…if I can identify myself as an African and there is a continent called Africa, home, motherland, why don’t I start doing something about moving the continent forward. I don’t think it will take me 400 years to move Africa forward and; even if it does, it’s ours, no one will tell me to go to where I am from; remember they came to us.
AFTER the inaugurationofthe Trump administration in 2016, , I sent out a text to friends that the year of the absurd was upon us. Everything that is bad will be good, all that you think is wrong will be right and all that is the truth will be lies. A friend reminded me of that text a couple of days ago and inquired how I knew so early that things would be this way.
My response? I urged him to look at the picture of the size of the inauguration crowd of both Obama and Trump and tell me who had the most crowd, he responded, Obama. And, I said: what do you hear from Trump? He responded: he says he has the most crowd… I said he (Trump) said it so convincingly that even with the pictures side by side, you would almost believe that Trump was right.
Donald Trump’s advent has not only changed wrong to right, it has created’ a pyramid with him at the top and of every level of the pyramid! It’s my way or no way style of governance!
My first exposure to police brutality in the United States as an African immigrant was when Ahmadou Diallo was murdered in New-York by four police officers, who pumped 41 rounds into his body!!!
I was a student at Howard University when it occurred and I could not imagine how and why four officers could shot 41 rounds at a human being, who does not pose a threat of any kind! Even if he did there were four trained police officers against one civilian.
MIND you, coming from Africa, the most I have seen or heard concerning police brutality was usually during a student riot; and the most the officers would do was chase and use their horsewhips (koboko) to disperse the troublesome young ones.
Ahmadou Diallo was a real shocker to me; little did I know that it would become the norm.
See below as listed on BabyNames.com
What is most disturbing about this is also the fact that in some or all of these situations, the African-American had no weapon on them, to warrant the use of deadly force. The officers who commit this crime are free men; they are hardly convicted of their crimes.
None of our ancestors clamoured to be here; they were brought here against their will… we all know the slavery story…
But for the same thing to continue to happen for 400 years is absurd. There are different rules for everyone based on the colour of your skin.
Just as there were signs for blacks and whites during slavery, regardless of how much you attain as an individual you always have to strive to meet the bar set by the whites if you are a coloured person.
Amidst all these atrocities, the African-American still shows love to the society. I guess it’s in our DNA to always be modest. Some whites notice it and commend us for it, while others see it as a weakness.
The late Nelson Mandela welcoming the whites after everything South Africa went through during apartheid is a prime example. Once the whites become comfortable, they start to turn us against ourselves, which led to the xenophobia experienced by other African brothers living in South Africa.
SOUTH Africa and indeed, all of Africa, has its independence as spelt out; however, we know that he who controls the economic power rules. It’s the same thing here in the United States.
An African-American brother feels animosity to another African. Don’t forget your race as a black man regardless of where you live in this world is AFRICAN. I am no different from another blackman from any geographical part of the world.
So, if I can identify myself as an African and there is a continent called Africa, home, motherland, why don’t I start doing something about moving the continent forward. I don’t think it will take me 400 years to move Africa forward and; even if it does, it’s ours, no one will tell me to go to where I am from; remember they came to us.
WHEN I consider the option of going to Africa, the odds are stacked against me due to poor state of infrastructure, the society and its way of life, just like they were stacked against our forefathers when they reached the shores of the Whiteman’s country.
We excel in all sphere of life, an abundance of talent and Africa is full of resources spilling over, just waiting to be explored. The growth of the continent will be incredible; so incredible they will come back to us; only this time we will have the economic power and fortitude to say NO.
We cannot change the way they see us, but we can change the way they know us. The Black man has to fight for every privilege, he now has to beg the Whiteman to breathe. It seems like the Whiteman has to be paid royalty so we can breathe… air, as we all know, is a God’s given right from birth, the first draw of air confirms life. Why would the Whiteman, who has nothing to do with this, thinks that he owns it and the B lackman is at his mercy to use it?
I am an African, from the land of kings and mighty warriors, a land rich in natural resources and a loving people. I will stand up straight, shoulder high, head up and proclaim that I CAN BREATHE, no more will I say the opposite.
As I complete this article, more names are added to the list above: Armand Aubrey, black man minding his business jogging in his neighbourhood gunned down by white father and son, who took him for a burglar. Breonna Taylor, young black woman with an outstanding life ahead of her, gunned down in her bedroom while asleep by white police officers.
Our cries will come to a crescendo this November; let’s make it count. I must applaud the efforts of everybody who stood for the eradication of SARS in Nigeria, that’s how we effect change. Change, which is inevitable, will come when the instruments of oppression are dismantled.
Phillips, a broadcast journalist, artiste and company executive lives in Maryland and works in Washington DC. He can be reached at [email protected]
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