Being black is an honor; not because of where we come from, but because of the hardships our ancestors had to tackle during their time of slavery. In 'Never African Again' by Gerald Early, he indirectly speaks about slavery and he states " For we must accept who and what we are and the forces and conditions that have made us this, not as defeat or triumph, not in shame or with grandiose pride, but as the tangled, strange, yet poignant and immeasureable record of an imperishable human presence." And from my point-of-view, this statement, reinforces the Africanness in African Americans; because Africanness is relevant to American Blacks to help understand what it means to be an American. That statement is outstandingly true because you cannot forget where you came from, in order to become what you are now.
I am not African American, but I am of African descent; and I am not ashamed of it. On the other hand, what I am afraid of, is the fact that I am not knowledgeable of my ancestors culture; however, I am conservant of my islands culture.
The fact that my ancestors culture is unfamiliar to me, is exactly what 'Never African Again' reflects from my view. How can someone who says that they're black and they're proud or it is an honor to be black, not know where their "Blackness" or "Africanness" is all about?
It is time for us as blacks to make a difference- through color comparisons we are already different; so how about putting some meaning behind who and what we are, and find out what makes us so black and proud.
Below is a link to a music video entitled Black like a tar by Richie Spice (Jamaican Reggae Artist). It basically talks about being black, being proud and knowing who you are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPaq2tK-JMo
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