Bemuddling African History

Submitted by Charles Knighton

I always find myself bemused by the ipso facto logic of those who attempt to conflate the geographic fact of Egypt’s location on the continent of Africa with Egypt therefore being a black civilization worthy of study during Black History month as Mr. Ian Marshall suggests in his guest column of July 10th, “Laurie misses the point“.

A demographic snapshot of Egypt today would reveal, as would a snapshot of all Mediterranean countries, decidedly non-black populations, a make up not much changed over the millenia.  This is not to suggest that through Egypt’s  long history  Black Africans did not at times gain ascendancy in Egypt, but this this does not make Egypt a Black civilization anymore than Black African countries under colonial rule became White civilizations.

Mr. Marshall’s concern with black Barbadian children who have “grown up on the lies and distortions of Africa by bigoted scholars and mass media” is laudable and yet he seems quite willing to indulge the same tactics by making Egypt a cornerstone of Black History month.  The cognitive dissonance awaiting children who are taught of the magnificent achievements of Egypt during Black History month and who then see old photographs  or newsreels of a non-black population will be palpable, unless the plan is to claim that despite strong evidence to the contrary if one goes back far enough through the centuries and relies on less and less evidence they will discover the original Black Egyptian civilization which dastardly White propagandists have cleverly obscured.

Cultivating self-esteem among children is a commendable undertaking, but if not to collapse it must be built on a solid foundation.  Opting to focus on the least black of African countries during Black History month,  as opposed to focusing on the West African countries Barbadians can actually trace their ancestry to, though less glamorous, will be self-defeating in the long run.

As an individual of European descent I could have attempted to incorporate (and actually did try for a while) all the achievements in Europe from the Renaissance  onward in building my self-esteem, but I found I was only building a house of cards. My true ancestors were of Welsh and Irish stock who probably knew little of such progress but who knew a great deal about trying to make ends meet, and about suffering and, particularly the Irish, starvation and death.  Their grit and determination to overcome, their transit to America with little else but hope for a chance at a better life, though certainly less glamorous than the scientific achievements of Copernicus or Galileo  or Newton, are inspiring and worthy of respect. These castoffs are my true ancestors and this is my true heritage.  I need look no further to bolster my self-esteem.

obiter dictum

In my opinion it is next to impossible for a writer to pen columns for many years without inadvertently revealing underlying prejudices to discerning readers. While I only “know” Mr. Laurie through his words, his musings portray an individual concerned with the betterment of mankind. Understanding this allows this writer to at times disagree with Mr. Laurie’s  prescriptions or proscriptions without questioning his motivations or sincerity.  For Mr. Marshall to impute racist ideology to Mr. Laurie is beyond the pale, demonstrating once again why a meaningful discussion of racial issues in Barbados will likely never occur.