Such a wonderful way to gracefully write on such a sensitive topic. You have really brought to light a very significant part of the African history.
You know, language is so important in the life of a person. It's the definition of the culture and heritage of the person.
The slave masters knew this that's why they went all out to take it away.
To emphasize my point, I'll like to point out, just as you have, a famous scene in the landmark 1977 series Roots, which shows the moment when language is recognised as being significant in the fight for power – for the Africans, in our struggle for liberation, for slave masters, in their plan to dominate a whole set of people by violent and cultural means. The scene shows Kunta Kinte being tortured to force him to relinquish his African name, after he was caught again trying to escape the plantation. Other enslaved Africans are gathered to witness him being whipped to within an inch of his life, with his slave master demanding that he accept the European name of Toby.
From a physical perspective the battle was grossly unequal, with Kunta’s arms and legs bound. But from a psychological perspective, the fight was by no means one-sided, with Kunta having to be severely beaten before he finally conceded. Both Kunta and tha slave master recognised that language is power, with the overseer determined to prevent the enslaved from holding on to any sense of self-worth, pride, or notion of individual and cultural empowerment. When Kunta does eventually concede, even his enslaved family and friends look disappointed – since his surrender marks a significant moment in the defeat their liberation struggle.
Till this day, this sight of defeat is still very visible, until we make efforts to get back to our roots, to what makes us blacks.
We have to understand pass it to our children that there is no shame in being black, but that black is our heritage.
Till this day indeed. we are still traumatized by what happened hundreds of years ago. We have not received the proper therapy to help us recover from all that. So yes there are still signs of defeat but now we have power. We can change the narrative and we will take back our lives and our minds. I pray we help one another to heal, love one another, and take pride of our African heritage. Thanks.
Very true. We have power now. We are no longer those slaves who saw themselves as weak and indigent.
We have all it takes to take our lives back. But like you said, it all starts with the mind. The more we renew our minds in God's word, and through books and posts like this, we get reoriented.
We can never achieve this if we are divided.we must work together as one. Division was the strategy used in slavery, taking your country men who spoke your language away from you. We have to speak one language, the language of true freedom and true liberation.