Business…this week’s column is on McDonald’s preposterous idea to use hip hop to sell Big Macs. While they’re at it, why not have Spigg Nice of the Lost Boyz do commercials from jail dressed as the Hamburglar?
Well, woke up this morning and saw an inordinate amount of log-ins, many of which were from Tanzanian domains. I shoulda been smart enough to know what that meant, but I found out a few minutes later that Paul Bomani passed away this morning (the power of Google is mindblowing to me).
‘Til the other side, Ambassador.
But this brings me to an interesting conversation I had Wednesday afternoon…
My brother’s name is named Patrice, after the incomparable Patrice Lumumba of the Congo. Should you not know much about Lumumba–the leader, not my brother–run a Google search, then rent Raoul Peck’s “Lumumba.”
Anyway, my buddy’s lady friend asked me what my brother’s name was, and I told her it was Patrice Lumumba. She asked me if she could call him Patty. I started by telling her to calm down, but I then told her to get up on her African history. Though I realize that there are few places to get hip to African history in primary and secondary schools, I find it amazing how few people know anything about African history.
But the killer was her response…
“Why? I’m not from Africa.”
Aye-yi-yi.
Like Ricky Ricardo, not the Ying Yang Twins.
See, I’m not sure what being from Africa has to do with anything. This particular girl is from Trinidad, but I’d hate to think her knowledge of history is purposely limited to those from her island. Or, god forbid, that it’s voluntarily limited to Trinis and various Europeans.
I’m not from Africa…fuckouttayere.
You know, considering how we Negroes seem to value empowerment, I find it amazing that someone wouldn’t want to know something about a group of people that successfully fought for just that, even though the results have been less than desirable (in the Congo, that can’t be blamed on Lumumba. Talk to Mobutu, Eisenhower, and King Leopold of Belgium the next time you’re at a seance).
But the knowledge and interest–or lack thereof–that so many people have of African history is appalling, especially among college students. College is the time to get hip to things on one’s on, the best environment for broadening horizons in and out of the classroom. At the very least, students should be able to give one sentence about significant post-colonial leaders. If one leaves college without knowing who Lumumba, Nyrere, Senghor, Selassie, and Kenyatta are, something just ain’t right. And I’m not talking about knowing everything about them…just a sentence.
And if you don’t know anything about Nelson Mandela other than that he was in the joint for a few years, get on it.
And get hip to the crooks like Mobutu, also. Lots of probative value in those suckers, too.
But I don’t recall ever being that flustered by someone’s innocent response in my life except for the time someone asked me “what is Malcolm X” in middle school. This was before the movie was released, but “what”? When did Malcolm stop being a name?
But that was from a white person, and expecting white people to be hip to negritude is setting one’s self up for the okeydoke.
But I ain’t hypersensitive about this stuff, I don’t think. I take it and roll when people ask why I refer to my friend Che as “Ernesto.” Never mind that I’m pretty sure the poster in his room of Che says “Ernesto” on it, and never mind ’twas his old girlfriend that first asked me why I call him Ernesto, and she spent plenty of time in that room.
This thing with Lumumba, however, was inexcusable. Ignorance is one thing, but when it exist willfully, I get a bit flummoxed.
But really, am I trippin?
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Also, give that new Sigel a new listen. Beats are off the chain, and there’s a fire Bun B verse on there. Man, I can’t wait for THE TRILL.
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I’m out…lemme know if I’m buggin, for real.
3 thoughts on “Bad news on two levels…”
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Top 3 from a non-native African.
White vs Black Education: This one is obvious. African history is not generally taught with the detail of that of white folk. We learn all about their folk. But how many of us learned anything about Kenyatta or any of those should be famous names? I went to all black public schools K-12 and attended an HBCU and I know I didn’t. It’s not easy to strike out and learn something you’ve never even heard of.
Family influence: I’m sure you are aware how different it may be just off the strength of who your parents are and just to have a brother named Patrice Lumumba. Add that to the fact that your family has actually lived in Africa. For Christ’s sake, your name is Bomani Babatunde! All those would make me a little bit more interested in learning African history if I was in the presence of allat. My folks never exposed me to the importance of African or Black History or even talked about it in the process of my growing up. They only talk about it now if on the occasion that I bring up the topic.
College?: College was a time when I learned more about Africa than I ever have. And I might not have, if I hadn’t stumbled across HCASC upon accident. If I hadn’t studied Africa in detail for nerd bowl, I probably wouldn’t have grasped the importance of it.
Yeah it would be nice for all us darkies to know some sentence of relevance of African freedom fighters, however not all of us have the same intelligence level or list of priorities. If we do not see how Africa relates to our lives personally or at least find it interesting, we most likely will not take the time to learn. So unless African history is blown up to the proportions of Teri Schiavo and that of Europe and America, you will likely encounter the same issue.
I liked the McD’s article. Very vivid and well written. Yet again, skill in usage of the word kazoo. And equal kudos for giving me the image of my favorite rapper dressed up as Ronald McDonald.
Bo…she ain’t know who Patrice Lamumba was? oh dayum…You a better man than me, homeboy. I woulda said something like go talk to Bobby McFerrin or Jimmy Buffett or something…
But I digress
Mobutu did more f*cking in Congo than Don King… I guess it wasn’t no coincidence that they collabbed on the Rumble in the Jungle…
All I remember was my pops (more thug than scholar, but still was pro-black all the way) making me watch and learn about Steve Biko, Mandela, the famine in Ethiopia … while also schoolin me on the struggle here in America (see: Colfax and Opelousas massacres, Homer Plessy was from the N.O., the destruction of black Tulsa and other f*cked up things folk have brushed under the rug)
I guess it’s true when folk say..If you don’t know your past, then your future is pretty much f*cked
The fact is that the majority of people, regardless of race or nationality, are the same on this one. Very few people actually pay attention to history or look at it with anything other than a passing glance. Despite the prevalence of white/European history in most American schools and culture, the majority of kids probably can’t tell you who was President before the Clinton Administration. Shit, ask some white kid about the first Continental Congress and watch him do that weird head tilt thing that dogs do when you put a new kind of dog food in their dish.
I wonder if it isn’t a problem that started early on and grows exponentially worse by the generation. If you think that there aren’t enough people who know Malcolm, Lumumba, Mobutu or anyone else, then think about this: there will be a time in the near future when you meet someone who has no idea who Farrakhan, Jackson, or the Black Panthers are. You might even have grandkids who ask you about this Obama guy that used to be so popular in some circles…but decidedly unpopular in others.
Most people just can’t be bothered to pay attention to history. Obviously, there are other factors involved, but I still think a lot of it can be chalked up to basic human nature and, in some cases, the luxury of laziness.