A Journey to the Past for the Future

Black educators at work to teach their youth in Los Angeles, 1995. Image Courtesy of Felema Yemaneberhan

Have you ever taken a trip down memory lane that dredged up all the wonders of your childhood and the things you may have taken for granted? CPDI invites you to join Felema Yemaneberhan, an architectural designer and interdisciplinary artist, on her introspective journey that highlights the not so known nuances of our current realities.

Her essay, titled We Wouldn't Be Here if They Just Told Us the Truth About Great Zimbabwe, calls out some of the shallow responses towards the recent Black Lives Matter movement, points to the instability of our colonial education's ivory tower, and urgently calls us to wake up and dismantle its building blocks and foundations. Her writing paints a picture of self-realisation wrapped in nostalgia and sentimentality. It evokes a mix of emotions in us the readers, ranging from elation to outright incredulity and keeps us glued to our screens.

As we scroll through text and images until there is none left, we get to the conclusion that we must all come together to collectively embark on this introspective and transformative journey. The essay explores Afrocentric education models, how stereotypes are established in popular culture, Black aesthetics, organic intellectualism, and odes to her favourite musicians across the African continent and the diaspora. Just like Felema says, Great Zimbabwe is the starting point of critically questioning everything that is put in front of us.

You can find her full article on Medium.

Comments

Usman Lawal Audi29 July 2020 at 06:29
It will surely be am interesting read. Great post
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