A Mississippi school district is facing criticism after a class assignment asked middle schoolers to put themselves in the shoes of an enslaved person, and write letters to friends and family.
The assignment given to eighth-graders at Purvis Middle School told students to “pretend like you are a slave working on a Mississippi plantation,” according to a screenshot of the assignment that Black Lives Matter Mississippi posted to Twitter.
Other tasks in the assignment included: “You may discuss the journey to America, as well as the day-to-day tasks you perform [as a slave]” and “You may also want to tell about the family you live with/work for [as a slave] and how you pass your time when you aren’t working.”
More than 12 million enslaved Africans were shipped to the Americas and the Caribbean during the Middle Passage – what the assignment supposedly refers to as the “journey.” Over two million of the enslaved Africans who were forcefully packed into the ships for that arduous and dangerous journey lost their lives.
Following the backlash after the details of the assignment were made public, Lamar County School District Superintendent Dr. Steven Hampton claimed the aim of the exercise was to “show our students just how horrible slavery was and to gain empathy for what it was like to be a slave,” KCRG-TV reported. “We do not discriminate against race. We want to be sensitive to what happened in the past,” Hampton added
The principal of the middle school, Frank Bunnell, also sent an email to parents apologizing for an assignment of such nature to happen under his watch. In his apology, however, Bunnell claimed the assignment was taken out of context as the slide in question was part of a PowerPoint presentation, according to the Daily Beast.
“A person could read just the assignment and draw a very unrealistic view of the true tragedies that occurred. That was not intended,” Bunnell wrote. “However, intent does not excuse anything. There is no excuse to downplay a practice that (even after abolished) spurs unjust laws, unfair economic practices, inhumane treatment, and suppression of a people.”
Activists who spoke to the news outlet expressed their dismay behind the assignment and questioned the logic behind it. “I don’t know how a logical person teaches this,” Jeremy Marquell Bridges, the social media manager for Black Lives Matter Mississippi said. “Like someone who went to school to teach children could think this exercise was helpful in any way. It’s not helpful, it’s hurtful.”
Jarrius Adams, the president of Young Democrats Mississippi, also referred to the assignment as “extremely tone deaf”, adding that it was also “inappropriate to have Middle Schoolers put themselves in the shoes of slaves without proper context.”
“It does not matter what the intention was, the impact is the only thing that matters,” Adams continued. “If I were a parent of a student in the classroom, I would be pissed. There are proper ways to educate students about the history of this nation—this was not one of them.”
Located in what is now Senegal and parts of Mauritania, the Waalo kingdom was one of the strongest and oldest kingdoms in Senegal existing since the 11th century. Before the invasion of the Arabs, the people practised the matrilineal system which gave women equal rights and privileges as men.
When the French arrived in Senegal in 1855 to colonize it, the first resistance force they encountered was a woman. Her name: Ndaté Yalla Mboj.
On October 1, 1846, Princess Ndaté Yalla Mbodj became Queen of the Waalo (Wolof) Kingdom after the death of her older sister Queen Ndjeumbeut Mbodj who had ruled since she was a teenager after the death of their father King Amar Fatim Borso Mbodj.
Although her ascension to the throne was easy, her rule fast became a tireless one in her determination to preserve what was left of the kingdom while protecting her people from the Moors, French and Arabs who wanted to take their lands and totally colonize the kingdom. Despite being an overwhelming task, Queen Ndaté was able to lead her military into war.
Her first major and successful task as a Queen was in 1876 when she opposed the free passage of the Sarakolé people by sending a letter to the governor expressing her willingness to defend the respect of her sovereignty.
“The purpose of this letter is to let you know that the island of Mboyo belongs to me from my grandfather to me. Today, there is no one who can say that this country belongs to him, he is mine alone.
Ndaté therefore considered himself the sole ruler of the Kingdom of Waalo and throughout her reign she would challenge the French and wage a bitter battle against them. In 1847 she demanded the free passage of the population of the Saraokés who supplied the Island of St-Louis with cattle. In her letter to the governor, she writes:
“It is we who guarantee the passage of herds in our country; for this reason we take the tenth and we will never accept anything other than that. St Louis belongs to the Governor, Cayor to Damel and Waalo to Brack. Each of these leaders governs his country as he sees fit
Ndaté will not hesitate to plunder around St Louis and threaten verbally or by correspondence the Governor. The French will demand a refund of the damage caused by the looting and Ndatté will refuse categorically and proudly.
This is how it ends up making its rights to the Island of Mboyo and the Island of Sor prevail (current city of St Louis).
On November 5, 1850 Ndaté banned all trade in the backwaters of its outbuilding and pushed the French to the end of what they could bear. Faidherbe orders a battle against the Waloo troops who this time do not resist against the technological power of the enemy
In 1855, Queen Ndaté was faced with a French army of over 1500 men who planned to take over her Kingdom, dethrone her and colonize the Waalo which would make them have total control over Senegal.
Senegalese Traditional Wrestling also known as “Laamb” in Wolof
Before then, the Queen had led several successful battles against both the Moors and the French and although her army made up of both males and females was small, the Queen led them against the French. Before going to war, the Queen gave a famous speech to her army saying:
“Today, we are invaded by the conquerors. Our army is in disarray. The tiedos of the Waalo, as brave warriors as they are, have almost all fallen under the enemy’s bullets. The invader is stronger than us, I know, but should we abandon the Waalo to foreign hands?” “This country is mine alone!
The Queen’s brave army was no match to the French and she lost the first battle. She led her army to sneak up on the French and defeat them thereby starting the Senegal War of Resistance which continued way into the 20th century.
Queen Ndaté was able to fight off the Arabs and her battles led to the creation of Senegambia. She was captured by the French and exiled into the north of Senegal in Ndimb where she remained until she died in 1860.
Although by the time of her exile the Kingdom was in ruins, her son, Sidya Leon Diop took over the throne and continued the war until he too was captured and exiled in Gabon in 1878.
To date, Queen Ndaté Yalla Mbodj remains a symbol of resistance in Senegal. A statue of the Queen can be found in Dagana, in north Senegal that was made in her honor.
Swahili is the most spoken language in Africa, with over 140 million speakers. Also known as Kiswahili, the language is a Bantu language believed to have originated from other languages, specifically languages not native to Africa such as Arabic and Portuguese, following historical East African interactions with speakers of those languages.
It is the lingua franca of the African Great Lakes region and other parts of eastern and south-eastern Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Currently, Swahili is a national language of four countries, namely Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, and the DRC. Shikomor, an official language in Comoros and spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is also related to Swahili.
Here are 6 interesting facts on Swahili.
- Different dialects of Swahili
Swahili, like many African languages, has dialects but interestingly some Swahili some dialects are so varied that other Swahili speakers cannot discern even though they may be in the same country.
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Swahili operates on its own time
In most cultures, the clock, also the day, starts at midnight but not in Swahili. Their day starts at 6 or 7 am and this has been explained as a consequence of the equatorial placement of the countries that speak the language.
Basically, the time is measured from sunrise to sunset. This geographic phenomenon happens at the same time in all countries where Swahili is spoken in Africa.
Interestingly, Ethiopians often use the Swahili clock although it is not a Swahili-speaking country.
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It’s easy to learn
Thinking about learning an African language? Give Swahili a try. It’s the easiest African language for English speakers to learn, as it’s one of the few Sub-Saharan African languages without lexical tone, similar to English.
- It’s easy to read
Besides speaking, Swahili is also easier to read as Swahili words are pronounced the same way they are written
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It’s been around for centuries
The earliest piece of written Swahili documents dates to 1711. They were letters written in the Kilwa region. These letters were written to the Portuguese people of Mozambique and other local allies. To date, the remains of the documents are preserved in the Historical Archive of Goa in India.
- Full of idioms and proverbs
Swahili is famous for its idioms and proverbs that take the form of Mathali. Methali is a play on words, puns and lyrical rhyming and a very dominant feature of the Swahili language. Local rappers and musicians often employ methali in their music.
Example: Wapiganapo tembo wawili ziumiazo nyasi
Literal translation: When two elephants fight it’s the grass that gets hurt
Meaning: When the rich and powerful contend with each other it is the weak and powerless who pay the price.
#AfricanCreativeSeries: Affen Oluwasegun Ojo is a Nigerian-based contemporary artist more popularly known as Ojayartworksng. His works have become very popular on social media where he has a large following who appreciate his unique black portraits of African women.
Can you tell us more about your background and when you first started painting?
I’m a Native of bayesla state, Nigeria, I was brought up in Lagos, I started painting at a very young age, I discovered my talent of painting while I was in primary school, then I was later enrolled in roadside local art shop where I got to know about the basics of art.
How did you came to pursue a creative path?
Well, it all started when I discovered that I could draw, it all started by me recreating comic characters and a couple of pictures, then I was able to grow into it, I knew art was a part of me and something I loved doing then I decided take it as career path and create a niche for myself.
Do you have a favourite piece that you’ve created?
My favorite piece has to be The Bantu Knots Piece, the piece has an interesting history, it is a piece that speaks about the African culture especially the women, Many people aren’t aware of the history behind the popular bantu knots hairstyle. The hairstyle features lovely small, coiled buns sprinkled throughout the hair. The style has been worn traditionally for centuries by countless women of African descent.
What are the central themes of your work?
The central theme of my works is majorly the Black culture, which relates to African culture – This is one thing my paintings talk about from the colours used to the fabric used too, which is the Ankara fabric that signifies the African culture.
If you could sit down and have a meal with one artist/designer/musician in the world, who would it be and why?
It has to be Benny Bing because he is my favourite artist and he’s someone that really inspires me a lot, so an opportunity to meet with him is something I’d really cherish because he is one person whose works has contributed to my growth.
Tell us a bit about where you were born and where you are living now. Are all these places important to your identity and to your artwork?
Well like I said earlier, I was born and brought up in Lagos, Nigeria which like they say is the business capital of the country. It is the state with the highest combined ratio of all the tribes in Nigeria and one of the most populated city in Africa, and I still stay in Lagos. The environment and culture of the people made me carve out my niche as an artist that focuses on the Black culture.
Africa is a new economic frontier where young people are shaping Africa’s future. What do they want to see, hear and read that will inspire them to embrace African arts and culture?
For me, contemporary art can play a major role in this age, because based on the experiences it is something most people can relate to, also we can see that this new generation of youths in Africa are working on new ideas to transform the economic landscape of the continent, this same group are increasingly focusing on the creative aspect of the economy, also how culture develops at the local level. For example, we see a lot of entrepreneurs that want to see local cultural scene prosper and how it connects with their brands and personal interests.
It can be argued that Africa’s time is now. How do we prepare to take full advantage of the opportunities that are constantly unfolding in front of us? More importantly how does the African contemporary art establishment position itself to emerge as a ‘global player’ whose voice can be heard and respected?
From my perspective as an independent artist, I’ve seen that there are couple of obstacles to overcome as contemporary art transcends to a global stage, Firstly, there is not yet a fully established infrastructure for the art market, most of the independent artists like me have to simultaneously produce work also work as their own agents. So, there is a need for a stronger institutional base for contemporary art in Africa, one of the key elements to making this possible is working together. This idea brings up a strong and thriving art community that has a voice of its own rather than it being dictated to.
When you are not painting, What other interests do you have?
Apart from painting, traveling is one other that really interests me, I’ll really love to tour the world to also learn about other culture and the people there, who knows – I might get inspired by a few sightings.
Malawi is to start the commercial production of cannabis for medical and industrial use, according to Reuters, which cited Lilongwe’s new Cannabis Regulatory Authority. The head of the regulatory authority, Boniface Kadzamira, said more than 100 applications have been received for licensing and they are currently under consideration for approval
Malawi’s parliament passed a bill in February to allow legal cultivation and processing of cannabis for medicine and hemp fibre used in the industry but the bill stops short of decriminalising recreational use.
Fees for licensing marijuana for medical and industrial use in Malawi will range from $100 to $10,000 a year. Licensing will cover the cultivation, selling, storage, distribution of either class of industrial and medicinal hemp, said the county’s agriculture ministry.
Malawi will also allow public hospitals to pay $100 as well as $200 for private hospitals as licence fees to dispense cannabis medicines.
“We have received an overwhelming response in terms of applications for licenses, but applicants must appreciate that we’ll not give everyone a license at once,” Kadzamira said, according to Reuters.
Kadzamira added hemp has the potential to surpass earnings from tobacco, currently the country’s main export crop.
“Our view as regulator is that if we get honest investors, the hemp industry can supplement export revenues from tobacco, and in some cases, surpass it. But it will not immediately replace tobacco,” he added.
Malawi’s earnings from tobacco have fallen dramatically over the years in part due to declining demand and poor weather.
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The fall has drastically affected the country’s tobacco auctioneer, Auction Holdings Ltd, which has failed to pay salaries for the last two months.
A growing number of countries around the world are either legalizing or relaxing laws on cannabis as attitudes towards the drug change. They include several in southern Africa, including Zambia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Netflix has reportedly cited filming challenges that have been brought on by the pandemic as the reason for their decision to cancel the second season of the spy-thriller series, ‘Queen Sono’
According to The Citizen, Netflix has decided that Africa’s first Original Series, Queen Sono, will not go ahead for a second season. This comes after initial reports in April of this year that Queen Sono had been given the thumbs-up for a second season. Speculations on the possible reasons for halting the show vary, according to IOL. However, Netflix cited difficulties in filming due to challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Queen Sono lead, Pearl Thusi, released a bittersweet statement to The Citizen in response to the news.
“It’s so incredible that we as a team got a lifetime opportunity to make history together as there will never be another ‘first’ African Netflix original series. I’m proud of the work we did, but everything happens for a reason. I am excited about what the future holds.”
The Netflix team reportedly stated that axing the show was a difficult decision because of the “dream vision” achieved through the show. According to The Citizen, Netflix’ spokesperson thanked Queen Sonofans from around the world for their continued and fervent support of the production. Furthermore, Queen Sono creator, Kagiso Lediga, commented on the recent news saying, “We wrote a beautiful story that spanned the continent but unfortunately could not be executed in these current trying times.”
Queen Sono is the first Netflix African Original Series to come out this year. The series follows an action-packed story about a South African spy played by Thusi.
Queen Sono is one of many productions to be halted due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira’s Americanah series was recently cancelled by HBO Max before it went into production. South Africans, however, can still look forward to the second season of popular Netflix Original Series, Blood and Water
“It’s so incredible that we as a team got a lifetime opportunity to make history together as there will never be another ‘first’ African Netflix original series. I’m proud of the work we did, but everything happens for a reason. I am excited about what the future holds.”
The Netflix team reportedly stated that axing the show was a difficult decision because of the “dream vision” achieved through the show. According to The Citizen, Netflix’ spokesperson thanked Queen Sonofans from around the world for their continued and fervent support of the production. Furthermore, Queen Sono creator, Kagiso Lediga, commented on the recent news saying, “We wrote a beautiful story that spanned the continent but unfortunately could not be executed in these current trying times.”
As early as the 1600’s, enslaved men and women were brought to Bermuda on ships in route to the southern states of the United States. They worked mostly in the the maritime and tobacco industry, but often fought back and rebelled.
During Bermuda’s period of enslavement, Black men and women would come together in the wee hours of the morning to build their own structures and community buildings. While it was all illegal, they never stopped creating and laying the bricks that would later inspire Black Bermudians of present day.
Apple Music has launched its Holiday Sounds campaign featuring playlists from some of Sub-Saharan Africa and the world’s biggest artists, celebrities and influencers including Cuppy, Deborah Mutund, DJ Spinall, Dua Lipa, Ehiz, Elsa Majimbo, Joeboy, Lianne La Havas, Tems and Teyana Taylor and many more.
Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio presenter Cuppy had this to say: “Summer for me has always been a time to chill and relax. And with music, it’s even better and makes everything more enjoyable. Whether I’m indoors or out with friends or family. Here are some of the tracks I’ve come to love over the years which I listen to during summer. Music has played a paramount impact in my life from growing up till this present moment. Right from living in Mushin, from hearing music by Tony Tetuila, Plantashun Boiz, Lagbaja and the other artists from the early 2000s, to now, where artists like Davido, Wizkid, Burna Boy, to name but a few are making a huge difference with their various catchy tunes. Music from Africa, and most especially Nigeria, is different from that of other parts. You can feel the drums and the rhythm which puts you in a groovy mood and makes you want to move your body.
“Summer signifies fun and good vibes, and that’s what this playlist is about. These are a few of my favorite feel-good anthems from this summer, with a few from years past, and some brand-new tracks from my peers that I’m just vibing to right now. I hope, wherever you are, this playlist will help make your summer last just a little bit longer.” – Joeboy (Nigerian artist)
“Old and modern, to me summer is sexy, colorful and light. I chose all these songs because they reflect the diversity of my personality.” – Deborah Mutund (DRC influencer)
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“Music is food for the soul, and a snack for the heart.” – Elsa Majimbo (Kenyan comedian)
Apple Music’s Holiday Sounds campaign will also include a whole host of additional playlists to suit every mood and groove, including Summer Waves, Summer Heat, Summer Vibes, Summer Sunshine, Sunkissed and Summer Fit.
As the weather gets warmer, the days grow longer, and we inch ever closer towards the sweet season of summer, Apple Music is making the prospect of kicking back and relaxing that much sweeter with their inaugural Holiday Sounds campaign.
