Essential The Root Random Thoughts

[98Ntu]

I understand what you are saying. I think the weapnization of homosexuality in the USA in the past has really caused apprehension. You look at the notion of "buck breaking" or the fact that Cecil Rhodes used rape as a punishment and subjugation tool in Zimbabwe. It's a deeper issue than just disliking people. Also the loud folk who join in on the all black men are trash brigade aren't helping to smooth things. I know gay people who were really cool with me, co-workers ect. I have no issue with trans ppl either. But there is a lot of it being weaponized now by the ptb. So the convo has to shift from there.

This is a really coherent post. Thank you.

Weaponizing sexuality has been one of the great tricks of white society. They do it with the black LGBTS and the LGBT community and they do it with black women & a lot of feminism by telling black women that their liberation and sexual freedom is tied to the degradation and political avoidance of black males. Sexuality and it’s weaponization are important to understand in this context to get a full picture of the issue. That I can appreciate.

Buck breaking and the rape of Zimbabwean men (this I am very sympathetic and sensitive to as a Zimbabwean) by whites is a negative usage of sexuality to hurt and scare others. Black men have been assaulted and abused by white men under a strange homoerotic psychosexual warfare that degrades and steals one’s humanity. I can appreciate this. And one can also appreciate the unfair demonization of black men and manhood by members of the LGBT community. However that doesn’t warrant treating black LGBT folks with distrust or derision. They are individuals and I must judge them as such.

The black community and diaspora must come together to discuss our issues of homophobia and black hetero misandry. It is the only way we can fully heal. You are hurting and so are they. Let’s heal together:

Overall, black masculinity is a complex field of study. Some black men are attacked for their perceived sexual threat through their heterosexuality and others are preyed upon and used as tools because of the perceived non threat of their homosexuality. Both are black men and both are being exploited by racism, imperialism and elitism. We need to heal and move forward. I distrust the white LGBT establishment but I love black gays, transgender people and etc. I also love black heterosexuals and cisgender people. Our goals should be to bridge gaps and cancel out the noise of the “all black men are trash” crowd and the “I hate fagg0ts” crowd. Let’s talk to each other and begin a dialogue.

 

[98Ntu]

We need a new black intelligentsia. Who are political activists but also are well read and well versed in the ability to convey ideas as serious academics and intellectuals. We need people like Tommy Curry to be promoted heavily. Rational thought, research and logic over everything.

I’ve met educated young people who want to help change the community in various forms but try and lack a platform? How do we promote an intelligentsia who are pro black and pro intellectualism on our own term? We need a new leadership class too. Everyone else has one except blacks globally. I visited Mzansi and Zim recently and I’ll just say the lack of a high minded, proactive leader class who can help others is frightening.

There are leader classes in the Chinese, Ashkenazi and Indian communities and they are successful. We need to do the same but also simultaneously encourage self leadership, individualism and free thought in our communities

 

[Rawtid]

We need a new black intelligentsia. Who are political activists but also are well read and well versed in the ability to convey ideas as serious academics and intellectuals. We need people like Tommy Curry to be promoted heavily. Rational thought, research and logic over everything.

I’ve met educated young people who want to help change the community in various forms but try and lack a platform? How do we promote an intelligentsia who are pro black and pro intellectualism on our own term? We need a new leadership class too. Everyone else has one except blacks globally. I visited Mzansi and Zim recently and I’ll just say the lack of a high minded, proactive leader class who can help others is frightening.

There are leader classes in the Chinese, Ashkenazi and Indian communities and they are successful. We need to do the same but also simultaneously encourage self leadership, individualism and free thought in our communities

I feel this is the start. The top down approach is hard with us because we are so guarded and divided. If we could first secure ourselves as individuals via education, financial stability, ownership, etc, then we start the process of building trust and partnerships with one another.

 

[BillBanneker]

Watching this Doc on the Nubians on NatGo channel.

 

[Red Shield]

Watching this Doc on the Nubians on NatGo channel.

they tryin to claim the nubians weren't african?

 

[BillBanneker]

they tryin to claim the nubians weren't african?

Actually, pretty much the opposite.

 

[Red Shield]

Actually, pretty much the opposite.

Good to know

 

[BigMan]

Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, and Ethiopia (in that order) have the most descendants/repatriated African Americans and English speaking Caribbean folks

 

[JahFocus CS]

Has anyone read John Jea's autobiography, The Life, History, and Unparalleled Sufferings of John Jea, the African Preacher?

John Jea - Wikipedia

John Jea was born in Africa in 1773 near Calabar in the Bight of Biafra.[1] He was sold into slavery in New York City with his family, where they worked for a Dutch couple, Oliver and Angelika Triebuen. After learning to read the Bible, he was freed and eventually embarked on a journey to Boston, New Orleans, South America, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland and England, where he worked as a preacher.

He later published his autobiography along with poems, thus being one of the first African-American poets to have written an autobiography.[2]

His autobiography was only rediscovered in 1983.

 

[JahFocus CS]

@Taharqa

 

[Taharqa]

@Taharqa

 

[phcitywarrior]

Question for the Root:

So today at work I was talking with one of my female co-workers. She's from VA (Hampton region) and we were talking about contemporary black issues: Kapernick with Nike, NFL protests etc.

Later, she said something along the lines of: "phcitywarrior, every time I tell you to watch that Trayvon Martin documentary, you always roll your eyes like and act like your too good for our cause".

I told her look, I'll never be fully able to grasp the full scale of the issue, it simply doesn't hit home like that for me. Yes, I'm black but I was Nigerian before I became black. (For context, I was born in Nigeria, moved to the US when I was 7 then returned to Nigeria for high school then came back to the US for college and now working).

I gave her a story of when I was in high school and was at the bus stop chopping it up with one of my boys DeQuan.

He said something about not having sugar in the house for his grits so he had to use syrup.

So I asked him "What are Grits?"

He look at me with a stunned face: "nikka how don't you know what grits are? What nikka don't know what grits are? You ain't ever see Roots nikka? Kunta Kinte nikka?"

I said no (even till this day). She was like "breh, really, never seen Roots? That's your history."

At that point I was like nah Roots isn't my history. I can't say that ohh, my ancestors were like those people depicted in Roots. Not from a place of better than thou, but from a place of simple facts. I came to the states in 2002. My origins are from Nigeria.

She still stood firm that Roots was my history and it behooved me to watch it.

In the US, yes, I'm black but not black in the sense of African American as it is colloquially understood. But even then, in America, as far as your skin is black and hair is nappy, you a nikka.

So while I would define myself as Nigerian (rightfully) I still understand society will view me as black, but it not to say that is my history.

I can inherit the perceptions and struggles of being a black person in America, but I cannot inherit the history.

 

[JahFocus CS]

Question for the Root:

So today at work I was talking with one of my female co-workers. She's from VA (Hampton region) and we were talking about contemporary black issues: Kapernick with Nike, NFL protests etc.

Later, she said something along the lines of: "phcitywarrior, every time I tell you to watch that Trayvon Martin documentary, you always roll your eyes like and act like your too good for our cause".

I told her look, I'll never be fully able to grasp the full scale of the issue, it simply doesn't hit home like that for me. Yes, I'm black but I was Nigerian before I became black. (For context, I was born in Nigeria, moved to the US when I was 7 then returned to Nigeria for high school then came back to the US for college and now working).

I gave her a story of when I was in high school and was at the bus stop chopping it up with one of my boys DeQuan.

He said something about not having sugar in the house for his grits so he had to use syrup.

So I asked him "What are Grits?"

He look at me with a stunned face: "nikka how don't you know what grits are? What nikka don't know what grits are? You ain't ever see Roots nikka? Kunta Kinte nikka?"

I said no (even till this day). She was like "breh, really, never seen Roots? That's your history."

At that point I was like nah Roots isn't my history. I can't say that ohh, my ancestors were like those people depicted in Roots. Not from a place of better than thou, but from a place of simple facts. I came to the states in 2002. My origins are from Nigeria.

She still stood firm that Roots was my history and it behooved me to watch it.

In the US, yes, I'm black but not black in the sense of African American as it is colloquially understood. But even then, in America, as far as your skin is black and hair is nappy, you a nikka.

So while I would define myself as Nigerian (rightfully) I still understand society will view me as black, but it not to say that is my history.

I can inherit the perceptions and struggles of being a black person in America, but I cannot inherit the history.

Roots isn't the history of your direct family line but it is a virtual certainty that branches of your ancestral family were caught up in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. But yes, you're right -- that historical experience isn't yours.

Every African on the planet should learn about the Transatlantic Slave Trade, especially West and Central Africans, and especially West and Central Africans who immigrate to the Americas. One, because the Transatlantic Slave Trade devastated Africa -- it was maintained by constant slaving wars and the destabilization and depopulation of African societies. How much human potential was stolen from Africa during that era? It's unfathomable. And how much did those centuries distort, disrupt, and undermine African development and advancement? I hear that they don't teach much about it in schools in West and Central Africa. That is a terrible disservice.

Two, because folks immigrating should learn about those who paved the way for them and the sociohistorical context they are entering into.

In conclusion though, yes you should watch Roots, and yes you should watch the Trayvon Martin documentary and not roll your eyes when she mentions it

 

[BigMan]

Question for the Root:

So today at work I was talking with one of my female co-workers. She's from VA (Hampton region) and we were talking about contemporary black issues: Kapernick with Nike, NFL protests etc.

Later, she said something along the lines of: "phcitywarrior, every time I tell you to watch that Trayvon Martin documentary, you always roll your eyes like and act like your too good for our cause".

I told her look, I'll never be fully able to grasp the full scale of the issue, it simply doesn't hit home like that for me. Yes, I'm black but I was Nigerian before I became black. (For context, I was born in Nigeria, moved to the US when I was 7 then returned to Nigeria for high school then came back to the US for college and now working).

I gave her a story of when I was in high school and was at the bus stop chopping it up with one of my boys DeQuan.

He said something about not having sugar in the house for his grits so he had to use syrup.

So I asked him "What are Grits?"

He look at me with a stunned face: "nikka how don't you know what grits are? What nikka don't know what grits are? You ain't ever see Roots nikka? Kunta Kinte nikka?"

I said no (even till this day). She was like "breh, really, never seen Roots? That's your history."

At that point I was like nah Roots isn't my history. I can't say that ohh, my ancestors were like those people depicted in Roots. Not from a place of better than thou, but from a place of simple facts. I came to the states in 2002. My origins are from Nigeria.

She still stood firm that Roots was my history and it behooved me to watch it.

In the US, yes, I'm black but not black in the sense of African American as it is colloquially understood. But even then, in America, as far as your skin is black and hair is nappy, you a nikka.

So while I would define myself as Nigerian (rightfully) I still understand society will view me as black, but it not to say that is my history.

I can inherit the perceptions and struggles of being a black person in America, but I cannot inherit the history.

So....




.....what is your question?

 

[phcitywarrior]

So....




.....what is your question?

Is her statement about The Roots being part of my history factual?