Ending Black Dependency: Images and Stories

"At this stage of advanced technological development, part of the answer to ending Black Dependency is very simple: Images and Stories. The more we hear and see about the true nature of the way We live inside the belly of the Western beast, but particularly how we live in Africa, the closer we get to ending our dependency. We need to see the details of the social, economic and geo-political relationships that our countries in Africa have amongst themselves, but particularly how they relate to the world." 

Dependency is the condition shared by all Black folks worldwide. We are up against forces that will not go lightly, and the impact they have on our psyche, which struggles with the desire for modernity as defined and bestowed by the West, and being "independent" and often poor and deprived of the technological and logistical convenience associated with the West. "You have to crawl before you walk" is the most appropriate aphorism for Black people worldwide trying to end their dependency, a dependency responsible for the retarded growth of Black human capital and civic development. But our Best and Brightest and Boldest won't wait; their self esteem demands the best of what the West has to offer, which is why it is so easy for them to be co-opted by the West -- Hollywood stardom playing or producing depressing stereotypes, illegal resource extraction, capital flight and tax evasion, willing western proxies in Resource Wars that destroy Black society and enrich the West --- some do it out of impatience, some do it out of ignorance, some out of pure selfish greed.

At this stage of advanced technological development, part of the answer to ending Black Dependency is very simple: Images and Stories. The more we hear and see about the true nature of the way We live inside the belly of the Western beast, but particularly how we live in Africa, the closer we get to ending our dependency. We need to see the details of the social, economic and geo-political relationships that our countries in Africa have amongst themselves, but particularly how they relate to the world. Western media is so very good at recognizing the impact that images and stories told in various genres from comedy to thrillers, have in preparing and informing the body politic for the realities of life. We don't see that range of images and stories from a Black perspective, not in Africa and not in America. It's beginning to happen, particularly on the Internet. Check out "African City" a series modeled on the American show, "Sex and the City", about 5 African women returning to Ghana after living and working in the West. One can tell that the creators are conscious of the work that has to be done in the realm of Images and Stories that reflect our internal realities. They are reflecting the dialogues and concerns and challenges of the modern Ghanaian world. Likewise for the movie "Viva Riva", which was really about the indigenous struggle to benefit from the natural resources of their country, but packaged in a fun and adventurous genre.

• In the end, Images and Stories are vital information that once in the consciousness of the Black body politic, will begin to reflect in the things we talk about, the agenda's we set and goals we pursue. CulturalGrassroots.com is where we are gathering to Fund The Images and Stories We Want To See!
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