From Mende to Negro: the Violent Recasting of African Identity

[nathan77021]

HEELL WHY?????

[rolaidssymptoms]

Jews controlled the slave trade.

[procommenter]

ALL Taco Bell employees identify with the whipping and manacling depicted in "Roots."

[xman69100]

does any one notes black guy doing beating

[Tourniquet88]

"Tobi with an 'I', with an accent over the 'I' and a little line over the 'O'..."

[imdavid666]

except its bullshit, slaveholders rarely whipped their slaves, they were too valuable.

[ThePrinceLuzifer]

I dont see anything wrong with this whipping.

[imaStonesFan]

@ThePrinceLuzifer Who says it to be true anyway. Most the scars the slaves had were from their own people in Africa. Africa had slaves and beat them.

[mindspring57]

@ThePrinceLuzifer Master's view: Blacks were sold into slavery by their own chiefs. If he remained in Africa, he would have lived in a society that had not invented the wheel or written language and might have been eaten by cannibals. Instead, some kind-hearted white person decides to bring him to Virginia, where he can be taught to be a useful worker and be provided for. If he does not cooperate, we will just have to teach him some manners, and do it in a way the others will know about too.

[virus2918]

@TheTimeWeAllDied Mr Aimes is actually Scottish, but you sort of make a good point. I am from the UK and always laugh Roots, especially this scene because the 'British' accents are so utterly appalling. Could they not afford to have British actors?

[TheTubeEmperor]

you people are crazy for saying that us africans sold our own people into slavery but what you people don't understand is that the african kings or chiefs live by spiritual codes they would never do such things because it's against the spiritual codes they were well aware of that don't get me wrong there were probably some selfish traitors who did some dirty things behind the king's or chief's back but other than that the chiefs or kings would never do such things believe me

[amazingdany]

@TheTubeEmperor I don't believe your BS. West African tribes had slaves, they were happy to sell them to Europeans who had money and goods for them, and they had no problems banking as they had more than enough.

Yup, your tribal chiefs and African kings got very rich during the slave trade.

Spiritual codes my ass... Who falls for that kind of BS? Probably only you.

[mindspring57]

@TheTubeEmperor If your african kings were so holy, none of you would be here today.

[virus2918]

@Knwldgb Even to the end of his life he remembered who he was. Was very moving when his daughter in Roots scratched Toby off his grave marker and wrote Kunta Kinte.

[fineguh]

Respond to this video... I'm sorry migration back to where & to claim what land Noww?? lol That's was a nice juster but sadly that will never happen. Let's say hypothetical if it did happen well there will be heavy blood share so just forget that buddy. Anywho there is a country in west Africa called LIBERIA & this country was founded by the american colonization society in 1847 right after slavery had ended in the U.S for Afro- Americans that wanted to go back to Africa .

[enyawix]

This is one of many reasons I hate africans.

[akaroyalljelly]

@enyawix Why does this make U hate africans?

[enyawix]

@akaroyalljelly Africans sold there on as an act of appeasement to Europeans. Like a shop keeper trying to pay off the mob. Sadly I see America being shaken down in the same way by its own government.

"He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither. People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both."

Benjamin Franklin

[akaroyalljelly]

@enyawix The africans that sold our ancestors R long since dead. Most of africa is impoverished. I believe that is a price that they're paying for what their tribal leaders did. I don't think that there was anything that any of the afircans could have done to prevent us from going on those slave ships.

[fineguh]

@akaroyalljelly Lmao first of all you need to do some research not most of Africa is poor. Pure ignorance, every country has poor places & poor people especially here in the U.S so your statement you made is irrelevant. Africa is not paying for anything their tribal leaders did, those tribal leaders paid for their own sins so don't generalize your statement to all of africa SMT

[virus2918]

@akaroyalljelly There's enough hate from our own time without adding to it by raking up stuff from the past. 

[akaroyalljelly]

@virus2918 We must not live in the past, but we must be cognizant of the past to learn it's lessons. There is a saying that goes like " those who don't learn from the mistakes of the past R doomed to repeat them"

[virus2918]

@akaroyalljelly Yes absolutely. As soon as enough people realised slavery was wrong they decided to get rid of it. We need to put this cruel past behind us. I'm glad there are people on here who can discuss this rationally. Many people who comment on these 'your name is Toby' threads are either total racists or whip fetishists.

[fontie6]

May Allah grant Kunta Kinta Jannah. Ameen. A true soldier of Islam.

[boskichevy]

Just let tha,man try this shit again. Just try this shit again. Ready for war!!!!!

[diyonisha]

Roots is a FAKE.

[Domini478]

@diyonisha How is it fake bitch? This is true dumbass!

[diyonisha]

@Domini478

The story IS A FAKE LOL

[Domini478]

@diyonisha Yes it isn't no real story but they did beat slaves like this.

[diyonisha]

@Domini478

Why would you want to keep wartching SOMETHING SO DISTURBING!

What good dose it do to make that into a movie or series

[virus2918]

@diyonisha Yeah half of it was written by a white man. A story called the African featured Kante Kinte. Alex Haley ended up having to pay the guy money. It's a shame that they weren't honest and said Roots was based on real events. Alex Haley was wrong to have the African tribe go along with a bullshit story. The real story of slavery is powerful on its own. Needs nothing added.

[catfishnelson]

@Prem488 I misunderstood you. Thank you for clarifying that for me.

[catfishnelson]

@Dangerdoom68 most people have no real understanding of enslavement, what it meant or how it still impacts people of African descent today, and that includes people of African descent. Our system of education and images in the media also negatively impacts our perception of Africa and Africans. We must correct this. Abusua ye dom is Akan and means the extended family is a force. This should be our objective: to embrace all people of African descent as family. We are one people.

[CerromeX]

After watching Shaka Zulu this doesn't matter no more I got my Black Pride

[catfishnelson]

@CerromeX then share your knowledge to assist our brothers and sisters who are struggling with self-hatred, self-loathing, low self-esteem, and who lack intellectual self-confidence because they do not know who they really are and because they do not know their true history. "I" has little meaning among African people. "We" in relationship to one another is far more powerful, far more meaningful, and far more important than "I."

[CHAKASHAKA]

@CerromeX both shaka zulu and toby are reflecting real personalities.........but look to none to give you pride....look at yourself and your own deeds to give you self worth,,,individualism and spiritualism is where its at...besides I am suprised that you mention the kunta kinte/toby clip as something that wouldnt give you pride........ the man stood his ground near death, just for a name.

[jeffnfoxylady1]

will power

[5bellies688]

well written catfishnelson. The desciption of the recasting is spot on. Thanks for posting this!

[catfishnelson]

@5bellies688 Medaasi (Thanks). Asediniho (Don't mention it)!

[mindspring57]

The Southern slaveholder view is that they had been sold into slavery by other blacks, and living conditions were better in the United States than they would have been in Africa (look what happened when Rhodesia became Zimbabwe). The reasoning continued: some of them would be troublesome or ungrateful, and "correction" would be necessary, to "benefit" the slave and to deter others. Don't shoot. I am just stating the other view, which can be verifying from a number of historical sources.

[Dangerdoom68]

@browneyes012488

You know and I know the European "whites" imposed Christianity in the late 1400s while earlier in the year 700s ( pre mellenium era) the Arabs imposed Islam in Northern African and enslaved millions especially "Afro women" by marriage as wives!

Sad an confused!!!

No wonder so many Afro-African "black" men of West sub-Saharan slave kin ancestry seek out European "white" women or any other non-Afro-African "black" women so their children can come out "mixed" ...LOL! Very sad!

[LukeTehUnlucky]

Chicken george will live forever in our minds... chicken george For The WIN!

[Matokew]

When are we avenging all these uncouth, archaic and atrocious white insanities? Africans...where are you? Tomorrow?

[maaruz1979]

"bantu" is just as bad as "negro"...bantu was coined in the 1800's by a white guy referring to languages but has now been hijacked to mean a racial term; basically the new "knee-grow"...all of africa is my birthright,..therefore i am AFRIKAN...meaning of that continent, not any stupid term made up by a white guy to classify some people

[catfishnelson]

@maaruz1979 thanks, point taken!

[BigPreme]

@maaruz1979 by that token African shouldn't be used either. This is a name given to Africa after the fall of Carthage. Akebulan would be better.

[maaruz1979]

@BigPreme yes but at least we know the land mass/ continent the word "africa" or "alkebulan" is referring to...can you tell me where is "bantustan"...where is this bantu land? who exactly is a bantu? i can tell you who africans are

[catfishnelson]

@BigPreme I too am a student of Dr. Ben, and like him and in part because of him I've grown to appreciate the significance of the power of language, particularly how we use it and how it is used against us. Dr. Ben came up with the name Akebulan as a means of taking back from Europeans the power to name and to define. One of the central points of the above video is to show this process of re-naming and re-defining in its purest form.

[catfishnelson]

@Prem488 I'm not sure of your question; the intention is to educate about how African identity was destroyed and "American Negro" identity was brought into being. The object is not to make it "okay" because for what should be obvious reasons - enslavement was not okay - this process therefore was most certainly NOT okay.