Black Activist Unable to View Africa as a Continent
8.6.07
NEWSFLASH -- With mixed feelings, many Americans, including those in black communities, believe that the days of true revolutionaries are over. Decades have passed since black revolutionary groups, also known as black nationalists or separatists, were consistently and prominently featured in mainstream news coverage. A combination of factors, including the aging of group leaders, multiple assassinations and murder perpetrated by law enforcement, and dissension fueled by infiltration effectively brought an end to it all. That’s the general opinion. But those who are not fully living their lives in the mainstream news matrix understand that this just ain’t so. Through our own grapevine connections, Onyx Cranium traveled to a major city in the Midwest to meet with a small but locally respected group of brothers and sisters to discuss their ideas and strategies as a self-defined Black Nationalist organization living in this brand new century.
Damien Willis, who prefers to be called Big Brother, is the president of the organization. We wanted to interview several members of the group, but true to some predictable patterns, there just weren’t that many people who were full-fledged members of the organization. We then requested to interview a leading female member and a leading male member. Here’s what we ended up getting:
OC: Will the sister who runs your programs be joining us?
BB: Nope. She got stuff to do. We’re gettin’ ready.
OC: For what? The revolution?
I say this jokingly.
BB: No. And don’t think I didn’t catch that bit of patronization my sister. We’re getting ready for The Exodus.
OC: Exodus?
BB: It ain’t just a book in The Bible.
I get a leading look, as if this line has resulted in more of a reaction than I can muster up at the moment.
OC: All right. Before we address that action, and I do want to address it, I’d like to know if you can tell me about your organization and you in particular.
BB: I’ll do the reverse. I’m known as Big Brother. This is both a literal and ironic reference to my leadership of our group. As for our organization, we’re called naw.
OC: Excuse me?
BB: That’s how it’s pronounced: naw. As in, “Naw we ain’t havin’ it!”
OC: It being?
BB: The bullshit of continual racism perpetrated on the black man in America. There is no chance for genuine success here because we’re always a part of the apartheid structure that is the United States of America.
OC: So it’s naw. You spell it n – a – w?
He chuckles as one would at a small child who is wearing adult clothing. The brother can’t be more than 25 years of age. It’s a bit annoying.
OC: Well, did I get it right?
BB: No, no my sister. That’s just how it’s pronounced. This is a classic example of how black people are underestimated. Our name is an acronym. It’s N.A.H.
OC: I see. What does it stand for?
BB: No Answers Here. And there ain’t none sister. There ain’t none.
OC: No answers to what?
He chuckles again. Has this young man never participated in an interview? Obvious questions are par for the course in the interest of accurate journalism.
BB: No answers to the oppression. No answers to changing the tide of socioeconomic isolation for the majority of blacks. In short my sister, no real answers for the big question.
Ooh, this is tiring. All these damn pregnant pauses.
OC: And that big question is?
BB: When and how will the black man be accepted into society as a full-fledged member and on his own terms?
OC: Are black women not included in this?
BB: For the sister to be accepted, the brother must first be accepted.
OC: Why?
Another pause, but a more defensive one this time.
OC: Because, if the sister is accepted before the brother, all hope is lost. Look at the job market. Look at the college campus – flooded with so many more sisters than brothers and this creates tension between us.
OC: So you’d rather have it be the other way around?
BB: Of course, then sisters would have an array of suitable and equally yoked brothers to choose from.
OC: Well, don’t brothers have that now?
BB: Well…
OC: And yet an ever-increasing minority choose other options. Why don’t we talk about that?
BB: Sister, you’re getting sidetracked. We can have this age-old debate at another time and for another article.
That was a bit presumptuous: assuming Onyx Cranium would attempt another interview with N.A.H.
BB: It was my understanding that this interview would serve as exposure for The Exodus – the revolutionary idea that N.A.H. is proposing as the solution to the big question I stated earlier. We can’t get sidetracked with these smaller issues.
OC: A smaller issue being the contentious relationship between black men and black women? The smaller issue of certain black men having a wide variety of “equally yoked” sisters to choose from and still choosing other options or choosing to utilize multiple sisters the way men in less socioeconomic situations do? You consider these small issues?
He sighs. He’s growing impatient. I’m not letting him make his point.
BB: They aren’t small issues sister. But yes, they are indeed smaller than the larger issue of blacks becoming full-fledged members of society.
I’ll leave it alone. My point has been made. Maybe.
OC: So explain The Exodus.
BB: In short, we’re leaving. This is not our homeland.
I know what’s coming. But I’m a journalist, so I have to ask.
OC: And that land is?
BB: Africa.
OC: I see.
BB: That is our homeland where we were taken from. It is there that we must return. While I respect the New Black Panther Party, Nation of Islam, and even more mainstream black organizations, such as the NAACP, they don’t have the answer.
OC: Because they’re still seeking answers here?
BB: Exactly! That’s how we’re different. If you could change dominant white society’s view of blacks, it would have already been done. We’ve tried being docile and ignoring it. We’ve tried being non-violent, violent and militant. But the fundamental question has never been answered. It’s time to go.
OC: Isn’t this plan of yours, to return to Africa, revisiting the ideas of Marcus Garvey and hasn’t it already been done?
BB: Yeah, Marcus tried, but it got sabotaged.
I love how he refers to Garvey by his first name, like they were homies. I wonder how much research this young brother, and the others who are behind him, have actually done. I’m not going to even bother mentioning Liberia’s founding and its small population of relocated blacks.
OC: When you say go to Africa, where would you propose people go?
BB: Wherever they’d like. It’s all our homeland and it’s better to be at home than to be in an alien land where you are treated as such.
OC: So this plan that you have-
BB: The Exodus.
OC: Yes, The Exodus. How well thought out? Or is it all theoretical?
BB: It’s very well thought out. It’s common sense.
OC: The two aren’t necessarily the same.
BB: Well, we’re in the beginning stages. Right now, we’re just raising awareness. Our people need to understand that for us to progress en masse, we need to return to our roots.
OC: Have you ever been to Africa?
BB: Well, no. But I’ll be going.
OC: Before The Exodus?
BB: Yes.
OC: What locations are you scouting out?
BB: Africa.
OC: But where? Africa is huge. It’s the second largest continent on the planet. Or did you know that it was a continent?
Went too far. He’s pissed.
BB: Don’t insult my intelligence. Of course I know that it’s a continent.
OC: Maybe you understand that on a geographical level, but you’re talking as if it’s just a country. There are over 50 countries in Africa. Have you even identified the top 5 to 10 for black Americans to relocate to?
BB: You’re missing the point, sister. Homeland is homeland – it doesn’t matter so much which country as the fact that it’s where our people are from.
OC: Listen young brother, I’m not trying to dissuade you from your plan. It just seems a bit over generalized and idealistic. Where are the logistics?
BB: I told you we were raising awareness.
OC: But awareness without concrete instructions for those who may want to take immediate action is impotent.
BB: What’d you call me?
Wrong choice of words.
OC: Let me put this another way. Let’s say two black people learn of your awareness campaign. One is a single father of two teenagers and the other is a married woman just out of college. Let’s also say that they agree with you. What are the next steps for them? If they look up N.A.H. and come into your offices, such as they are, what information, resources or references will you provide them to make The Exodus a reality for them?
He’s thinking about what I’m saying. So I give him a minute. I can’t believe no one has asked him this before. I know the organization has tried to attract black press in several venues, but I’m the first to actually interview them in any journalistic capacity. This may inadvertently prove his point. It’s possible that no one took them seriously enough to even ask these basic questions. My concern is that they have not taken themselves seriously enough to do so.
BB: I’ve heard good things about Ghana. In fact, their president recently encouraged African Americans to visit and move to the country.
OC: But what if they don’t want to live in Ghana or that part of Africa? And even if they did, what are the specifics in terms of contacting the right people who could help them make an informed decision? A man with two children has different concerns than a single woman. They may want to live in the countryside or live in Accra.
BB: Where?
OC: The capital of Ghana.
BB: Well, spreading awareness has been difficult. We’re a small group with limited funds. Raising awareness has yet to result in the scenario you just described.
OC: Has it occurred to you that people aren’t taking you seriously?
BB: Of course. Now we’re speaking the same language, sister.
We aren’t, but I’m interested in hearing what he has to say.
BB: People don’t take me seriously because I’m a black man and I also happen to be young. My voice is silenced and discounted out the gate.
OC: How old are you?
BB: I’m 23. And before you ask, I’ve been to college but didn’t finish. It was not a good experience for me, though I did relatively well academically. I also don’t think I should be written off because I don’t have a degree attached to my name.
He raises his eyebrows in what I think is an invitation to challenge him. But it’s unnecessary. I agree with his last statement. Although he’s overused as an example, people listen to Bill Gates. But that’s due to other things being attached to his name.
OC: I don’t disagree with that last statement brother. However, I’m wondering if you’ve considered other reasons for why your message may be ignored.
BB: Like what?
OC: Namely, that people have heard it before. When you say “back to Africa,” you aren’t providing a where, when and how. The where has to be more specific than just Africa.
BB: Just Africa?
He appears insulted.
OC: Actually, it’s not me trivializing your message. It’s you. You make it “just Africa.” Again, it’s a continent and you haven’t even selected ideal countries that a typical African American could even move to. Sub-Saharan Africa is different from East Africa, which varies from West Africa, which often has little in common with the Northeastern Africa, which is largely a part of the Middle East. These complexities must be taken into consideration.
BB: Well-
OC: I’m not finished. And identifying a region and country is too general. If you wanted to advise a Nigerian woman who loves the big city to move to the United States, you wouldn’t just tell her to move to America or the East Coast or the South. If you did, she might wind up in Billings, Montana or New Hampshire when she could have been in New York City, Chicago or Atlanta. I’m just saying that people need details to go off of. Have you listed what languages people would need to know?
BB: Africa has several languages and what locals speak depends on the region.
OC: That’s true, but remember you haven’t even identified regions for people’s reference! If people did decide to be proactive and take that extra step of investigation for themselves, could you at least let them know that French is spoken widely in Africa, much more so than English or Spanish?
BB: Look sister, I appreciate your comments and I will take them into consideration. But that’s a lot. I have to stress we’re still in the raising awareness stage.
OC: Yes you are. But that’s all part of it. You don’t raise awareness about HIV without telling people where to get tested. You don’t raise awareness about global warming without telling people what they can do to fight it on an individual and group basis. Otherwise you aren’t raising true awareness. You’re raising rhetoric. We’ve got enough, don’t you think?
He’s quiet – reflecting. Perhaps re-strategizing. Perhaps thinking how he can get me the hell out of N.A.H.’s cramped offices.
OC: I have a seemingly unrelated question.
BB: Shoot, sister.
He’s definitely exasperated by what I’ve had to say. But there’s still that “we’re all one” tone in how he uses the word sister. I love that.
OC: Is N.A.H. eventually going to relocate its headquarters to Africa?
It’s a bit smart-ass, but I’m thinking they’ll at least have to change their name. If they are located in the place that is the “answer,” at least the “N” will have to be dropped.
BB: I doubt it. There’d be a satellite office or offices, but convincing black people to leave the only physical home they’ve ever known will take my entire lifetime. There’ll always be a need to be centrally located here.
Good answer.
OC: Well, please visit Africa yourself. Pick your country and be strategic in choosing the cities and towns you visit. But you need that experience, especially if you want it for others.
BB: I’ll take it under advisement.
He’s silent again. I believe the interview is over. There are still many unaddressed issues. Potential and historic tension between relocated Americanized blacks with black Africans. Black Americans dealing with white and Arabian Africans. Then there are the issues of oppression in Africa and the fact that while it’s idealized in terms of homeland, colonization has taken its toll. There are the corrupt elections (we have those ourselves), gender equity issues and how to arrive in a country and be part of changing its own problems rather than just solving your own. But he has some basic stuff to figure out and I don’t want to dampen his enthusiasm, just match it with some efficiency.
OC: Well, thanks for your time. For the record, I hope you achieve your goals. Just please do some more research.
BB: Your suggestions were helpful. Want to join N.A.H.?
OC: Oh, I can’t. Besides, I’m much more likely to stay here. I do consider this my country, regardless of what others, black or white, have to say.
He smiles at me. However, it’s not in a condescending way.
BB: I never said N.A.H. didn’t consider America to be our birthplace. It is, on a modern day, individual level. But there is more. I can’t exactly explain it sister. And maybe I don’t have the proper stamps on my passport to convince you or someone else, but there is a deeper place for us to connect and it ain’t here.
Perhaps. But without concrete details that “deeper” place will remain buried beneath our reality forever.
