Escape

Everyday the news (local and national) reminds me of how backwards, decadent, and dangerous this country is. From time to time I watch videos on a Youtube that highlights the stories of Black folks who have moved to Asia. One common theme in their narratives is feeling safe. While I am not necessarily advocating moving to Asia (I for one can’t see myself moving to any non-Black majority country), I can relate and often feel the attraction to another place.
 
One thing that I am aware of however, is that it is not enough for any person of African descent to leave the West. The destructive forces that make our lives unlivable in these places is hard at work at the universalization of misery. The solution is to empower ourselves by focusing on the restoration of African sovereignty and all that this entails. This is, necessarily, a collective solution to a shared problem. It is based on the assumption that escape will not address our problems, but that power and independence will. The alternative to our, at-present, individual approach to emigration, will be the formation of collectives of determined individuals, who depart and do the work to both pave the way for others to come behind them, while also seeking to create a new consciousness via the formation of institutions that seek to reflect–in both mission and action–a new African reality.

One thought on “Escape”

  1. “The restoration of African sovereignty” is what it has to be about.

    When the enslaved ran, they chased them down and set up systems out recapture that either brought them back under control or killed them. That pattern has never ended, only changed its form and the speed at which the taking of what is ours (even our bodies) the working us to death and the inevitable end happens.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *