Nigger, Native, Negro???

I simply refuse to be a part of these failed and failing African intellectualisation attempts. To date we have learnt little to nothing, still using derogatory prose’s to acclaim our Africanness, have we no pride or inimitability to define our selves than to use disparaging terms liked Negro, Navite, Nigger to name the few ineffectual words used synonymously with black? I fail to believe that we can decry ourselves, our culture, our language, heritage and pride by acclaiming it to be backward and primitive. We may as well call ourselves primate.

After many years of fighting colonialism and its entrenched ills, we cling on to it with all we have. When will Africans learn that they are the uncontested masters of their intellect, not succumbant to any conformist glare? The issue at hand is the cloning of intellectualism as a reaction to certain concerns, which offers immediate solutions, which see no fruitation, no tomorrow and no sagacity.

In the late nineteenth century we saw the augmentation of Negritude, a term to be notorious as a movement formed in the 1930’s. Initially set to be: a consciousness of and pride in the cultural and physical aspects of the African heritage and the state or condition of being black.

Negritude was originally a literary and ideological movement of French-speaking black intellectuals, reflects an important and comprehensive reaction to the colonial situation. This movement, which influenced Africans as well as Blacks around the world, specifically rejects the political, social and moral domination of the West. The term, which has been used in a general sense to describe the black world in opposition to the West, assumes the total consciousness of belonging to the black race.

In contrast to this broad definition, a narrower one pertains to artistic expression. The literature of Negritude includes the writings of black intellectuals who affirm black personality and redefine the collective experience of blacks. A preoccupation with the black experience and a passionate praise of the black race provides a common base for the imaginative expression in association with romantic myth of Africa.

The external factor defining the black man in modern society is colonialism and the domination by the white man, with all the moral and psychological implications. Negritude rehabilites Africa and all blacks from European ideology that holds the black inherently inferior to the white -- the rationale for Western imperialism.
Etymology: the word Négritude was coined by Aimé Césaire, from the French word nègre, which was equivalent to "black" or "Negro" in France but "nigger" in Martinique. Césaire deliberately and proudly incorporated this pejorative word into the name of his ideological movement. The mere existence of this formation is disputed, noting that not even blacks understood its wished-for ideological impetus and how it would transform society.

The founders of la Négritude, known as les trois pères (the three fathers), were originally from three different French colonies in Africa and the Caribbean but met while living in Paris in the early 1930s. Although each of the pères had different ideas about the purpose and styles of la Négritude, the movement was generally characterized by a reaction to colonialization, denunciation of Europe's lack of humanity, rejection of Western domination and ideas and an identity crisis, acceptance of and pride in being black; valorization of African history, traditions, and beliefs and alignment of Marxist ideas. This movement was clearly a reactionary device, which sought yet failed to unite the African intelligence. Only secondary to its purpose was the introduction, protection and mainstreaming of African literature and narrative. And I put it that poetry, and literature in its entirety is not and can never be the only truest form of history, it plays a crucial role however in telling a tale of what was and tracing the steps of humanity.
Among its critics are Frantz Fanon - Student of Césaire, psychiatrist, and revolutionary theoretician, Frantz Fanon dismissed the Négritude movement as too simplistic. Jacques Roumain - Haitian writer and politician, founder of the Haitian Communist Party, published La Revue indigène in an attempt to rediscover African authenticity in the Antilles. JWole Soyinka - Nigerian dramatist, poet, and novelist opposed to la Négritude, believing that by deliberately and outspokenly taking pride in their color, black people were automatically on the defensive: « Un tigre ne proclâme pas sa tigritude, il saute sur sa proie » (A tiger doesn't proclaim its tigerness; it jumps on its prey).
Not withstanding its evident shortfalls and exceptional misnomers the movement was formed as an elitist diagration from the real issues of colonial Africa, its historical evolution into a movement is flunked with supposed to be Marxist ideological prescript and little affirmative black conscientisation. It almost dummy copies the plight of Black Consciousness: the term Black Consciousness stems from American educator W. E. B. DuBois's evaluation of the double consciousness of American black's being taught what they feel inside to be lies about the weakness and cowardice of their race. DuBois echoed Civil War era black nationalist Martin Delaney's insistence that black people take pride in their blackness as an important step in their personal liberation. This line of thought was also reflected in the American black nationalist, Marcus Garvey, as well as Harlem Renaissance philosopher Alain Locke and in the salons of the Nardal sisters in Paris and furtehr qualified by South Africa’s Black Consciousness Movement as lead by Steven Bantu Biko. Biko's understanding of these thinkers was further shaped through the lens of postcolonial thinkers such as Frantz Fanon, Léopold Senghor, and Aimé Césaire. Biko reflected the concern for the existential struggle of the black person as a human being, dignified and proud of his blackness, in spite of the oppression of colonialism, such as fought for in the Négritude philosophy. Which leads me to conlude that Negritude was a philosophy and not an ideological manifestation as claimed by its founders. However the use of Negro in its formation leaves it suspect to the dehumilasation of the same people its sought to deboundage.

Then came along the lousy Capitalist Nigger regime, which occupied our debate for a moment, silly to say the least a book which became one the most talked about because it successfully disrespected the black men’s ability to think and generate an income. It totally fell short of saying that black people are stupid and primate, believing in Ubuntu which does not put food on the table. This book found solace in capitalistic alligence where explotation is crucial to the victory of such a system. In trying to put his thought across the author dehumilised the black men furtehr by calling him a nigger. This book is a waiste of time to read with its never ending bickering. The issues at hand is the deminutive use of Nigger to explain and give life to black people, it is unecceptable.

Chika Onyeani, the author of Capitalist Nigger: The Road to Success: A Spider-Web Doctrine , an uniquely odious mixture of self-loathing, lies, and unreconstructed stupidity claims to be the acquintance of black wisdom which would get him somewhere, question, were is he now? Such bickering has proved useless to say the least and a waist of time at the most, derogratory proses are all over his book, while unjustified glorifications of countries such as China and India are questionable, as a larger population of on India live well below the poverty line. It is then safe to say that Onyeani’s book is silly to say the list.

Amidst all this chaos, the Africa Institute of South Africa in partnership with the Ministry of Arts and Culture, the Centre for Policy Studies, the Institute for Global Dialogue and the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (Accord) over a period of two days, May 3-4 set up the Native Club providing grounds for all forms of idiocies to come to the fore as commentators, including some wags, charlatans, idiots and clowns, pontificate on this matter to their hearts' satisfaction, failing to really give a plausible critic to this formation. As many criticised its formation, many rebutted and tried tirelessly to defend this irrational organ of so-called clever blacks. It was not until president Mbeki who had inaugurated the forum who asked the question in parliament, “If really the Native Club is for native South Africans, then what of the Afrikaner who has fought to claim his space as a native South African?, I ask what of the Khoi who is the real native South African who was treated badly by the Nguni’s who came flushing in, in the late 12th century, early 13th century, are they not the sole inhabitants, the native South African, who have been cast aside as menace to the societal order, whose language and culture are reminiscent of latter day native dwellings. Why is it that when we define the order of the day we become selective of history and oblivious to much of current affairs or similar plights fought for by those who believed the same. In all frankness the Afrikaaner felt the exact same way, of preserving and cultivating their culture and pride against white, European domination, and where did that lead us – Broenderbond. Sam Raditlhalo in his protracted sentiments confuses matters relating to the incomplete cycle of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, with critics of Mbeki, to curriculum transformation and the education fraternity in its entirety, to more racially inclined arguments that claim that white academics do not understand the societal order. He confuses his rebutting and tends to be emotional in his proclamations making his input obsolete in their defence of the Native Club. This phenomenon is questionable, its projected end product not known to most of us. This club set to house intellects we know not who they were chosen is set to direct and redirect the thinking, practise and culture of black people. How this can be done with the exclusion of the same architects who led society to today is a mystery.

We, South Africans and Africans in general have become good at formulating forum, organs etc to suit our thirst for stardom. Anything to get a group of people around the table discussing little to nothing, going to boss barads which bear no fruits but a mocked up social gathering were husbands swap wives and promiscuity reigns freely. When are we going to learn that the actual intellect is the one divorced from popular culture and direct politics, because whether we like it or not such forums are about who knows who, who is attracted to who and this being the perfect place to advance that prime cause. An intellectual need to be un-connected to his subject so as to allow his subjectivity to flow without fear of biasness or leniency to a certain group. We need him to be adjacent and observant of socio – politico order of the day. A traditional intellectual needs not be part of his field of specialisation, he’s tools of analysis need to be from a traceable distance, yet accurate in their proclamations. While the organic intellectual lives in the space were he is specialising, he is thus closer to the subject to make a better-brewed analysis, he is able to depict the status quo as is. He is at an advantage, as he is not perceived as an outcast, but an integral part of society. Hence the need to bridge the gap, a necessity less obvious to the architects of the Native Club. And, when ever have different specialists come together, what good can come out of an arena when people less relevant to it will seat and discuss its merit and demerits. To date I fail to understand the birth of this club, and its anticipated outcome. Could it be a basic project of the Africa Institute, planned without planning, or could it be someone’s dim-witted brainchild? What ever it is it is unduly occupying our public discourse as it will all in the due course prove to be a white elephant? Who ever came up with the idea please try harder, define first who is a Native, and what exactly is a Native, primates are Native, I am not a Native.

We should rather heighten the need for an African philosophy which would align all our frustrations – African Consciousness, the groundings of which would be understood within the Black Consciousness Movement, with an African tinge, as blackness alone is subjective and Africanness is not subjected to skin tone but rather affinity to African pessimism.

In my next input I will further qualify African Consciousness.
I respite my Crate