I can tell you who the African – as I know him/her – is. But who is the New African? Better yet, what does it mean to be a New African? There is no doubt that times have changed. More and more, we [Africans] are losing our rights – and I use the word rights as a paradox – to be second class citizens, our rights to be unsuccessful, our rights to be passed by, and our rights to be looked down upon. Gone are the days, it seems, when we could say, “It’s because I’m an African man/woman,” or “If only I weren’t African,” or my favorite one, “It’s because of the witches and wizards in Africa…”
Our fellow African citizens have reached mega stardom and acquired mega wealth and success … all while being African – accents, funny names, and all. When a man whose father is Kenyan becomes the President of the most powerful country, it throws us for a loop. When a woman who has endured – in her words – “slave beatings” rises to the top of the media empire becomes a force that cannot even be attempted to be reckoned with, we begin to wonder. And her nose is just as African as ours. When Innocent ‘2Face’ Idibia – baby momma drama and all – appears on an American TV station where he’s being interviewed and almost every other word from his mouth is “Nothing dey happen” or “Yes ooo!” one has to stop and wonder. Or what about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Chinua Achebe?
Maybe there is indeed a New African.
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| Mo and Guests discussing the New African |
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| Mo and Guests discussing the New African |
This week on Moments With Mo, Mo attempts to answer these questions: Has the stereotypically negative image of Blacks and Africans around the world changed since Obama’s presidency? Has our image improved? Can we pay tribute to strong Blacks in order to counter the negative media images they usually put out about Africans? Does racism still exist? Who is the Black man today? How do we see ourselves and how does the rest of the world see us?
Watch this episode of Moments With Mo tomorrow, Tuesday, November 30th 2010 on Mnet West Africa at 9:30pm. If you miss it tomorrow, you can watch a repeat episode on Wednesday, December 1st 2010 at 2:00pm, and on Saturday, December 4th 27th 2010 (all on Mnet West Africa). Happy viewing
Watch this episode of Moments With Mo tomorrow, Tuesday, November 30th 2010 on Mnet West Africa at 9:30pm. If you miss it tomorrow, you can watch a repeat episode on Wednesday, December 1st 2010 at 2:00pm, and on Saturday, December 4th 27th 2010 (all on Mnet West Africa). Happy viewing
J
