I've never 'got'

Ma'afa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caWDAO9WPqw

Amongst other more little-known channels, Roots music is about the untold history of the African diaspora. Without it, the Pan-African consciousness, 'Rasta', that might be identified with the civil rights movement in the African American peoples, would not exist or be an extremely rare thing to hear of. This music is about teaching another history, not taught in schools, one that denies the Northern Europeans' enslavement of African people as a legitmate (if now discredited) 'trade', and the misplaced credit that Europeans tend to place on other Europeans having emancipated enslaved people. It wasn't Wilberforce, he was a slaver. Enslavement wasn't banned two hundred years ago, it was pushed under the carpet: British people were still enslaving in Nigeria up to the Firist War. For instance, how many people here know the names of the leaders of African insurgence against enslavment? Their history is not told to us. They are depicted as troublemakers, even now, despite the fact the we have made a play for undoing 'slavery', yet we have done no such thing. When do you ever hear of reparation? Only in Roots music and some conscious soul music, some hip hop.

In Haiti, the French colonials were chucked out, and this was the first free state of formerly enslaved people. Ever since, Haiti has been locked out of the European-American political and economic system, and is one of the poorest countries in the region. They are still being punished for getting up and standing up.

Knowing the history of how my forefathers' and foremothers' country humiliated, murdered, tortured and enslaved African peoples is really important, to me. I value the things that Roots has taught me, because it isn't taught in school, and all the more important to me for that.

Thanks for reading this.