Tag Archives: #Asante

The Miseducation of African American History, Identity, and Power by Kelly Estrella

My project researched African History’s miseducation and how it should be taught more often to avoid colonialism’s continuous interference in education.  Concerning the Afro-American common Identity crisis during the Renaissance in support of Afrocentricity. Portrayed by written poems, audio, and a linked blog post.

 

 There’s a massive issue regarding our American history interjecting with the topic of American enslavement. For students to understand American slavery, the black perspective must be taught with integrity and acceptance in our somewhat post-colonial era. We need to educate the miseducated by teaching the brutal American history to lessen the continuous interference of colonialism in education and the lives of people of color. In the article, “Why Can’t We Teach Slavery Right in American Schools?” Nikita Stewart admits that our country’s educational system has been unwilling to teach young children and teenagers about enslavement in America (Stewart). For years the U.S has been choosing not to educate students properly in K-12, which leads to a high percentage of college students not having the proper social studies education (Stewart). I choose this piece because it hits the main point of the overall project: the miseducation and how our history should be taught, not neglecting sources that reveal the truth no matter the audience’s age. Usually, in American history,  what’s discussed about African American history are the excellent creative artist, writers, and great leaders.

  Langston Hughes was known to be a great poet of the African Americans, especially during the Great Depression and Black Renaissance.  The Renaissance was a time where writers, musicians, and artists of Harlem recreated the parameters of afro-American Aesthetics and creativity ( M&M 253 ). In the text, “Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology,” “ Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance” piece, for example,  there was always a “Mountain” that stand in the way of the true negro Art, “the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization” (M&M 253 ). Hughes confesses the common issue in society that correlated with the identity crisis of an African American. I remember learning about Langston  Hughes and how great of a writer he was but not until college I realized why he tried so hard to make the difference among his white oppressors and his fixed mentality. He noticed that Afro-American poets would desire to have an identity such as their oppressor by adopting the Euro-American writing style instead of embracing the Afro-American style. 

 

Similarly, in the article, “Afrocentricity: Sustaining Africology: On the Creation and Development of a Discipline,” Molefi K. Asante encourages people to study Afrocentricity to develop an understanding of history through the black perspective. For instance, Asante raises an interesting question, “What would African people do if there were no white people?” (Asante), which means how would African people act, their attitude towards the environment, or their preference of color. Asante acknowledges that there’s a vast intervention in African American life: the oppression of colonialism, and if there were to be a world without them, how would the blacks act. He raises an important question because, unfortunately, we live in a country where African Americans suffered a lot through slavery, losing their dignity and power over their oppressors. After slavery was abolishing, many African Americans still live oppressed, think oppressed, and are educated oppressively. So here I beg your pardon, my fellow readers, yearn for truth, not lies, fight to learn about people of your kind, and be accepting of your non-white standardization identity. 

 

To finalize, in my project, my two genres for the projects are written text and audio.  I have two written poems regarding the history of African-Americans and how oppressed they have felt. I have recorded one of the poems in audio. The actual written text that I have is the blog post, “A New African American Identity: The Harlem Renaissance,” regarding the new identity African Americans struggle to obtain during the Renaissance. The written poem is my cultural artifact that is evaluated to connect to the theory of colored poets desiring a white identity instead of embracing their Black identity (M &M 253 ). Overall my project combines the need to improve the American educational system by allowing more teaching from the black perspective of history to avoid dishonesty and embrace black identity.

 

Why my skin color doesn’t define me…

By Kelly Estrella

 

I  dare you,

To color me like the animal you portray me to be

I  dare you

 to color me like the demon in your darkest fear

I  dare you,

To color me like unwanted goods

I  dare you,

To color me like the big bad wolf

I  dare you,

 to color me like the dirt stuck under your fingernails

I dare you

Because my skin is beautiful!

 

 You see, because of my ancestor’s complexion

I am judged

Because of my ancestor’s language

I am discriminated

But I drop on my knees to that fainted voice of my roots:   

“You have to let you go.”

 

That old voice

That says you ain’t good enough

So I dare you,

 to take a step back and look at yourself

Because we ain’t better than anybody other than our old self.

 

Hear me out on this last thought: 

The beauty of my leaves

The skin of my trunk

From the depth of my roots

My race can’t define me.

 

The Afro-Latina from The Bronx 

By Kelly Estrella

When I was 10, my grandmother told me, “don’t you dare bring a “negro” into this house!”

When I was 12, my mom told me, “if your going to date a “negro” don’t pick them too dark.”

When I was 15, my father  told my sisters and me to “be careful with those “negros” who don’t

know how to properly speak to people.”

 

When I was 17, my grandfather told me, “I don’t trust those “negro” friends yours.” 

In Spanish, “negro” means black.

My family thinks I’m too white to be black.

But when I look at myself, I see a mixture of both,

From my black curly hair

To my honey skin complexion

To my medium-size lips

To my ghetto slangs 

To my black and Hispanic friends

 

Can you blame me for not deciding?

Audio Version:

 

If you want to know more about the Renaissance regarding the effects on the African American people. [CLICK HERE]

              Works Cited:

 

“A New African American Identity: The Harlem Renaissance.” National Museum of African American History and Culture, 14 Mar. 2018, nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/new-african-american-identity-harlem-renaissance. 

Molefi K. Asante, “Afrocentricity: Sustaining Africology: On the Creation and Development of a Discipline.” pp. 21-32 in A Companion to African-American Studies http://www.asante.net/articles/1/afrocentricity/

Stewart, Nikita. “Why Can’t We Teach Slavery Right in American Schools?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/19/magazine/slavery-american-schools.html. 

Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, eds. Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform, and Renewal. An African-American Anthology. 2nd. Ed. (2009) Roman & Littlefield. Available as e-pub online.

Estrella, Kelly. “Why my skin color doesn’t define me…” Google Docs, https://docs.google.com/document/d/19e1l7B6jVpydUtU2nMAXIstcNaCKDOQ4DEQbgCq4Vfo/edit. 11 April 2021.

Estrella, Kelly.“The Afro-Latina from The Bronx, Google Docs, Estrella Kelly, 11 April 2021, https://docs.google.com/document/d/10A3qp4506Z0hPODyVxIE3wBcy5tqVUDq4tl3cDH7CEE/edit.

 

 

Blog Post: The Power of Art by Alissa Rivera

The Power of Art

By Alissa Rivera

 

African Americans have been devalued and pushed around like animals. The color of their skin scares white people. White Americans will never understand what it means to be black. African Americans continue to struggle to fit into American society because of their skin color and hair texture. They are not seen as humans but as objects. They contribute to the wealth of this country with sweat and tears hoping that one day they won’t be stopped on the streets because they “fit the description.”

White Americans have been well represented through the media. They are reflected as doctors, leaders, soldiers, and so on. American society has shown white people that their possibilities are endless. In contrast to colored people they have trouble seeking representation of themselves in media and in life. They also struggle to find representation that shows that their humanity is multifaceted.

Below is an image of racial bias within violent crimes. Both racial groups were asserted under the same circumstances yet the media headline for the white group is “Three University of Iowa wrestlers arrested; burglary charges pending” with school pictures attached meanwhile the headline for black people is “Coralville police arrest four in burglary investigation” with their mugshots. The representation of white people will always be praised meanwhile the representation for black people will only show the worst side of them making black people believe they are worthless and incapable of change.

 

Black representation is important for the black community but most importantly it’s for others to be able to see and understand the black experience. Black Panther a movie that is predominantly black cast and has an African- American director has been able to make aware that movies made about black lives ensure that Black people matter and are seen. 

In the movie T’Challa is born into wealth. He knows who he is and what he is to others and himself. His father died which meant he was the future Wakandan King. He intentionally intended to maintain Wakanda’s traditional isolations. He says “ The problem with refugees is they bring their problems with them.” T’Challa has been raised without knowledge or exposure of pain that Killmonger has encountered. Killmonger’s  father was killed by T’Challa’s dad and was forced to grow up as an orphan. He was living in poverty therefore he joined the army. Killmonger experienced America’s systemic oppression of Black Americans. These experiences have caused him to be full of rage and fight the injustice in American society.  This is seen in the movie when he wins the title of King in a ritual combat, he says “There are about 2 billion people who look like us who have been put through hell, while you have sat here comfortable. All of this is going to change. Right now.”  

Intentionally everyone in Wakanda including T’Challa was against Killmonger and Nakia’s  motivations to help those suffering from America’s systemic oppression in America. However T’Challa was moved by Killmonger’s last words “ Just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors, who jumped from slave ships because they knew that death was better than a life of bondage.” He references his ancestors to show that he understands them and shares the same pain with them. Killmonger’s pain also represents the pain of many African’s in America. T’Challa realizes that he has to use his resources with the world and put an end to the systemic oppression in America. 

Bringing this film to the attention of America while having a white president in office is truly significant in African history because it shows the need of improvement that is opposed by those in power. Dr. Molefi Kete Asante would have enjoyed Black Panther because the movie is directed by an African American who tells the African American experience from the African perspective. This is important because African history has been told from a white perspective with no knowledge or experience of what it means to be African American. Dr. Molefi Kete Asante stated in his article “ Afrocentricity” that “when black people view themselves as centered and they see themselves as agents, actors, and participants rather than as marginals on the periphery of political or economic experience.” This is absolutely true because when Africans watch Black Panther they see a reflection of themselves in America and in Africa. This reminds them of the value of their roots and potential that they lose and are oppressed of once they are in America. They see themselves as powerful human beings who are capable of fighting for change. The African experience in Black Panther is not only the one sided version we are accustomed to; it is the multiple experiences that African Americans. 

Based on the film Black Panther we are able to see how much a film can do. Different emotions and ideas are revealed which  help us better understand the political culture and history of African Americans. In freedom songs, 1960 the following lyrics from  the song “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round” reflect Killmonger “ Ain’t gonna let no jailhouse turn me ‘round, I’m gonna keep on a walkin’, keep on talkin’, Marching up to freedom land.” ( pg 374) These words reflect Killmonger because when he was free of the jailhouse in America and became King of Wakanda he did not just forget about the injustice in America however his plan was to help those around the world be free from systematic oppression. The following lyrics from “ We Shall Overcome” (pg 273) “We shall all be free, we shall all be free, we shall all be free someday, oh, in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome someday” can connect to the last part of Black Panther because T’Challa helps deliver this message to the public when he decides to share his resources with the world to help fight the oppression many African Americans face. He is giving the African community a sense of hope that together they will stop and be free from the injustice faced in American society. 

Black Panther has made a drastic change in African American life and history. Together as African American’s everyone should be willing to fight for change because if you just watch  your doing more harm than good.

Works cited 

Asante, Molefi, K. “Afrocentricity.” 13 April 2009

http://www.asante.net/articles/1/afrocentricity/

Director Ryan Coogler – Black Panther 2018 

Lisa Wade. “ Racial Bias and How The Media Perpetuates it with Coverage of Violent Crime”

           Updates: June 14, 2017 Original: April 17,2015

https://psmag.com/social-justice/racial-bias-and-how-the-media-perpetuates-it-with-coverage-of-violent-crime

Marable, Manning, and Leith Mullings. “Let Nobody Turn Us around Voices of Resistance, 

Reform, and Renewal: an African American Anthology Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.