Precious History

19April2024

I watched a video recently for my Communications class that made me want to look at more videos by this particular speaker. The speaker I am referring to is Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie. She is powerful and enlightening and leaves you wanting to hear more. The video of Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie speaking at the Humboldt Exchange was a plea for justice, humanity, dignity, and respect for the people that were robbed of their art and spirit by the Europeans, which included Germany. While she spoke of Germany and their attempt to right some wrongs by returning some British items that were taken during invasions, she did ask why not return the things that were taken in eastern German Africa and western Africa when they were invaded by Germany. Her speech was very powerful in that she spoke so eloquently about the issues she sees from an African viewpoint and that this forum was created to have an international exchange of ideas from different perspectives to create a better world for all of humanity, regardless of color. The historical significance of this issue is that the art depicts their spirit, their belief, their ancestry. It is not just a piece of nicely done carvings. The art tells the story of their existence in history. It is important because it debates the European myth that early Africa was ignorant and not worth a mention in history. We should care because this history ties into the history of many Black Americans. It dispels the myth that we are an inferior people to those of European lineage. To not know the full story of your history, and to only know a part of it, is like living with a lie.

I also read an article on Benin City, the Mighty Medieval Capital Now Lost Without Trace. I was shocked that I had never heard of Benin City. I had no idea it was mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest earthworks carried out prior to the mechanical era. My reaction was one of pride. I am proud that western Africa boasted such a large city that was mathematically designed, even before this type of math was discovered, to promote peace and order. In fact, the article calls it a fractal design, which is a design that is never-ending. This type of design contains infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. To the Europeans, it seemed disorganized and a bit chaotic, but this design really gave them new insight, power, and wisdom. It is apparent that was happening since it was described as a city that was prosperous with no crime. I feel that the Europeans were jealous of how well ran, wealthy, and prosperous the city was so that is why they destroyed it. I relate this story to the burning of the African American town in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is very sad that this piece of history was lost and that the only traces of the city left are the stolen artwork that shows up from time to time. I just hate that the greatest, and longest wall was completely destroyed, and that it is not treated as an international monument.