Give FBAs their flowers.
FBAs have suffered the most severe existence of any Black community in modern history. And, in the face of all that suffering, they’ve managed to become the primary creative force behind modern music and popular culture. Many will not acknowledge it but FBAs are the guiding force of the global Black community in a world that continues to judge human worth based on the social construct of race.
Disclaimer: The term Black refers to race not ethnicity. In academic terms, the Black race is referred to as Negroid. Distinct races share common genetic traits within their DNA, no matter where in the world they live. So when some FBAs say that Black can only be associated with the American Negro, they are referring to ethnicity, not race. Ethnic identity is a social construct encompassing the shared history, language, religion, traditions, art, food, and experiences of a people..
Black Americans have been called Niggers and African Americans for decades but in recent years, Black Americans are expressing a desire to developed their own classification. Some began to refer to themselves as ADOS or American Descendants of Slaves. Today, a new definition has emerged which drops the slave connotation. That definition is “Foundational Black Americans” or FBA for short. If you’ve interacted on Black social media recently, you’ve probably encountered FBAs sounding off about such topics as; FBAs are American, not African, it was only FBAs who created Hip Hop music, do Black Americans have a culture? Why do other Blacks disrespect FBAs? And, last but not least, who is or isn’t an FBA?
If you are a non-FBA of Caribbean descent like myself, you’d probably be tempted to engage FBAs about any of the topics listed above. You might be tempted to say that Black people from all over the world have been migrating to America for more than a century, all of whom have contributed to enriching Black American culture. You might be tempted to point out that foreign Blacks were responsible for cultivating some of the greatest civil-rights movements in American history. One individual was Marcus Garvey, who founded the UNIA in the 1920s.
Another person was Noble Drew Ali, the son of a Moroccan immigrant who founded the first Black Islamic temple in America. That Islamic seed grew to spawn influential Black leaders such as Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan, both of whom also have Caribbean lineages. Also, remember that in 1809 when the Haitian revolution ended and Haiti became independent, many rich whites and free Blacks, along with their servants fled to New Orleans. Many of these Blacks went on to participate in the Civil War. Remember “Whipped Peter” who Will Smith made a movie of a few years ago. He was Haitian.
FBAs did not exist in a bubble until the civil rights movement of the 60s. There were many cross-cultural influences with other Blacks throughout history but confrontation is not the answer as it will only serve to disunify the Black race. Instead, we need to give FBAs the respect they deserve. When we say that FBAs deserve their flowers, we’re saying that we as non-FBAs need to recognize the task that FBAs have involuntarily been burdened with fulfilling on behalf of the advancement of the Black race. Even when some of them appear to have adopted the pompous and self-righteous nature of our oppressors in the defense of their culture and achievements, you can still respect the fact that their point of view is simply a product of unconscious human nature.
Ever heard the term, “pressure creates Diamonds?” It means that Diamonds do not just appear out of thin air. A Diamond, which first begins as a lump of Coal or Carbon, has to undergo the extreme pressure of being pressed between rocks for thousands of years inside the Earth. Heat and pressure forces causes the lump of Coal to undergo a chemical transformation that results in a Diamond. Metaphorically speaking, such is also the process of creating resilient people. In other words, it is hardship and adversity that increases the resilience of people, not content and complacency.
Black people all over the world have benefited in one way or another from the hardship of our FBA cousins in America. Not that we from the Caribbean and other regions where slavery and colonization was once the norm, haven’t fought and attained freedom as well, the FBA struggle is greater because most of us, except maybe Brazil, have now gained political control of the countries we were once enslaved in. To reference our condition to the creation of a Diamond, the pressure eased, so most of us have settled. It is only those of us who want more, who are willing to migrate to the lands of our oppressors and live along-side many of them who don’t like us in order reap the benefits of greater opportunity.
Do not be foolish and claim never to have learned anything from FBAs. To begin with, we’ve learned that we cannot become complacent. And second, we’ve learned that we must continue to fight back against our oppressors because oppression is not a normal human condition, contrary to the Bible and Quran given to us to comfort our suffering. Recognize that we must fight back against racism, discrimination, and police brutality. And, since FBAs prefer to integrate with, instead of to separating from their oppressors, their struggles provide a deep psychological view into the true nature of oppression through the façade of nationalism. You can witness the process on full display today when you watch American politics and you see Black people choosing to support racists for one reason or another. That is known as Conscience Hijacking but that’s a topic for a separate discussion.
Foundational Black Americans (FBA) are a force to be reckoned with. Through great adversity, they’ve managed to adjust to the pressures of the hostile environment that they exist in (not like boiling frogs) but by the power of the Black Spirit. The result is that their sacrifice has produced exceptional individuals in arts, entertainment, and business, as well as inspirational leaders.
Afro-Conscious Media