A weblog by Jonathan Ali
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| Notes from a small island A weblog by Jonathan Ali |
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Friday, November 28, 2003 I get angry when I hear that word "empire"; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised. It is because of this concept of empire that my British education led me to believe that the history of black people started with slavery and that we were born slaves, and should therefore be grateful that we were given freedom by our caring white masters. It is because of this idea of empire that black people like myself don't even know our true names or our true historical culture. I am not one of those who are obsessed with their roots, and I'm certainly not suffering from a crisis of identity; my obsession is about the future and the political rights of all people. Benjamin Zephaniah OBE - no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire. -- British poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah, following on the heels of novelist Hari Kunzru and rejecting an honour; namely, the offer to become an officer of the Order of the British Empire. posted by Jonathan | 1:53 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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