| Get Into It! Spring - Summer 2008 |
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From
Brampton, Belo Horizonte and Bermuda to Botswana, Brooklyn, Bequia
and Bulawayo, African people are living, loving and raising our
children. No matter where we are born our where our lives take us,
African can be a word that unites us. But all too often, it is
becoming a word that divides us, especially when we hold fast to
ideas about the “African way.”
Yes, the “African way.” Once we start developing a single-minded ideology about what is African and what is not, it is just a matter of time before we start judging others by that standard.
We’ve all heard it and a lot of us have said it: “That’s not very African” or “She calls herself African?” Is her head wrapped or not? Does she have dreads or not? Is their home overflowing with kente cloth and cowry shells? What else is on the checklist? Speaking Kiswahili? Wearing leather sandals? Burning incense? Having an altar? Referring to yourself in the third person? Being a vegetarian?
On the surface, none of these things are bad. But when we come to believe that we are “more African” than others because of our carefully-constructed lifestyle and often limited views, therein lies the problem. We are actually trivializing our own cultures and the wealth of experience that we have.
In my humble opinion (and I respectfully acknowledge that you have your own), we are all African even if we are very different. Ethiopians are not just like Haitians. Grenadians are not exactly like the Masai. Cubans are not just like Nigerians. All over Africa and the Diaspora, we are living different ways and there is a lot we can learn from each other – especially when it comes to building our families and communities. Let’s not limit our chances to grow and to support each other just because another African is not just like you or me.
Nicole Osbourne James
Publisher
Photo: Stay mentally AND physically flexible: Nicole, proudly pregnant, gets down on the floor at about seven months along. Photography by Kija Gray.
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