For most West Indians and Americans, Black has become a race, but it is an alternative race because an African race exist already, which they form a part, but which they are reluctant to acknowledge for historical reasons.

Without giving too much away early in my deliberation, I must swiftly move away to a rather unfortunate trend, yes indeed, it is a trend among some Africans to try to rename the African race, a Black race—perhaps a re-branding exercise. It is more worrying because the people in question are educated but questionable as to how much they know about their history, particularly in the area of slavery and the subsequent struggles for freedom.  In this article, I shall shine the torchlight on the origin of the word Black, trace it and examine how its acceptance can be stifled—if it is to be stifled, before it becomes full blown in Africa. I shall also examine whether the Black race is parallel to the African race and whether it is useful to have a Black race alongside the African race. I also want to ask whether our desire for the use of Black is another way of trying to maintain our open door policy unlike the other races.

By default, 'African' means a dark-skinned person, whereas 'Black' refers to the colour of skin of an African. I will clarify other usages if I should stumble on them and if it necessitates separate definitions.

Contrary to imported but fabricated history, the River Niger was not discovered by some British explorer. The Roman via the Berber knew of the River Niger long before the more recent claimants, but then the British are notorious for claiming everything. It is not however my concern here, except to say that 'Black' has its origin in the River Niger and it simply refers to the skin of a people and not their race. The Berber name for the river is Gher-n-gher, and the Roman Latinized version became Niger or Nigris - a geographic location, and Nigritae - the dark-skinned people that lived around the Nigris River.

Somehow, Nigris and Nigritae became Negro and then Black to denote (1) people who are seen as part of the African Diaspora, and (2) native non-European, non-African ancestry but who are dump in the miscellaneous bag called Black by their colonizers and (3) a global ethno-political rallying tag of the oppressed. If there is any proof that Black is not only a word, here you have a taste.

An hour spent searching the Internet for a clear and satisfactory definition of a 'Black race' came to nothing. What does a Black race mean? (2) and (3) above lack any semblance of a race. Black as a global ethno-political rallying tag of the oppressed is an association of the oppressed. It is not an identity, it is ephemeral, and its history is the history of struggles and oppression. Further, its members don't share common culture, tradition or race, what they share in common is pain from the system.  (1) is a race, but it is 'African Diaspora' and not 'Black Diaspora' like 'Chinese Diaspora' and not 'Yellow Diaspora'.

It is naïve to assert that Black is only a word. The word Black has meanings, and it is the meaning that is important and not the character representation. Similarly, the word 'Apartheid' is not just a word to Mr. Nelson Mandela neither is the word 'Nazi' to a Jew. To understand the word black, we must see it in all its many contexts but particularly from a historical context.

The English, Dutch and French label any one darker than they are as black. There are semantic differences between the Roman Nigritae or dark-skinned people and the English, Dutch and French black people. To the west European, their version of black is a heterogeneous people that looked different from them, a race.  For the European, white is goodness, virtuous and civilise whereas the opposite, namely, black represents the opposite qualities. With this label began the inhumanity visited on the Africans: A two-prong attack on Africans by (1) European Christendom and (2) European rogue Merchants.

The dehumanization of a people the West considers as their enemies follows known pattern inherited from mediaeval European Christendom. This tactics was used by the West on Saddam Hussein and Iraq, and is used today on North Korean and Iran. The to-do list starts with the satanization and dehumanisation of the opposition–liken to the blackening of the African in colonial times. Next comes the moment of exorcism of the Satan, a war of the good against evil or white against black in the name of progress and faith.

For the European occupier of Africa, slavery and the inhuman treatment of Africans were valid because it conformed to the acceptable requirements and practices of the exorcist. Under the evil Adolph Hitler before Adolph Hitler King Leopold II, in 40years, 10 million (half the population) of Congolese perished.

Other races were ascribed colours too, for instance the Chinese and other East Asians were categorized as yellow; and Native Americans as red. The difference between these groups and African is that none of the groups uses their ascribed labels: The Chinese don't call themselves 'yellow' or 'yellow-man' or 'yellow race'. Likewise, the Native Americans don't call themselves "red", 'red-man' or 'red race'. Only Diaspora Africans refer to themselves as 'black', 'black-man', 'black race'. It is a worry that Continental Africans are now joining in.

The issue of black goes beyond colour, it is not much ado about nothing, as the apologists would have us believe; it is political; it is theological. If it is just colour, Africans will be rightly claiming superiority as it is widely accepted and according to the 'Melanin theory', whites are 'mutants', that white skin is an aberration. Wade Nobles, the Melanin theorist stated that that only Africans are fully human because of their higher levels of skin melanin in contrast to Whites who are said to be melanin deficient. In other words, if one has less of something, it is illogical for one to claim superiority on the bases of that something over the person that has more.  This conclusion is also backed by writer such as Frances Cress Welsing.

I am not a supremacist as the meaning offends my instinct and I am yet to convince myself that it is valid for any person to claim superiority over another person even by mutual consent. The main concern here is to highlight the lies and fallacies in widely accepted views; and to persuade the apologists to banish their weakling attitudes to the backwaters and see the injustice done to Africans in words and in life all because of indifference, ignorance, ethnic animosity, and the devil's invention called religion.

The Chinese, Persians, Greeks and Romans visited and traded with Africans long before the western Europeans. They treated Africans with mutual respect and as equals. They did not try to swindle them commercially unlike the English, Dutch and French.  The contacts with these western Europeans bad blood were to be very different and disastrous for Africa.

The British particularly have done far more that the rest of the world combined to destroy Africa and its people. I once heard a man on a British radio say that the British are decent people because, in his own words, "they were the first to stop the slave trade". This is typical British 'superior' arrogance: First, they set fire to a building and call for help to put out the fire and then announces to the world how they lead the way to put out the fire. Now, would there be a need to put out a fire, if it hadn't been started?

The version of caricature of the African spread all over the world is the British version. It is even the version that is adopted by newly arrived East Europeans to Western Europe--people who have had very little previous contact with Africans; they learnt to 'monkey chanting' at African football players, from England football supporters. Every assertion about a race is no more than a statement about the race within a very limited time span. However, European caricature of the African in colonial times has changed very little to date in the minds of Europeans.

The western Europeans claim superior civilisation and saw it as a reason to be robbers and occupiers from first as dodgy merchants. However, the reason was because the bad blood among them had asked the question: why pay for goods bought when you can rob the African trader. This was the catalyst and beginning of mass European robbery and occupation of Africa. So much for civilised people.

The word civilization can be confusing: If it refers to a people then, the occupiers were the lesser human because no civilised guest would have treated his host the way the occupiers did to their African host, unless barbarianism is also civilisation.

The Europeans know how uncivilised their ancestors were in the past and how they themselves can return to barbarianism. It is for this reason they created the UN, drafted the Geneva Convention and the Human Rights laws as checks against themselves. In addition, there are status and monuments, anniversaries everywhere to remind them not to return to barbarianism.

In Belgium, they are proud of their chocolates, including the ones in the shape of black 'cut arm'. I am sure some Africans have sampled it too, without knowing the historical significance of the cut arm. Should we not stop Belgium to stop reminding us how their Adolph Hitler King Leopold II ordered African hands to be chopped off for failing to meet their quota of rubber? This was besides holding wives and children in concentration camps to forces their men to produce their quotas.

We know all these and more but instead of spitting on European legacies, the apologists embrace then and try to convince the rest of us that it is ok; it  is nothing or that it happened long time a ago. Africans lack political ideologies, concepts, philosophy, organization, conviction, introspection, reflection and above all, an intellectual foundation and direction. Instead, Africans just float along and hope for the average; If Diaspora Africans can't see what is wrong in calling themselves Black, how can they understand the system that is oppressing them? An even their deep thought is at best, shallow and never below the surface.

It is, also, sad to hear some critics and apologists cry foul and claim that others are claiming superior intelligence over them. This speaks more about the claimant's own inferiority complex than anything does. The Internet is the perfect democracy and anyone can be well informed to bellyful.  It is, therefore, the critics' and apologists' fault that they chose to be less well informed that they should be in an age where superior knowledge is only a click away.

A look-up of the word Black in any etymological dictionary will enable one to understand what black is and represents in the psyche and mythology of Europeans. Even Judas has better references; and yet no mother—not even an African, would call her son Judas.

Why among all the races of the world, did the early western European chose Africans as their opposites or for that matter, why would any race set itself up as opposite of another race. The reason can be trace to early European Christendom; to its interpretation of good and evil; to light and darkness; and finally, to white and black. Looking at Leonardo da Vinci Last Supper, one would notice that Judas is unusually darker that Jesus and the rest of the disciples. To conclude that white is the opposite of black is an error of reasoning but that is not how the European sees it.

The Black label or caricature should offend all decent Africans and yet historical illiterate Africans, purveyors, apologists, and modern day collaborators will have us believe that there is nothing to worry. Further, one is accused of trying to force upon them some form of intellectual superiority; they assume that disagreeing with one cause one offence. What more is left for one to do in life if everyone agrees with one?

The African "Don't worry, be happy" attitude can sometimes be a source of irritation. It is sad that many would claim and flash their university degrees without any prompting and yet exhibit a level of shameful ignorance on issues that should matter to them. What value is an education if one relies on faith, including religion, or accepts things as given and refuses or is incapable of questioning established order and received knowledge—particularly, the imported ones?

African descendants had been brainwashed into submission, to accept the master's view of the world, including that African has no history. You disagree with the master at your peril. What followed was a disassociation of sensibility with Africa. To replace Africa in the mind and hearts, a new race was born with an illusory identity. That identity was called Black.

Some African descendants still prefer this parallel race to their true African race. The reason as I have said is a repetitive brainwash that resulted in hate of anything African but not so much as the continent but its peoples. Here again there is no African effort to mend the fence by promoting exchange programmes and associations to undo the received (European) version of history. Just like Africans, the African descendants also suffer from ignorance of their African history.

This disassociation continues to this day particularly between West Indians and Continental Africans; their dictionary is different. The British Voice newspaper never let its readers forget that they are reading a Black newspaper; pages in the paper are excessively littered with the word. A strange kind of inferiority complex haunts the paper by its persistent comparison of its readers achievements, medical issues, education, advances etc with that of European whites. If your life is too good and you feel the need for little bit of depression for balance, then I recommend the 'British Voice' newspaper.

I have mentioned the need for African enlightenment; the need to recreate lost associations and sensibilities among Africans around the world, but before then, African needs homegrown intelligentsia to provide us with intellectual foundation and direction; to analyse issues for us the common people.

The USA has a powerful and vibrant African-American intelligentsia constantly reviewing received knowledge and history and thanks to them, African-Americans are beginning to realise the corrupt history feed to them; and the realization that before Europe, there was thriving civilizations in Africa. African-American have come a long way in their history, from 'Negroes' to 'Black' and 'coloured' to now African-American despite indifference of the masses and hostility from African-American apologists. There is a new African-American enlightenment: I remembered, twenty years ago, when an American friend threatened to walk out on me in a restaurant at Oxford Street, London for calling him an African-American, before the word even became fashionable.

Newly arrived Africans to the West give the impression that they know nothing about the African-American civil rights. Even the more enlightened ones tend to wave it aside as then and not now. They seem to travel in the opposite direction to African-American: whereas African-American is moving away from the Black identity to African identity. Johnny-just-come African is moving away from an African identity to a Black identity, making some to wonder what a [...]

The absence of a vibrant intelligentsia tradition is the reason our people are still locked in colonial mentality and outdated mode of discourse. Given the frequency with which the late Fela is quoted by Nigerians, one wonders if he was indeed a true homegrown intelligentsia. Nigerian intelligentsia is devoid of original ideas, have a tendency to quote western authors and produce plagiarise works and ideas. In fact, they live in an intellectual backwater—although they don't know it.  We must knock them until they get on their feet, because we need them standing and not on all fours.

Like Africa, the UK African/West Indians community have intelligentsia famine and is perhaps, the reason why in the UK those from the West Indians still choose to wear their black label with greater pride. Examples include Music of Black Origin, Black History Month. Personally, neither rings my bell: I am an African and if that is not enough, then I am a Nigeria; I don't belong to any parallel race, One cannot imagine the Chinese New Year being renamed the 'Yellow New Year' to accommodate non-Chinese or for whatever reasons.

Our history is fading away fast from our memory; apartheid South African is a distant memory; and slavery is almost a long lost history to our generation. In Europe, there are statuses, busts, commemorates of personalities and events that go as far back as the Romans periods. The idea of having memorial is to keep our memory fresh about historical events. We repeat history or allow others to repeat it for us if we forget it.

We celebrate so-called 'Independence Day'. Africans were self-governing and free from external controls until the European occupiers arrived in Africa. For this reason, the celebration of Independence Day is an error of reasoning. Someone stole your house and later return it back to you and each year you celebrate the day that you got it back? It makes no sense! Not even a single day to remember slavery and all its evils.

In a void, one is most vulnerable to accept ideas, views, language and history that is made elsewhere, that would otherwise have offended one, like the word Black. The danger in the future is that our descendants might even deny that there was ever slavery on African soil.

Recently I saw the word "Negroes" in an article on nigerianvillagesquare.com written by 21st century author locked in 20th century language. The author exhibits a pitiful level of ignorance ever so common with degree flashing Nigerians. I didn't know I was black until I came to Europe and I maintain that in my early years in Nigeria, I know of no one who was ever called 'Black' or 'Negro'– not even by Europeans who lived next door to us. No doubt, there would be apologists that would defend the use of the word 'Black' because they happen to have heard it used in their village. This would be gross trivialization and misunderstanding of the greater issue here.

At another level are those who refer to African as Black African'. These people are the worst apologists if not criminals in my book The African always make room for others, and adopting Black can be seemed as the extension of the great and often abused hospitality. Only the African operates an open door policy: He always invites everyone to his party; there is always at least one non-African on an African discussion panel that is meant to discus African internal issues.  Yet the apologists would tell us that like the word Black, it is much about nothing.  

Who is are the African if not us? Is it the Arab who occupy the northern part of Africa and calls himself Arab, Mediterranean, in that order and, if pressed, after a long pause, murmurs African. Why then do we need to hyphenate Africa when there is no other race that wants to be called African?

The apologists prefer to use Black-African instead of African, to open the doors for other races to stake a claim to Africa, which is just what the Arabs are doing today, though they don't see themselves as Africans. The Arab map of Africa shows the area of Africa claimed as Arab land to extends to below longitude 20 degrees north, which runs across Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan.

It looks like the Maghreb is extending it legs further south into West Africa and they will receive warm welcome of the "Don't worry, be happy" apologists. Coincidently, AIT, a Nigerian TV station uses similar map: its own drawings of the African/Arab boundary gives the Arabs more territory than the international boundary dictates. Whether, the graphics was drawn by a non-professional is no excuse.  

Awdaghost also known as Aoudaghost and Tegdaoust was a major commercial city in ancient Mauritania, which was part of the Sahel Kingdoms (Ghanaian Empire in the 11th century and later under the Mali Empire up to the 17th century). Yet today, that part that was once the West Africa commercial heartland has been acceded to the Maghreb.

The reason everyone is taking advantage of the African is due to the hospitality, passivity, cynicism and too many apologists and their "Don't worry, Be happy" attitude. A common African identity will show that we are finally getting our house in order; it will deny the Indians and Pakistanis and what have you, from hiding under the black umbrella, when they choose.

In the UK, the Black identify preferred by West Indians is open to abuse and is often exploited by other minorities, particularly by people from the Asia subcontinent. This group always call themselves Asia, Indian, Pakistanis etc., and don't which to associate with Africans and West Indians. However when they are in trouble with the majority whites, they assume a 'black' identity. An African identify will ensure that these group don't have solace that they would otherwise enjoy under a common black identity.  It will not undo history but it will circle the wagon around us.

I am is not against local or global common identity to unite diverse groups that face discrimination as long as it is not used by some member groups when it pleases them but rejects other member groups at the slightest opportunity. In the USA, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and others who claim to be Black are not accepted as Black. In the UK, Asians see the Black identity as politically convenient identify, the West Indians see it as an identity akin to a race, whereas Africans see it more as ethno-political.

The increasing African population means that in the not too distant years the use of Black will die out to be replaced by the African identity or an African-British identity. I look forward to the day when Africans and West Indians will start calling themselves Africans – with or without hyphenation. This will be the end of exploitation by other ethnic groups in the UK. Johnny-just-come Africans who continue to promote the use of the word black as an identity and a race are driving on the wrong side of the road to freedom from mental slavery.

Robot  Villager

# 1 In this article, I shal...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 05.11.2006 06:43

Rose  Villager

# 2 Awesome!!! This is one brilliant piece which I intend to print, re-read, reflect on and circulate. You've presented some extremely compelling arguments/research and I thank you for this. I'm almost in tears over here. All I will say for the moment is we're not reluctant to acknowledge our African heritage. I see it as more to do with a separation spanning hundreds of years. On another note, the vast majority of Blacks do not hold any ill feelings towards continental Africans over their role in the slave trade...nor do we seek or expect any kind of apology...just an acknowledgement for historical reasons. In my opinion, those who exploit this role as a pschological weapon against Africans are merely attempting to counter negative/shaming rhetoric like "we sold off the weaker ones" etc. You mentioned the Belgians having a chocolate called "cut arm"...well in France they have one called tete de negre...a dark round ball with tiny spikes protruding. Posted by Rose| 05.11.2006 08:16

Shoko Loko Bangoshe  Villager

# 3 I read this essay from top to bottom but I have no idea what alternative word the author proposes that we should use to describe people with Negroid features, nor am I convinced by his arguments against the use of the word 'black'. Posted by Shoko Loko Bangoshe| 05.11.2006 10:01

Oghre  Villager

# 4 Mate, If the there is such a thing as the “African race” to describe blacks of Africa, what should one call other Africans of Asian, Arab, and white African extraction? I believe there are many of them that may be stake holders to the continent as any other person of very dark skin. Black African race Arab African race Asian African race White African race Or Nigerian African race Togolese African race Caucasian Namibian race Asian African Ugandan race A Caucasian from Denmark or Sweden or America is quite happy to be called White or Caucasian without any palaver. Black from Jamaica, Ouagadougou or Nigeria should be quite happy to be called black or member of the black race. I am quite happy to say, that Jamaican Blackman there is from the Caribbean of the white man is a European from Sweden. Posted by Oghre| 05.11.2006 12:11

ithinkbetter  Villager

# 5 hi, mr. palamedes, i say cut the CRAP short...this's total rubbish...call me black, yellow, red and whatever...its total irrelevant...relevant is the product of innen self...! do you think that nigerian problem is a colour definition...BULL- SH-IT! i rate this article very low....not worth reading! Posted by ithinkbetter| 05.11.2006 12:25

jojo  Villager

# 6 why the so called white dont call themseves pink? because to me they are more pink than white.we sld be called brown instead of black. black is just evil simple. blackass, black sheep of the family, the list go on and on.this word black always associate with negative thing maybe that why our continent is still backward. let stop calling ourselves black maybe for 5 years let see if there is going to be a change. Posted by jojo| 05.11.2006 12:54

Naija for life  Villager

# 7 Palamedes, You are one of the villagers in my "must read" list-a list of villagers whose posts on a topic I make a conscientious point of reading. You were admitted into this fraternity months ago when you reproved, as you have done in this article, the duplicitous tendency of non Africans to feign solidarity with Africans in other to garner whatever attention or dividends they perceive to derive from being iddentified as Black. You attained chartered member status on my "must read" list when you alerted villagers to Mahatma Ghandi's racist feelings and pronouncements towards Blacks. I still employ the terms Black and Negro in iddentifying the dark skinned Africans characterized by, comparatively fuller lips and tightly coiled hair, not because of my ignorance of the malediction behind the adoption of those terms by non Black peoples, but because it effectively distinguishes Negro Africans from non Negro Africans whose claim to African iddentity only derives from a physical and nominal presence on the African continent. I long ago discovered the elaborate, yet fiendishly subtle culture of Negro dehumanization, implemented in numerous guises and endowed of a subtlely often so delicate as to bewilder even the most perceptive investigator. I give you great kudos for distilling into a single article, the essence of a subject easily amenable to volumes of books. To all those skeptical about the negative images intended to be evoked by the concept of "blackness" perharps the following observations might present food for thought: Why is the word, blacklist, which is defined by the free dictionary as, "a list of persons or organizations that have incurred disapproval or suspicion or are to be boycotted or otherwise penalized" so named? Why is'nt it named Whitelist or Redlist or Yellowlist, for instance? Why is the bubonic plague also known as black death so named? Supposedly, it earned that designation because the infection produced a blackening of the tips of the fingers and toes, but many infections produce physical effects with non black hues on the body and do not receive the corresponding chromatic appellation. Why is blackmail (a practise and not a physical entity so named?) Why are black comedies so named? Why were black garments adopted as the official color for funerals? Why are black arm bands often worn to commemorate bereavements? Why are funereal matters invariably imbued with a dark character? Why don't funeral attendees wear the color "blue", for instance? Why are Black mambas considered dangerous and diabolical, whereas those killer sharks celebrated by various media are known as great White sharks? Why are you described as being in someone's black books if you have fallen out of favor with them? In the book "treasure island", why was the black spot a dreaded notice? Why is a lie usually considered ignoble, except when it is told in the service of a noble cause, whereupon it is termed a white lie? Why is the phrase blackest dye so named? In movies, why is Judas Iscariot invariably Characterized by darker features (he is often played by dark-haired caucasians or Middle easterners) whereas Jesus Christ is inevitably played by a White European? Why are black cats viwed with foreboding by some people, and believed to be portentous of evil tendencies? Why is the appearance of a black crow regarded by some people as a herald of imminent death? Why do the villians of many western movies wear black while the heroes wears white? There are other conventions that speak to the demonization of the concept of blackness that elude my recollection at the moment. But those who scoff at any ill motives inherent in the association of the color black with evil and undesirable qualities might attempt to devine the positive message that a co-worker I had years ago was trying to impart when he stated that the black color of the crow was a result of a curse inflicted on it by God, Though an obviously baseless and nonsensical myth, it is worth inquiring what retrograde motives inspired the creation and perpetuation of such a myth. It is also worth noting that my co-worker was a Phillipino, and not white as one might think, and that his unapologetically racist remarks was palpably distressful to another Phillipino co-worker. So his intentions couldn't have been innocent. It is also worth noting exceptions to these practices, such as the terms white elephant which is defined online as "a property whose maintenance is very costly thus making it virtually impossible to operate it at a profit". In this case, the color "white" is, unfortunately, associated with negativity. Other exceptions include the disease, yellow fever, as well as the fact that judges in the United States wear black robes, which improbably couples justice, a noble concept, with the color black. However, all evidence demonstrates robustly that the color and word "black" predominantly denote negative institutions. Posted by Naija for life| 05.11.2006 13:51

Naija for life  Villager

# 8 =jojo> black is just evil simple. blackass, black sheep of the family, the list go on and on.this word black always associate with negative thin Jojo, I couldn't agree with you more. Black sheep of the family indeed. Posted by Naija for life| 05.11.2006 13:56

cdimkpa  Villager

# 9 Palamedes, This, in my mind, is an exercise in futility. Why? Because you are trying to start something you cannot finish. Do you have the resources (capital, time, energy) to see to the change that you propose?. I will not go further into this. That said, there are actually two options for any African (with dark skin) who faces racist remarks abroad. (1) Walk away quietly from the scene or (2) if you can face any predicted or unpredicted reactions, call them similar names back. The later will either provoke a racist attack, or silence them forever. I faced a similar situation recently when I was called a nigger by a German racist. I called him ‘Weiss Schweine’ meaning white swine (pig). After all, I see no difference between their so-called ‘white’ skin and that of a pig in Ota farm. So what’s it with skins? Now, I pass that fellow everyday on my way to my lab and he even greets me. A Nigerian lady in Russia was interviewed on BBC not long ago and she lamented on her frustrations about being incessantly called a black monkey. She went on to say that the trend stopped when she started calling them white pig. I learnt from that interview and I guess that it is working. I will also like to point out that many Nigerians ignorantly accord undeserving respect to ‘white’ people working in Nigeria. For instance, many workers refer to their ‘white’ bosses as ‘master’. I guess some of such subservient tendencies help to fuel the notion that black is inferior. Nevertheless, the solution to the problem is for us to help fix our country so that we can go back and live there. Racism will never be stopped by mere write-ups like this one. We can get our dignity back by ensuring that the right people are put in the right places, with severe sanctions for offenders. Mediocrity is the order of the day in Nigeria. Little wonder nothing works. Many Nigerians are also careless, even with things pertaining to life. An innocent child became infected with HIV at LUTH due to the medical staff’s carelessness. There have been reports of surgical blades being left in patients' bowels in several Nigerian hospitals. We tend to place little importance on thoroughness. In this regard, we see the white’ as more careful people. This is exemplified by statements such as the emboldened ones I have copied from Dr. Reuben Abati’s essay entitled ‘‘A Trip From Abuja By Air and On Virginia Etiaba’’ I arrived at the Abuja airport very early on Friday morning, to beat the rush and see if I could get a seat on either an Aero Contractors flight or Virgin Nigeria. For now, these are the only two airlines which Nigerians prefer to patronise. But at the Aero contractor ticket counter, I was told that all the airline's early morning flights to Lagos had been fully booked. I ended up buying a Chachangi ticket. The plane was already boarding so I rushed off to the tarmac. Sitting next to me in the aircraft was a young lady who pestered me endlessly with her anxiety. First, she lamented not being able to get an Aero ticket. Then, she declared that her mother would nearly faint were she to be told that she travelled with another airline. Though owned by the IBRU family Aero contractors are mostly managed by Canadian individuals. As for Virgin Airlines, we all know who is behind it. Neighbour: " The pilot is a white man", she said, sounding as if she had just resolved a puzzle. I couldn't immediately figure out what she was driving at. "That is a white man's name" she added. Abati: I had wanted to tell her that the pilot could well be a Nigerian bearing one of those foreign sounding names, and that she should not judge a man's colour by the sound of his name alone. But I left her alone with her illusions. She won't give up. Neighbour: "At least a white pilot will be reasonable," she told me. Abati: "How?", I asked Neighbour: "He will not take the kind of risk that our people will take." I do not give respect to anyone based on skin color. I do so to anyone deserving of my respect. But there is no way I will not be grateful to the ''whites'' for giving me a 5-year unbroken fellowship (MSc and PhD) to study freely, and all other expenses paid, for my own (and possibly Nigeria's) betterment. Please let us stop chasing shadows, whereas the substance is yet to be addressed. Posted by cdimkpa| 05.11.2006 14:38

ithinkbetter  Villager

# 10 =Naija for life;137428>Palamedes, You are one of the villagers in my "must read" list-a list of villagers whose posts on a topic I make a conscientious point of reading. You were admitted into this fraternity months ago when you reproved, as you have done in this article, the duplicitous tendency of non Africans to feign solidarity with Africans in other to garner whatever attention or dividends they perceive to derive from being iddentified as Black. You attained chartered member status on my "must read" list when you alerted villagers to Mahatma Ghandi's racist feelings and pronouncements towards Blacks. I still employ the terms Black and Negro in iddentifying the dark skinned Africans characterized by, comparatively fuller lips and tightly coiled hair, not because of my ignorance of the malediction behind the adoption of those terms by non Black peoples, but because it effectively distinguishes Negro Africans from non Negro Africans whose claim to African iddentity only derives from a physical and nominal presence on the African continent. I long ago discovered the elaborate, yet fiendishly subtle culture of Negro dehumanization, implemented in numerous guises and endowed of a subtlely often so delicate as to bewilder even the most perceptive investigator. I give you great kudos for distilling into a single article, the essence of a subject easily amenable to volumes of books. To all those skeptical about the negative images intended to be evoked by the concept of "blackness" perharps the following observations might present food for thought: Why is the word, blacklist, which is defined by the free dictionary as, "a list of persons or organizations that have incurred disapproval or suspicion or are to be boycotted or otherwise penalized" so named? Why is'nt it named Whitelist or Redlist or Yellowlist, for instance? Why is the bubonic plague also known as black death so named? Supposedly, it earned that designation because the infection produced a blackening of the tips of the fingers and toes, but many infections produce physical effects with non black hues on the body and do not receive the corresponding chromatic appellation. Why is blackmail (a practise and not a physical entity so named?) Why are black comedies so named? Why were black garments adopted as the official color for funerals? Why are black arm bands often worn to commemorate bereavements? Why are funereal matters invariably imbued with a dark character? Why don't funeral attendees wear the color "blue", for instance? Why are Black mambas considered dangerous and diabolical, whereas those killer sharks celebrated by various media are known as great White sharks? Why are you described as being in someone's black books if you have fallen out of favor with them? In the book "treasure island", why was the black spot a dreaded notice? Why is a lie usually considered ignoble, except when it is told in the service of a noble cause, whereupon it is termed a white lie? Why is the phrase blackest dye so named? In movies, why is Judas Iscariot invariably Characterized by darker features (he is often played by dark-haired caucasians or Middle easterners) whereas Jesus Christ is inevitably played by a White European? Why are black cats viwed with foreboding by some people, and believed to be portentous of evil tendencies? Why is the appearance of a black crow regarded by some people as a herald of imminent death? Why do the villians of many western movies wear black while the heroes wears white? There are other conventions that speak to the demonization of the concept of blackness that elude my recollection at the moment. But those who scoff at any ill motives inherent in the association of the color black with evil and undesirable qualities might attempt to devine the positive message that a co-worker I had years ago was trying to impart when he stated that the black color of the crow was a result of a curse inflicted on it by God, Though an obviously baseless and nonsensical myth, it is worth inquiring what retrograde motives inspired the creation and perpetuation of such a myth. It is also worth noting that my co-worker was a Phillipino, and not white as one might think, and that his unapologetically racist remarks was palpably distressful to another Phillipino co-worker. So his intentions couldn't have been innocent. It is also worth noting exceptions to these practices, such as the terms white elephant which is defined online as "a property whose maintenance is very costly thus making it virtually impossible to operate it at a profit". In this case, the color "white" is, unfortunately, associated with negativity. Other exceptions include the disease, yellow fever, as well as the fact that judges in the United States wear black robes, which improbably couples justice, a noble concept, with the color black. However, all evidence demonstrates robustly that the color and word "black" predominantly denote negative institutions. @naija for life: ...have accorded you in the past alittle bit intelligent...but, i'm now disillusioned...you're a little silly unintelligible black MON-KEY! you got that! Posted by ithinkbetter| 05.11.2006 14:54

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