Can Ghanaians/africans Be ‘racist’?

Mark Murrell, from Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago questions the use of a picture to expose racism (imagine any picture. The warped logic in his thinking causes me to write this note to explain what racism is. Often both African and European people misunderstand and misuse this concept. His response:

'This is wrong!!!... Where is the justification for these type of posts in TODAYS living?? does this make US any different from those that committed wrongs before?? hating is hating... and I AM assuring you that there are BLACK/NEGRO fools out there that will befriend you then buss ur ass up faster than you can say Africa unite....a Man is A Man, his MIND is what defines him not his colour!!....'

Richard L Pierre, who originally posted the picture, responded, 'Mark, you have no problem with the picture on the right?' Mark counters even more ridiculously:

'Who promotes these things??? What/who does this really represent??? todays women?? I think NOT!!!... this is now a petty none issue for so many folks, there are ppl (like myself) who's clientele is largely (shall I say) not black, who's lives, friendships, relationships, family life, jobs, etc rests on ppl from other ethnic groups how can these types of posts evn lead to anything but uneasy thoughts and/or incite racism??'

I do not see an iota of sense in Marks reasoning. What he says above boils down to this: 'African people do not support my business, European people do. So Africans must stop annoying and making Europeans uneasy and inciting 'racism' against them.'

The question he failed to answer is, 'do you have no problem with the picture on the right?' We Africans (and I know many Africans from both the continent and the Diaspora will have problems accepting they are Africans) cannot continue to fool ourselves interminably. So I will answer it for him: NO. This leaves us with the issue of the meaning of 'racism'. Does he seriously know its meaning?

Do you know 'racism' was constructed by redneck, chauvinist, ethnic-cleansing, prejudicial, capitalist European bastards, who had arrogantly drawn a false sense of ethnic superiority over Africans - since we are all the same race, and every human emerged from Africa?

Do you know this false sense of superiority is because their capitalist 'Plantocrat' (slave-driving plantation owner) ancestors had amassed massive wealth by enslaving and colonising African people? (http://socialistworker.org/2002-2/431/431_08_Racism.shtml).

Do you, therefore, know that racism then presupposes superiority: historical power, economic power, cultural and class preeminence of Europeans over Africans? Hence do you know that technically Africans are not racist (but some Africans can be prejudiced and biased against Europeans because of their historical advantages)? That amongst themselves, Africans can eve resort to extreme forms of murderous chauvinism - like 'ethnic cleansing' as happened in the Biafra-Nigeria War; internecine war between duel-heritage Arab Africans and native Africans in Libya; warring factions in Liberia and Sierra Leone - and is happening in Central African Republic and Southern Sudan?

Well...I have outlined the historical and conceptual explanations. It is up to us all to check the cruel treatment of our enslaved ancestors – the violent repression of their cultures (names, cuisines, birth/marriage/burial traditions; religious cohesion, family units and language forms). These have had devastating, irreversible effect on our current community/national cohesion (reason for the many ethnic wars I have already pointed out) economic (the material, science and technological underdevelopment of our economies in Africa, the Caribbean).

The political disunity within both the Caribbean and African unions, are a direct result of the European Slave Trade and colonization project. These have place a heavy psychological burden on both our leadership and people. Also, our people suffer the invisible effects of this negative historical psychology culturally and socially. We have mutually destructive distrust of our kinsfolk. The violent psychological damage of all these on our mindset is as Mark illustrates in his angry reaction above.

We must all make an effort to read our sordid plantation Slavery and colonial histories. Suggestions: How Europe Under-Developed Africa (Walter Rodney – also his History of the Upper Guinea Coast), Capitalism and Slavery (Eric William The Destruction of Black Civilisation (Chancellor Williams) Slaves Who Abolished Slavery ( Richard Harte) Black Jacobins (C.L.R. James) All books by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (Panaf Books: http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/414621.Kwame_Nkrumah).

For further reference Google everything about what I have written about so far. Check the cruel treatment of our enslaved ancestors – the violent repression of their names, religions, family unite, languages, community cohesion, economic, political cultural and social systems – the violent psychological damage of all these on our mindset today (such as Mark illustrates).

Please feel welcome to discourse the issues with me. AFRICANS MUST UNITE.