bryanjazz

Once again I find myself posting about Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate form Kenya. In an article she wrote for Forbes.com regarding the recent Peace Prize being given to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Ms. Maathai eloquently illustrates the African context of the environmental movement, and why global warming is more than an abstract notion for the continent, which is experiencing sweeping environmental changes that real people are facing today. Maathai writes:

For me, the issue is personal--for it is in my part of the world, the continent of Africa, that the effects of global climate change are likely to be most severe. Increased drought, erratic rainfall, floods, crop failures and the consequent migration of large numbers of people will only intensify already existing tensions here and in other developing regions.

Indeed, as my own love for the continent and it's people have grown through my travels there, the issue is personal for me, too. Read her article, "An Appreciation of Al Gore", here.

BBC Profile

The Green Belt Movement

Who woulda thunk it? That I would be in Ghana on the occasion of one of the rare spectacles of nature. It was a pretty amazing site to see. The photos are only a pale artifact of the phenomenon of seeing the sun blackout and experiencing few moments of darkness midmorning.

Photos by J. Amuzo

Perhaps you can experience the next one on Aug. 1, 2008 in one of the following locations: Nunavut, Greenland, Siberia, Mongolia and China (source).Hmmmm....that's not a bad idea. (more photos here)

there is so much
how can i tell you all
i cannot

you must come

After my last trip to West Africa, I wrote an article about my travels (which was published last summer in a quarterly periodical, Pulse, produced by Gay Men of African Descent). I even mention it in my bio page. Well, since a year has past, I figure I should finally post the essay on my site. As I begin to feel more and more acclimated here, and as I ponder the meaning of home, the significance of my first journey increases. Enjoy!

A Journey of My Own Choosing

The sun was shining, breezes were blowing, and the waves were crashing on the shore. I walked toward the water, away from my friends, stepping into full consciousness that this was the moment I had created for myself. Looking out across the water, I allowed all the thoughts and feelings to rise to the surface: the realization of who I was, based on my history and actions…based on my heritage. Long ago my own ancestors were taken from these very shores, on a journey not of their choosing, to a new world of struggle and suffering, of endurance and triumph over adversity. And I had chosen to return, several generations later, a son coming home to the land of his ancestors.

Traveling to Africa has been a desire of mine for several years. I’ve known for some time that I must go and “see for myself” the land and the people about which so much has…and has not…been written. I wanted my own sensory experience of it, slashing through all of the media images, literary references and cultural stereotypes of the continent. I frequently retell the experience of seeing my first African film when I was much younger. The film opened up with a wide shot of a sprawling African metropolis, with cars hurriedly rushing by crowds of pedestrians and tall buildings, on their way to take care of the business of the day. It was a simple and beautiful, establishing shot. Yet for a few seconds I was startled by the image. It was not that I didn’t know, intellectually, that there were big cities in Africa; it was that I had never seen them in film. The few images I had actually seen were largely of the African countryside, and interior shots of African political officials in the news (when Africa makes the news). It was a revealing moment for me, one of those that helped to formulate my desire to supplement my intellectual understanding with tangible experience.

My choice of where (and when) to go on this vast continent of thousands of cultures was influenced by my own experience studying African spirituality (specifically of the Dagara people of Burkina Faso) and by the fact that a good friend had spent the majority of the past few years in Ghana. Since Ghana is bordered by Burkina Faso to the north, it felt as though my ancestors were clearly indicating in which region I should begin my exploration.

Upon exiting the airport in Accra...(see full text here)

Gee, I haven't posted in a while, huh? Well, a lot's been happening. I sold my house at the end of December. Then, I travelled around the south again to visit family displaced by Katrina and its aftermath: my mom in Houtson, and cousins in Canton, MS and Atlanta. Specifically, I drove to Canton, MS from Washington. Then I flew round trip to DC for a weekend. Shortly after returning to Canton, I drove to Houston for xmas with mom. I then returned to Canton for a couple of days, then drove on to Atlanta to bring in the new year with family. I then drove on back to DC for a few days, where I left my car, and took the train up to NYC for about a week. On Friday, the 13th, I left the U.S. to return to Accra, Ghana for almost four months.

It feels great being back in Ghana. I caught up with old friends and already met new people. The weather is nice and hot, the people are largely warm and friendly, and I am surrounded by a sea of beautiful black faces. A place to chill for a while. This is exactly what my soul desires right now.

Is this Home?