What does it means to be African?
Ok beautiful Black folk of Destee, I know I said I would be gone for some time, I just can't stay away from here. Lol... Well actually I am just dropping by momentarily to give you all a reflection of some of things I have experienced lately and the thoughts inspired by my experiences. So just an update if you will.
First off the ancestors are magnificent - your ancestors, my ancestors, our ancestors. Never forget that.
My experiences have made me think really hard about being a person of African descent and exactly what does that mean or as some would say, an African person and what it means to be African? An inquiry was done into my ancestry and a lot of information was given to me, more than I knew already.
Family is indeed the first shrine and family, as it relates to blood, is more than some loose collection of individuals grouped together by some intangible relationship. Family is united by blood - genes, DNA. Even though, conflicting personalities and differing perspectives can create discord or riffs between members, family has an undeniable bonding agent that can not be changed, denied or modified by internal strife, change in view or rejection.
My experiences have taught me that for most African people, the ancestors are of upmost importance. The ancestors are not abstract concepts, static memories of dead family members or deceased grandma with no relevancy in the here and now. Those of us who consider ourselves African or of African descent are bound by a duty to honor, respect, acknowledge and interact with our ancestors under their own terms and not ours. This is one thing I noticed that is central among the cultural thought of many African people and because of its almost universal presence on the continent, it is basically core to the thought and practice of an African person. So the honoring, respecting, acknowledging and interacting with one's ancestors in a way that is meaningful to the ancestors, as I reflect, is one of most essential things to being African. Sadly, the notion of working with our ancestors in a meaningful way is a concept lost by many of us modern day Africans - even those born on the continent.
So I ask implore those of us who consider ourselves African in origin, being and orientation to ask ourselves just what does it mean to be African or call ourselves African besides the obvious skin color or historical connection to the continent?
My reflection is it is more than just calling ourselves African, educating ourselves about African history, learning about African cultures, speaking African languages, cooking and eating African food, relocating to African countries, trying to promote Pan-African unity and socioeconomic political development or speaking against the historical and contemporary injustices done to the Global Black community by others.
These things are fine and they do help us to reorient ourselves into African focused frame of mind but it goes deeper than that. Those are seemingly superficial things when consideration of things we can not read from books or gain from stale cultural visits. Think about it.
Ok beautiful Black folk of Destee, I know I said I would be gone for some time, I just can't stay away from here. Lol... Well actually I am just dropping by momentarily to give you all a reflection of some of things I have experienced lately and the thoughts inspired by my experiences. So just an update if you will.
First off the ancestors are magnificent - your ancestors, my ancestors, our ancestors. Never forget that.
My experiences have made me think really hard about being a person of African descent and exactly what does that mean or as some would say, an African person and what it means to be African? An inquiry was done into my ancestry and a lot of information was given to me, more than I knew already.
Family is indeed the first shrine and family, as it relates to blood, is more than some loose collection of individuals grouped together by some intangible relationship. Family is united by blood - genes, DNA. Even though, conflicting personalities and differing perspectives can create discord or riffs between members, family has an undeniable bonding agent that can not be changed, denied or modified by internal strife, change in view or rejection.
My experiences have taught me that for most African people, the ancestors are of upmost importance. The ancestors are not abstract concepts, static memories of dead family members or deceased grandma with no relevancy in the here and now. Those of us who consider ourselves African or of African descent are bound by a duty to honor, respect, acknowledge and interact with our ancestors under their own terms and not ours. This is one thing I noticed that is central among the cultural thought of many African people and because of its almost universal presence on the continent, it is basically core to the thought and practice of an African person. So the honoring, respecting, acknowledging and interacting with one's ancestors in a way that is meaningful to the ancestors, as I reflect, is one of most essential things to being African. Sadly, the notion of working with our ancestors in a meaningful way is a concept lost by many of us modern day Africans - even those born on the continent.
So I ask implore those of us who consider ourselves African in origin, being and orientation to ask ourselves just what does it mean to be African or call ourselves African besides the obvious skin color or historical connection to the continent?
My reflection is it is more than just calling ourselves African, educating ourselves about African history, learning about African cultures, speaking African languages, cooking and eating African food, relocating to African countries, trying to promote Pan-African unity and socioeconomic political development or speaking against the historical and contemporary injustices done to the Global Black community by others.
These things are fine and they do help us to reorient ourselves into African focused frame of mind but it goes deeper than that. Those are seemingly superficial things when consideration of things we can not read from books or gain from stale cultural visits. Think about it.
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