“The Black Power Mixtape” a documentary that is creating a lot of buzz” interview conducted by honorary sister Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now” at
“the Sundance Film Festival, the nation’s largest festival for independent cinema… The film features rare archival footage shot between 1967 and 1975 by two Swedish journalists and was discovered in the basement of Swedish public television 30 years later. [She speaks with ] renowned actor and activist Danny Glover, who co-produced The Black Power Mixtape”.
This documentary shows the vital roles played by Angela Davis, Kwame Ture, Eldridge Cleaver and others durning the black power movement how they put their lives on the line fighting for the rights of black people (African-Americans) in the United States of America.
I would say, it is the failure of father, mother and our (black) community as a whole. Continental Africans and diasporans contribute in fueling internalized taught self-hate in our community:
1. We perm our little girls’ hair
2. We bleach our babies’ skin
3. We buy them toys that are not empowering to their development
4. We don’t teach them our native language, like Zulu, Twi, Bali, we say “English, French is enough to take you places, don’t worry about backwards african languages”.
5. We give them names after our colonializers and enslavers . E.g Abubakar, Livingstone, Halimah, Napoleon, Maria etc
6. We don’t encourage them anymore to take a time out from technology to go out and play with their mates outside
7. We buy them expensive phones, shoes, even when they can barely spell their name or say thank you
8. We let them sit around and order housemaids ( “house boy/ girl”) instead of teaching them about individual and community responsibilities and respect to those that serve them
etc etc….
What is the way forward?? Let us start undoing and doing the opposite, following the lead of those parents that are proud to be themselves. Here are few picture examples( Copyright to those that took them, not my property)
1. Black Girls taking a walk….friendship.
2.Happy Black Baby with her natural hair.
3. Black Baby Boy Reading.
4. Black Baby Being A Princess That She Is with her natural hair.
5. Black Baby Boy playing with a doll that looks just like him,self-love starts at an early age.
6. Baby Girls Being themselves in their natural stage, embracing their blackness.
7. Happy Black Baby Boy.
8. A Happy black Baby Girl With A doll That Looks Like Her.
cute black baby with a doll that looks like her
9.Happy and cute black boy
10. Black and happy baby boy in his natural dark skin.
11. Little Black Girl wearing her natural hair.
12. Black boy aspiring to become the greatest….environmentalist
13. Little black boy with a puppy
14. Little black girl wearing her natural hair.
15. Black boy playing with his handmade toy.
16. Black girls sharing a laugh
When we don’t undo the internalized taught self-hate in our community, the impact will destroy our children’s self esteem leading through out their adult life. Below is a short video directed by a young black girl ( African-American), it gives a wonderful picture of the effects of internalized taught self-hate. She got the idea from the original test conducted in 1940s by Dr. Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark ( see their picture below copyright to the person that took it.)
Dr. Kenneth B. Clark and Dr. Mamie P. Clark the originators of the doll test ...
” A Girl Like Me” Directed by Kiri Davis and Produced by Reel Works Teen Filmmaking
Black Boy picked a white doll during testing…Dr.Kenneth B. Clark standing on his left.
