First of all, I would like to start this blog entry by saying that Professor Greg Carr is an incredible, dynamic speaker and a very good teacher of Black history. My cousin graduated Howard University a few years ago and I was telling her that I had just sat through an amazing African studies lecture and without me even telling her, she said, “Was your professor Dr. Carr?” I said yes and she simply said, “That’s why.” I was highly impressed with his knowledge and ability to convey certain ideas so easily with a quick colloquial term or phrase. His lecture was both relatable and thought-provoking.
Furthermore, I found the topic to be very interesting. The key elements of the lecture left me with a lot to ruminate on long after it had ended. I found the concept of an Mbongi, which had been introduced to us on the first week, very fascinating. The explanation of it was very clear and by the end of the lecture I considered the entire campus of Howard University to be an Mbongi. We have all the elements of an Mbongi, such as: law and order, a cultural education, maintenance of social and political life, conflict resolution, and a council of elders (Carr, 4). Howard University is an old school; therefore, it has a lot of history and traditions. When I think of an Mbongi, I think of an African village where they have their own customs and traditions. To me, Howard University exemplifies the modern day Historically Black College/University (HBCU) Mbongi.
The lecture also stressed the importance of knowing that to be intellectual is what it means to be Black. Africa was where the alphabet originated from yet black people get the stereotype of being ignorant and uneducated. Some black people even believe this stigma of themselves or of other black people. The lecturer stressed that the only way for us to overcome this ideology is to “embrace our long-view genealogy (Carr, 7).” I believe the reason why more black people today don’t know about their ancestors, and I mean ones that came out of Africa, is because we don’t talk to our elders enough. For example, I don’t know anyone from my family tree past by great-grandmother and I believe it’s partially because I haven’t had more than a 30 minute conversation with her in two years. Nevertheless, finding out my ancestry would be very difficult given I am from Antigua and Barbuda and I am sure they do not have records all the way up until that time. However, this lecture truly sparked my interest and I am now curious to ask my great-grandmother about her mother.
Another key element was Africana Learning and Wisdom. In the lecture, we were told that because wisdom and learning is so innate in the African culture, all you have to do to unlock this wisdom is to remember (Carr, 28). You are reminded of Egyptian wisdom in the form of the Ipet Isut (the most select of places), which was a temple of worship. In America you are reminded of the first the Mississippi Freedom School when black people yearned for their African wisdom.
I really enjoyed this lecture it made me yearn for more and I can’t wait until next week when we get a taste of some more of African culture and it’s sustaining importance in our lives.
Works CitedCarr, Greg. “Learning, Wisdom and the African World Experience: An Mbongi.” Howard Uiversity Blackboard Center. PowerPoint. 2011. 2 September 2011.
“Ipet-Isut.” Ancient Worlds. Website. 2 September 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment