The ambiguous Egyptian dictator actually stepped down. Egyptians
will soon be free to vote for the wrong candidate just like
we do here in the US. At least that�s what I tweeted to
the known universe. Hosni Mubarak waited �til the last possible
micro-second before finally making his exit. It�s not everyday
that we witness an ouster purely based on demonstrations,
but this is a man who survived 6 assassination attempts.
Egyptians began their civil disobedience on 1/25 and hit
pay dirt on 2/11/11 US est. Yes they are celebrating (even
had the decency to clean up), but some of them must be kicking
themselves. What in the hell took them so long?
Doubtless they would have tried sooner, if they knew it
would be this easy. But then again, it wasn�t easy, it was
short and somewhat costly. Lives were lost (300), people
were injured
Mubarak stalled as long as he could have in stepping down.
Other countries-including the US-thought it was going to
be sooner, but Mubarak began replacing his concessions made
to quite the crowd, with outright historical revisionist
platitudes. Once even inferring that he was the ruler of
a kingdom that dates back 7,000 years, when it actually
began in 1922. I understand, people make wacky statements
when they are being rushed, but the 28th of this month will
mark Egypt�s 89th Anniversary as an independent state from
British rule. If Hosni wants to start invoking ancient Egypt
he needs to consult with some of the remaining black Egyptians.
Conspicuous by their absence in the midst of all the unarmed
and dangerous human WMDs over the past several weeks, and
amazed and repulsed by the thoroughly effective methods
western media has used to blank them out of our minds and
sights, in a world that prays for their absence, I am more
than obligated to acknowledge their presence.
These particular Egyptians certainly aren�t the most popular,
they are descendants of a people and time when pre-colonial
Egypt meant black or African. They now live among a nation
of brown or white Arab/Muslim with enough audacity to not
want to be considered African, but refuse to move to Arabia.
I keep wondering if they should be made to leave, and follow
Mubarak. It�s like someone finally breaking into your home
after decades of trying, refusing to leave, and at the same
time not wanting to admit what street they live on because
they really don�t like that side of town. Africa�s great
history actually goes back tens of thousands of years. To
understand this is to understand how Arab�s and upstart
Europeans marginalized these tens of thousands of years,
over just the last 500 years.
An article in the �National Geographic� (NG) says Egypt
was ruled by black Pharaohs for almost 100 years but their
roles and accomplishments were/are largely unknown due to
racism. Compare this to how many whites today feel they
must interpret President Obama: �For decades, historians
flip-flopped; either the black Egyptians were actually �white,�
or they were bumblers, their civilization a derivative off-shoot
of true Egyptian culture,� wrote Robert Draper.
For Draper and NG this was a major disclosure, a revelation.
What they actually did was just took an increment of black
Pharaonic rule and probably rocked millions of suburban
coffee tables. Imagine if they told their readers the whole
truth?
�The ancient world was devoid of racism. At the time of
Piye historic conquest, the fact that his skin was dark
was irrelevant. Artwork from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome
shows a clear awarness of racial features and skin tone,
but there is little evidence that darker skin was seen as
a sign of inferiority. Only after the European powers colonized
Africa in the 19th Century, did western scholars pay attention
to the color of the Nubian�s skin, to uncharitable effect.�
I noticed years ago how ancient African history was being
carefully undermined and censored by modern American racism.
One blogger even commented �the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
as �replacement heads� in the middle of the museum floor,
while the more important statues of black rulers and officials
are off to the side of the room, or in the basement, safely
away from tourists.�
One of today�s most powerful writers is a friend of mine;
the half Sudanese/half Egyptian Exiled author Kola Boof.
Her mother was a jet-black Sudanese woman known as Princess
Jiddi, and her father was an Arab Egyptian named Harith
Bin Farouk. In her 2006 essay �Today�s Black Egyptians:
An essay through photos,� she really did something no major
news TV reporter, commentator, or newspaper had ever done;
she went to Egypt and directly sought out and met with the
Nubians. She no-doubt felt compelled to visit Egypt after
receiving a letter from one of her uncles who wrote to her,
�people are so busy discussing and fighting over whether
or not the ancient Egyptians were black, that they forgot
we�re still here, we still exist. The Arabs who claim to
be Egyptians have not exterminated ALL of us yet.� According
to Boof there are one million black Egyptians who still
exist. But it�s the Egyptians who resemble her father who
get the most exposure and are portrayed as �real� Egyptians.
It would behoove the TV-One, BET, and even the Anderson
Coopers to pay much more attention to these black Egyptians
who come from such great lineage. Especially in such a pivotal
time in Egypt�s history as this because who can tell Northern
Africa�s story any better and more complete than them? Not
the Egyptian Military, not most of the protesters, not the
Muslim Brotherhood and certainly not the ousted Hosni Mubarak.
BlackCommentator.com Columnist Chris Stevenson
is a syndicated columnist, his articles also appear on his
blog; the Buffalo Bullet. Follow him on Twitter(pointblank009) and Facebook
(pointblank009 ) Click here to contact Mr. Stevenson.
|