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These pictures highlight an existing divide between Africans and African Americans. https://twitter.com/crystallize_CCC/status/1276556167485980679?s=20
The secret to our unification, could be right under our noses. A Thread 1/17
The secret to our unification, could be right under our noses. A Thread 1/17
Our guiding principle in this thread? โFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of there dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realmsโ NIV Ephesians 6:12 2/17
This thread will highlight two perspectives: One from an African and the other from an African American: 3/17
I was born in Nigeria and never grappled with my identity till I came to the U.S. In Nigeria, a nation filled with varying shades of brown, I was not a Black girl, I was just a girl. Middle school was my first experience with a large group of African Americans. 4/17
Grown from a narrow view of what it means to be African(in my case)/Black (in their case) and varying relationships with White supremacy, animosity stemmed from seeing people who looked Black/African with whom we experienced no connection or camaraderie. 5/17
It would take years of maturity and positive experiences at a HBCU to identify as Black in America after realizing a two things: 6/17
1.) It is reductive to base my understanding of African Americans on my experiences with middle school children.
2.) They were just as confused and hurt by the experience as I was because we ALL looked down at each other. 7/17
I was born in America and I am a descendant of enslaved Africans. I am bombarded with negative propaganda about the motherland and its people. Some interactions with Africans have also been peppered with a coldness not bestowed to whites. 8/17
Through this, I felt pushed to abandon any identity reflecting African Blackness to pursue a fabricated vision of a modern, American Blackness. As African Americans, we are told to take pride in struggle and focus on creating culture rather than heal cultural wounds. 9/17
In a way my ancient, spiritual identity is replaced by a malleable one that revolves around oppressors. Running away from my past is the source of my tension with Africans. 10/17
We (Zafi, pronounced Zaaf) know it would be naive to broker unity by saying that Africans and Americans are the same knowing we are not. Years of physical separation, varying applications of suppression and control over our respective groups have given birth to difference. 11/17
African micro-nations (tribes) have been able to maintain some measure of distinctiveness from each other while African Americans blended cultures to survive and unite. What we share is the same point of origin and root culture that tethers us beyond cultural identities. 12/17
Going back to Ephesians 6:12, we behave like colonizers when we bicker over differences in the physical realm. 13/17
Demeaning Af. Am. Vernacular English (AAVE) when Africans speak pidgin, making fun of African affairs yet suffering a similar fate in the U.S, & accusing the other of looking down on you when ALL parties are guilty distracts us from acknowledging a shared spiritual battle. 14/17
We exist in two realms, the spiritual and the physical. From the beginning of time, we have utilized our spiritual technologies to repair and build. What lifts us up and leads to restoration is an acknowledgement of and intimacy with our spiritual selves. 15/17
By aligning with God, we are gifted the invaluable, eternal medicine of love.
When this process occurs we can then use our spiritual connection as a means of communication with each other that surpasses that seen in the physical. 16/17
When this process occurs we can then use our spiritual connection as a means of communication with each other that surpasses that seen in the physical. 16/17
This manifests itself in the physical world with a change in the way we interact with each other, leading to a deeper understanding and actions in accordance with unity. It is time we returned home to our spiritual stronghold. 17/17
If you like this thread, check out our Reddit where we engage in similar conversations. http://reddit.com/r/zafi
If you feel called to be a part of this movement, please fill out our survey https://bit.ly/37Xmr1h
If you feel called to be a part of this movement, please fill out our survey https://bit.ly/37Xmr1h
