South African poet/artist/bead maker Ntsiki Mazwai is not one to
mince her words. If you follow her you must be aware of her outspoken
nature and never beating around the bush; she says it as it is. Like a
poet should, right?
Dear Black people….
So let me get this right….. u wear white people’s hair; you bleach your skin; you wear suits; take your kids to white schools; you don’t know your languages, customs and traditions; you swopped iizangoma for Christianity; u prefer white neighbourhoods and look down on places where there are many blacks; you laugh at blacks who don’t know English and call them backwards; u even replaced your pan African anthem with one they killed you with; you don’t know your own history but know Europe’s history; You hail EVERYTHING which is not African and then you have the nerve to say ‘it does not make me unAfrican?????” WTF *_*
What exactly is it that makes u African now that you have denounced everything African? How can you be African when you are just a European clone and western ambassador?
You confuse me when you are in denial of the over 500yrs of brainwash we have endured. My logic tells me that if I am told for 500yrs that I’m ugly…..its either I’m going to believe it or I am going to spend the next 500years emphasising my beauty so that I balance my own feelings about myself. When the bath water is too hot, you add cold water. You don’t endure the hot water, you alter the temperature.
When do we get to alter the way white people made us feel about ourselves? When do we unlearn the bullshit?
My problem is when a whole nation says one thing, but acts in another way. You say you are African yet you follow and grovel at the west. You spend all your money just to be like them. How does that make any sense?
Let’s look at the Indians and the Chinese….they have not lost their sense of identity despite suffering similar oppression (but absolutely not the same.) Not only that but the Chinese have gone on to become a world super power and they are not imitating the west. If anything, their strength and power comes from holding onto their identity. While we are promoting a 30% pass standard in a western educational system- the Chinese learn about THEMSELVES and are running the world IN MANDARIN!
Thina siyakopa and siyafaila…….nice!
The western culture is represented and has monopolised our generation…..is that ok with you? Ufuna ukuba ngumlungu omnyama?
Personally, that is not my aspiration. I come from a rich culture and I think Ubuntu is the most beautiful way of life in the world. I don’t want to give birth to children that will not know their mother tongue and stories of Queen Nzinga and Nandi.
I want my children to have access to other African countries for there is more to Africa than South Africa.
I want to raise black children that take pride in what they look like. I want my kids to have role models and celebrities who are not wearing other people’s hair. The biggest injustice we have done to the little black girl is to make her believe she needs to look white to be beautiful.
I want to see black people own their own businesses and not ALWAYS be the consumer
I want to see black people claim themselves and own up to being African.
The truth is, if you are ashamed of what you are and what you look like……you’ll NEVER be at the top of the food chain. It means you NEED to be led.
So black people…..who are you?
You are so busy behaving white, Do you even remember who you are?
Nontsikelelo took to her blog to express a few conscious issues regarding black people in an open letter titled, "Dear Black People".
The letter reads as follows;
So let me get this right….. u wear white people’s hair; you bleach your skin; you wear suits; take your kids to white schools; you don’t know your languages, customs and traditions; you swopped iizangoma for Christianity; u prefer white neighbourhoods and look down on places where there are many blacks; you laugh at blacks who don’t know English and call them backwards; u even replaced your pan African anthem with one they killed you with; you don’t know your own history but know Europe’s history; You hail EVERYTHING which is not African and then you have the nerve to say ‘it does not make me unAfrican?????” WTF *_*
What exactly is it that makes u African now that you have denounced everything African? How can you be African when you are just a European clone and western ambassador?
You confuse me when you are in denial of the over 500yrs of brainwash we have endured. My logic tells me that if I am told for 500yrs that I’m ugly…..its either I’m going to believe it or I am going to spend the next 500years emphasising my beauty so that I balance my own feelings about myself. When the bath water is too hot, you add cold water. You don’t endure the hot water, you alter the temperature.
When do we get to alter the way white people made us feel about ourselves? When do we unlearn the bullshit?
My problem is when a whole nation says one thing, but acts in another way. You say you are African yet you follow and grovel at the west. You spend all your money just to be like them. How does that make any sense?
Let’s look at the Indians and the Chinese….they have not lost their sense of identity despite suffering similar oppression (but absolutely not the same.) Not only that but the Chinese have gone on to become a world super power and they are not imitating the west. If anything, their strength and power comes from holding onto their identity. While we are promoting a 30% pass standard in a western educational system- the Chinese learn about THEMSELVES and are running the world IN MANDARIN!
Thina siyakopa and siyafaila…….nice!
The western culture is represented and has monopolised our generation…..is that ok with you? Ufuna ukuba ngumlungu omnyama?
Personally, that is not my aspiration. I come from a rich culture and I think Ubuntu is the most beautiful way of life in the world. I don’t want to give birth to children that will not know their mother tongue and stories of Queen Nzinga and Nandi.
I want my children to have access to other African countries for there is more to Africa than South Africa.
I want to raise black children that take pride in what they look like. I want my kids to have role models and celebrities who are not wearing other people’s hair. The biggest injustice we have done to the little black girl is to make her believe she needs to look white to be beautiful.
I want to see black people own their own businesses and not ALWAYS be the consumer
I want to see black people claim themselves and own up to being African.
The truth is, if you are ashamed of what you are and what you look like……you’ll NEVER be at the top of the food chain. It means you NEED to be led.
So black people…..who are you?
You are so busy behaving white, Do you even remember who you are?
Photo Credit: Ntsiki Mazwai | Blog