paravanes:meditations

In his book Conversations with God , James Melvin Washington (whose work predates a book of the same title by Neale Donald Walsch) writes a chapter titled "Slavery and the Eclipse of the African Gods." Washington's description of Black slaves and their conversion to Christianity suggests this conversion was not the result of "brainwashing" by slave owners in pursuit of submissive slaves. Rather, Washington describes this process as the eclipse of the African gods. I found his discussion interesting and convincing. If slaves had been "brainwashed" by owners, owners would not have banned private gatherings when slaves met to worship. When you have someone totally under your mental control, you don't worry about what they will do when you're not watching. Additionally, the proscriptions against slaves learning to read would not have been so vigorously enforced if slave owners really believed their own propaganda: slaves weren't very smart...

Hollywood has really lost its appeal. Unless there is a new Star Trek film on the horizon, I no longer look forward to knowing what's in the works in major commercial theaters. Why? I am too tired of Hollywood films that continue to depict a single element of the African-American experience while calling these films "historical", "powerful", "educational", and "enlightening." Recently, a friend urged me to see "The Butler", and I wrote back explaining why I wasn't going to see the film. I told him I was tired of seeing African-Americans depicted almost exclusively in subservient roles which did not present an image of people empowered to make material changes in their lives. I told him I am still waiting to see a film on the life of Ida B. Wells-Barnett , or Mary Ellen Pleasant , or Toussaint L'Ouverture . Do you recognize these names?  Why or why not? I told him I acknowledged the true history of African-Ameri...