This Saturday we heard from Professor Joseph Mbele on the recent uptick in Black folks returning to Africa. He discussed the benefits and the delusions of African Americans seeking autonomy and happiness in the Motherland.
Prof. Mbele teaches at St. Olaf, specializing in folklore and the connection between folklore and literature. He has done folklore fieldwork in Kenya, Tanzania, and the USA, and given lectures and conference papers on folklore in Canada, Finland, India, Israel, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and USA. After earning a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin and before coming to St. Olaf in 1990 to teach post-colonial and third-world literature, he taught in the Literature Department of the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Over the years, he has taught courses such as Swahili Literature, Theory of Literature, African Literature, Sociology of Literature, Post-Colonial and Third World Literature, The Epic, and African-American Literature.
The full show can be found HERE.
Professor Mbele on Capitalism:
Question of the Day:
The highly anticipated installment of the Rocky film series, Creed III with Michael B. Jordan, came out in theaters last Friday and critics are already calling it a box-office hit. I agree, because it was a perfect artistic snapshot of our current social dilemmas. The storyline was strong and entertaining and the symbolism was expressive of the times we’re living in, especially through the two main characters. Their names, mannerisms, including the boxing colors and style worn by the protagonist and antagonist took a direct page from America’s social, political and cultural tug-of-war.
If you’re familiar with Mad Magazine’s iconic Spy vs. Spy cartoon of the never-ending battle between black and white spies, than you won’t have too far to venture for this comparative analysis to Creed III. It’s your typical good versus evil drama full of suspense, folklore and life lessons; however, Creed III also captured the conscientiousness of our nation that dialogue and protest has failed to do, and today’s PC and woke culture has stifled. The film discreetly exposes the cavern that continues to divide African Americans into different cultural, ideological and economic groups. There are those who embrace Africa as the Motherland and only see a prosperous and unified future nation with the issue of reparations resolved and justice reached, to those who have lost their connection to Africa and instead pledge allegiance to claim a nation their ancestors built through chattel slavery as their new aboriginal home. A recent example of this is actress Raven-Symoné declaring that she sees herself as an American, not African American or even Black, arguing she has no connection to Africa.
Creed III is parallel to the White Spy (Adonis) beating the Black Spy (Damian), and forcing him to wear women’s clothing and thigh-high boots on the cover of a Black magazine. And how ironic that Majors’, (Black Spy) last major movie role was titled, The Last Black Man in San Francisco.
As part of Black History Month, Sankofa Café, celebrating its 25th year of serving up books, knowledge, speakers and just about anything you can get in a Café, served up another incredible event: Dr. Julius Garvey LIVE, Talk & Book Signing.
This Black History Month the Advancement Project’s Justice Project is celebrating Black love, perseverance and excellence in the face of systemic racism and incarceration. Time, the film, captivates audiences with a couple’s relentless fight for each other and justice amidst America’s depraved, harmful punishment and prison policies in one of America’s worst incarcerators. Fox and Rob Richardson share the rest of their riveting story, in Time, the book, including the faith that sustained them during their two decade imprisonment and the miracles that brought them and their family back together again.