Madness

Questions That Keep Nagging Me

I don’t have all the answers, and never pretended that I have. It must be incredibly boring to be a know- it-all, and most likely even more frustrating to live in perfect belief that you do know it all, only to discover through some mundane event (like tripping over one’s shoe lace) that you really don’t.

That said, I have questions that I’ve never heard anybody ask the following questions, let alone provide the answers; and this is where I’m hoping my M.O.M. Squad and Random Readers can step in an help. Are you ready? Let’s just go to MOM Mode and get this started.

 

  1. wwomanHow did White women feel when their husbands would go creeping into slave cabins?: We’ve all heard about how powerless Black men and women were when it came to incidences of rape, which were fairly commonplace during slavery. We’ve heard accounts where Black men had to silently watch their wives and daughters be sexually violated by the master/overseer on pain of death if they uttered a peep in objection, or the shame these women had to live with. But how did WHITE women feel, knowing their spouses and sons were making nocturnal visits to the environs of the people they owned for sexual pleasure and self-gratification? I mean, did they just welcome the dude back into their marital bed with open arms with the scent of another woman still clinging to him?
  2. big 6Who were the female heroes of Ghana’s Independence Movement?: If you grew up in Ghana, chances are you’ve  heard of The Big Six – Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, Edward Akufo-Addo, Kwame Nkrumah, William Ofori Atta, Joseph B. Danquah and Emmanual Obetsebi-Lamptey. They were the founding members of the United Gold Coast Convention, which organized boycotts, rallies, and helped usher in the freedom to sit in traffic and enjoy the imported items (like stale Chinese chicken) you and I so much enjoy today. But who were the WOMEN leaders who also fought against British colonialism and tyranny? Maybe it’s a function of my limited education, but I have never heard a peep about any woman who helped further the cause of Ghana’s independence, and I kind of find it hard to believe they don’t exist. There are no roads, bridges, or interchanges named after our heroines. What? Is there no room on the national platform for these historical figures? Are they not worthy of celebration?
  3. miss-nigeria-2013-auditions-registration-datesWhy are Nigerians so colorstruck?: There are few things I hate more than a colorstruck African. They are an absolutely repugnant breed. A colorstruck African triggers in me the same ick response as a bowl of festering, month-old fruit… something that was once beautiful and now is only worth throwing out and feeding to the maggots. Colorstruck Africans are a reminder of Africa’s ugly past, when caste systems were set in place to create false imaginations of superiority… and though Ghanaians also suffer from these delusions, Nigerians seem to be the most infected by far. I see it at least a few times a week: at my job where my Nigerian boss gleefully points out black skin and proclaims “that is one of your kontry people. So BLACK!”; to Twitter where intelligent debate invariable degenerates to insults, the final blow being “Ah. But you are just BLACK!”; to various online forums where dark skinned women are raked over the coals just for sporting the color they were born with. So Nigerians, I ask again: what makes caramel colored skin better than Ashanti black?
  4. photo from Daily Mail

    photo from Daily Mail

    Do people look at Indian men and automatically assume they are rapists?: When a Black man comes jogging by, he is usually met with suspicion. When a White guy walks into a store with khakis and a pair of boat shoes, the assumption is that he has a good job and can afford whatever he wants. And up until last year, you might see and Indian guy walk down the road in mainstream America and assume he was an IT Developer. But with the rash of gang rapes going on in India – in cities AND rural areas – are perceptions about Indian men changing? Could they be the new face of scary?

 

I have to go. One of the kids threw up at school and I have to go get them. A mother’s work is never done, is it? Anyway, I’m looking forward to your answers, which you can put right here! ↓