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Akala | Full Address and Q&A | Oxford Union

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good evening ladies and gentlemen how you

you

feeling yeah good excellent now I'm

going to presume seeing as there's not a

clicker here waiting for me that

someone's going to press next slide

every time I call for that yeah

fantastic okay so ladies and gentlemen

the subject of the talk today being

black history as the Lost pages of human

history actually the quote itself comes

from the great Pana africanist historian

Dr John Henrik Clark who spoke about

black history in this way and looked at

the way in which the history of people

of African descent and of Africa itself

had to be functionally distorted to

justify trans ANC slavery and

colonialism in a way that we kind of

can't fully comprehend or understand

today if we think about a time just over

100 years ago when African human beings

were literally kept in zoos in London in

New York in Paris that gives us a sense

of the strength of colonial propaganda

and How Deeply it had taken root in this

society and others to the point it was

actually argued by hard science by

people considered themselves serious

academics that black people were more

closely related to monkeys than to other

human beings but what we know just as we

can see today that uh dishonest

scholarship can be a tool for profitable

foreign policy so is the case in the

past I think a lot of the time we're led

to believe that people actually believed

the propaganda of the time those

Scholars we're talking about when we

know just as we can see today people

have more knowledge about what's going

on in some country in Africa or Asia

that we might be preparing to go to war

with so did they know more back then

than we're led to believe there was no

magical time when people who really had

knowledge about the world didn't know

what was really going on on the ground

history was distorted deliberately in

particular ways and that Legacy is still

with us in many ways to the point that

even for someone like me who I'd like to

feel lots of my followers are socially

engaged know about the world when I post

pictures I was in Zimbabwe a couple of

weeks ago this just gives you an example

when I post pictures of the capital city

of Zimbabwe Harari and they've got

skyscrapers and nice hotels and the

beautiful jackar rander trees if you've

ever been to Harari you'll know this

nice restaurants people are like wow

they've got skyscrapers in Africa I

don't know if people think people in

Africa still live in mud Huts I don't if

people believe as you're going to see

over the next half an hour there was

ever a time when everyone in Africa

lived in mud Huts but the strength of

propaganda even for people of African

origin is still with us to that point

that we have this thing called Black

History Month now for those who don't

know the idea for Black History Month uh

was invented or came up with by an

African-American scholar called car G

Woodson he wrote a book called The

miseducation of the Negro which looked

at the way in which African-Americans

had to be functionally miseducated for

transatlantic slavery and then the

subsequent Jim Crow pared to function in

America but I would take what Woodson

was saying although I agree with him one

step further and I would say that for

racism to function in human society full

stop everyone has to be functionally

miseducated about the human story and no

part of the human story in my view has

been more distorted than the history of

the African continent and then its

descendants so I'm going to try and

share in half an hour uh tens of

thousands of years of history with you

very quickly some of the snapshots of

what we should be teaching because if

we're not careful what happens is Black

History Month comes around and we do

exactly what it was not supposed to be

intended to do we subtly reinforced the

idea which was argued by serious

historians at one point that Africa has

no history by teaching transatlantic

slavery and Martin Lu for King and with

the greatest of respect to Dr King Brave

and and courageous as he was I'm fairly

sure if he was alive today he would go

spare at the idea that he was the sum

total of black people's contribution to

the human story so it's important that

we look at what we should be teaching

during this month to correct some of

these misconceptions because people

cannot be blamed for their ignorance if

they are genuine ignorant people can be

blamed if they've had a different set of

information and still choose to remain

ignorant so can I go on to the first slide

please this is where I've chosen to

start the story we could have started

the story anthropologists are still

telling us that the oldest human remains

ever found are in Africa that we are all

common ancestors of the Ethiopian epicus

called Lucy or Dinesh but I've chosen to

start the story here for those who don't

know the Sahara was not always a desert

so it expands and contracts my basic

geological understanding as the rains

migrated South the Sahara expanded when

those tropical rains migrate back North

the Sahara contracts over thousands of

years this process goes so across the

Sahara all across North Africa we find

some of the oldest uh kavar in human

history pictures like this all across

North Africa next slide

please we also find many many examples

of this this is an astronomical

observatory in this case arguably the

oldest astronomical observatory in the

history of humanity uh scholars believe

it somewhere between 7,000 and 9,000 BC

so possibly as old as 11,000 years ago

two American physicists called Thomas

broy and Robert buval wrote a fantastic

book called black Genesis looking at the

relationship between this astronomical

Observatory and the evolution of the

ancient Egyptian religion and subsequent

civilization next slide please which

brings us on to the first point of

contention in ancient African history

can you see here for anyone who didn't

see this film and I did see this film

I'm not in the habit of watching

propaganda that Hollywood is trying to

convince us that in ancient Northeast

Africa Anglo-Saxons were the ruling

Elite people that look like Christian

Bale now for anyone who saw the film

which I didn't but people told me in

this film all the slaves and the

servants were black now for anyone who

understands the way film and TV works

that doesn't happen by accident there's

a thing called a casting agent and a

cting agent decides who's going to get

what roles so some casting agents said

the ruling Elite in ancient Egypt are

all going to be white and the slaves and

the servants are all going to be black

we're going to project apartheid South

Africa back 5,000 years into North

African history how accurate is this

picture of ancient Egypt let's see next slide

slide

please follow a little more National

Geographic Channel this image here of

King to I don't know why we need a

scientific reconstruction of King to we

have copious amounts of carvings and

paintings of King Tuck from his actual

life but apparently this is a French

reconstruction based on his skull this

is apparently what King Tut looked like

we're going to see how inaccurate that

is in a minute on the other cover this

was an article that came out a couple of

years ago called Black Pharaohs

conquerors of ancient Egypt and

essentially what the article said which

is the revised new propagandistic

position in relation to ancient

Northeast Africa AKA ancient Egypt that

Black Pharaohs came into ancient Egypt

right at the end of the civilization in

the 25th Dynasty and they conquered

Egypt and because of racism no one's

ever told their storytel now but guess

what we're here to tell you that in the

25th Dynasty 3,000 after the founding of

ancient Egypt black people finally got

involved in the game and the only people

that believe different are crazy

Afrocentric black people trying to make

themselves feel better this is almost

exactly what the article says even

though I'm of course being sarcastic

let's again see how accurate that is

next slide

please now this is the British

reconstruction of Tuton Kon based on the

same skull can you see that if the

French and the British were both using

scientific techniques how come the

British scientists came up with this and

the French ones came up with one that

looks French next slide please but again

there's no need this is Tuton Kon in his

own life we've got to make up our mind

was he jet black or was he

red now if you know much about ancient

Egyptian art or even ancient Nubian art

you will know that red was a symbolic

color I don't know what it meant and we

don't know what it meant but all

throughout ancient Northeast African

history even among the ibos in Nigeria

you find in their art men painted red

women painted yellow I've seen this in

Nubian temples no one's arguing that

meant the Nubians were red of course

there are Africans like Somalians and

errans that have a dark red complexion

they're just as African as anyone from

Nigeria but two and common clearly

couldn't have been both red and black so

we need to figure out which one he was

next slide

please now no one disputes these

invasions okay when we talk about who

the ancient Egyptians were there's

consensus that Egypt has been invaded

over half a dozen times I haven't even

included in this list the ottoman

Invasion I haven't included the French

or the British Invasion all came after

this but there are invasion in the 7th

Century of the Common Era then the

vandals which is where the word

vandalism came from because they was a

bit mad uh to use the technical

term uh they that came in the fifth

century they are Germanic German people

then the whole of North Africa not just

Egypt was a Roman province before that

Greek before that Persian in 525 BC at

the most conservative estimate ancient

Egyptian history fonic kingship begins

in 3,100 BC I say most conservative

because I don't actually agree with that

chronology cuz my teacher Robin Walker

big shout out to the OG taught me that

there's reasons to disagree with that

chronology but nonetheless if we go with

the most conservative estimate can we

see that the Persians still got to Egypt

2 and a half thousand years after the

founding of ancient Egyptian kingship so

who was living in Northeast Africa prior

to all of these invasions from people

that are not from Africa well let's see

the ancient Greeks saw the ancient

Egyptians for themsel they were in Egypt

during the Persian Invasion and of

course then when they ruled Egypt for a

little while let's see what some of them

had to say next slide

please theodoras of Sicily General

histories book 3 30 BC now the

Ethiopians for those who don't know

Ethiopian literally means of the burnt

face it wasn't an insulting term it was

a generic term for black person yeah

back in the day and it referred to

generally all of Africa and even the

Greeks use it to refer to parts of India

if you go to India today and Southern

India you'll find people some people as

black as any people in Africa so it

shouldn't surprise you if that term was

used it was a generic term meaning black

now the Ethiopians as hisor relate with

the first of all men the proofs of this

statement they say are manifest they

also say the Egyptians are colonists

sent out by the Ethiopians now can you

see we're told modern science discovered

that Africans were the first people on

the planet but here is an ancient Greek

historian saying that Africans were

already saying we were the first people

on the planet in 30 BC Herodotus the

father of history there can be no doubt

but that the cians are an Egyptian race

before I heard any mention of the fact

from others I'd remarked it myself my

own conjectures were founded on the fact

that they are black skinned and have

woolly hair afro yeah the cins by the

way are a group of people in southern

Russia at the time whole host of other

Greek Scholars including Aristotle and

there's loads more I could have put

seemed very unconfused about the ancient

Egyptians ethnicity we can't have it

both ways even the ancient Greeks were

one of the most intelligent civilized

people ever or they were so stupid they

couldn't recognize the colors of people

they saw for their own eyes but we can't

slide now here are some uh egyptologists

it's important for us to understand the

way early egyptology evolved when the

French came to Egypt and colonized Egypt

it was in the height of transatlantic

slavery late 1700s Napoleonic expedition

to Egypt the Sphinx the pyramids all of

these things are newly rediscovered and

immediately the French are like uh oh

we've got a bit of a problem here

because we have an Economy based on the

pseudo pseudo scientific idea of racism

based on the idea that some races namely

the white race an invention is superior

to other races particularly the black

and the discovery of an ancient African

civilization thousands of years before

there was anything of comparable stature

in France or England not an insult just

a fact of history created some problems

now some Scholars immediately reacted to

this by saying okay well clearly racism

is nonsense hoay we can do away with

such a stupid idea of course foreign

policy realized this wasn't terribly

convenient if your economy depends on

racialized slavery so even though some H

honest Scholars came out and told the

truth many scholars went against this

and you're going to see how ridiculous

some of the explanations got so CF vley

a man who wrote a fantastic book called

The Ruins of Empires had the foll to say

he made many other comments direct

comments about the ethnicity of the

ancient Egyptians this is one particular

comment one of my favorite he said there

are a people now forgotten discovered

While others were yet barbarians the

elements of the Arts and Sciences a race

of men not of course like most sexist

men he used men but he meant All Humans

um cuz we just normalize that kind of

language men to represent all of

humanity now reject from society for

their Sable skin and frizzled hair

founded on the study of the laws of

nature those civil and religious systems

which still govern the universe champon

not the main champon but the brother of

franois champon had the following to say

I'm not going to read it all but if you

look closely he says that V is basically

chatting rubbish there's no way the

ancient Egyptians could have been black

but let's get to the end and this is how

funny it is listen to this part VY

invokes that of Herodotus who recalls

that the cians had black skin and Woolly

hair yet these two physical qualities

black skin and afro hair do not suffice

to characterize the Negro race and

vonn's conclusion as to the Negro origin

of the Egyptians is evidently forced and

inadmissible now he didn't offer any

evidence all he said was having black

skin and Woolly hair doesn't make you

black and if we go back into the racial

science of the day you will understand

that it was actually argued by Otherwise

intelligent people that there were two

races of black people there were Negroes

and there were hamites hamites were any

Africans that didn't look absolutely

stereotypically what we think of West

African people to supposedly look like

anyone that has a slightly thin nose or

any kind of straight hair or any

features randomly that we decide was a

hamite and hamites were responsible for

all of the civilization in Africa and

they descended from Europeans Negroes on

the other hand they were the real black

people and even when we find evidence of

negroes we'll just say they were hamites

as you have here this is how silly and

how ridiculous ideas pseudo scientific

ideas like race make otherwise

intelligent people behave next slide please

again two early egyptologists saying

very much the same thing Egyptian

civilization is not Asiatic but African

in origin of negro origin however

paradoxical this may seem we are not

accustomed in fact to endow the black or

related races with too much intelligence

so Professor ABI AMU straight away hit

on what the issue was Fran shampon the

Founding Father of egyptology the man

who decoded the Rosetta Stone what did

he have to cuz apparently according to

National Geographic the only people that

think the ancient Egyptians were black

were crazy Afrocentric black people but

let's see the Egyptians belong to a race

quite similar to the kenis I hope I'm

pronouncing that correctly or barbarus

present inhabit inhabitants of nuia

Sudan in the present cops of Egypt we do

not find any of the characteristic

features of the ancient Egyptian

population the cops are the result of

crossbreeding seems normal when a

country gets invaded there's inter

breeding the people that live in America

today today are not representative of

the ancient indigenous Americans for the

most part even though those people still

live there the average citizen of New

York does not look like the average

American 500 years ago with all the

nations that successively dominated

Egypt I.E the Greeks and Romans it is

wrong to seek in them the principal

features of the old race and I could go

on ad infintium of egyptologist after

egyptologist who even if they felt

compelled to racially abuse the ancient

Egyptians which many of them did some of

the art historians talk about how can

you ever say their Carvins are nice when

they're so obviously negro many of them

scores of them were like well obviously

they were black that's why they were

uncivilized so egyptologists were

presented with this real problem either

ancient Egypt was civilized and European

or un civilized and African and very few

of them acknowledged that it was both

highly civilized highly technically

Advanced and also African but a few of

them did next slide

please this is the first pharaoh of

ancient Egypt the man who United the two

lands he came from what we call Upper

Egypt now to understand Upper Egypt

Upper Egypt is Lower Egypt to us

Upper Egypt is the portion of Egypt

closest to Sudan not closest to the

Mediterranean and the early kings of

Egypt came from this region of Egypt

this is Nama menz carrying that

stereotypical negro face that we were

told in Old pseudo science made a person

inherently inferior next slide

please 2,000 years later in the Tomb of

rames II is this this is reproduced by

two European egyptologists whose names

are at the bottom and this is what we

call today the portrait of the races

this is how the the ancient Egyptians in

1200 BC so 2,000 years later than the

founding of their Kingdom saw the

different groups of the world according

to the hieroglyphics figure a is the

ancient Egyptians as they saw themselves

can you see it goes right along with

what the early egyptologists fought it

goes right along with what the ancient

Greeks fought no one needs to be

confused about what they look like and

in fact it looks a lot like the picture

of Tut and common we just saw so that's

how they saw themselves they didn't seem

to be particularly confused about their

ethnicity figure B is Indo-European

people figure C is other blacks of

Africa presuma the Nubians who were the

main people that uh the ancient

Egyptians had as Rivals I don't want to

give you the impression that there was

this magical time in black African

history where all black people just got

along and bog and San Kumbaya together

that isn't how things go in real history

right cuz what some pseudo egyptologist

have tried to do is said but the

Egyptians fought the Nubian so they

couldn't have been

black okay so what all black people have

just always got along then apparently

okay uh figure D is Semitic people uh

people in the Middle East now can you

see that the the only difference between

figure a and figure C is one of swagger

figure a has three stripes and figure C

has two other than that there're exactly

the same next slide

please now what you'll notice a lot with

ancient Egyptian carvings and I don't

believe it's quite ever got to the

bottom of who was behind this all but we

have to understand this in context the

Sphinx has no nose on it and the Sphinx

has a very stereotypical negro face we

have to understand the level of hatred

that was being dealt with when early

egyptology evolved and we start seeing

all these Granite statues that are

otherwise perfect now Granite is a very

tough substance but their noses are just

missing and no one wants to explain why

the noses went missing but viewed in the

context of the time and the offense that

the idea that Negroes could have created

such a magnificent ancient civilization

would have caused it seems fairly clear

where some of this uh malicious behavior

could have easily come from next slide

please we just see loads of ancient

Egyptian statues they just ran into the

wall and then those just came off next

slide please can you see a lot marasa

brein think that Ras invented dreadlocks

here is a gentleman clearly with

dreadlocks a few thousand years before

uh the Common Era next slide please more

noses missing next slide please more

noses missing next slide thankfully not

all of the noses are missing these are

some heads from tanite can you see more

dreadlocks these are not the ones that

often get displayed in museums often

what's displayed in museums can be the

most or what is perceived to be the most

European looking uh ancient Egyptian

Carvin so you'll see nefatiti everywhere

but we know nef's Dad wasn't AFC it's

not surprising neph was light-skinned

and she looked a certain way if you

don't know that history someone's going

to say to you this is nepti she's

representative of what all the ancient

Egyptians look like can you say how You'

be confused next slide please and of

course let me be clear that's not me

saying the ancient Egyptian population

was in no way mixed that would also be

ridiculous ancient Egypt was a mega

civilization like any civilization it

would have attracted immigration it

attracted uh invasions several times in

its history I'm not saying every single

ancient Egyptian had totally jet black

skin cuz there's no way for me to know

that what I'm I'm saying is they

definitely didn't look like Christian B

this is the Pharaoh Doza next slide

please this is the Pharaoh kufu this is

the gentleman For Whom the Great Pyramid

was commissioned again just look at his

face for yourself make your own decision

on what you think he's likely to have

looked like based on the evidence of

people that carved him in his own time

next slide

please and the issue here is really the

human story in the enlightenment the

idea that Europe had basically been

responsible for everything POS positive

in the entire human story as ridiculous

as that may seem to us now living in the

21st century with the return of Chinese

power with the Indian Mission to Mars

with all of these things that are going

on and it's clear how much the world is

changing before us it should be fairly

obvious to anyone with half a brain that

no one group of humans is responsible

for everything wonderful that's ever

happened all of scientific progress or

all philosophy but 100 years ago 150

years ago that was considered a hard

scientific idea considered so normal

that very few people even question that

and those European scholars which did

question it I could name some of them

probably no one in this room's heard of

them have you ever heard of a man called

Gerald Massie he spent 36 years of his

life writing a companion to Darwin's

theory of evolution working-class white

Englishman who taught himself to read

brilliant uh scholar spent 36 years of

his life writing a companion that tried

to prove that not only is Humanity

evolved Out of Africa physically but

also culturally spiritually

philosophically he literally wrote six

volumes I have them on my shelves like

that even though he was an Englishman

the only people today that read or

publish his books are crazy Afrocentric

black people so it's very funny I'm

going to continue with that so the human

story is um the human story is not the

Monopoly of one particular group of

people and even though the ancient

Greeks this has been one of the

controversial eras uh areas a scholar

called Martin BAU from Cambridge wrote a

book called Black aena in the 80s which

received a lot of attention a lot of

criticism uh a fur around the book

partly because he was a Cambridge

educated scholar partly because of who

his family were his granddad was an

egyptologist but nonetheless he might he

might some people might feel that he

over stated the case of Egypt's

influence on Greece but the Greeks

themselves said yeah some of us went to

study in Egypt no big deal as you can

see here and thus Egypt was the Cradle

of the mathematical Arts can you see

coming from Aristotle that's a big

compliment there's another quote from

Aristotle I'll paraphrase but he's

basically insulting the ancient Egyptian

priests because they wouldn't give him

all of their secrets he's acknowledging

they had knowledge they would not share

with him and he insults them for it not

something we look at today they had a

value for pi of 3.16 which with no

calculators thousands of years is pretty

impressive I must point out that value

is on a Papyrus read that we know is a

child's school textbook so we don't know

whether or not they got a more accurate

figure for pi but we know that a high

school student could work out pi to

hundredths of a decimal place the so

called Pythagorean Theorum 365 day

calendar based on astronomical

observation they also had another

calendar which took account of the leap

year but it didn't do it in the way we

do it it basically let the leap year run

alongside they understood that the year

was 365 and quarter days long and they

just let the quarter days add up until

it came back round I think it's 1460

years till it would come back round and

the years would link up again and they

had a big Festival um they understood

the concept of the month and the Zodiac

based on groupings of stars they

pioneered heliocentric theory and the

concept of the atom not according to a

Cara but according to Isaac Newton so if

you got beef take up the beef with Isaac

Newton they knew of the planets Mercury

Venus Mars Saturn and Jupiter calculated

and predicted lunar eclipses medical

specialization back then in including if

you put into your internet search a word

called peset which is spelled exactly as

it sounds you will see that there was a

government position called the chief of

female Physicians one of the fascinating

things about ancient Egypt was the role

women played in the society I'm not

going to come and pretend to you that it

was a feminist Paradise but what we do

know is there were five female pharaohs

women could inherit and Beque property

and of course we had female Physicians

Medical specialization ship building and

Expeditions copious amounts of

literature in poetry and Pros has

survived there is three great volumes of

ancient Egyptian literature published by

a scholar called Mary lenheim I suggest

you look them up in addition to the

coffin text and the pyramid text and

please this is Imhotep has anyone seen

the film The momy returns can you see

that this real imotep doesn't look much

like the emot in the mommy

returns and he is quite arguably the

first polymar the first multi genius

recorded in human history the same two

American physicists I mentioned earlier

Thomas buva and Robert broy or Robert M

and Thomas broy I always get their names

confused they wrote a book on otep's

work but he designed the oldest pyramid

still standing in Egypt the oldest

medical books in human history he wrote

Of course someone may have wrote medical

books before him but the oldest

surviving we have so we could properly

call him the father of medicine we

currently called Hypocrites the father

of medicine but Hypocrites was born

2,000 years later next slide please but

I don't want to give you the impression

as some people try to that ancient Egypt

was all that happened in Africa and even

some you know considered Afrocentric can

overstate the case and act like ancient

Egyptian civilization impressive as it

was was the only civilization occurred

in Africa it wasn't even the oldest

kingdom in Africa the oldest kingdom in

Africa would be in what today that we

know of would be in what today is Sudan

a place called ksul they call it the

land of the bow about two to three

centuries before the rise of ancient

Egypt just as you can see it concurs

with what the ancient Greeks said about

ancient Egyptian civilization coming

from inner Africa concurs with many

other forms of evidence a place called

KSU there was the first Kingdom

recognized Kingdom in Africa and it had

many of the symbols that would later go

into fonic Egypt so it was in many ways

a precursor to fonic Egypt but there

have been many stages of civilization in

Sudan that started before and proceeded

to after the fall of formal fonic

civilization so if we fast forward a

little bit next slide please and

again we see pyramids like this I've

been here there are more pyramids

surviving in Sudan than there are in

Egypt 223 in all though they are not as

old as the ones in ancient Egypt these

are of a later date these ones are from

about 100 BC next slide please then if

we go forward there was a Christian

Empire in Sudan this is a reconstruction

by a Polish archaeologist of a Christian

Church from 100 1,000 ad rather yeah

again pretty impressive based on the

remains this is what it would have

looked like next slide

please fast forward to

Ethiopia now this I will show people

this and I usually ask what is unusual

about this building but we haven't got

time for the quiz it usually takes

people a little while to figure it out

but it's not technically a building it's

a carving the architect and the Builders

of this 800 year old church have dug

down into the ground and carved the

building out of the mountain next slide

please and that's what it looks like

inside can you see that's quite

impressive for 800 years ago quite

beautiful next slide please this is a

stil weighs

450 uh family-sized cars the equivalent

of 300 tons we don't actually know how

2,000 years ago people in Ethiopia

managed a to carve this block of granite

and B to get it to stand up without a

crane and can you see if you look

closely it's imitating a multi-story

building I can't say that they had multi

story buildings but there's a door at

the bottom and there's what are clearly

flaws and the imitation of Windows going

up to the top nonetheless it's fairly

impressive to get a 300 ton block of

granite to stand up with Crane and it

isn't even the largest SEL found in

Ethiopia in this time the largest one

found weighs 500 tons so almost double

but it's it's no longer standing next

slide please now if I showed you these

castles at the beginning of this

presentation and we didn't know this was

a presentation on African history we'd

probably assume these were in England or

Scotland or Norway but these are

Ethiopian castles from the 17th century

next slide please we get to Western

central Africa this is the heart of

where Africans were supposed to display

their innate inferiority because this is

where most of the enslaved Africans

enslaved in Americas were taken from and

what do we have here in 1668 a Dutchman

called aler the PO traveled around

Central and western Africa and he drew

some pictures this is a picture from

what today would be Nigeria the kingdom

of Benin in 1668 you can see the

procession of the king you can see multi

story buildings in the background if you

look really closely even though it's

quite small for some of you at the back

you can see the city in the background

it has a wall around the outside of it

this wall the Great Wall of Benin is in

the Guinness Book of World Records 1974

Edition is the largest Earthworks

carried out prior to the mechanical era

it's estimated that the wall at its

height may have been as much as

10,000 miles of wall in I didn't start

or make a mistake go and take up the

beef with the archaeologists next slide

please this is the king uh the city of

leango in the Kingdom of Congo same year

drawn by the same guy we can see clear

evidence of urban planning straight

streets Terrace housing multi-story

buildings again a wall around the entire

out city with gates in it this uh this

particular state was almost like a sort

of early client state of the Portuguese

for two centuries they had already been

Trad in at this point Ivory and Pepper

with the Portuguese and this Empire had

an embassy in Rome during the this

period not something we learn about or

talk about too tough next slide

please this is the city of aades in the

Empire of sonai which would be in the

country Niger today uh this city at its

height this is again drawn by a European

traveler called Dr Henry David B had

7,000 people living there in the 16th

century 20,000 to 30,000 people lived in

London in the 16th century so that gives

you a sense of how quickly history can

evolve London was the largest city in

the world 150 years ago in terms of

population it isn't even close to that

today so that gives you a sense of how

quickly a major Metropolis can become

not the big Metropolis anymore and how a

western African City can have been

bigger than London and of course there

not that not be the case just a few

centuries later it wasn't the largest

city in Western Africa at the time uh

the major the largest Empire in Western

Africa uh or there were four concentric

Empires rather the Empire of Ghana which

was today would be in the country of

morania but is where the country Ghana

takes its name then Mali which the

Empire of Mali at its height spread all

the way from Sagal deep into morania

1500 mil across probably the most

wealthy Empire in African history other

than ancient Egypt and according to even

mainstream Scholars like Felipe

Fernandez amesto the richest state in

the 14th century world this is uh one

mosque University from that Empire this

particular one is the Grand Mosque of

Jen has anyone ever heard of a place

called timbak 2 now did anyone else

think timbak 2 was a made up place when

they first heard of timbak 2 I know when

I was young I thought timbak 2 was a

madeup place turns out timbak 2 was a

real place and there's a university

still standing in Timbuktu in uh the

ancient marlean empire but there's a

good reason why we think of timbak as

being magical as we're going to come to

a little bit

later in uh the marlean kingdom there

are still 34 of a million handwritten

manuscripts surviving 34 of A Million To

This Day containing all kinds of

information now one of them was brought

to the attention of the World by Michael

Palin in a BBC program called Sahara and

he basically says I'll paraphrase here

but he says this document which is from

the kingdom of Mali at the time clearly

shows the phases of the moon the problem

with it is is that it's 150 to 200 years

older than the birth of Galileo and

cernus so it makes us think about the

entire history of Science in an

interesting way again that's not me

saying that that's Michael Palin saying

that if you if you got beef take it out

Michael Palin next slide please South

and Eastern

Africa this is what they call Great

Zimbabwe one of over a 100 Stone courts

across Southern Africa uh let's go on to

the next slide I've been here I thought

it was a bit narcissistic to include my

holiday photo so I didn't but uh no no

go back

please but this outer wall weighs over

weighs is 100,000 tons of granite bricks

held together without any cment it was

built in the year 1335 ad by the Shauna

people of Zimbabwe again I have to

emphasize that most of the kingdoms I'm

showing you at some point or other some

scholar somewhere argued they were not

built by Africans and this was no

exception for a long time people were

like could have been anyone the Chinese

Arabs Lebanese people Europeans aliens

anyone but Africans eventually they gave

up and they was like all right yeah the

Shan will probably built it the most

likely explanation is that the people

that live there maybe built it next slide

slide

please this is a door now can you see if

your front door looks like this

today life's all right for you you're

probably doing quite well you're

probably quite wealthy this is a

700-year old East African door from

Zanzibar from what we call the Swahili

Confederacy so there was a collection of

city states almost that spoke the

language of kiswahili in East Africa

that were part of a semi global trade

Network they traded with the Middle East

with India farfield as China and the

Javanese Empire there's a fantastic book

by a woman called Janet Abu lold called

before European Hegman and it looks at

the semi global system of trade between

East Africa the Middle East India and

China at the time um and this is this uh

the wealth of this kingdom was part of

the product of that semiglobal uh trade

system next slide please this is a house

from the period now can you see that

other than the mold around the door that

could be a 1920s Art Deco house and

according to English africanist scholar

basil Davidson who's been there I

haven't been there but this is what the

writing here says of of him

investigating that these houses of

course the houses of rich people living

in this time contain good internal

sanitation next slide

please this is a reconstruction of the

uh one of the main palaces from 1300 ad

and what today would be Tanzania can you

see the swimming pool there was 100

rooms in here yeah 1300 ad Palace in

Eastern Africa next slide

please and then we get on to the image

of black people in early Europe which is

something that's contentious because we

are almost taught even if subtly if you

watch you know as I do for my sins if

you watch a TV show like Game of Thrones

even though you know it's not real

history it's still going in and you

watch Game of Thrones and the only time

black people pop up in this narrative

that's supposed to sort of loosely be

the human story again is as slaves that

isn't an accident the cast in directed

decided we're going to have black people

and they're going to play the slaves and

you know we'll get some brown people

Middle Eastern people and they'll play

DOI Savages that eat Hearts someone

asked for that to be the case and that's

how that happen so if you're a young

person growing up and you imagine a

medieval world you don't imagine people

of African descent necessarily hav

participated how do I know this when I

teach Shakespeare at schools which I

often do and I read a passage from a

fellow or I read sonnets 127 to 142

where Shakespeare clearly refers to

someone who's black but everyone's

avoiding that right

children have actually said to me but

sir were there black people in

Shakespeare's time and I don't realize

what they're saying people in in this

country in an advanced developed wealthy

country because they don't realize they

don't conceive even of Africans having

have existed at that time in many ways

but let's see what was actually going on

in Europe it's a gentleman called St

Maurice St Maurice was part of the thean

uh Egyptian Legions of the Roman army he

became a a saint in christiandom these

are Carvins of St Maurice or paintings

of St Maurice rather from 16th century

Germany next

slide again next slide different saint

St Alban who was said to be an ancient

Ethiopian King that had fought against

Jewish people on behalf of christiandom

this particular picture of him is from

Portugal from the 1750s next

slide this is the giant I don't know how

to pronounce that word but I presume

it's yur this is from France and this is

commemorating the battle with William of

Orange in the 13th century

and this is still there in the town in

France where it was painted again it

gives us food for f next slide but this

is where it gets slightly controversial

and problematic we have these images

over a hundred of them across Europe of

Madonna and Jesus

depicted well it speaks for itself

really doesn't it now the shame of

history is this there's a fantastic blog

online called medieval PC which deals

with the role of people of color in the

medieval world you should all follow

them they're enlightening I've learned

so much from their blog they're on

Twitter and they're on Tumblr but one of

the things they pointed out to me I

can't remember which one of these

madonas it was but there's one that's in

Poland a really famous one and it was

restored a couple of years ago what do

restoration yeah they painted it white

so can you see how you can be robbed of

history and not even know noses come off

black madonas go white and no one

explains why now if you put into an

internet search engine Isis and

Horus you might have some idea where the

inspiration for this statue came from I

I'll leave it at that because that's

another lecture for another day next slide

slide

please this is a European map from 1413

a the two gentlemen in the map the

gentleman on the left is manam Musa king

of uh the marlean Empire at its height

he is estimated by many economists today

to have been the richest human that ever

lived they estimate it might have been a

worth worth as much as 400 billion in

today's money and I'm not saying that

that that's necessarily a massive

achievement for Africa cuz one person

being rich and being a king sort of

probably implies some form of Oppression

usually but as far as kings go manamu

was said to have been a fairly decent

King who gave away a lot of uh uh money

gold uh to to poor people particularly

on his pilgrimage to Mecca he gave away

so much gold in Egypt that it took 10

years for the price of gold to return to

normal that's how much gold he gave away

in Egypt and part of the mythology about

timbak 2 and about this wealthy black

kingdom was a result of manam musa's

pilgrimage to Mecca and all of the uh

rumors that spread around the world and

particularly around Europe at the time

that was going through the plague and

the Dark Ages and kind of other Madness

while Marley was fairly Rich they heard

about this this there's this African

king down there past where the Moroccans

live we need to go and find that guy cuz

he's getting some money now the

gentleman on your on the right was the

ruler of the Moors why have I picked

this particular image because the way

that history has been racialized even in

the modern world the uh for those who

don't know by the way Spain was a Muslim

country for 800 years so African and

Arab Muslims colonized Spain in 711 ad

until 1492 the year Columbus set saale

for 800 years Spain was a Muslim country

no one thinks to teach us that in school

but because there was a forms of

race-based slavery in the Islamic World

some of the scholars have deliberately

kind of distorted the history and said

the only role of black people in the

Islamic world full stop and even in

morish Spain was as servants and slaves

and that same history has come into to

play in that world even though we know

because we have copious pictures

hundreds of pictures I've just shown you

st Maurice which also means more of

rulers of people in every position

clearly depicted as black one only has

to read Shakespeare as a fellow and it

comes very clear that Shakespeare who

Shakespeare had in mind when he was

describing moish people we know that

there were four main dynasties in Spain

and two the two of the major dynasties

the alov and alahad were what we call

berbers if you go to Africa today you'll

see that there are berbers that are all

kinds of mixes the tare people for

example some of the blackest people in

Africa are bers as are much of the

population of Morocco so even that

history has been deliberately distorted

to paint away some of the role of of

black African people in the Islamic

world next slide

please now this is the most contentious

and controversial part of the lecture

and this is the part where I think

there's some room to have some fun and

for us to contemplate things that are

considered outrageous a scholar called

Ivan van CA wrote two books one called

they came before Columbus and one called

uh early America Revisited and both

these books particularly the first one

received a lot of criticism and a lot of

praise it was a very polarizing work

because he suggested that African sail

to America before Christopher Columbus

now I've read a lot of the critiques of

his work and I'll be honest with you

most of the critiques I've read to this

point and I'd be happy to see a better

one hav IA just lied about what he said

they've said that he said the all the OM

were Africans he never said that they've

said that he said Africans civilized

Native Americans who would say such a

racist idiotic thing rather than a

racist idiot he never said that he never

said that Africans founded OMC

civilization these are all things that

people said he said and even put in

quotation marks in their articles

because they knew people were not going

to read van cma's work once you labeled

him a crazy Afrocentric black person

even though he's half Native American

didn't matter job done people are not

going to read his work then some other

critiques that I've read around his work

just deal with partial pieces of the

evidence in isolation and say see

therefore he's wrong but if you view one

piece of evidence in a case in isolation

you're not building a whole case so I'm

happy to see a better more rounded

critique but until then I'm going to

present to you some of the evidence he

presents in his book you can decide for

yourself based on the evidence in his

books if you think the position that

he's put forward is rational and

sensible not based on our bias and the

ridiculous idea that Africans couldn't

have sailed across the ocean but based

on actual

evidence so some of the evidence he put

together shocking as it may

with 13 different European Witnesses

including Columbus and Columbus's son

the names are all up there you can go

and check check the book check his

references who talked about seeing

Africans when they got to America

Columbus particularly doesn't talk about

actually seeing them himself he talks

about the indigenous people of Haiti

giving him some Spears that they said

they traded with black people that came

from the southeast he takes them back to

Spain they're examined by the Spanish

myologist who concludes they were the

same as the spears they were trading

mcin one of these Scholars here the

Frenchman uh Captain Curt explicitly

refers to the Africans he saw in Panama

as mandingos which were the people of

medieval Marley so 13 different

Europeans African oril tradition in the

Malian Kingdom says that King Abu bukari

II left he abdicated the throne with 200

ships to sail to the great continent to

the West there are two contemporary

Arabic documents from Egypt that tell

the same story of King Abu bakari II

abdicate in the throne and sailing into

the great continent to the West none of

this conclusive yet but here's where it

gets really sticky the Smithsonian

Institute found two skeletons that they

concluded based on anthropological

examination to be African tropically

adapted skeletons at H Bay in St Thomas

dated from 1250

ad gets a bit problematic on an island

just then on an island just close to

that they found an ancient African

writing system which I'm about to show

you called The tiag Script which

originates in Libya but was also used by

medieval Marans modern voyages on

Ancient craft so three different

European scholars rebuilt first of all

ancient Egyptian ships then medieval

African ships and then one guy even

sailed the last guy in that list Alan

Lombard sailed across the Atlantic in a

raft with no supplies just a fishing rod

and he caught rainwater so the Atlantic

is not particularly hard to cross we

know that Columbus was sailing down the

coast of Africa trying to get to India

and he got caught in these currents to

assume that it's impossible for an

African fisherman to have made the same

mistake let alone a royal Fleet of 200

ships seems a bit strange to me I don't

know why we would assume that and then

things got even more controversial in

1992 the female scientists who developed

the test to test hair for drugs so that

test that people still use if you're a

football player or if you're an athlete

or if you're a prison person they want

to see if you're a prisoner and they

want to see if you've been taking drugs

they examine the proteins in your hair

and they can see what kind of drugs

you've been taking the woman who

developed that test in 1992 found

cocaine in the stomach of rames II and

she was so shocked by what she found CU

she knows that cocaine comes from

America she tested and retested and

retested because she knew she was going

to get loads of stick then she tested

Sudanese mommies and found the same

thing and read what she said she got

hate mail people cussing her people were

just like what are you talking about

you're an idiot a woman whose scientific

prowess is there you know is there to be

attested to but what she discovered was

so upsetting for some people that she

was she was hated on by people who of

course are nowhere near as

scientifically qualified as she is

botany and oceanog and oceanography and

ceremonial and uh cultural

correspondences between some of the

stuff we're seeing uh in Africa and in

the Americas for example Bart Jordan a

famous uh mathematical genius child

genius who was so bright that he was

given in a public audience with Albert

Einstein when he was just a child this

is how mathematically genius the G one

was he' done a study of African pyramids

of ancient Egyptian pyramids and

Mesoamerican pyramids according to him

not according to me I'm not on that

level mathematically according to his

study he's like they have to have been

related because the complex mathematical

relationships to particular planets like

Venus that these pyramids are built

around there's just no way it like it's

impossible that you would get that

correlation without some sort of

relationship again if you have an issue

with it take take up with him I don't

have the answer but next slide so here

we have in uh in Mexico in 800 BC cameos

no big deal till we turn the face

around how do we explain a face like

that turning up in Mexico in 800 BC now

I would put it to you that if this was

an overtly Chinese face or a face that

looked like a viking we wouldn't even

have to have a debate everyone be like

it must mean based on one face the

Vikings must have gone to America how

could you have an obviously Viking face

in America unless there was Vikings

there yet we can have a face like this

and people can honestly look at this and

say it's impossible that people of

African Heritage could have gone to

America okay and not all thehe heads

look like that I want to restate again

van was very clear not all of thech

heads were Africans so pointing out that

some of them don't look like Africans is

irrelevant because it was very clear

that many of them are obviously not

African and Native American Next slide

please this is the tiffan script that I

was talking about from Whole Bay in um

in St Thomas sorry the tiffan script is

not in h Bay it's on does say there

bottom Reef Bay in St John's in the US

Virgin Island so same collection of

islands and if you read what it says it

actually talks about ablutions so not

only is an ancient Libyan script that we

know medieval marians used but it makes

an explicit Islamic reference and we

know that kingdom was Islamic at the

time next slide

please this is Mary at it height I just

wanted to show you to get a sense of

just how massive it was 1500 miles

across and again according to even

mainstream historiography it's now

accepted that this was probably the

richest state in the 14th century world

to to so to suggest that the richest

state in the 14th century world wasn't

capable of building ships and sailing

the ocean seems a little odd to me again

I'm not saying you have to accept all of

this evidence I'm saying all I want as a

counter argument is evidence I don't

want Prejudice and bias which is what

I've seen from a lot of the scholars

that have have counteracted

vanma these carvings are from Panama and

Mexico from the 1300s the the member of

the German royal family called Professor

Von hotu who helped van CMA write the

book has over hundred of these Carvins

they were tested by a process called

firmino luminesence which I don't

scientifically understand but apparently

it's a way you date Museum artifacts

before the German Museum would buy them

of course they wanted to know they were

not forgeries CU some people even said

ah he just he forged them all these

Carvins and then they were tested before

the German Museum would buy them and

they were originally owned by a member

of the German royal family how do we

explain Carvins like this turning up in

Mexico in the 1300s and

again and again and again this is my

favorite one that is a handsome face

that one in it let's let's be

honest if someone's got a more logical

explanation than than that people that

look like this were present in Mexico

I'd love to hear it and this is the

Reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian

Papyrus ship done by for hyow a

Norwegian in 1969 he went to Chad he

didn't go to Egypt he went to Chad and

the Budu Boatman in Lake Chad rebuilt

him an ancient Egyptian Papyrus ship and

he sailed from Egypt to Barbados so we

know it was physically

possible so again we've got to digest

the evidence and decide what we think

based on the evidence until then I'm

going to agree with the American head of

the Smithsonian Institute that was part

of the archaeological team in fact he

was the head of the archaeological team

that digged up the omhe heads he said

the following and I will I will read it

word for word he said van cma's work is

a summary of six or seven years of

meticulous research based upon

archaeology egyptology African history

history oceanography geology astronomy

bamy botany rare Arabic and Chinese

manuscripts letters and journals of

early American explorers and

observations of physical anthropologists

as one who has been immersed in Mexican

archaeology for some 40 years and

participated in the excavation of the

first giant heads I must confess I am

firmly convinced of the soundness of Van

ca's conclusions but people would sell

it to you that the only people who

believe in Vana are crazy Afrocentric

black people trying to make themselves

better for racism next slide please and

this is the final part of my uh of my

conversation with you today because the

one part of African history we do teach

is trans or as I prefer to call it the

transatlantic trafficking enslaved

Africans and usually when we teach that

history if there's anything you take

away from it growing up in the UK it's

that William wiber Force set Africans

free there's nothing else you probably

learned in school other than William

Wilberforce set Africans free I went to

the National Portrait Gallery when I was

a child 7 years old and my teacher

pulled me aside and pointed at a picture

of William W and said Kingsley she was

Canadian this man he stopped slavery now

unfortunately for my teacher I went to a

panafrican Saturday school where we

learned about the maroons and the

Haitian revolution so I'm seven but I

know a little history so I'm like Miss

all by himself you mean he helped and

she beef me she was like no Kingsley he

stopped slavery I was like come on Miss

so for people who believe in freedom and

democracy as we say we do who believe in

human rights we must understand that

slavery is not knew even though the

transatlantic traffic in enslaved

Africans may have been particularly

brutal may have gone on particularly

long may have been particularly large

scale there may have been particular

features ancient Greece had slavery

ancient Rome had slavery there was

slavery in the Middle East there was

forced servitude in certain African

empires for sure right slavery is not a

new uh thing in human history but only

once in the whole history of humanity

that I know of and that I've ever been

able to find in history have enslaved

people overthrown the government and

become the governments now surely for

anyone who genuinely believes in freedom

and democracy and human rights and we

talk about the March toward democracy

what could be more democratic than

getting rid of slavery we want a cheer

for abolitionists but we won't cheer for

enslaved people who freed themselves and

became the government for those who

don't know what I'm talking about

between 1789 and 1804 in Haiti the

enslaved Africans in Haiti defeated the

three major European Empires of the time

at War and declared themselves

independent and the First Nation to

abolish slavery I know our prime

minister wants to keep repeating while

he's visiting Jamaica that everyone in

Jamaica should remember Britain's role

in abolition because Britain was the

first country to abolish slavery but

1804 comes before 07 it's just basic

arithmetic next slide please some of the

leaders of the Haitian revolution again

one of the fascinating things about

history is how sexist history is even

revolutionary history so most of the

leaders we know even from black

revolutionary history are always menant

yet we know in the Haitian revolution

from ton Lu's own mouth a gentleman

we're going to get to in a minute that

30% of all the fighting troops in the

Haitian revolutionary Army were women

given that two third of the people

enslaved in the Americas were men that

means women were absolutely fully

playing their role in the Army this is

one of the leaders Cil fatiman she was

what we call a vodun priest and her and

a man called duti Bookman who was also a

vodun priest and a Muslim he was a

former maroon in Jamaica he left Jamaica

he came to Haiti in 1789 they staged the

ceremony that is really what we see as

the formal part of the Haitian

revolution we have to understand there

were hundreds of rebellions throughout

transatlantic slavery which is normal

you try to kidnap people and their

children and enslave them they're going

to Rebel it's normal and the only way to

maintain slavery was through terrorism

and we can go through whole cataloges of

the kinds of terrorism that we used but

in 1789 Bookman and fatiman started a

ceremony that kicked off what would

become the only successful slave

revolution in human history and lead to

the defeat of the three major empires in

Europe and the breaking of the back of

the transatlantic traffic forever next

slide please another leader female

leader Santi Belair she's famous because

when she was executed which she was she

first of all demanded to be executed by

firing squad they were going to hang her

cuz she was a woman she said no I didn't

want to be executed by fire and Squad

like a man and according to the

tradition her husband naturally if

you're about to be killed was a bit

upset and he was crying and she

apparently slapped him and said do you

not know how how sweet it is to die for

Liberty stand up and basically her

husband had to stand up and take the

bullets like a man CU you know we're

told only men can be brave be like a man

don't be like a woman well Santi B was

like a man of course she was really like

a woman next slide please now the

leaders that we do know if we know

anything about the Haitian revolution

will be the following two gentlemen this

gentleman is called Jean jaac desim he

was the man who actually led the country

to Independence he was the deputy

General if you like for most of the

Revolution he was underneath the main

leader T but he was the leader who

actually took Hai across the Finish Line

who took who fought the final battle

against the French the Battle of verer

and he declared the country independent

in 1804 after declaring the country

independent he massacred all of the

French people left on the island what a

lot of pseudo historians have done is

said he killed all the white people left

on the island to try and racialize the

history in a way that is not to accurate

what they don't really want to tell you

is no he killed all of the French people

left on the island with the active

encouragement of Britain and America who

were not really getting on with France

at the time this is during the

Napoleonic Wars what's more part of this

history that we don't learn fascinating

part of the history is that the Polish

who were part of the French army

defected from the French army and fought

with the Africans against the French

against slavery and when the Revolution

was over he didn't kill the Polish in

fact if you look at the constitution of

1805 he done something that's very

fascinating he declared that the only

ethnic identity valid in hati from this

day forward would be black and even the

Polish and the Germans who fought with

us from this day forward they're black

which I thought was fascinating as a

social scientist for someone to say

right being black has been a Badge Of

Dishonor has been a crime has been

something to make you a slave for all of

our history on this island now Blackness

is just going to be normal we're even

going to say that white people are black

and interestingly of course they renamed

the island 80 after the honor of the

indigenous people CU that was their name

for it yeah the French had called it or

the Spanish called it San Domingo and it

had all various different European names

it's now Haiti and the Dominican

Republic by the way cuz it's one Island

but during colonial times it was at

various points one side was Spanish one

side was French then it was unified then

it split again and this is the gentleman

that everyone knows if they do know

about the Haitian revolution Tuson he

was the leader for most of the

Revolution all of these people I've just

shown you began their life as enslaved

human beings Tuson L was a slave until

he's he was 45 years old but he became

an educated enslaved person he became a

privileged slave if you like he was

allowed to read he was a Coachman which

was usually a a a role that was reserved

for mulatos mixed people or for

Europeans so he he began to read and in

the Bible and in a book by a French

scholar called ABI RH now he started

reading all sorts of stories about

rebellion about Revolution about a

messiah and he decided he was going to

be that Messiah and he became a

brilliant military General and he led

the country for most of its history then

in 1802 after the French had betrayed

him many many times the French said all

right come to France come on we we'll

settle this come to France we'll have a

negotiation many of Tucson's advisers

said tucon don't go to France you know

what they're going to do don't go to

France but I think maybe tucon was tired

at this point maybe he thought the

French was going to negotiate as they

said they were going I don't know what

he thought but he went to France the

French put him in prison and starved him

to death because they intended to

reinstall slavery and even though they

said they hadn't fortunately for history

the French lost the final battle and

slavery was outlawed in Haiti but

unfortunately in 1825

once the different European war and

Powers had made up the French threatened

to reinvade Haiti and they said if you

don't pay us back for our loss of

earnings for our loss of property 91

million gold Franks we're going to go to

war with you again at that point maybe

Haiti wasn't in a position to go to war

again they paid back those 91 million

gold Franks and it took over a century

to do so so when we talk about slavery

being ancient history where if they

started paying in 1825 I do believe it

was 1947 when they finished paying that

debt next slide please but one of the

things that the Haitian revolution did

lead to

was the Louisiana Purchase Napoleon for

those who don't know what that was that

green area was French Louisiana that

area of America was owned by the French

until 1803 Napoleon had dreams of a new

Empire based on Haiti Haiti at the time

was the most profitable colony in the

world producing more sugar than India

producing half of all Europe's coffee it

was an incredibly profitable Colony once

Napoleon lost that Colony he had no

purpose for this anymore so he sold it

to what became America so the Haitian

revolution and revolution on a tiny

little island of enormous hemispheric

importance of enormous human importance

yet we don't learn about it we've got to

make up our mind we're either for

freedom and democracy and we're going to

celebrate movements for that or we're

not we can't cheer for abolitionists

because their efforts would have been

worthless with the greatest of respect

to them without the revolutions that

were going on in the Caribbean and we

can demonstrate that 04 haian Revolution

ends oh magically 07 Britain has an

epiphany and says slavery is bad and

outlaws the transatlantic traffic

finally slavery itself was made illegal

in Britain in 1834 or in Britain's

Caribbean colonies 2 and a half years

after the largest rebell

in Jamaican History well what do you

know isn't that a coincidence that the

dates were away so close 60,000 enslaved

Africans in Jamaica under a man called

Sam shop burnt down half the plantations

in Jamaica killed a whole bunch of slave

masters 500 of them were hung in Revenge

but nonetheless slavery the back of

slavery in Jamaica in Haiti and

elsewhere had been broken there was no

use for it even anymore and of course it

wasn't Central in many ways to Britain

and other more industrialized countries

economies at that point but again that's

another debate for another day that's

not to say there were not genuine

abolitionists in the in this country and

they shouldn't be remembered they

absolutely should but to remember

abolitionists without remembering

hundreds of thousands of people who

physically shed their blood to free

themselves seems a little bit

hypocritical to me next slide please the

last slide I'm going to show you for the

evening before I put up a biblography

and we open up this is the Citadel this

is a military fortification that was

built in Haiti within the 15 years after

it declared itself independent I think

it's incredible that a group of people

who began their lives as enslaved human

beings were able for a brief period

until tell they were extorted again to

build monuments like this though I must

be honest to history and not romanticize

history the guy who took over desine the

man I showed you was assassinated by the

way when the revolution ended he made

the mistake of kind of trying to

Institute some kind of socialist

measures in Haiti he said to the other

elite Black and Milat leaders he said

listen we've got all this property now

we're rich now we've inherited what the

french used to have I think we should

redistribute this property to the people

who won the revolution to the poor

people to the enslaved the other leaders

were like no thanks and they murdered

him and the gentleman who took over was

a bit of a despot he may have been black

but he was a black despot and so we know

that many many Haitians died building

this so I don't want to come here and be

romantic and pretend that everything was

all wonderful once the Revolution was

one but I am putting this up to say that

I do think it's incredible as part of

the human story that a group of people

who live most of their Liv as slaves

were able to construct something like

this not withstanding of course the

brutality that underpinned

it here's a very brief bibliography for

some of the information that I put up

tonight we'll leave this up as we open

up for questions but again I just want

to provoke you with that food for for

and look at how can we fully understand

the human story in this globalized world

if we don't have any real sense of major

parts of it and especially in a country

like this that is becoming increasingly

Multicultural especially in the city I'm

from somewhere like London can we really

justify having a curriculum in the 21st

century that teaches us more about Henry

VII killing his wives than it does about

say for example the Peter L Massacre

something probably many people in this

room may not have even heard of yeah the

Peter L Massacre for those who don't

know cuz history is of course not

distorted just along lines of race as

I've already pointed out it's distorted

along lines of gender but also lines of

class the pet Massacre was a massacre

that occurred just outside of Manchester

in 1819 where 15 unarmed protesters

protesting for basic parliamentary

reform were hacked to death in the UK do

you not think that would be relevant for

us to know cuz many of the freedoms that

we have the right to vote we're almost

taught like we just have it cuz the

British Elite are so benevolent that

they've just always given people the

right to vote in reality even within the

UK people to shed their blood for the

very limited freedoms that people have

and maybe take for granted and so for me

with all my biases with all my political

Persuasions I would advocate for a much

more revolutionary inclusive people-

centered Global teaching of history for

the world that we live in thank you very much

thank you very much Cara that was

fascinating um what do you think is the

most effective way for us to replace our

whitewashed version of history with a

more balanced picture that includes

black history is it by people like you

kind of going around talking to as many

groups as possible or would you like to see the entire school history curriculum

see the entire school history curriculum Rewritten well I think it's important to

Rewritten well I think it's important to understand for me I think the dichotomy

understand for me I think the dichotomy of black and white can be a dangerous

of black and white can be a dangerous territory where we get into just

territory where we get into just focusing on that dichotomy rather than

focusing on that dichotomy rather than realizing that we need an overhaul in my

realizing that we need an overhaul in my view but again this is based on my

view but again this is based on my biases and the way I view the world we

biases and the way I view the world we need an overhaul generally depending

need an overhaul generally depending what we want the outcome to be I don't

what we want the outcome to be I don't think we should be naive history isn't

think we should be naive history isn't distorted by accident the what's on your

distorted by accident the what's on your curriculum isn't chosen by accident when

curriculum isn't chosen by accident when you watch the news there is an editor

you watch the news there is an editor for the news someone who decides what

for the news someone who decides what will and won't make the cut similarly

will and won't make the cut similarly with the design of a curriculum someone

with the design of a curriculum someone decides what will and won't make the cut

decides what will and won't make the cut I'm saying based on my view of the world

I'm saying based on my view of the world and what I'd like to see I would love to

and what I'd like to see I would love to see a more people centered curriculum

see a more people centered curriculum Full Stop in London we have particularly

Full Stop in London we have particularly London but UK as a whole we have people

London but UK as a whole we have people from all over the world we have people

from all over the world we have people from every reach of the British Empire

from every reach of the British Empire yet no one's ever explained to people

yet no one's ever explained to people that live in this country particularly

that live in this country particularly working-class people that maybe feel

working-class people that maybe feel displaced where are all these people

displaced where are all these people from India and Ghana and Nigeria and

from India and Ghana and Nigeria and Barbados and Jamaica came from it's just

Barbados and Jamaica came from it's just they just came out of finera after World

they just came out of finera after World War II all of these people who we've got

War II all of these people who we've got no idea where they came from just

no idea where they came from just descended upon Britain and if we look at

descended upon Britain and if we look at the r around immigration at the moment

the r around immigration at the moment that's still how a lot of it is conveyed

that's still how a lot of it is conveyed and no one ever says well actually I'm

and no one ever says well actually I'm we used to own their country and they

we used to own their country and they fought for us in a couple of world wars

fought for us in a couple of world wars aside from building our economy and

aside from building our economy and actually when my grandmother came here

actually when my grandmother came here she was a citizen of the British

she was a citizen of the British Commonwealth traveling from one part of

Commonwealth traveling from one part of the British Commonwealth to another so

the British Commonwealth to another so for me I don't think it's just about the

for me I don't think it's just about the inclusion of black history personally I

inclusion of black history personally I think a campaign to do that would be

think a campaign to do that would be misguided and wouldn't win I think it's

misguided and wouldn't win I think it's the inclusion of global history cuz we

the inclusion of global history cuz we live in a globalized world and if we

live in a globalized world and if we want our children to be able to function

want our children to be able to function in a world where they might need to

in a world where they might need to speak Mandarin which is a very real

speak Mandarin which is a very real economic possibility you can see our

economic possibility you can see our government kissing up to China right now

government kissing up to China right now right then we might need to teach them

right then we might need to teach them some things about the world if we want

some things about the world if we want to raise people that might want to go

to raise people that might want to go and work in Sagal or morania or India we

and work in Sagal or morania or India we going to need to raise people with more

going to need to raise people with more awareness but also for me it's about

awareness but also for me it's about human relations and it's

human relations and it's about reduction of conflict

about reduction of conflict if we have an understanding of the

if we have an understanding of the relationship between different cultures

relationship between different cultures historically I don't think we would be

historically I don't think we would be so quick to support Wars to support

so quick to support Wars to support unjust foreign policy to view people as

unjust foreign policy to view people as less than ourselves we'd be more warm to

less than ourselves we'd be more warm to other human beings so absolutely I have

other human beings so absolutely I have an agenda I'm not coming here I don't

an agenda I'm not coming here I don't believe in objectivity I think it's a

believe in objectivity I think it's a made up nonsensical idea that I can

made up nonsensical idea that I can transcend my upbringing my class

transcend my upbringing my class everything I've been through and just

everything I've been through and just speak on behalf of Bangladeshi women

speak on behalf of Bangladeshi women because I'm so objective no if I want to

because I'm so objective no if I want to know what Bangladeshi women think I'll

know what Bangladeshi women think I'll ask a Bangladeshi woman um so I am

ask a Bangladeshi woman um so I am totally projecting my my agenda and I

totally projecting my my agenda and I own that up front but for me I would

own that up front but for me I would like to see not just black history but

like to see not just black history but world history talk but I will add that

world history talk but I will add that for me my passion for learning world

for me my passion for learning world history came from panafrican Saturday

history came from panafrican Saturday school so as a young afro Caribbean

school so as a young afro Caribbean child growing up if I had swallowed the

child growing up if I had swallowed the eurocentric curriculum that told me

eurocentric curriculum that told me black people's only role in the human

black people's only role in the human story was first of all as being slaves

story was first of all as being slaves then getting set free by William wi

then getting set free by William wi force and then the civil rights movement

force and then the civil rights movement in America I probably would have had

in America I probably would have had very much pride in my own identity

very much pride in my own identity luckily I didn't swallow that curriculum

luckily I didn't swallow that curriculum cuz I went to a sep Saturday school that

cuz I went to a sep Saturday school that Caribbean people set up in the 1970s

Caribbean people set up in the 1970s there's a big movement in the 70s where

there's a big movement in the 70s where Caribbean set up Saturday schools to a

Caribbean set up Saturday schools to a teach black history but also to teach

teach black history but also to teach maths and Science and to improve on what

maths and Science and to improve on what they felt was a racist curriculum but

they felt was a racist curriculum but also the way their children were being

also the way their children were being dealt with in the schools I was a lucky

dealt with in the schools I was a lucky recipient of some of that knowledge and

recipient of some of that knowledge and it meant that I didn't feel inferior to

it meant that I didn't feel inferior to what I was been taught so I could engage

what I was been taught so I could engage with Shakespeare or Newton or Plato

with Shakespeare or Newton or Plato because I didn't feel intimidated by

because I didn't feel intimidated by that because I didn't feel that people

that because I didn't feel that people like me had never contributed anything

like me had never contributed anything to human progress so if we don't teach

to human progress so if we don't teach that history many people can come to the

that history many people can come to the world or come to world history with an

world or come to world history with an inferiority complex that is unjustified

inferiority complex that is unjustified and unnecessary thank you we're going to

and unnecessary thank you we're going to open up to questions from the floor if

open up to questions from the floor if you'd like to ask a question please put

you'd like to ask a question please put your hand up high and wait for the

your hand up high and wait for the microphone to come round to you could we

microphone to come round to you could we start with the gentleman in the third

start with the gentleman in the third row over

there first of all thank you so much that was incredibly eye opening thank

that was incredibly eye opening thank you um I was also uh wondering so um a

you um I was also uh wondering so um a lot of these civilizations probably had

lot of these civilizations probably had their own historical records as well

their own historical records as well right and a lot of the sources that we

right and a lot of the sources that we were seeing were from um Greece and some

were seeing were from um Greece and some other ones were those um I uh were those

other ones were those um I uh were those systematically destroyed or what what is

systematically destroyed or what what is the situation with historical records

the situation with historical records from say Egypt but also Ghana Mali yeah

from say Egypt but also Ghana Mali yeah so as I mentioned there there's 3/4 of a

so as I mentioned there there's 3/4 of a million documents surviving from the

million documents surviving from the malan Empire so those still survive

malan Empire so those still survive today they haven't all been translated

today they haven't all been translated so the only government in Africa

so the only government in Africa unfortunately that's put up any money to

unfortunately that's put up any money to start translating them is the government

start translating them is the government of South Africa so of course it's a very

of South Africa so of course it's a very slow process there's three4 of a million

slow process there's three4 of a million documents but already what has emerged

documents but already what has emerged from that process is a book called the T

from that process is a book called the T Al fatash which is a history of that

Al fatash which is a history of that area written by an African that lived in

area written by an African that lived in Timbuktu so up to this point most of the

Timbuktu so up to this point most of the documents have been Arab observers or

documents have been Arab observers or North African observers of West Africa

North African observers of West Africa or european observers because there was

or european observers because there was a mythology that West Africa didn't have

a mythology that West Africa didn't have any writing in the case of Nubia or

any writing in the case of Nubia or Sudan for example they have a writing

Sudan for example they have a writing system called meroitic but it's never

system called meroitic but it's never been deciphered unlike the ancient

been deciphered unlike the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs whereas in Ethiopia

Egyptian hieroglyphs whereas in Ethiopia they have their own records those have

they have their own records those have been deciphered they also used the

been deciphered they also used the Ethiopian alphabet to write Greek we

Ethiopian alphabet to write Greek we found in Sudan in medieval Nubia um

found in Sudan in medieval Nubia um essentially writings that are in several

essentially writings that are in several different languages in Greek in Latin so

different languages in Greek in Latin so we know it was a Cosmopolitan City that

we know it was a Cosmopolitan City that had relationships with the world so

had relationships with the world so there are documents but in many cases

there are documents but in many cases books have been destroyed we know the

books have been destroyed we know the Library of Alexandria was destroyed we

Library of Alexandria was destroyed we know mes American documents that doesn't

know mes American documents that doesn't relate to Africa but we know they were

relate to Africa but we know they were massively almost completely destroyed so

massively almost completely destroyed so we've had to piece back the history

we've had to piece back the history together in a way that accounts for the

together in a way that accounts for the fact that there's not as much written

fact that there's not as much written record despite Europe's massive amounts

record despite Europe's massive amounts of Wars there's what van calls archival

of Wars there's what van calls archival continuity we have the written documents

continuity we have the written documents so we can piece their history together

so we can piece their history together more easily whereas in the case of

more easily whereas in the case of Africa or meso America other colonized

Africa or meso America other colonized spaces we may have to use other forms

spaces we may have to use other forms things like botony things like

things like botony things like archaeology but the picture is still

archaeology but the picture is still emerging but that isn't for absence of

emerging but that isn't for absence of written documents so I want to make that

written documents so I want to make that I want to make that clear but ancient

I want to make that clear but ancient Egypt of course has some of the most

Egypt of course has some of the most copious amounts of written documents of

copious amounts of written documents of any ancient civilization

any ancient civilization it's just the myth that it's non-african

it's just the myth that it's non-african has

persisted can we go to the uh gentleman here on the front

row thank you very much first of all I hope you forgive me for a kind of

hope you forgive me for a kind of tangental question it's about music um

tangental question it's about music um about Grime specifically so Grime has a

about Grime specifically so Grime has a lot of traction at the moment

lot of traction at the moment particularly in Oxford skep doors here

particularly in Oxford skep doors here at the weekend Y and there's a lot of

at the weekend Y and there's a lot of white people there's a lot of public

white people there's a lot of public school people um Etc it's sort of you

school people um Etc it's sort of you know very into this kind of music um and

know very into this kind of music um and sort of dressing in whatever way and you

sort of dressing in whatever way and you know rapping and things like that to be

know rapping and things like that to be part of a movement which is which

part of a movement which is which they're not really part of in a socio

they're not really part of in a socio economic sense necessarily um do you

economic sense necessarily um do you think the sort of let's say public

think the sort of let's say public school and I don't want to say

school and I don't want to say appropriation but kind of enjoyment

appropriation but kind of enjoyment let's say of grime is something that is

let's say of grime is something that is perverse do you think it's something

perverse do you think it's something that's funny do you think it's something

that's funny do you think it's something that's actually Progressive well I think

that's actually Progressive well I think it depends on the individual in question

it depends on the individual in question I think someone enjoying another group

I think someone enjoying another group of people's culture there's nothing

of people's culture there's nothing perverse about that unless they have

perverse about that unless they have perverse opinions about the same group

perverse opinions about the same group of people whose culture they're claiming

of people whose culture they're claiming to enjoy so for example if I don't

to enjoy so for example if I don't respect your culture but I enjoy your

respect your culture but I enjoy your music if I don't respect your struggle

music if I don't respect your struggle but I enjoy your music that's a little

but I enjoy your music that's a little perverse so if we look back in history

perverse so if we look back in history at segregated clubs in America where the

at segregated clubs in America where the only black person allowed in the venue

only black person allowed in the venue was the black person on stage that's a

was the black person on stage that's a bit problematic in the era I live in

bit problematic in the era I live in quite right now labber Grove the old

quite right now labber Grove the old crack house has been turned into a a

crack house has been turned into a a club a very snooty sort of Caribbean

club a very snooty sort of Caribbean food serving club and and when too many

food serving club and and when too many black guys go there on the weekend

black guys go there on the weekend everyone gets uncomfortable but it only

everyone gets uncomfortable but it only plays reg music and serves Caribbean

plays reg music and serves Caribbean food you got to make up your mind which

food you got to make up your mind which one do you want and for me you can't

one do you want and for me you can't have black culture without black people

have black culture without black people I think not and Hill Carnival has become

I think not and Hill Carnival has become an example of that where they've sort of

an example of that where they've sort of turned it into red and and Leeds

turned it into red and and Leeds Festival there's nothing wrong with red

Festival there's nothing wrong with red and Leeds Festival they're great

and Leeds Festival they're great festivals but n Hill Carnival was set up

festivals but n Hill Carnival was set up directly in the wake of a racist murder

directly in the wake of a racist murder of a man called Kelo K crane to promote

of a man called Kelo K crane to promote and celebrate Caribbean culture I always

and celebrate Caribbean culture I always give people this example if I went to a

give people this example if I went to a Dali Festival which I have done many

Dali Festival which I have done many times in the UK and in India and

times in the UK and in India and everyone there was Jamaican and Ras

everyone there was Jamaican and Ras aarian I would complain not because I've

aarian I would complain not because I've got anything against Jamaican

got anything against Jamaican Rastafarians I didn't go to the valley

Rastafarians I didn't go to the valley to experience rastafarianism and so for

to experience rastafarianism and so for me if I go to not in Hill Carnival and

me if I go to not in Hill Carnival and it's no longer a celebration of

it's no longer a celebration of Caribbean culture that isn't about

Caribbean culture that isn't about hating anyone it's about asking why this

hating anyone it's about asking why this Festival that was set up for specific

Festival that was set up for specific purposes has been appropriated so I

purposes has been appropriated so I think no matter what class you're from

think no matter what class you're from you can engage in a different group of

you can engage in a different group of people's culture

people's culture constructively but many people don't do

constructively but many people don't do that does that make sense and there is a

that does that make sense and there is a particular type of performed Blackness

particular type of performed Blackness that people are willing to engage with

that people are willing to engage with without engaging with the oppression

without engaging with the oppression that has gone into creating that form

that has gone into creating that form does that make sense so I I I don't

does that make sense so I I I don't think necessarily because someone

think necessarily because someone happens to be wealthy and white that

happens to be wealthy and white that means they can't engage with black

means they can't engage with black culture in a constructive way but there

culture in a constructive way but there is certainly a condition

is certainly a condition of I want to cherry pick the bits of

of I want to cherry pick the bits of Blackness I'm willing to listen to and

Blackness I'm willing to listen to and hear and I don't really want to engage

hear and I don't really want to engage with the wider issues and I certainly

with the wider issues and I certainly don't want to deal with uh what went

don't want to deal with uh what went into creating Grime CU Grime is an

into creating Grime CU Grime is an offshoot in many ways of Hip Hop even

offshoot in many ways of Hip Hop even though many Grime artist would admit

though many Grime artist would admit that hip hop is an offshoot of the

that hip hop is an offshoot of the Traditions that come before it so many

Traditions that come before it so many of you even the artists themselves can

of you even the artists themselves can feed into this shallow depiction of the

feed into this shallow depiction of the culture which can be problematic for

please hi Cara um on the same sort of train of thought yeah um I wanted to ask

train of thought yeah um I wanted to ask you what your thoughts are on the nword

you what your thoughts are on the nword and like the use of that in rap music

and like the use of that in rap music because obviously as a white person I've

because obviously as a white person I've been brought up never to ever use that

been brought up never to ever use that word but a lot the music I listen to

word but a lot the music I listen to says it 20 times in every song so I

says it 20 times in every song so I wanted to know what your thoughts are on

wanted to know what your thoughts are on that and like whether you think it's a

that and like whether you think it's a word that's become obsolete or whether

word that's become obsolete or whether you think that there are negative

you think that there are negative consequences on the fact that it's so

consequences on the fact that it's so widely used I do I do I very much do I

widely used I do I do I very much do I used to be someone who use the word all

used to be someone who use the word all the time as some of you may or may not

the time as some of you may or may not know I came to a stage in my life where

know I came to a stage in my life where one of my oldest said to me you're

one of my oldest said to me you're better than that and I started reading a

better than that and I started reading a bit more I started studying the history

bit more I started studying the history of the word I started looking at the

of the word I started looking at the brutality that had been underpinned by

brutality that had been underpinned by this word let me be clear I'm not

this word let me be clear I'm not against people using the word I'm just

against people using the word I'm just against the stupid idea has now become a

against the stupid idea has now become a term of emment it hasn't it has so much

term of emment it hasn't it has so much blood attached to it for me it means

blood attached to it for me it means what is always meant it is a term of

what is always meant it is a term of white supremacist genocide it is a a

white supremacist genocide it is a a word that says African people are not

word that says African people are not human it was a way of reducing people to

human it was a way of reducing people to subhuman status which led to as I've

subhuman status which led to as I've said to you people being put in zoos or

said to you people being put in zoos or public lynchin in America where someone

public lynchin in America where someone could literally be barbecued in public

could literally be barbecued in public and people thought it was perfectly

and people thought it was perfectly acceptable to bring their child give

acceptable to bring their child give their child the day of school to come

their child the day of school to come and watch a person be barbecued in

and watch a person be barbecued in public rail systems would operate

public rail systems would operate special Lynch and day rail cards after

special Lynch and day rail cards after the Lynch and there'd be postcards with

the Lynch and there'd be postcards with the dead person on front of it they'd

the dead person on front of it they'd send out as souvenirs so this is the

send out as souvenirs so this is the history behind that words if we look at

history behind that words if we look at early hip-hop when hip-hop was a bit

early hip-hop when hip-hop was a bit more independent when hip-hop was owned

more independent when hip-hop was owned a bit more by the black community we see

a bit more by the black community we see that hip-hop was completely offensive to

that hip-hop was completely offensive to everyone you people would say cracker

everyone you people would say cracker they'd say honky they'd say you'd

they'd say honky they'd say you'd have ice cube making inappropriate songs

have ice cube making inappropriate songs like black Korea you'd have songs that

like black Korea you'd have songs that NWA songs that were about killing black

NWA songs that were about killing black people Hip Hop was just completely like

people Hip Hop was just completely like Punk it was just offensive to everyone

Punk it was just offensive to everyone but someone decided somewhere it was no

but someone decided somewhere it was no longer acceptable to say cracker and

longer acceptable to say cracker and honky and those kind of but was

honky and those kind of but was okay and for me when we look at who owns

okay and for me when we look at who owns hip hop most def made a song called old

hip hop most def made a song called old white men is running this rap it's

white men is running this rap it's called the rapes over it was on a a beat

called the rapes over it was on a a beat the same beat that Jay-Z made the

the same beat that Jay-Z made the takeover on and that song was taken off

takeover on and that song was taken off of his album without his label telling

of his album without his label telling him because he criticized white

him because he criticized white corporate ownership of hip-hop he said

corporate ownership of hip-hop he said some tall Israeli is running this rap

some tall Israeli is running this rap and that was taken to be

and that was taken to be anti-semitic Leo Cohen is tall and is

anti-semitic Leo Cohen is tall and is Israeli it's a statement of fact it

Israeli it's a statement of fact it wasn't anti-semitic he was like that's

wasn't anti-semitic he was like that's who's in charge of rap it's not black

who's in charge of rap it's not black people um and so I think that the use of

people um and so I think that the use of that word has become to me very gimmicky

that word has become to me very gimmicky has become a dangerous way of glossing

has become a dangerous way of glossing over the reality of what it was to be

over the reality of what it was to be black in America and certainly for me as

black in America and certainly for me as someone whose mother's white I don't

someone whose mother's white I don't understand the motivation for white

understand the motivation for white people to want to use the word when

people to want to use the word when people are like but why can't I use it

people are like but why can't I use it I'm white I'm like first of all why do

I'm white I'm like first of all why do you feel oppressed by that I'm confused

you feel oppressed by that I'm confused and knowing the history why do you want

and knowing the history why do you want to call your black friend let's

to call your black friend let's just deal with that for a minute cuz my

just deal with that for a minute cuz my mom's white and she's never had the

mom's white and she's never had the desire to say look at my little niggaer

desire to say look at my little niggaer son so I'm confused why people want to

son so I'm confused why people want to use the word now now black people can

use the word now now black people can figure out for ourselves whether or not

figure out for ourselves whether or not we think is intelligent to continue

we think is intelligent to continue using the word but why are young white

using the word but why are young white kids like I just want to I just want to

kids like I just want to I just want to this comes back to your question a

this comes back to your question a little bit this perverse sort of

little bit this perverse sort of Blackness is just a bit dangerous and

Blackness is just a bit dangerous and it's a bit sexy and it's a bit violent

it's a bit sexy and it's a bit violent oh can I say niggga can't I it's a

oh can I say niggga can't I it's a little bit of that yeah but I don't

little bit of that yeah but I don't think a song called honkies in Harlem

think a song called honkies in Harlem would get on radio

would get on radio one but in Paris will we've got

one but in Paris will we've got time for one more question uh could we

time for one more question uh could we go to the question on the back R there

go to the question on the back R there hi um you spoke earlier about how kind

hi um you spoke earlier about how kind of Lucky and fortunate you were to go to

of Lucky and fortunate you were to go to a Sunday school was it or it was

a Sunday school was it or it was Saturday Saturday oh um where you could

Saturday Saturday oh um where you could sort of experience a different kind of

sort of experience a different kind of History yeah um I wanted to know what

History yeah um I wanted to know what sort of specific advice would you give

sort of specific advice would you give to as well as people like me who um not

to as well as people like me who um not only have to deal with very whitewashed

only have to deal with very whitewashed Academia here but back where I'm from

Academia here but back where I'm from there's a lot of internalized kind of um

there's a lot of internalized kind of um denial of any contribution that you know

denial of any contribution that you know India or wherever made to civilization

India or wherever made to civilization in general um sort of dealing on both

in general um sort of dealing on both two different fronts if you like well I

two different fronts if you like well I think you have to uh a good friend of

think you have to uh a good friend of mine who's one of the youngest if not

mine who's one of the youngest if not the youngest professor in American

the youngest professor in American history G called MK Asanti Jr um whose

history G called MK Asanti Jr um whose dad was actually the guy who came up

dad was actually the guy who came up with the idea of afrocentrism

with the idea of afrocentrism interestingly enough that theory but his

interestingly enough that theory but his son always says take two sets of notes

son always says take two sets of notes you live in the world you live in I

you live in the world you live in I don't want to come here and pretend to

don't want to come here and pretend to you that I'm all depressed and

you that I'm all depressed and everything everyone has a struggle even

everything everyone has a struggle even to be brought up in a culture let's be

to be brought up in a culture let's be clear to be brought up in a culture that

clear to be brought up in a culture that teaches you are you are ethnically

teaches you are you are ethnically exceptional and then have to go to

exceptional and then have to go to school with a garan kid who's cleverer

school with a garan kid who's cleverer than you is difficult so I don't want to

than you is difficult so I don't want to pretend that everyone Brown has it

pretend that everyone Brown has it terrible and everyone white has it

terrible and everyone white has it wonderful there are challenges and

wonderful there are challenges and consequences of being brought up in a

consequences of being brought up in a culture that pathologically tells you

culture that pathologically tells you you're brilliant just because of the way

you're brilliant just because of the way you look how's that going to pan out for

you look how's that going to pan out for you in the real world it doesn't pan out

you in the real world it doesn't pan out so well so I I don't want to give the

so well so I I don't want to give the impression that it's all oneway traffic

impression that it's all oneway traffic in that sense if we look at suicide if

in that sense if we look at suicide if we look at uses of drug addiction I grew

we look at uses of drug addiction I grew up in workingclass inner city afro

up in workingclass inner city afro Caribbean London I've never been to a

Caribbean London I've never been to a party and seen people take heroin or

party and seen people take heroin or cocaine we I'm not saying people don't

cocaine we I'm not saying people don't sell cocaine or take cocaine but you

sell cocaine or take cocaine but you will never go to a party in hen and see

will never go to a party in hen and see tables full of cocaine and ketam in and

tables full of cocaine and ketam in and all those kinds of hard drugs that I see

all those kinds of hard drugs that I see when I go to festivals that are

when I go to festivals that are problematic in a way right so there are

problematic in a way right so there are issues that come for any uh kind of

issues that come for any uh kind of group identity but I would say in terms

group identity but I would say in terms of taking two sets of notes that means

of taking two sets of notes that means you have to do what you have to do to

you have to do what you have to do to get by in the workplace you have to do

get by in the workplace you have to do what you have to do to survive

what you have to do to survive in University but for yourself for your

in University but for yourself for your own spiritual center for your own

own spiritual center for your own well-being you have to expose yourself

well-being you have to expose yourself to a broader set of information beyond

to a broader set of information beyond the propaganda that you're being taught

the propaganda that you're being taught and that goes for you as a woman goes on

and that goes for you as a woman goes on many levels you know the history of

many levels you know the history of women in science are we to believe that

women in science are we to believe that women are less intelligent that's why

women are less intelligent that's why there's less women in science of course

there's less women in science of course not and when countries like Iran and

not and when countries like Iran and India are producing more female

India are producing more female scientists than the UK as a percentage

scientists than the UK as a percentage we have to ask ourselves why because all

we have to ask ourselves why because all we hear about gender relations of those

we hear about gender relations of those countries by the way the Indian Mission

countries by the way the Indian Mission Tom Mars a lot of the scientists who

Tom Mars a lot of the scientists who worked on it were women and they did it

worked on it were women and they did it for 10% of NASA's Mission to Mars and

for 10% of NASA's Mission to Mars and this was last year right so you can find

this was last year right so you can find inspiration in things that are even

inspiration in things that are even happening and evolv in now that's not to

happening and evolv in now that's not to say that gender relations in India are

say that gender relations in India are all of a sudden wonderful because of

all of a sudden wonderful because of that is to say we only hear one side of

that is to say we only hear one side of it so I think you have to give yourself

it so I think you have to give yourself a broader picture for me I find a lot of

a broader picture for me I find a lot of solace in reading a lot of solace in

solace in reading a lot of solace in acquiring greater information um and

acquiring greater information um and it's not just about therapy it's about

it's not just about therapy it's about learning these things to inform action

learning these things to inform action as Dr John henr Clark says and I'll

as Dr John henr Clark says and I'll close with it history is is a map which

close with it history is is a map which people which tells people where they

people which tells people where they have been and where they must go history

have been and where they must go history is a clock on which people tell their

is a clock on which people tell their cultural political and socioeconomic

cultural political and socioeconomic time of day so history is not just to

time of day so history is not just to Naval gaze and say our ancestors are

Naval gaze and say our ancestors are great but we're not our well is to say

great but we're not our well is to say oh this is the history as Europe does

oh this is the history as Europe does right now there go Greece Rome

right now there go Greece Rome Enlightenment 21st century if you pick

Enlightenment 21st century if you pick up a violin tomorrow and you want to

up a violin tomorrow and you want to learn classical music they're going to

learn classical music they're going to take you to 14th century Florence

take you to 14th century Florence whereas if you're a rapper it's very

whereas if you're a rapper it's very unlikely that anyone's everever told you

unlikely that anyone's everever told you the connection to West African malyan

the connection to West African malyan griots their relationship to Jazz then

griots their relationship to Jazz then Blues then reggae music and giving you

Blues then reggae music and giving you that sense of continuity cuz it's broken

that sense of continuity cuz it's broken history and that's what I'm interested

history and that's what I'm interested in rebuilding so take two sets of notes

in rebuilding so take two sets of notes I'm afraid that's all we have time for

I'm afraid that's all we have time for this evening but we are going to be

this evening but we are going to be heading into the bar so please do come

heading into the bar so please do come and have a drink and continue the

and have a drink and continue the conversation with aala in there please

conversation with aala in there please join me in thanking aala B go thank you

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Akala | Full Address and Q&A | Oxford Union