone else's idea of perfection, and
because most of us don't even know ourselves, we rush in every direction they tell us, to satisfy our souls' ultimate need.
I live in a society that affects our subconscience. We
are made to believe we aren't enough and that we need to talk, dress, and act,
look a certain way; and then, we will be perfect. As a result, we do not realize that we each
were born with something unique about us. But society is sabotaging us.
We look for ourselves in material things; we look for our worth in the number
of followers we have, as cliché as it may be. These things that
surround us are dragging off the sand grains in our lives hence changing our own views and beliefs, self-love, self-respect, and self-worth. As long as we don't know who we are, where we come from, what our purpose is and where our purpose drives us, we cannot find contentment in this world.
My grandmother raised me. That woman radiated
respect, gracefulness, and wisdom without having to raise a hand. I asked her this one time, how she could command such respect and her answer was simple. She told me she knew herself in
and out, and no one would ever intimidate her nor would she ever seek
validation from anyone. I did not understand it back then but I do now.
Being raised by such a woman propelled me to seek solitude. yet growing up and crossing paths with so many people, I've learned that although we are all different, we seek the same thing which is
soul satisfaction. My grandmother found that in herself. We need to find ourselves and understand who we truly are. Yes, life is hard and things happen that force us to ask ourselves questions that can shake the foundation of who we
believe ourselves to be; the responsibility we have is to learn and improve, always. Outside forces like the media, in all its glory, tell us what we
should be; but we need to know who we are and build strong unshakable
foundations of ourselves. So our souls won't gradually reduce, speck by speck, like grains of sand carried off by ants.
Katleho Mpopo is a 22-year-old student at the National University of Lesotho, in Roma, Lesotho, where she studies Economics. Katleho grew up in rural Khukune, which is in the Butha-Buthe District. Her grandmother raised her, "along with my 13 other cousins, aunts and
uncles while our parents went about finding work."
When this young Sister realized that in her community, the only affordable food offered by the food industry is junk food, Katleho began plans to offer health and wellness food. "Basically, we consume a lot of junk food just because it is cheap, cheaper than healthy food. That's also why I am studying Economics at NUL; so I get to understand how the company can be competitive, how it can survive and thrive even in times of recession."
Cries of Redemption is free on Smashwords through March 9th as a part of their Read an Ebook Week. You can now make my book,part of your digital collection. Cries of Redemption illustrates the struggles of maafa in America and the Caribbean; it celebrates the African Diaspora, the Black Experience, and pan-Africanism. "A new #Caribbean voice from the diaspora who, 'Now wants to flutter throughout the world, dipping and dashing and lifting up with rhythm of the winds, the winds of change. This is a masterpiece of literary writing that draws on [his] experiences... The writer is 'writing to keep warm' but he keeps us all warm with his intelligence and keen observation of the broad sweep of life." Jan Augustin Lecturer (Language and Communication). Antigua State College. Eastern Caribbean
"Cries of Redemption" is a travel guide to consciousness. It is a beautiful rendition of the author's journey through life, his observations, and his reflections, all captured in prose and poetry that reflect the influences on his life. K. Omodele takes us on that journey...revealing relationships between the freedom of the mind and the imprisonment of the body, the rebellious child and the wizened adult, the unconscious instinct and the focused mind. This is a book for minds seeking the intervention of truth and beauty in the midst of social and political chaos, confusion, racism and ugliness." Kojo Nnamdi, Host, The Kojo Nnamdi Show, WAMU FM, Washington.
What an anomaly that
governments in Africa have little or no appetite in honoring nor
celebrating Black History Month,
which is celebrated in February to honor the black men and women who inspired
us, liberated us mentally, spiritually and physically from the yoke of colonial
oppression. South Africa has a lot to be thankful for, to stalwarts like Steve
Biko, Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, Albertina Sisulu, Mahatma Gandhi, Desmond
Tutu, Fatima Meer, Oliver Tambo, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and countless others
who sacrificed themselves for our freedom and independence in a thankless
world. They left legacies that need to be remembered and fulfilled and
unfortunately it is up to conscious cultural groups like us, Rastafari, Kwanzaa
and similar entities that are prepared to accept the responsibility and run
with it. Regrettably, this reflects the puny minds of African
political ‘so-called’ leaders, whose only interests are in self-
aggrandizement, political propaganda and selfish agrarians. Their predominant
agenda comprises a prevailing addiction to greed and self-enrichment.
In Africa, #BlackHistoryMonth is supposed to generate a host and hive of cultural
activities throughout the continent for the month to
inspire communities and kids by edutaining them through music and other cultural and historical
perspectives. Inculcating pride, confidence, honor and dignity in themselves as
peoples of this great and majestic continent, ravaged and
converted by colonials whose legacies have become the norm by which we
Africans have shaped, defend and live out our lives today; lives which we call
normal. The Bible is the most damaging contribution left by these nefarious colonialists and has usurped our own cultures.
"Africans are in bondage today because they approach spirituality through religion provided by foreign invaders and conquerors." ~ Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Sadly, in Africa, our children still do not have the slightest
clue about the importance of #BlackHistoryMonth. As Africans, it is embarrassing and disconcerting to
watch the Diaspora keep the flame burning while we in Africa nonchalantly
“carry on” with our lives, whereas our proud African legacies are being
disregarded by the same people who see and call themselves ‘freedom fighters’
and ‘struggle heroes’. Jamaica has even elevated this month (February), to
“Reggae Month”. As Rastafari in particular, we thank you, our counterparts, for
this extended auspicious honor.
The lyrics and the flow to this song caught me hard, the words got me hooked.
" ... Black is people naming your countries on what they trade most, Coast of Ivory, Gold Coast and the Grain Coast, but most importantly, to show how deep all this pain goes, West Africa, Benin, they call it Slave Coast... loud in our laughter, silent in our suffering, Black is being strong inside the face of defeat, poverty made me a beast, a bout with the law in the streets, well you struggle but your struggle ain't a struggle like me, how could it be, when your people gave us the odds that we beat?... Unconditional love is strange to them, it's amazing them.."
Just a small sample of Dave's art, by a pure artist. Listen, nuh!
Spoken Word Griots: African Oral Tradition in Caribbean Music (Third Part) - #Calypso by K. Omodele
African traditions and customs are in the heartbeat of Caribbean culture; so, its not surprising that the African tradition of storytelling drums so deep within many forms Caribbean music, none more so than calypso. Matter of fact, whenever I think of calypso, I think first about lyrics - the buildup, the punch line and the reflection. Niceness. As a wordsmith, I marvel at the wordplay of the great calypso storytellers. Whether the lyrics be somber-social, political or commentary; or, whether they're witty and precocious slackness, or just straight, belly-bussing comedy, this Caribbean music with its roots planted in the African oral tradition is art, pure art, plain and simple.
A Short History of Calypso Music
Like many forms of Caribbean or West Indian music, Calypso's roots were dug up from Africa, then transported to the Caribbean on slave ships during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The slaves in Trinidad and Tobago weren't allowed to speak to one another while they slaved in the fields, so they sang to communicate. They kept the freestyle (improvisational), functional elements of West African kaisoas a form of covert communication (separate from the overt language of the slave massa). This early predecessor to calypso was rebellious chanting about their conditions and the status quo, i.e. plantation life. They were songs with clever lyrics about social conditions and often mocked slave masters or political leaders.
The French Influence: Carnival and Canboule
Spain had first colonized Trinidad, but up to the 1770s the population was small, less than 3000, two-thirds of them Arawak. In 1770, a Frenchman made a proposal that would bring the French, their slaves and some free blacks from the French colonies/islands of Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent, to heavily populate Trinidad, which would help develop the plantation economy. These French (and blacks from French islands) turned the slow, undeveloped, Spanish colony, into a culturally French dominated one. And they brought the carnival and canboulay festivities and traditions.
Kaisos were now performed by griots and/or chantwells (from the French word chantuelles) at canboulays (harvest festivals, from the French cannesbrulées), which was the black alternative to carnival (which neither slaves nor free blacks could attend). As a result, Kaisos and canboulay music became the voice of the people and were the music blacks performed and listened, under tents at canboulays.
In the old West African ways, the chantwells often told stories that challenged each other in competition, boasting and ridiculing, while also challenging the audience to "keep up" with witty wordplay and double meanings. Sometimes songs were quick to make fun of adversaries within the griot fraternity - like free styles battles and clashes today. In other cases, the stories would be didactic, or cleverly packed with sexual undertones, or just analytic or critical of the authority and power structure. These early calypsonians were skilled wordsmiths, slamming, slicing and nudging each other with sharp verbal skills.
Spoken Word and Storytelling
When you check the various components that make up calypso, storytelling and commentary are functional.The calypsonian (the calypso singer) is most definitely a spoken word griot, a djele. He or she is a storyteller in the true sense, relaying his or her take on social and political issues of the society. That calypso derived from African oral tradition is obvious and undeniable when you consider this music's functionality.
"A Calypsonian is a poor man newspaper."
"I consider the Kaisonian as the old African storyteller..."
Black history is world history. African history is part of
the Black story; after all, Black history didn’t begin with slavery, neither
did it end in Africa. Black history reaches from the Rift Valley floor to the various
ages of mass-incarceration cages, to repatriation and reclamation of African citizenship.
Black people stories rather leap off ships, jump off cliffs, tear their own skin with
sparks from munitions than live bowed on knees. Black history (ourstory) is
love while gritting teeth, while kissing teeth, while sucking teeth, while
grinding teeth down to chalk so as not to have families torn apart. Black
history is Black people story.
We now reclaim Black history as Black people’s story–we will
tell our own stories, express our own experiences; we will no longer sit down
by another fire side and hear someone else tell us who we are, what we should
be, who we should dress like, how we should talk. I want talk how-so-ever I feel
fah talk to me Nua. And if it pidgin, or creole, or patois–soundin’, is
because one time we couldn’t talk unless we talked like how the colonialists
talked–speaky, spokey. So, Black history is Kreyol, Black story is Creolese, Black story is Patwa, Black story is Ebonics or Pidgin or Papiamento or Krio. AND, Black history is also Twi, and
Yoruba, and Mandinke, and Xhosa, and Ibo, and Hausa, and so many others because
African tongues is the root of we ‘tory, our story.
African history is black history because Africa is born
within us, and walks with us; right, Nana- Buluku and Olorun? Right, Shango?
See me, Nyame? Listen me, Nyambi, nuh man? Africa born in all we Samba, all we
Rhumba, all a weNyabinghi, we Kumfa, we Kumina; in all we Merengueing and we Limboing and we
Wining, and we Kumbaying, mi Lord. You overstand? Africa born in all we cassava
and yam and ochro gumbo and metemgee/oil down/run down and even when we pop a
top a pour a lil libation pon de ground for webredrenwah gone; Africa in deh,
it in deh, ayahhh- ohhhh, it in deh.
“I am not African because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me.” ~ Kwame Nkrumah
The Beginnings and Development of Racism in The U.S.: Some Implications for Black Americans (Part 2)by Dr. Cicely A. Rodway copyright 1987 C. A. Rodway
"To fully appreciate the long history of white racist views which have had such negative effects on all aspects of Black Americans' existence, it is necessary to begin at the very beginning when the first [Africans] were brought to America from the Motherland, Africa."~ Dr. C. A. Rodway; from part 1 of this essay
The first Africans were brought to America in 1619 by a Dutch captain and left in Jamestown, Virginia. At this point in history, Blacks were viewed as simply another aspect of the many-sided economic problems which the white colonists were called on to face. (Jordan, 1968) The colonists gave very little attention to the status of the slaves who were treated similarly to white indentured servants and enjoyed the same status. Therefore, up to 1651, at the end of their service, black indentured servants were "assigned lands in much the same way as was being done for white servants." (Jordan, 1968)
This situation soon changed as the colonists, faced with an unlimited supply of land, needed labor to utilize it. The colonists grew tired of replacing indentured servants whose period of service had expired. They were also faced with the failure of their attempts to use Indian slave labor. The colonists quickly saw a way by which they could solve all their problems at "one fell swoop."
The problem could be solved by placing the negro in "perpetual servitude," which would solve the problem of finding replacements, as there would be an "inexhaustible supply" of Negroes. (Jordan, 1968) This purely economic decision marked the advent of the slave trade in America. It began gradually, but begin it did for by 1640, when Negroes were brought into the country they were no longer given "indentures or contracts and could not look forward to freedom after a specified period of service." (Jordan, 1968) But, it was not until 1661 that there was a statutory recognition of slavery. However, despite the new slave laws, no attempt was made by the colonists to enslave or change the status of the indentured servants who had completed their period of service and were free to live as the chose in Virginia.
This chain of events in Virginia was more or less mirrored in the occurrences in the other Southern colonies, in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. By the end of the 1660's, negro slavery was a "fait accompli" in the settled parts of America. There were degrees of harshness in the treatment of slaves and in the attitudes of the colonists toward slavery, as was evidenced by the actions of William Penn in Pennsylvania and the Quakers in New Jersey. Despite this, the final and incontestable fact was that negro slavery had been institutionalized and legalized and was an accepted status for negroes. This was to continue as an accepted part of the fabric of American life until 1865.
How Did Christians Rationalize and Justify Slavery?
It may seem ironic that this new "Christian" country whose stated
basis for establishment was individual freedom and whose enunciated doctrine was built on the "essential equality of all men," (Franklin, 1847) could be involved in the slave trade. The Bible had spoken unequivocally against the evils of slavery and had condemned slave owners. In Exodus 21:16 it was stated, "And he that stealeth a man and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, shall surely be put to death." So, the colonists in an attempt to appease their consciences set about finding rationalizations for enslaving negroes.
With these latest terrorist attacks in Nairobi, Kenya this past Tuesday (January 15, 2019), there have been many negative images (however realistic and necessary they may be) released for the world to see. In this information age where "shock and awe" is more mantra than mere phrase, sensationalism is the holy grail.
For me though, there are far too many negative narratives of Africa and the African Diaspora. I understand that there is war and crime and violence all over the world and I reason about these realities here on The Abeng and My Conscious Pen regularly. But if all we discuss are negatives, then the narrative of the Black World, our diaspora, will be taken in as all grim and gloom.
But Africa and the African Diaspora are on the move, forward and upward, ever. And in this spirit, I am listing some of the most positive happenings in Nairobi, Kenya.
Five Things To Love About Kenya
1.Growing Economy. Kenya boasts the second largest economy in East Africa. (In 2015, Ethiopia, with a much larger population, overtook Kenya as the largest economy in the region). With a GDP growth rate for the past 5 years at around 5%, Kenya's economic growth is solid and above the United States'. And the projection for 2019: 5.8%.
2.Large, Vibrant Cities. Nairobi is a thriving, dynamic, metropolitan city, where over four million citizens hustle and bustle, repping more than 40 ethnicities. Hundred of multinational companies and NGOs have their East African/Central African regional headquarters located in Nairobi; on top of all that, it's also a tech and creative hotspot.
3.Creative Kenya. One of the most intriguing qualities about Kenya for me as a writer is the fertile environment for creative storytelling. Young storytellers, whether authors or filmmakers, are encouraged to tell compelling stories, though sometimes faced with a government fight against unsavory content.
In April 2018, The Kenya Film Commission (KFC) promoted "My Kenya, My Story", a mobile competition in which they called on young, independent filmmakers to submit their smartphone, film projects. And the annual Slum Film Festival calls on filmmakers from slums and ghettos in Nairobi to submit their films showcasing stories.
Some of Nairobi's stories and storytellers:
Are you in Malindi and would like a copy(is) of any of my books? Hit me up. I am sending a package on Monday and can include yours. pic.twitter.com/LiNFr1eMT5
4. People of African Descent are Repatriating to Kenya Blacks in the African diaspora are moving to Kenya, Nairobi and Mombasa in particular, where we are finding business opportunities in an economic environment that's fertile for entrepreneurs with innovative and sometimes even simple hustles and ideas. For those of us thinking of African repatriation and business, keep in mind that value in any market can be found when a need in that market is identified, qualified and quantified.
When thinking of making Kenya (or any African country) home, or a business location, due diligence is paramount of course.
From Compton, California, Preshley Knight moved from the United States to Kenya after she became extremely ill. She began hustling cakes on the streets in Nyeri, parlayed that into working for a bakery and now has since started up her own company, Wakanda Express Tours and Africa Immigration Consultants.
5. Kenya's Music Scene
While the attack on Nairobi was indeed horrific, that level of violence is not the norm for this thriving, young city. It's a shame that much of the media mainly report news in a way that commands clicks. While some of Africa is indeed at war within itself, most of Africa is on the rise or booming. As black writers, let's be responsible, balanced, logical, compassionate; let's place news about the Motherland in perspective.
