The Cradle of Humankind and the Turmoil of Race in the United States

The first week in the “Educational Technology and Africa and the Diaspora” course, there was a strange reflection taking place. The week made an impression because classwork was set to start near the celebratory date of June 19th which is known as Juneteenth in the United States. Some African-Americans call it Freedom Day. According to Wikipedia, Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Despite enjoying the visual of expensive fireworks raging off like war cannons from people who visually have the same skin tone but with smiling faces, I quietly took a moment to notice my own sense of uneasiness of how maybe celebrating this “holiday” could also reinforce a colonial past and perpetuate social constructs of racism because we accept the idea of being derived from slaves? Kindergarten through 12th grade and even college classrooms in the United States, history lessons generally felt awkward as they always began with the perception of blacks being slaves during the Atlantic Slave Trade. Lessons breezed over historical facts such as Africans being rulers as Kings and Queens. Celebrating Juneteenth carried a bittersweet position with this knowlege because its great news to be free from bondage but I consider how reluctant African history education has been in the United States by not celebrating African rulers and are void of spending multiple chapters discussing the enslavement of white people.

As a lifelong learner, I’ve become more interested in content from books such as White Cargo, The Inventions of the White Race (Volume 1: Racial Oppression and Social Control and Volume 2: The Origin of Racial Oppression in Anglo-America), White Servitude and Convict Labor in America 1607–1776, and They Were White and They Were Slaves (The Untold History of the Enslavement of Whites in Early America). There are stories of kidnapped white prostitutes, starving white children, and white convicts transported from locations such as The Bridewell Prison in the United Kingdom. Servants were transported to America as chattels or brides to planters. I find it ironic that colonialism is somewhat existent to this day due to the coolness or ironic badge of honor if you’re a descendent of a convict. On my social media accounts, I questioned if we should learn more about how American history doesn’t embellish white slavery or recognize that it could also have beget the concept of African-American slavery?

Throughout the first week of studying Africa and the Diaspora, I’ve recalled the historical concept of the “Cradle of Humankind” which is in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Cradle of Humankind holds claims to the evolution of all humanity. This caused me to question if all humankind is from Africa, then how does this affect modern ideologies of race? Are humans living within illusions of social constructs where certain groups willingly accept one perspective of history alongside mythical opponents which fears the color black to the point of killing other humans to preserve their own life and disown being a descent of Africa?

Using this blog article I’d like to segue and introduce the harmful side affects of social constructs so that we can begin the conversations in regards to the benefits of digital twin technology for those suffering from issues such as the consumerism crisis in the United States. I’m doing this by asking for your support with an open-source project called “Foodation”. At the end of Zeniab Badawi’s Ted Talk titled “Using African History as a Tool for Change” she says “only when lions have historians, will the hunters cease to be heroes…the descendants of Africa in any part of the world are the real lions”.