• Home
  • Bio
  • Media
    • Read
    • Watch/Listen
  • Speaking
  • Work with me
  • Contact

MsAfropolitan

FEMINISM. PAN-AFRICA. SOCIAL CRITICISM. DIASPORA. CULTURE.

  • feminism
  • Africa
  • Pop Culture
  • Social Criticism
  • decolonisation
  • Afropolitanism
  • seven
  • Sensuous Knowledge
    • Sensuous Knowledge references and recommended reading
    • International
    • Sensuous Knowledge news
  • Other Books
  • The MsAfropolitan Philosophy Book Club @ Waterstones

Engaging the Diaspora, Afropolitans and Africa

July 8, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 8 Comments

I’m glad that I’m a young African woman now rather than in the 60s. Yet watching this clip of Angela Davis and discussing it on my FB page this week made me miss those rebellious and more importantly, revolutionary, times.
By the way, the reason for this preference is of dual nature. I am African and I am female, two tricks that life played on me. Disagree if you must, but to me it’s stretching the truth to claim that Africans, or women, have equality in 2011.  Many doors have opened so do kindly take the comment about ‘tricks’ with a grain of salt. If at deathbed, I was given the choice to come back to a bittersweet existence like this or to an oft-blinding privilege that comes with being white and/or male I would not hesitate for a moment to request the former.

Nevertheless, there are aspects of the era of the civil right’s movement that could do with a revival.
One of those is the cultural and political exchange that took place between African diasporans and those at home. Let’s recall that pan-Africanism started in the diaspora, in the Caribbean to be precise. It traveled to the west and eventually rocked the cradle of its conscious thought, Africa. In Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana, in Miriam Makeba’s South Africa, in Jomo Kenyatta’s Kenya and Sankara’s Burkina Faso. Nkrumah was influenced by Africans in the diaspora such as George Padmore, Makeba’s message was strengthened by diasporic alliances such as with Stokely Carmichael (whom she also married). Fela’s legacy is tied to Sandra Izsadore who introduced him to James Brown and so on.

These transnational exchanges were not a byproduct of change; they were the reason behind it.
Connecting Africa with the diaspora during the civil right’s era brought forth important events like Fesman 66 in Senegal and Festac 77 in Nigeria. An offspring of these black culture festivals took place last year and was a bit of a fiasco, perhaps telling of the lack of a collaborative platform like pan-Africanism in contemporary times.

In 2011, Africa’s prospects are the most upbeat since the efforts of pan-African leaders were hastily subdued by the powers that be. High economic growth is attracting foreign investment throughout the continent and despite the ongoing challenge of tackling disparity across the continent, there is reason to predict an African renaissance.
Like any renaissance, the African one is doing wonders in exposing the cultural world of Africa; the music, fashion, spirituality, art, literature and avant-garde architecture. We should indulge in such cultural offering without forgetting that the renaissance must ultimately carry the spirit of empowerment and justice.

Returning to the writings on Afropolitan subculture last week, I think that Afropolitanism and similar platforms will mark a revitalization of political and cultural exchange between those of us back home and those in the diaspora. History implies that it would be an error not to do so.

Basically what I’m trying to say is that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, rather we have to learn from our predecessors to make it roll faster. With women increasingly also driving the motor this time around, I am convinced that it will.

What are your thoughts? Is the diaspora as connected to Africa as it needs to be?

Filed Under: Africa, Social Criticism Tagged With: Africa, african diaspora, African women, Afrocentric, Afropolitan, gender

Comments

  1. Ankhesen says

    July 8, 2011 at 6:53 pm

    this week made me miss those rebellious and more importantly, revolutionary, times.

    I know what you mean. Lately, I’ve found myself tearing my hair out how less willing we’ve become to do the heavy lifting, or to evoke anyone else’s ire. It’s as though many of us have gotten scared all over again. We’ve lost our rebellious spark, and I feel we’ve reverted to aiming for scraps rather than claiming the house.

    Reply
    • MsAfropolitan says

      July 18, 2011 at 1:22 pm

      Oh no! What infuriating ignorance in that clip

      Yes sis, we’re living in times of conformity it seems. The media spoonfeeds the idea that society is postracial and postfeminist and all these other lies, so why should anyone complain?

      Thanks for parking some of your thoughts here in my cyberhome.

      Reply
  2. MBA says

    July 12, 2011 at 3:02 pm

    You know Kanye West just signed D’Banj and Don Jazzy to his GOOD label?! Cultural exchange is starting to happen because we Africans are demanding it and are producing things that cannot be denied to be worth sharing. I think we are going through our own 60s in the new millennium and I am excited to be a part of it.

    Afropolitans, be it people who have physical experience through travel and living abroad or those who have stayed on the continent but are in tune with the global heartbeat are fighting. I see it all around me in the people I have been meeting in Zambia, a place that I have always seen as conservative and not willing to put itself out there. So if it is happening here it must be happening elsewhere on the continent. We are at that point when the rain comes and it pitter-patters just before the big downpour. Let us not let some wind push the clouds away before we rain down on the world and have our seeds grow 🙂

    Reply
  3. POTO says

    July 13, 2011 at 12:07 am

    These are just some verses I thought were cool. What am I? I am a mirror, a spectator to peoples egoism. Even as I watch others, display themselves vainly using every ounce of talent, I can only observe the finery of those, wishing I could be like them, knowing it is forever out of my reach.
    What am I? I am a snowflake, falling silently to earth. One in a million or a billion more. yet I am different from all the others. From the time that I was born, I have had my own pattern, set my own ways.
    What am I? A mockingbird, picking up anothers song in an effort to make a new friend.
    What am I? I am a window mannequin. People are not interested in the real me, but in what I look like or seem to be. In me they see an image or themselves or another.
    I become a coat which protects my internal organs from the cold.
    I become the seed of a tree. I slowly emerge from my outer shell to start the gradual process of growing. I work my way slowly up to my life giving source, the sun. Always growing, never ceasing I grow onward toward the limitless beauty of the vast expanse of the sky.
    And there’s a film called, Fresh. Kind of illustrates how one kid from the ‘diaspora’ overcomes adversity. He goes through a whole lot!

    Reply
  4. Diggame says

    July 21, 2011 at 5:53 am

    I think we need to take the African Diaspora even further and have a higher connection of those of African decent in the states, Canada and even in Latin America

    Reply
  5. ary says

    August 10, 2011 at 11:18 am

    Hi Mouna,

    i have just discovered your blog and i must say that it is very interesting. I have a site dedicated to african music, cinema,fashion and art, Karimalo. My slogan is “wlcome to the other Africa” and i do believe that with great connections we can make it happen! My goal is to present an active, a postitive and a refreshing side of Africa to my readers! Feel free to visit it! I am definitely going to follow your blog!

    cheers

    ary

    Reply
  6. Twaambo says

    November 28, 2013 at 11:33 pm

    We can do better.The hard part is marrying a strong fierce independent African woman in the Diaspora and a woman in Africa that sees her only hope on a better life tied to the wrong things and not to the fact that she matters just because she is alive.
    Unfortunately there is a gap,but not one that we cannot reach across.
    Even by sites like this we can come up with ideas to get evenmore connected!
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • MsAfropolitan says

      December 6, 2013 at 1:39 am

      Thank YOU!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Feminism. Africa. Popular Culture. Social Criticism.

Hi! I'm Minna Salami, I'm a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish writer and social critic, and the founder of the multiple award-winning blog, MsAfropolitan, which connects feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective. As a lecturer and keynote speaker, I have spoken at over 300 universities, cultural events and conferences, on five continents. I am the author of "Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone - a collection of thought provoking essays that explore questions central to how we see ourselves, our history, and our world." (Harper Collins US) Read full bio

View My Blog Posts

Follow My social media

Visit Us On InstagramVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookCheck Our Feed

Subscribe to my newsletter

* indicates required

An African Feminist mixtape

Essay: Oyalogy – A poetic approach to African feminism through Yoruba mythology

ESSAY: A brief history of African feminism

ESSAY: A brief history of African feminism

VIDEO: TEDxTalk – To change the world, change your illusions

VIDEO: TEDxTalk – To change the world, change your illusions

VIDEO: ARISE TV TALKING AFRICA INTERVIEW

VIDEO: ARISE TV TALKING AFRICA INTERVIEW

Recent Comments

  • Evgen on There were no matriarchies in precolonial Africa
  • ทางเข้าเล่น joker on The challenge for western feminism in the 21st century
  • Schües on On Abortion
  • AneM on Polygamy in Africa has little to do with sex
  • Khalifa on Polygamy in Africa has little to do with sex

Sensuous Knowledge – Get the book (US version)

Sensuous Knowledge – Get the book (UK version)

Archives

  • August 2022 (4)
  • May 2022 (1)
  • January 2022 (2)
  • December 2021 (1)
  • August 2021 (1)
  • May 2021 (5)
  • April 2021 (3)
  • March 2021 (4)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • October 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (3)
  • May 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (2)
  • March 2020 (4)
  • February 2020 (2)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • December 2019 (1)
  • November 2019 (1)
  • July 2019 (1)
  • May 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (4)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (2)
  • November 2018 (1)
  • October 2018 (2)
  • August 2018 (1)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • June 2018 (2)
  • May 2018 (2)
  • March 2018 (2)
  • February 2018 (2)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • October 2017 (2)
  • September 2017 (3)
  • August 2017 (6)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (3)
  • May 2017 (6)
  • March 2017 (2)
  • February 2017 (3)
  • January 2017 (2)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • November 2016 (3)
  • October 2016 (3)
  • September 2016 (2)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • July 2016 (2)
  • June 2016 (1)
  • May 2016 (3)
  • April 2016 (1)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (3)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (3)
  • October 2015 (4)
  • September 2015 (4)
  • August 2015 (3)
  • July 2015 (2)
  • June 2015 (3)
  • May 2015 (4)
  • April 2015 (4)
  • March 2015 (10)
  • February 2015 (4)
  • December 2014 (3)
  • November 2014 (5)
  • October 2014 (1)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (4)
  • July 2014 (3)
  • June 2014 (3)
  • May 2014 (5)
  • April 2014 (4)
  • March 2014 (2)
  • February 2014 (4)
  • January 2014 (3)
  • December 2013 (3)
  • November 2013 (4)
  • October 2013 (3)
  • September 2013 (4)
  • August 2013 (5)
  • July 2013 (4)
  • June 2013 (4)
  • May 2013 (6)
  • April 2013 (3)
  • March 2013 (7)
  • February 2013 (3)
  • January 2013 (5)
  • December 2012 (4)
  • November 2012 (9)
  • October 2012 (8)
  • September 2012 (4)
  • August 2012 (6)
  • July 2012 (6)
  • June 2012 (5)
  • May 2012 (8)
  • April 2012 (7)
  • March 2012 (5)
  • February 2012 (4)
  • January 2012 (6)
  • December 2011 (5)
  • November 2011 (6)
  • October 2011 (6)
  • September 2011 (8)
  • August 2011 (6)
  • July 2011 (5)
  • June 2011 (5)
  • May 2011 (5)
  • April 2011 (4)
  • March 2011 (7)
  • February 2011 (6)
  • January 2011 (7)
  • December 2010 (5)
  • November 2010 (9)
  • October 2010 (7)
  • September 2010 (5)
  • August 2010 (4)
  • July 2010 (6)
  • June 2010 (5)
  • May 2010 (3)
  • April 2010 (3)
  • March 2010 (1)

more articles

A Historical Overview of African Feminist Strands

August 24, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

… [Continue Reading...]

On Abortion

August 23, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

… [Continue Reading...]

Privacy Policy

https://msafropolitan.com/gdpr

Copyright MsAfropolitan © 2023