As the Rastafarian community in Dominica and others in the public observe African Liberation Day today, member of the House of Nyahbinghi Ras Bernard Imani Shaw has called on Dominicans to recognize themselves as being of African descent.
Shaw said that some people are reluctant in identifying themselves as descendants of Africans.
“I think we need the mental strength to tell ourselves, yes we are that we still have a reluctance to say we are Africans,” he said. “We have to recognize that we are African descendants.”
According to Shaw, African Liberation Day is not “a Rasta thing”.
“African Liberation is a black people thing,” he remarked. “And actually it is the governments of the black nations which are the ones who are supposed to be moving the African liberation philosophy.”
Shaw continued, “They are the ones who are supposed to lead the way, so they must always see themselves as being involved as the leaders of the nation today, that they could link with the leaders of Africa.”
Members of the House of Nyahbinghi will hold its yearly march from Roseau to the Harlem Plaza, chanting sounds and beating drums as part of the celebration.
This will be followed by a rally at the Harlem Plaza beginning from 4:30 pm.
All blacks are NOT from Africa! We are from this region and will not abandon it, just because some think that we are all African! We were here before Columbus or any other people came and we should seek to develop this region in conjunction with Africa. We were not all brought here on ships from the Motherland, as was claimed! The notion that ALL blacks came here as a result of the slave trade is nothing short of nonsense. We are Caribbean Aboriginals, not African!
Foolish talk. I believe that this ancestry thing is a scam.
Lets go back to Africa
You go there, who is stopping you? So many people in Africa desperate and risking their life to go to Europe. I am Dominican, not Afican. So many different countries in Africa, which one is mine then?
With so much political divisiveness in DA, maybe we should focus on Dominican identity first.
Being a descendant from Africa or anywhere else does not mean we do not have to have pride in looking neat. Our descendants too pride in cleanliness of the body,and always an elegant look.
what spiritual practice did we use before we were stolen and exported to the west? Why do we still demean dreadlocks? why do we accept other races before we accept our own?
you know there is a way to trace where you’re from roughly… by doing an ancestry dna test
Foolish talk. I believe that this ancestry thing is a scam.