Peace Always~ Shakira
Several days ago, in light of the recent comment the rapper Wacka Flacka made about not having any African dna, my sister and I were having a conversation. "How is it that we don't look anything like West African people"? my sister asked. I quickly retorted, "We are not just from West Africa, we're from all over Africa. There are 54 countries and countless ethnic groups in the continent, so because we don't look West African doesn't mean that we aren't from there. We emcompass what it is to be African, the average (black) American has many different types of African in their ancestry". I thought long and hard on the statement Wacka made, and what stood out the most is when he said that he had NO African dna. I understand him not wanting to be called black per se. That doesn't began to give testament to all the greatness African people have accomplished on this continent alone. We have indeed created our own culture, traditions and language. But I use the term "black" as an unifying term. Sure when we black Americans speak of Africa as our home land, we sound like that bastard child that doesn't know the region, country or clan from which they hail, but isn't that the beauty of being American of African descent? Isn't tribalism one of the things that's hindering the progression of the African peoples? I mean not to bash Wacka, I kind of see his point. We have been away from Africa and in this land mass of North America called "Turtle Island" by some of the ancestors, for tens of, if not hundreds of thousands of years. There is Queen Khalifa of California from which it was named. Many mounds and pyramids of the southeast. The Olmec monuments of Mexico, closely resembling the Mande' peoples of Mali. There was a skull found in Brazil that is named "Luzia" and are the oldest documented remains found to date. Facial reconstruction clearly show this to be a black woman. These are just a few examples. I have always wondered why is it that every black American has rumored affliation or stated " I have native American in my family" or "My great grandma was Indian" Could it be that the ancestors were telling us in so many words that we were already here? That we didn't come here via the trans- Atlantic slave trade? But to disown Africa? Who can ever deny her beauty, history, richness of resources and culture? Sure there are other black peoples that are indigenous to this hemisphere. The Jarawa of the Andaman Islands, the indigenous Australian, the various tribes of Papua New Guinea, the ancient Hawaiian people. But then I ask are these people still African? Sure they are from the "black" family but after thousands of years away from mother, haven't they earned the right to sever the umbilical cord and walk alone? There are so many questions, with too few answers. But what I do know is that Africa is the cradle of civilzation and in no way would I ever denounce my mother!!
Peace Always~ Shakira
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January 2021
"I'm an avid student of life, love, and spirit. My blog isn't about external beauty per se, clothes, fashion, make-up,or even politics. No none of these things!! The articles that I write come from my heart and are about something simple yet complex, rugged yet fragile, dark yet light. Something beautiful yet at times can be ugly. I write about something that all reading this shouldn't take for granted. Life!! Something everlasting yet fleeting." - Shakira Z. Ch'i Peace Always |