Today was a good day. So good, in fact, that if I had to go home today I’d stay the trip was still worth it. )I would be very disappointed that I didn’t see Goree Island that’s for later in the week) I had my first political conversation in French today! We touched on many topics related to the African Diaspora.
Old School and I were listening to music and he asked me about a line where Nas says that his father came from Egypt. I said I thought that was “symbolique” as many Black folks are referring to the cultural legacy of the Egyptians and not direct genetic descent. We then both agreed that Egypt has African roots- that its civilization comes from the South even though it is often treated like a separate part from the rest of Aftica. He asked if I were familiar with the historian Cheikh Anta Diop, who Dakar’s main University is named after and talked about Diop’s work establishing Africa as the cradle of civilization by showing how Wolof and other traditional languages have many of the same root words and sounds as ancient Egyptian languages.
I showed him a book by John Henrik Clarke, a Black American historian and explained how in the United States it is very controversial to use the term “African Holocaust.” He said he was familiar with the Jewish/ European Holocaust but thought that the term definitely applied as well to the forced migration that made up the slave trade and resulted in 50 million plus people being lost from the African Continent. Columbus paved the way for this holocaust in 1492 so he is quite irrationally credited with discovering America. Old School was surprised to learn that there is a holiday in the US. honoring Columbus and called it “ridiculous.”
He said “America is a land of contrasts and contradictions.” The discussion continued as he asked what I thought about Barack Obama.
I said I thought his policies were too much influenced by Republicans. So many Republicans cut too many services that people depend on with horrible social consequences. For example John Engler gutted funding for mental hospitals so now many former patients are now homeless or in jail. I said I thought Obama had too many compromises even though he is in a difficult situation because many Americans dislike having an intelligent Black person in a role of hierarchical superiority (I didn’t use so many big words in French). These cutbacks make it so that people without money can’t get the basics of life. I told him about the DTE utility shutoffs. He was horrified by the fact that 8-15 people die in Detroit each winter because they don’t have enough money to pay for heat. I showed him a picture of the DTE demonstration at the US Social Forum.
The supervising nurse joined in our conversation. She is a cool French woman who was a midwife before she worked in dialysis. I told her that I have a friend studying to become a midwife. I have great respect for midwives. She chimed in that it’s a shame that Obama’s hands are tied and that he cannot change the policies of the US.
This conversation made the dialysis session a lot of fun. It was a powerful experience to share.
