Black presence at the Winter Olympics

On February 25, 2010February 25, 2010 By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment

Yes… I know… many people say Blacks don’t like the cold! maybe we don’t like the cold, but we still have our indomitable competitive spirit in the cold. This week, I have decided to talk about the few Blacks who have been representing the indomitable strength of our race at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

What best way than to start with Shani Davis, an olympian from Chicago, IL. Shani Davis is a proud member of the American speed skating team, and competes in both long and short track speed skating. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Davis became the first Black athlete to ever win an individual gold medal at the winter games. This year in Vancouver, Davis became the first man to ever win back-to-back gold medal in the 1000 m speed skating event. He also won the silver medal in the 1500m event. His story is truly exceptional, and tells of hard work in a sport where very few Blacks have ever competed.

Vancouver also allowed us to meet Robin Szolkowy of Germany, whose father is from Tanzania and mother from Germany. Szolkowy is a German pair skater, who skated with partner Aliona Savchenko to win the Bronze medal at the Olympics this year.

Two members of the British Bobsleigh team are Henry Nwume and Lascelles Brown. A proud member of the female bobsleigh Canadian team is Shelley-Ann Brown; One of our brothers, Jarome Iginla, is also part of the Canadian ice-hockey team, which will probably take gold this year. Sister Nkeiruka Ezekh is a Russian Federation curling athlete.

Our hats are raised to Ethiopian cross-country skier Robel Teklemariam, Ghanaian Alpine skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong also known as the “snow leopard”, Jamaican freestyle skier Errol Kerr, Senegalese alpine skier Leyti Seck, and Algerian cross-country skier Meidhi-Selim Khelifi who have proudly represented the continent, and our entire race this year by participating for the first time at the Winter olympics.

To find out more about Black presence at the Winter olympics, feel free to read this really good article published by The Root and entitled Soul on ice. This article shows pictures of brothers and sisters, pioneers at the Winter Olympics, such as Debi Thomas, Surya Bonaly, Vonetta Flowers, Randy Jones, Garrett Hines, and few others.

Le Bœuf, le Cochon et l’Araignée

On February 18, 2010November 15, 2011 By Dr. Y.In Great Legends & TalesLeave a comment

Il y avait une fois un village bien malheureux car, malgré tous les efforts des villageois, les cultures n’avaient pas poussé. La nourriture manquait et tout le monde était devenu maigre et bien affamé. Cochon, Bœuf et Araignée, trois habitants de cette infortunée région, erraient chaque jour dans la brousse en quête de quelque chose à se mettre sous la dent.

Un beau matin, Cochon, tout affaibli par la disette, se lamente sur le chemin à l’entrée du village lorsque, compère bœuf vient à passer. Surpris de la mine florissante de celui-ci, cochon l’interpelle: « Holà, mon compère, d’où te vient ta belle mine alors que, tous ici, nous mourons de faim et tombons en faiblesse? »

Bœuf accélère son allure et passe devant le cochon sans répondre, comme s’il n’avait pas entendu la question.

Cochon comprend qu’il y a là quelque chose de louche et se met à observer attentivement son ami. Plusieurs jours de suite, il se cache dans des arbustes au bord du chemin, et voit passer chaque matin Bœuf qui va toujours dans la même direction.

Chaque soir, Bœuf revient tranquillement au village et tandis que la faim ronge son malheureux compère, il semble lui au contraire, prendre un embonpoint de plus en plus dodu. Alors n’y tenant plus et sentant sa fin prochaine, cochon s’écrie en lui barrant la route. « Compère! Compère! Tu grossis à vue d’œil alors que je me meurs .Par pitié, dis-moi ou tu trouves tant de nourriture, ou j’appelle tous les habitants du village pour leur signaler ta conduite. A nous tous, nous saurons bien t’obliger à nous révéler ton secret. »

Bœuf s’arrête, réfléchit et déclare enfin: « Frère, tu me fais pitié. Jure-moi de ne rien révéler à personne et je viendrai à ton secours.

-Je le jure

-Demain matin, accompagne-moi dans la forêt et tu sauras tout. »

Le lendemain, tous deux s’en vont ensemble à travers la foret. Parvenus à une clairière, ils trouvent une grosse meule. Alors Bœuf s’approche et dit haute voix : « Meule, prépare-moi a manger! » En un instant, la meule prépare un bon repas et Les deux compagnons le dévorent. Quand il a fini, cochon ordonne à la meule :

« Meule prépare-moi encore à manger!» La meule obéit aussitôt. Bien repus les deux amis reviennent au village. Et, tous les matins désormais, ils vont dans la clairière et la meule magique les nourrit. Bientôt, cochon à son tour devient très gros. Ce phénomène attire l’attention d’Araignée. Il attend que ses compagnons soient revenus chez eux et va rendre visite à cochon. « Cochon, mon bon ami, aide-moi. Je vois que tu sais trouver assez de nourriture pour devenir gros et gras. Si tu ne viens pas à mon secours, je vais appeler tous les habitants du village et on saura bien te contraindre à nous dire ou tu trouves à manger! »

Cochon répond aussitôt: « Garde le silence! Si tu me promets le secret, demain matin, avant le lever du soleil, je te conduirai aux victuailles. »

Araignée jure tout ce qu’il veut, et le lendemain à l’aube ils vont ensemble jusqu’à le lendemain à l’aube ils vont ensemble jusqu’à la clairière, trouvent la meule qui leur prépare à manger, puis reviennent au village.

Araignée, une fois rentré chez lui, s’assoit dans sa concession et se met à réfléchir. « Tout cela est bien joli. Mais Bœuf et Cochon sont des goinfres. Ils mangent trop, grossissent à vue d’œil et vont bientôt attirer l’attention de tous les villageois. Si nous sommes nombreux à connaître le secret, le meule ne voudra plus nous nourrir. Il faut que je trouve une solution! »

Il réfléchit encore, encore, encore puis il se lève et malgré la nuit, se dirige vers le foret. Quand il est arrivé à la clairière, il s’approche de la meule et lui dit :

« Meule, ne sois pas fâchée contre moi. Je vais te transporter jusqu’à ma maison pour te mettre à l’abri des curieux, et des goinfres! Laisse-toi soulever ! » Ceci dit, il se baisse, soulève la meule et la charge sur son dos. Alors la meule devient de plus en plus lourde et l’écrase.

Celui qui se croit plus malin que les autres rencontre toujours un plus malin que lui.

Conte Mina tiré de “Contes des Lagunes et Savanes,” Collection ‘Fleuve et Flamme,’ édition Edicef, 1975.

Ngugi wa Thiong’o: world acclaimed Kenyan writer

On February 13, 2010May 26, 2011 By Dr. Y.In Great Literature2 Comments

Ngugi wa Thiong’o is a world-acclaimed Kenyan writer cut from the same cloth as African veteran Chinua Achebe. Ngugi is the author of several novels, plays, short stories, critical pieces, and children books. Ngugi reached fame writing in English, and then decided to write in Gikuyu, his mother-tongue. Today, his books are written in Gikuyu, and then translated into English. His first books Weep not child (1964) followed by The river between (1965) were on the secondary school syllabus in Cameroon, and a friend of mine used to love reading The river between.

When Ngugi first started writing in Gikuyu, he was threatened by the Kenyan government, and in the late 70’s, the political overtone of his play I will marry when I want, got him arrested by the then vice-president Daniel Arap Moi (who later became president, and ruled Kenya for 22 years). After his release from jail, Ngugi spent two decades in exile, and tried returning to Kenya in 2004 under the new government, but was viciously attacked in his hotel and his wife was sexually assaulted… after that he returned to the USA where is a professor at New York University. His latest novel, The wizard of crow which is 1000-pages long, and which I own, discusses a dictatorship in an imaginary country in Africa.

Please enjoy an interview with Ngugi wa Thiong’o conducted by Granta magazine. To learn more about one of the greatest African literary geniuses, check out: http://www.ngugiwathiongo.com/, Wikipedia, Penpoints, Gunpoints, and Dreams. If you have never read Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s books, I recommend that you start with The river between, Petals of Blood, A grain of wheat, and Weep not Child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyXAc-i-aGk

Weaving African baskets

On February 11, 2010January 11, 2011 By Dr. Y.In Great Art10 Comments

The other day I went to the museum of arts where I visited the Native American section, and realized that there was a strong difference between Native American baskets and African baskets. This is when I thought of discussing African baskets on my blog.

Well, first of all, you should know that African baskets are different from country to country. You will find out that West African baskets (Togo, Senegal, Ghana…) are different from Central African baskets (Cameroon, DRC, Burundi…), which are different from Southern African baskets (Zimbabwe, South Africa, etc…). This difference is mostly due to the fact that different ethnic groups inhabit those regions, like the bantus in the South, the Nilotes in the North, etc… plus our own experiences in life, and the climate give us different tools to make baskets.

For instance, in Cameroon (my country), baskets are made out of dried palm leaves, bark wood, or Raffia also known as African bamboo, in Rwanda they are made out of sisal fibers, banana leaves, or grass; in Senegal, njodax grass is used; while in South Africa, they are made out of llala palm leaves, sisal leaves, etc.

The styles and patterns on the baskets also vary from sub-regions on the African continent. Baskets are dyed with either natural plant pigments, bark, berries, leaves, clay, roots, dung, or tea leaves as well as with commercial dyes.

Weaving baskets is truly an art, and you can usually recognize which area and sometimes which country in Africa they are coming from.

The Handicraft Center in Dschang, Cameroon, has beautiful beaded baskets and other art work.

Please discover, and enjoy the art of making African baskets!

The forgotten kingdom of Nubia

On February 7, 2010June 19, 2012 By Dr. Y.In Great Civilizations12 Comments

The general public is familiar with Egypt and the pharaohs, but is not so aware that there was a highly important, sophisticated, and independent ancient civilization in Nubia, which is south of Egypt in present-day Sudan. For over a century, Nubian pharaohs dominated Egypt, and their kingdom extended from Lake Chad and well into the middle east. The conquest of Egypt started with Pharaoh Piye of Nubia, and continued with Taharqa who launched the most audacious building campaign of any pharaoh since the New Kingdom (around 1500 B.C.). Under Taharqa, the capitals were Napata and Thebes, and Jebel Barkal the holy mountain.

Nubia is a kingdom with 3 times as many pyramids as Egypt. Their language still needs to be decoded, and archaeologists are searching for a Rosetta stone similar to that discovered by Champollion which allowed the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs. The Nubians were well known for their military genius, and Egyptian pharaohs will sometime hire Nubian mercenaries to fight their battles. Theirs was a civilization of strong queens such as Amanishaket, and Amanitore. One of these queens Candace Amanirenas defeated the roman army of Augustus Caesar.

To learn more, check out some of these great websites: http://www.thenubian.net/index.php, http://www.ancientsudan.org/index.html. National Geographic also had a series of articles on Nubia: Black Pharaohs, Rare Nubian King statues uncovered in Sudan. The site of Gebel Barkal was added to the UNESCO list of world treasures in 2003… check it out on the UNESCO World heritage website, and the Society of Nubian Cultures.

Please discover Nubia, and revel in African genius!

Don’t forget to watch Part 2-5 .

Haiti and Toussaint Louverture

On January 26, 2010 By Dr. Y.In Great People8 Comments

I have been so stricken by the recent tragedy in Haiti, that I thought it would only be fit to talk about Haiti, and celebrate the first Black independent nation in the western hemisphere, and in the world. What better way than to salute Toussaint Louverture, the great black general who defeated Napoleon’s army, and French, British, and Spaniards? What better way than to salute the genius of Toussaint! Think about this: Napoleon, one of the greatest generals that ever lived, being beaten by a… self-educated slave with no military training… being driven off the shores of Haiti by Toussaint who then led his country to independence.

Well, Toussaint Louverture was a military genius like none other. He was actually born a slave and worked on a plantation, and then earned his freedom. By the time the slave rebellion started, he did not want to join in at first; but later on joined the slave rebellion only to realize that their leaders were inept and would compromise with the white farmers. Toussaint rose through the ranks and became the undisputed leader of the rebellion. He also had two great generals under him: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe, who would both later become presidents of Haiti.

Toussaint’s struggle was a struggle for freedom, equal rights, and justice for all. Having earned his freedom before, he knew what it meant to be free, and drafted a constitution. After sending out the French in Saint-Domingue (present day Haiti) in 1799, he turned to spanish Santo Domingo where slavery was still in effect, and took control of the entire island defeating the spaniards, and freeing the slaves. He then started to draft a constitution in 1801 for the entire island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and Dominican Republic). The French, the Spanish, and even the Americans hated Toussaint, because of his effect on people. Imagine this: a Black leader freeing slaves, a nation where slaves had taken control of their destiny did not sit well with Americans who still owned slaves and could not bear such a news. By 1803, Napoleon ready to surrender Haiti, decided to meet with Toussaint on a peace deal; but the French tricked Toussaint, and when Toussaint came to the rendez-vous, he was arrested and taken to France by ship where he was put in the coldest prison of France. Toussaint, a tropic guy, died of cold and starvation in this prison.

The most important and beautiful about the story of Toussaint and Haiti, is that this was the first time a people rose up, an enslaved people rebelled and succeeded in getting their freedom, and in founding a country…. they were able to defeat the establishment. This is why Haiti is a treasure to the world. Haiti represents a people fighting for their rights, for their freedom, and for their voice to be heard. In the wake of this devastating earthquake, I know the Haitian people will rise from ashes just like the phoenix!

Please watch this documentary about “Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian revolution” from ITVS. To learn more, you can read about Toussaint on Wikipedia, A biography of Toussaint by J.R. Beard, Toussaint Louverture Historical Society, and check out the website Filmsdocumentaires.com which has a snippet of a documentary on Toussaint.

Le Singe et le Crocodile

On January 17, 2010November 15, 2011 By Dr. Y.In Great Legends & Tales3 Comments

Il était une fois un jeune singe très farceur et qui faisait plus de grimaces que tous ses frères réunis. Un jour, il s’amusait sur les branches d’un cocotier, tout près de la berge d’un fleuve dans lequel vivaient bons nombres de crocodiles.

Le jeune singe venait de réussir trois pirouettes particulièrement acrobatiques et se reposait en s’éventant avec les palmes de l’arbre, lorsque seigneur crocodile surgit de l’eau et rampe au soleil sur la rive.

Petit frère, dit-il d’une voix caverneuse, il me semble que tu as l’air bien triste ce soir. Pourquoi donc n’exécutes-tu pas tes gambades habituelles ?

Je crois que j’ai deviné! Tu as faim et ton cocotier ne porte pas des fruits. Regarde l’autre rive, là-bas, couverte d’arbres aux belles palmes. Vois-tu toutes ces noix de coco? Pourquoi ne vas-tu pas là-bas?

Le jeune singe pousse un soupir, se gratte l’oreille et répond:

Oncle crocodile, il y a longtemps que je les ai aperçues. J’en ai l’eau à la bouche. Mais ces cocotiers sont de l’autre cotés du fleuve. Comment faire pour y aller? Je ne sais pas nager.

-Qu’à cela ne tienne, mon petit ami. Je t’y transporterai. Tu me réjouis si bien les yeux avec tes jeux et tes acrobaties, que, pour te rendre la gaîté, je vais te charger sur mon dos. Je traverserais le fleuve et, en un rien de temps, tu seras de l’autre coté.

-Grand merci, mon oncle. J’arrive tout de suite, s’écrie le jeune animal sans méfiance. Il descend le long d’une branche et hop! saute sur le dos de seigneur crocodile. Celui-ci se glisse jusqu’à l’eau et la traversée commence.

Quand ils sont parvenus au beau milieu du fleuve, là ou le courant est le plus vif, seigneur crocodile se met à rire:

Petit sot! Tu crois n’importe quelle histoire! Si je t’ai pris sur mon dos, ce n’est pas par pitié! Sais-tu que ma chère mère est malade depuis deux semaines? Pour la guérir, il n’y a qu’un seul remède, a dit le féticheur, il faut qu’elle mange le cœur d’un jeune singe! Voilà pourquoi je te transporte jusqu’à son domicile!

Petit singe réfléchit très vite et s’écrie d’un air désolé :

Quel malheur! Cher oncle, pourquoi ne m’avez-vous pas dit cela auparavant ?

Voilà qu’il nous faut rebrousser chemin! Je me suis tellement dépêché de partir avec vous que j’ai oublié mon cœur en haut du cocotier! Quel étourdi je fais! Vite! Vite! Oncle crocodile, revenons là-bas le chercher.

D’un coup de queue brusque, Seigneur crocodile fait demi-tour et se dirige rapidement vers leur point de départ. Dès qu’ils sont parvenus sur la berge, petit singe saisit la branche qui lui a permis de descendre et, hop! En deux gambades, il est en haut du cocotier. A peine arrivé, il fait deux ou trois vilaines grimaces au seigneur crocodile et lui crie en se moquant de lui.

Cher oncle, qui de nous deux est le plus sot ? Qui de nous deux est le plus crédule ? Vous non plus, vous n’y voyez pas plus loin que le bout de votre nez ! Vous avez cru une histoire qui ne tient pas debout ! Quel animal pourrait vivre sans cœur, même quelques instants? Allez, ignorant! Cherchez une autre dupe!

Conte tiré de
“Contes des Lagunes et Savanes,” Collection ‘Fleuve et Flamme,’ édition Edicef, 1975.

Amilcar Cabral: Discours sur le cancer de la trahison

On January 12, 2010February 13, 2010 By Dr. Y.In Great People3 Comments

“Le cancer de la trahison” est le titre du discours prononcé par Amilcar Cabral (père de l’indépendance Cap-Verdienne et Bissau-Guinéenne) après l’annonce du decès de Kwame N’krumah, 1er président du Ghana. Dans ce discours, Cabral dénonce la trahison qui ronge les rangs de tous les mouvements indépendantistes africains. Nombreux de ces mouvements ou révolutions africaines ont été rongés par le cancer de la trahison. Triste de savoir que Amilcar Cabral lui-même a été assassiné par un traître!

Suivez son discours!

Dambisa Moyo: Africa and Dead Aid

On January 10, 2010May 26, 2011 By Dr. Y.In Great LiteratureLeave a comment

For the start of this new year, 2010, I would like to introduce to you a bright young African writer hailing from Zambia: Dambisa Moyo. Dambisa Moyo, ivy-league educated economist from Harvard and Oxford, was elected one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time Magazine for the year 2009. Why is she deemed influential? Well, Dambisa Moyo is an economist whose book, Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, was on the New York Times bestseller in 2009. She argues that foreign aid has harmed Africa’s development, and should be phased out.

She has been under a lot of fire, because of criticism of foreign aid, Bono, Geldorf, etc… She represents the upcoming young talented African force, which stands up and say “Enough” to aid that fuels corruption, and instead should focus on job creation and support of local entrepreneurship! It is interesting because I always felt that aid was not the answer to the problems of Africa. Like the Chinese proverb says: “Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”

For more information, check out Ms. Moyo’s website: http://www.dambisamoyo.com/, an interview she gave to the New York Times and the The Huffington Post. Please enjoy this video from Dambisa Moyo’s channel on Youtube.

African Heritage

Year: 2010

Black presence at the Winter Olympics

Le Bœuf, le Cochon et l’Araignée

Ngugi wa Thiong’o: world acclaimed Kenyan writer

Weaving African baskets

The forgotten kingdom of Nubia

Haiti and Toussaint Louverture

Le Singe et le Crocodile

Amilcar Cabral: Discours sur le cancer de la trahison

Dambisa Moyo: Africa and Dead Aid

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