You have heard of race relations with regard to African Americans and other races but have you ever examined the relations between Africans and African Americans?
My thoughts are a collection of ideas that range from politics to business to religion. There are certain aspects of me in this discussion (a life in the U.S from the end of the Clinton presidency to the end of the George Bush's Jr. last term) as well as a new life in Uganda (2005 to the present day).
What I have tried to do is gather the full gamut of my thoughts and experiences in an effort to make sense of a rich and diverse albeit rather sad life.
If you go back to the sixties, you notice that there was a massive immigration surge to the U.S of a best of the best of African culture. These were the days when the current president's Father moved to the U.S and found a bride. The same were promising young people who were in a sense challenging the establishment in their respective countries and who were therefore identified as potential recruits or students in their new nations of adoption. It is very difficult to go past your teacher and so the American and British hold on Eduction via IV league will continue to enjoy expression even in the physical absence of similar institutions.
This is why the destruction of Timbuktu is so tragic and this is why there will be a revival of the ancient discord between slave and slave trader.
There has been to some extent much more of a conversation between slave and slave master but there is very little talk about the relationship between the latter.
Perhaps we need here to examine our relationship with the Arabs and their faith and it's affect on us. Maybe we need to decide what we really believe in light of present truths and if we are in a position to truly embrace other faiths.
What has happened instead I argue, is there has been an adoption of religious practices and culture which has brought about a loss of memory.
My decision to use your site (fastcompany.com) was fueled by some thoughts about recent activity on the web about some startups in my current nation of residence and their subsequent success. I therefore did a generic search for black perspectives on business in the silicon valley.
This reminded me of the victory speech by B.H.O and the tears shed by Jesse Jackson on that incredible day and the idea that in a strange sense the Hard Core African Americans had been bi-passed in the presidency in favor of a mixed race president and of all things one from Africa.
I asked my question about conventional views about Africa and its inhabitants with this in mind knowing to some extent that in many African American Eyes, this is still the dark continent and that visits here by prominent black people usually have Ghana at their core (and her ancient slave routes).
So even if I have suggested a conversation between 'traders' and their 'cargo', we still need to find methods of bridging the gap between the cargo and those who made its trade possible.
In other words two ancient brothers need to meet to talk about what really happened four hundred years ago.
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