WHERE THE HELL YOU BEEN?!
In the biblical story of Joseph, Joseph is sold into slavery by his 10 brothers for 20 shillings of silver. Joseph is then incarcerated where a fortuitous sequence of events occur that place him in a position of power after he interprets the Pharoah's dreams.
But as karmic law goes, Joseph comes face to face with the brothers that sold into slavery decades later. At first, he accuses them of espionage. Then he forgoes the facade but devises a test to see if his brothers are still as scandalous as they were when they sold him into bondage.
A famine in the land forces them (his brothers) to come to Egypt with hat in hand begging for bread. Even as they beseech him for his beneficence and mercy, the brothers are clueless as to his true identity. But, Joseph gives them grain and sends them on their way. But not before he has his advisers place a silver cup into their possession without their knowledge.
As they depart for home, Joseph sends his officers after the brothers to search their belongings for the silver cup. When it is discovered, he proposes to enslave the youngest brother, Benjamin, as recompense for the staged theft. At this moment, Benjamin's brother Juda comes forth and says:
"We have a father, an old man and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead. He alone is left of his mother's children. And his father loves him. If I do not bring him back, then I will bear the blame in the sight of my father all my life. Now therefore, please let your servant (me) remain as a slave, in place of the boy."
Moved by the selfless sacrifice of Juda, Joseph openly weeps and embraces his brothers. He reveals his identity. His brothers, troubled by the outcome of their past treachery, are a bit apprehensive. But Joseph soothes their fears and tells them that it all was a part of God's plan.
Who would guess that over 2000 yrs later, this same scene would be replayed in a church in Baltimore, MD. In 1999, Benin President Mathieu Kerekou fell to his knees in a black church in sincere contrition to beg for forgiveness for his country's role in sending his brothers and sisters into the infernal clutches of European Slave Traders.
A major supplier of slaves for white exporters, Benin, known as Dahomey during the 17th century, is estimated to have rounded up more than 3 million Africans for sale to slave traders. But this action was not without consequences and repercussions for the continent. For just as Joseph's family suffered under the plague of famine, Africans have come before African-Americans for diplomatic recognition of the rapacious effects of European Colonialism.
Starting with the apropos Portugese Slave Trade in 1441 by Portugese merchant Anton Goncalves, the second and perhaps most vicious wave of European Colonialism began on the African continent. From there a whole sale looting and disintegration of the continent accelerated at warp speed as European countries gained supremacy over the seas. The following is a time line of Europe's colonial odysseys in Africa. (Watch the video)
Like a robust turkey, the entire continent was carved up for the insatiable European appetite. Africa was the hunting grounds for raw materials to fuel the emerging western industrial revolution. Only Ethiopia and Liberia were spared from the dreaded white plague of European Imperialism.
Europe's rise was predicated on a parasitic relationship with Africa that saw a mass looting of the continent, catastrophic casualties, and the destruction of massive tracts of irrigable land on the continent.
An estimated 100 million Africans lost their lives either under European Colonialism, or the struggle for independence from it. This may answer the question as to the reason for the African absence in the struggles of their estranged brothers and sisters in the western hemisphere. For even as African-Americans were struggling for human rights in the Queen's States, Africans were struggling for independence from the King's Court.
Even when Africans gained independence from colonial powers, the Africans were under siege from agents of repression through the auspices of benign sounding organizations like the World Bank, IMF, or the United Nations. These organizations were usually under the control of the former colonial powers. Therefore, they controlled the African countries more effectively through the distribution of humanitarian aid than at the barrel of a gun.
We must also take into consideration the numerous coup de' tats orchestrated by western powers with the assistance of corrupt native Africans generals and diplomats. Thus, in a display of divine justice, the Africans sold their brothers to the very man that stole their liberty. They have been fighting ever since.
So now that we know where Africans were during the darkest hours of African-American tragedy, we must ask ourselves whether Africans can show the humility and contrition of Joseph's brothers? What are they willing to sacrifice to heal the wounds of their ancestral betrayal? Will there be reconciliation? Maybe someday on Wakanda.
TONY MACEO is the Chief Blogger at Power and Strategy.com and the Senior Blogger @ the Negromanosphere. Like and Share the Articles. Subscribe to the website @ PowerandStrategy.com. Support by paypal @wayofstrategy44@gmail.com or on Patreon @Powerofstrategies. TILL NEXT TIME, I'LL HOLLA!
