Piety

Cedrick Lee

Professor Carr

Afro 005

4 February 2015

Africana

Who am I? This is the most commonly ask question of the African-American community. Yet the question of how do we take apart of the study Africana experience still lingers. To fully undertake in the Africana experience we must first learn of our dismemberment from Africa, separate European and Non-European knowledge, and finally learn what is Africana studies.

The first step to undertake the Africana experience is to learn of our dismemberment from Africa. The dismemberment from Africa begins in the colonial age; Europe colonization of African begins with the search of human resources to work in America. With the export of human resources to work in American also went “the African personhood it was divided into two halves: the continent and its diaspora (Thiong’o 6)”. Here is where the Africana experience splits into two spheres of knowledge and culture, through the continent and diaspora. Also, This is where we learn how we were force from our homeland and sent to the new world as slaves. More importantly we see “the suppression of languages, cultural text and practices (Carr 441)”. This is where we lose our sense of identity and culture. To understand our dismemberment from Africa is to understand how we got strip of our cultures, languages, and most important our self-identities.

The next step into undertaking the study of the Africana experience is to separate European and non-European knowledge. Some may ask why do we need to separate these two? Simple once we have separated these two we can finally learn the truth of ourselves, we will not have to learn the history of the victor; we can begin to discover ourselves. Europeans will no longer be able to label Africana knowledge “as folk culture and de-linked from high form Africana intellectual work (Carr 441)”. This will help our reconnection with Africa after traumatic dismemberment.

The final step into undertaking the Africana...