{"id":129,"date":"2022-10-17T17:55:51","date_gmt":"2022-10-17T17:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/?page_id=129"},"modified":"2022-12-13T04:23:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T04:23:13","slug":"poem-and-audio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/poem-and-audio\/","title":{"rendered":"Poem and Audio"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"129\" class=\"elementor elementor-129\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b96b128 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-full elementor-section-stretched elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"b96b128\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;stretch_section&quot;:&quot;section-stretched&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-no\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6f68e10a\" data-id=\"6f68e10a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2aa6ba94 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2aa6ba94\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInDown&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.7.8 - 02-10-2022 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">missing Histories: Bangwa Queen<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-54ba0c99 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"54ba0c99\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">By Radikal Queen<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-182ea6c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"182ea6c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><span style=\"font-weight:normal;\"><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline;\">Photo Credit: Mus\u00e9e Dapper, Paris (3343)<\/span><\/p><div><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline;\"><br><\/span><\/div><\/span><\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-c7945d6 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"c7945d6\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-163f983\" data-id=\"163f983\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1edd1dba elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1edd1dba\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.7.8 - 02-10-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#818a91;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#818a91;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At first I was gonna try a gimmick<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To force you to see me<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was gonna ask the able-bodied present to stand<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">while I sit<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for a few minutes<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to communicate the essence<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of different perspectives.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance: if the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XkwO8BJNjXI\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rapist flings some coins<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaljustice.org.uk\/dangerous-delusions\/myth-6-africa-needs-our-help\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stolen purse<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7hfFxTbLFWs\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">back at their victim<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is that the same thing<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as philanthropy? or remorse?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If not, why is the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2017\/5\/24\/africa-is-not-poor-we-are-stealing-its-wealth\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">money coming back to Africa from violent, military, western regimes called &#8216;aid&#8217;<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">?<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the end, I decided it&#8217;s futile<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to try and convince someone of your human status<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if they have already made a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/globalsocialtheory.org\/concepts\/the-racial-contract\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">social contract<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/globalsocialtheory.org\/concepts\/the-racial-contract\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to deny your autonomy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If they&#8217;ve been trained to dehumanise you.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You see: missing histories present as invisible disabilities<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">within modern imperialist society.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But I only have a few minutes to discuss the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/abahlali.org\/files\/3295358-walter-rodney.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bullshit<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/abahlali.org\/files\/3295358-walter-rodney.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of several centuries<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, to\u00a0 speak of the dishonesties<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that are consistently swept under this particular (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/harvardilj.org\/2022\/02\/falling-through-the-cracks-kashmirs-resistance-against-settler-colonialism-and-the-limits-of-international-law\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">probably Kashmiri<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) rug.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So let&#8217;s talk British heritage, eh?<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">British heritage places that which was freely commissioned and given<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">alongside the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/hoTxiRWrvp8\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">forced &#8216;donations&#8217; from Black and Brown nations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. (add video from bbc show)<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And these <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2021\/10\/12\/stealing-africa-how-britain-looted-the-continents-art\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">involuntary extractions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> continue to this day<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and are justified<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/aas.princeton.edu\/news\/western-museums-need-return-stolen-artifacts-get-right-side-history-says-art-historian\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prestigious institutions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that see work from people who look like me<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as &#8220;inspiration&#8221;,<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whilst simultaneously dismissing and denigrating us,<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All while we are imitated.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My evidence?<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oh well. In this room alone<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I count at least three organisations and people<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">who have appropriated the fruit of my creative womb<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to benefit a non-Black congregation.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They just snatched up my ideas in the interview or meeting<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and passed them off as their own.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My bright birds are now embalmed and enthroned within the grey palace<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of their new owners&#8217; lacklustre imaginations<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of these are now famous AND appropriated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I partly blame the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mediadiversified.org\/2014\/01\/23\/ethnic-minority-no-global-majority\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BAME-ness<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bcuassets.blob.core.windows.net\/docs\/csu2021325-lhc-report-bbchighres231121-1-132828299798280213.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BAME.<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/bcuassets.blob.core.windows.net\/docs\/csu2021325-lhc-report-bbchighres231121-1-132828299798280213.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an imposed label<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/culture\/article\/20190114-how-black-women-were-whitewashed-by-art\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">erases my Blackness<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/janicegassam\/2021\/10\/08\/the-erasure-of-black-womens-contributions-from-past-to-present\/?sh=2d5575c13fd8\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">allows everyone else<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">full access and permission to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cosmopolitan.com\/politics\/a33470990\/black-lives-matter-cultural-appropriation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">profit from<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/14680777.2018.1447395?journalCode=rfms20\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">my voice<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and my Ways.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you are mere <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/modernismmodernity.org\/articles\/grossman-unmasking-fidelin\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anonymous &#8216;inspiration&#8217;<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, your skilled iridescence<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is seen as a non-sentient manifestation of Beingness.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like an unschooled sunset bursting with free beauty.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">free booty.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like the one you call <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1RnTk0n48nE7KEQJvQRSkUMY3Ahofz271\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;Bangwa Queen&#8217;<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, complete with scare quotes,<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">because how could SHE be royalty?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AND you think she is just a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;figurine&#8217;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her real name is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ngwindem<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, meaning: &#8216;most high priestess of god&#8217;.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We in fact already <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lebialem.info\/page-13\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">told you<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> this<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but we aren&#8217;t counted as real people by your limited scholars.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ngwindem is the embodiment of an ancestor goddess who lived among us.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She rested in the Grasslands kingdoms<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of a nation neighbouring my own people in Central Africa, the Mbetu.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ghosttownmonday.wordpress.com\/2021\/12\/06\/fontem-asonganyi-gustav-conrau-and-the-bangwa-resistance\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deceitful german scientist<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">who first called her an <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/andreasschlothauer.com\/texte\/kk9_conrau_cameroon_en.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;ethnographic artefact&#8217;<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ibiene.com\/culture\/a-look-at-africas-stolen-artefacts\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stole her, and sent her back to his european museum<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His team took advantage of those <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.andreasschlothauer.com\/texte\/kk9_conrau_cameroon_en.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">five days they were graciously invited<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/12pZF9JxBp_2INfVU5Mtvgv9xO-F_oSUsVSZzcGbC97Y\/edit?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">granted access to Agonyi&#8217;s kingdom<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They looted temples and stately houses and all without shame!<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hai! Is THIS your civilisation??<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With regards to heritage, the relevance\u00a0 is that we are seen by imperialist academics<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as unevolved hominids<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and this belief that spouts uncontested from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Golden_Bough\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Golden Bough<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of western european\u00a0 invention<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bolsters their <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.khanacademy.org\/humanities\/us-history\/the-gilded-age\/gilded-age\/a\/social-darwinism-in-the-gilded-age\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lie of racial superiority<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I say they are culturally invested<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in our creative degradation.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1wGC7DPOYILXkIL2tFa7MVaWxN7eq7bgG\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the kidnapped Ngwindem<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was renamed as your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1RnTk0n48nE7KEQJvQRSkUMY3Ahofz271\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bangwa Queen<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and in the 30s was seen as <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;primitive art&#8217;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">then through <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiquesandthearts.com\/an-ray-african-art-and-the-modernist-lensat-the-phillips-collection\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Man Ray<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;s modernist camera lens and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/onthisdateinphotography.com\/2016\/10\/29\/october-29\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">borrowed perspective<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">she was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1xKRP9NhsDrGtMlnAoK4pC62aQj9dGLGA\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">re-introduced in the 50s<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to represent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/scholarworks.gsu.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&amp;context=aas_theses\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">western ideas of savage, and unthinking sexual expression<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130618062429\/http:\/\/www.tribalartmagazine.com\/en\/commander\/magazines\/tribal_art_summer_xiii_3_52\/in_the_beginning_was_woman.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He saw this as THE defining aspect<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130618062429\/http:\/\/www.tribalartmagazine.com\/en\/commander\/magazines\/tribal_art_summer_xiii_3_52\/in_the_beginning_was_woman.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of African womanity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1GDbQlqoHfacgVoV5vHePwYTbEJln_bpL\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of our womanness<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And Ngwindem has been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1RmMT4-DF-gaucnn0RfHPyY4pqR-BOo3p\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sold so many times<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that she has been declared <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/archives\/la-xpm-1990-04-22-mn-392-story.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the most expensive example of African art<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/archives\/la-xpm-1990-04-22-mn-392-story.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on the planet<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8230;<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but not due to her inherent value or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1RqKM7Z7AXS9ok3_P3W-zw6eN9v_bgFDZ\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">beauty<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is because of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1Rn-jKvRbZ_AkVrhr9rhd_XWlxGhLmSEP\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">illustrious reputations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of all of her previous <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.bard.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https:\/\/r.search.yahoo.com\/_ylt=AwrIS.XHKedcTO0AmhB3Bwx.;_ylu=X3oDMTEyNW1mZ29uBGNvbG8DaXIyBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjcxNDZfMQRzZWMDc3I-\/RV=2\/RE=1558682183\/RO=10\/RU=http%3a%2f%2fdigitalcommons.bard.edu%2fcgi%2fviewcontent.cgi%3farticle%3d1052%26context%3dsenproj_s2014\/RK=2\/RS=q50hVpVCjtE3I_lNGwuRZW0MATo-&amp;httpsredir=1&amp;article=1052&amp;context=senproj_s2014\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">creative enslavers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now I have<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Questions.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does it mean<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that British museums<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">define British culture<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as the accumulated weight<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ng.opera.news\/ng\/en\/others\/amp\/e8fc0425847568c3e430e4042d4778b0\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stolen treasures<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">?<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why is it that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/09\/21\/arts\/design\/france-museum-quai-branly.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">demanding transparency<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/09\/21\/arts\/design\/france-museum-quai-branly.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in lieu of colonial lies<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is interpreted as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/nov\/29\/nelson-blm-and-new-voices-how-barbados-came-to-cut-ties-to-crown\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">desire<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/nov\/29\/nelson-blm-and-new-voices-how-barbados-came-to-cut-ties-to-crown\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2017\/aug\/22\/toppling-statues-nelsons-column-should-be-next-slavery\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">topple Nelson&#8217;s column<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">?<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nah.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The column is fine, just make sure that little paper plaque<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also tells us that he was an enthusiastic white supremacist.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The evidence shows<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That he fully supported the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lrb.co.uk\/the-paper\/v44\/n12\/fara-dabhoiwala\/my-runaway-slave-reward-two-guineas\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">enslavement of Black people in concentration camps<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the Caribbean.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nelson counted the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2020\/oct\/29\/the-interest-by-michael-taylor-review-busting-the-british-slavery-myth\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">depraved<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thomas_Thistlewood\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">serial rapists<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">who ran those accursed plantations<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amongst some of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uncomfortableoxford.co.uk\/post\/horatio-nelson-turning-a-blind-eye-to-slavery\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">his closest friends<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You see: this is the true legacy<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of the brutish empire.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And yeah. I know why you were not taught this.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your truth hurts.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fact is that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/morningstaronline.co.uk\/article\/truth-about-winston-churchill\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Churchill<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, like his less celebrated german contemporary<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/historycollection.com\/darkest-hour-12-times-winston-churchill-far-hero\/12\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set up concentration camps<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the destruction of African communities<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And also that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/outlook\/2020\/07\/12\/haiti-was-first-nation-permanently-ban-slavery\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">selling and buying African bodies like mine<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is how your people stole<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk\/ideological-origins-of-chattel-slavery-british-world\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seed capital for your industrial revolution<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s time we looked at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/haitidoi.com\/doi\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> our heritage<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within the lens<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of accurate historical context.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/international-journal-of-cultural-property\/article\/abs\/bangwa-queen-artifact-or-heritage\/2E3F39EEB20959678BA26338E987A48A#\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ethnographic artefacts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> populate foreign museums,<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And this appears to be what I hear being defined<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as British heritage.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surely british identity can do so much better<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">than this most gruesome aesthetic?<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be honest &#8211; I was surprised to be invited to speak here<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to sit at this officially sanctioned table.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The likes of me are usually dismembered and served in the cultural buffet, later<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">while <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">our fates and faces are discussed and decided<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by those defined as whiter, I mean wiser, and more objective.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I do not accept this system, or its categorisations<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as I have <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usu.edu\/think-care-act\/files\/inclusive-excellence-symposium\/2019\/decentering-whiteness.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">de-centred<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from a paradigm<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that only sees me and mine<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as plundered victims<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and serves our arses as the main mother-fucking meal.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can smell it.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But still the servers of my flesh and blood have the nerve<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to ask me to hold their hands and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fitchburgstate.libguides.com\/c.php?g=1046516&amp;p=7616506\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IMAGINE<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/books\/news\/kristen-bell-colour-blind-childrens-book-racist-the-world-needs-more-purple-people-a9563211.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a world of purple people<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sci-fi revisionism makes the purple people always so positive and see!?<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/mediadiversified.org\/2022\/03\/18\/the-governments-response-to-the-roundly-discredited-commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities-report-chaired-by-dr-tony-sewell-has-finally-been-published\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The appointed tokens<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> prove it!<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are the axes fashioned from the brown forest of our peoples<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whose job is to facilitate the cultural devastation, the artistic appropriation,\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All in their roles as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.voice-online.co.uk\/news\/world-news\/2022\/06\/21\/61-years-later-belgium-finally-returns-patrice-lumumbas-tooth-to-family\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">most suitable replacement for our true leaders<\/span><\/a><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Death-dealing and theft are reframed as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=v4DGqlq5BDQ\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">capitalism<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/culture\/article\/20190114-how-black-women-were-whitewashed-by-art\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cultural appropriation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is re-labelled <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Negrophilia\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;appreciation&#8217;<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stolen booty is remembered<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as one of life&#8217;s free donations.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the end the British definition of heritage will be decided by voices<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that will never live within the choices they are speaking on.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And although <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imodara.com\/discover\/cameroon-bangwa-lefem-royal-ancestor-figure-njuindem-priestess\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ngwindem<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has been famous for well over 100 years<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">it appears you still refuse<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to say her name.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AbxK9Bz1fAQ\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Missing histories<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. and within that: another <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1Qq167HxUBDni63C1z8u-dehATrS_yz7T\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">missing Herstory<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1RmyjcqhQ9pHjVlSl0eLNHIwHnRFHEkkd\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ngwindem!<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1RnEyX3OKUwlTZ9nw5ejyl5Ldei5hO-Du\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ngwindem!<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1KiHkT5qzg53-I9F1p3CzRGOJVrfe0_7r\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ngwindem!<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.bard.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https:\/\/r.search.yahoo.com\/_ylt=AwrIS.XHKedcTO0AmhB3Bwx.;_ylu=X3oDMTEyNW1mZ29uBGNvbG8DaXIyBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjcxNDZfMQRzZWMDc3I-\/RV=2\/RE=1558682183\/RO=10\/RU=http%3a%2f%2fdigitalcommons.bard.edu%2fcgi%2fviewcontent.cgi%3farticle%3d1052%26context%3dsenproj_s2014\/RK=2\/RS=q50hVpVCjtE3I_lNGwuRZW0MATo-&amp;httpsredir=1&amp;article=1052&amp;context=senproj_s2014\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ancestor goddess<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who still breathes.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a02e3f7 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"a02e3f7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/\" class=\"elementor-button-link elementor-button elementor-size-md\" role=\"button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Back Home<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>missing Histories: Bangwa Queen By Radikal Queen Photo Credit: Mus\u00e9e Dapper, Paris (3343) At first I was gonna try a gimmick To force you to see me I was gonna ask the able-bodied present to stand while I sit for a few minutes In order to communicate the essence of different perspectives. \u00a0 For instance: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_canvas","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/129"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":267,"href":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/129\/revisions\/267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilblackbooks.com\/afidi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}