Unity

Enough is Enough…

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace, love, and light fam! Can you believe that we are nearing the end of 2016? I certainly cannot but 2016 was quite a year on my end! Anyway, this past week has been very trying for me which is why I have been mostly absent from my blog space, as well as YouTube etc. My laptop took her final bow and I have not gotten a new one yet but, I will soon!  So many things are on my mind but one thing that is particularly nagging me and that is the barrage of bashing of black women by black men online.

Let me start with this, I know that these men do not represent the majority (or I sincerely hope not!). Nevertheless, it is an issue that seems to be ongoing and not stopping anytime soon. I don’t know if they have mother issues, a string of failed relationships, or just terrible experiences with the sistas and personally, I don’t give a damn if they have! How dare any black man spew such hatred to the one who birthed him? There is so much wrong with this dynamic.

First of all, the Afrikan diaspora has been under constant attack since the first invaders hit the shores of our beautiful continent. We have NO room for disunity! We have enough outer enemies without there being battling between our own. The war is on and some of the brothers feel as though they are somehow exempt by choosing to lay with a woman that does not share the same experience as he does. No matter how many women he chooses to procreate or have relationships with, he is still an Afrikan and still a part of the struggle, whether he is fighting against the system of racism or fighting for comfort within the system of racism. Some of these men actually are bigger white supremacists than you could imagine.

Secondly, where is this hatred coming from because it could not have just started. And as a mother/sister/daughter, I have to make certain that I am not absorbing the negativity that I see and hear into my own psyche because it can be damaging. I almost feel as though the men who are attacking us are damaged themselves and instead of dealing with their issues, they have instead chosen to attack those who are closest to him—his mother, sister, lover, cousin.

And I will wrap this vent session up with a few points. It is heartbreaking to see some of the memes and discussions about how undesirable we are, how untrustworthy, how annoying, how disagreeable, how “everything negative that one could conceive” we are.  It is as though a huge target has been placed upon us and they are taking aim. Now again, I do know and understand that these men are not the majority but in the day and age that we live and with the continued attacks against our people, one would think that they would put their pettiness aside and rise above the bullshit. And yes, I said bullshit because that is exactly what it is.

Now, please do not misunderstand. I am in no way naïve. I know that not all black women are living to their full potential. I know we have work to do; we have women who would rather twerk than cook, whose full time job is going to child support court or the Department of Social Services.  But there is work to be done amongst the black men as well because we continue to have men who will not take responsibility of seeds that have created, whose full time job is playing Madden, and who have been in jail more than they have been free. We all need pruning!

In all honesty, I have had some absolutely terrible relationships, had a very dysfunctional upbringing with a less than warm step father,  yet you will not hear me utter “Niggas ain’t shit!”  I absolutely adore black men! They are my brothers, suns, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins. They are the strength of the community and are so needed.  Our community is in desperate need of weeding! Let’s weed out those who seek to destroy the nation.  Make them accountable for their actions and make consequences for their wrongs. The black woman has suffered long enough. Damn can she catch a break!!

 

 

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali

 

 

 

 

Revolutionizing Our Lives

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace, love, and light to all of my fam! It has been quite some time since my last post. Life happens and you become so preoccupied that you end up neglecting your gifts, your talents, and the like. Anyway, let me not get bogged down into that and jump right into the issue at hand. As I type this, I feel weighed down and heavy in my heart. The burden of being an Amerikkkan Afrikan is heavy indeed and the social climate in our communities is one of absolute exhaustion.

With the continued and repeated attacks on our people by officers of the so-called law, lack of conviction and justice, we are left with a feeling of hopelessness. I have been saying that there is an apparent open season on black folks and it continues. And still there is no clear course of action as to what we as a people should do to bring all of this to an end. Some want to pray about it. Others want to take revenge. Some want to attack economically through boycotts etc. While others look to repatriation as a feasible option.

I have been meditating on the murders of Keith Lamont Scott and Terence Crutcher. As the protests began in my city of Charlotte, NC, I felt just as I had during the Mike Brown protests. After all was said and done, no conviction was to be had and we all were left broken hearted. And the hash tags have become almost insurmountable. The cycle of murder, calls to action, the old adage of “I feared for my life”, missing evidence, lack of evidence, and the sort, followed by “No conviction” is well known by us all. Often these murderous police officers walk away with tons of cash via GoFundMe and pension plans.

We have had tapes of our people being murdered (remember Eric Garner), we have had children murdered as well (Tamir Rice), we have had people who were not officers get off Scott free after murdering our people (Trayvon Martin). These people have been immortalized but not in a positive way. Now we are in an election year and we all know that neither candidate truly cares about what is happening to us on a daily basis. Even the United Nations has brought the brutality to light. So, what is the solution?

I believe that the solution must be multi-faceted and all actions strategic. I am at a point in my life that I do not believe that liberation for our people can be found on the shores of Amerikkka. But, I do also understand that leaving this country may not be feasible for everyone. So, we must live as separate and as unified as possible. Participation in elections on a local level is of the utmost importance, boycotting oppressive corporations and spending black, educating our own youth—via homeschooling or afterschool enrichment programs, growing our own food, utilizing alternative methods for power such as solar energy, opening co-op grocery stores, etc. All of these actions are feasible and I feel necessary. We must stop doing what we have always done in order to achieve the change we seek. All change begins within. Revolution begins in the mind. By changing your mind, you can change your life. One person can create a ripple and cause great change and affect the lives of generations. One step at a time…..

 

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali

The Tru Lioness

Unity is Strength

Posted on by Ashaki Omikunle

Peace, love, and light as always fam! The hot days of summer have descended upon us and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I have begun to start my days a tad different lately. Instead of sitting around and collecting my thoughts (or rather getting lost in them) when I wake in the morning, I rise and ride my bike a few miles each day. The daily bike ride serves me in several ways—it of course is strengthening my body, it is also a time for me to meditate and zone out, it is building my endurance, it is also allowing me to see the world and my surroundings more clearly. Riding my bike each day allows me to see my community for what it is.

I wish I saw more unity among our people. I spend time online as well as out and about within my community and the lack of unity is apparent. We have families that don’t even have relationships and it is a sad state of affairs. Have we lost the core love we had for each other? What has happened to us? No matter what word you use for unity, whether it be umoja or isokan, the lack of unity is literally killing us. Sadly, I see more of us getting together for nonsense than for events, discussions, and likewise that are serving us. Why is it that we don’t mind gathering to party but refuse to show up to events that would help build and sustain our people? Is it complacency? Is it lack of consideration? Or is it that most of us truly do not care?

We live in a very materialistic world. We are bombarded with media that is full of misogyny, violence, superficiality, and things that degrade our people day in and day out. What will it take for us to tune out the noise and tune in to what matters? We don’t realize how truly powerful we are. Yesterday, I spoke to my dear friend Mia who lives in Memphis. She told me how a friend of hers, who  is a little person, had been mistreated at a local store. She said he was going back to the store and she told him to stay away from the store. Why would he continue to spend money at a store that had treated him poorly? Now, she will not shop at the store either because she is standing with him. This is unity. Now, imagine if that community decided to boycott the store. If no Afrikan spent money with the merchant, the store would be forced to close. This is just one example of unity as strength. Imagine if we stood together on all fronts—our children’s education, our healthcare delivery, where we purchased our household goods, our groceries, etc. We have to grow beyond waiting on anyone to come in and make things right. We have all the power. We simply have to apply knowledge and be consistent. Onipa nnye nwura (Unity is Strength!)

 

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali