Patsy Liverpool © Monday October 22-2018
AFRICAN HISTORY
African
history did not begin with slavery. Africans had great civilizations and
kingdoms before anyone else. Africans developed astronomy, architecture,
mathematics, medicine, philosophy and lived in well-ordered societies and
advanced civilization. Many notable Greek philosophers spent years in Africa
learning from African philosophers long before the rise of Greek philosophy.
Africa is home to many diverse countries and cultures, all with their own
unique history.
The
Axum Empire was a dominant power in what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea. From 100
to 940AD, the Axum Empire was one of four global superpowers along with Rome,
China, and Persia and extended its influence as far as India and China. The
Benin Kingdom existed in what is now southern Nigeria, and achieved significant
accomplishments in technology, architecture, science, art, administration,
town-planning, astronomy, and more. The Kingdom of Kush was an African kingdom
where kings ruled as Pharaohs. This is known as the 25th dynasty of Egypt which
was an influential time of renaissance in Egypt.
The
erasure and distortion of African history was engineered by Europeans to
support their enslavement of Africans and their colonization, division and occupation
of the African continent. The European scramble for Africa was a race for
African land and resources. The 3-month-long Berlin Conference (November
15-1884 to February 26-1885) where White men from 14 nations met and carved up
the African continent did as much irreparable harm to Africans as the 400 years
enslavement.
It can
be a painful experience for Africans in the Diaspora coming to terms with their
heritage and not knowing where in Africa their ancestors were taken from. Many
of us will never know. Many even deny that they are African because of the
400-year-long rift which disconnected us from our African culture and heritage.
Members
of the African Diaspora reinvented themselves and the African influence can be
seen and felt everywhere. The music, food, dances etc., that abound in the
Caribbean, Central America, North America and South America are heavily
influenced by the Africans who were enslaved in those places.
Many
Africans in the Diaspora are constantly striving to decolonize their minds.
Decolonization of the mind involves reclaiming our African identity that was
stolen from our ancestors and the negative views of Africa which were passed
down through generations. African Jamaican Pan-Africanist the Honourable Marcus
Mosiah Garvey was one of the Africans in the Diaspora who made a mighty effort
to counter the colonization of minds.
There
is a connection among the descendants of enslaved Africans Diaspora as their
ancestors were taken from the same areas in Africa. Enslaved Africans suffered
similar fates regardless of which European tribe enslaved them and what
language they were forced to speak. Whether they were enslaved by the Dutch in
Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Suriname, by the Portuguese in Brazil, by the British
(English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh,) in Anguilla, Antigua, Guyana, Canada,
Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat, the Danes in St. John, the
French in Cayenne, Haiti, Quebec, Guadeloupe, Martinique, the Spanish in
Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, the enslavement was brutal and inhumane. It
has been recognized that the enslavement of Africans was a crime against
humanity.
Today
in the 21st century, after 500 years of enslavement followed by
colonization and various efforts to destroy us, Africans in the Diaspora are
urged to forget the genocidal attempts on our communities. We must never
forget!! As Bob Marley famously sang in 1976 “Don’t forget your history nor
your destiny. In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty.” Fortunately
there is a movement fueled by access to the Internet and social media for
Africans at home and abroad to unite for the benefit of our people.
Patsy Liverpool © Monday October 22-2018
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