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To think the ancient Egyptians were black

84 replies

JonathanDunn · 19/08/2016 22:56

The last thread was removed because of an inflammatory title. So I changed the title of this thread.

But I don't the media credits African people, or white actors playing Egyptians.

OP posts:
A11TheSmallTh1ngs · 20/08/2016 12:30

quencher Can you please give examples

Sure.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrocentrism#Criticism - it is basically an attempt to rewrite history to basically erase every other race and cultural impact. Fine, white people have erased everyone else historically but these theories are mainly targeted at OTHER RACES and peoples in middle and lower income countries. Egypt belongs to modern day Egyptians, not to Americans - no matter what their race.

Some specific beliefs that get bandied about on the internet:

Belief: Black people are the real jews mentioned in the Bible

Belief: Native Americans were actually black. White supremacists erased the records of African sailors sailing to America and modern Native Americans are actually black.

Belief: South Americans are black and self-hating. This is a pretty mainstream hypothesis and it makes it to mainstream articles.

  • This one is a huge source of tension in the US. Basically you go to another country, you explain that under the American 1 drop rule they are all black. They explain that they don't adhere to the 1 drop rule because they adhere to their own IN COUNTRY RULES. You call them self hating and in denial
www.theroot.com/articles/history/2011/08/dominicans_and_race_dont_call_them_black/

General primer on the hotep movement:

There are millions of articles, memes and facebook posts about pretty much all of this. It's a huge huge movement and much of it is focused on how modern black women are not "acting like queens", how homosexuality is a white invention to destroy black men and how everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - was done first by black people.

Populist Afrocentrism was the perfect social theory for the upwardly mobile black petty bourgeoisie. It gave them a sense of ethnic superiority and cultural originality, without requiring the hard, critical study of historical realities. It provided a philosophical blueprint to avoid concrete struggle within the real world.... It was, in short, only the latest theoretical construct of a politics of racial identity, a world-view designed to discuss the world but never really to change it.

— Manning Marable, Beyond Black and White: Transforming African American Politics (African American male professor of history at Columbia University and a Pulitzer Prize winner)

VestalVirgin · 20/08/2016 13:07

To my knowledge, ancient Egyptians were rather more brown than black. Like, Arabian. But probably a mixture - immigration would have happened.

Having them all be portrayed by milk-white actors is certainly historically incorrect.

TrollTheRespawnJeremy · 20/08/2016 14:17

It entirely depends on which period of 'ancient' egypt that you are considering and whether you're looking at Thebes, Cairo or Memphis......

quencher · 20/08/2016 22:39

A11
I see what you mean and I have heard of some of those before. Never gave it any thought. I never thought they were a thing other.
What puzzles me though is the pyramids in different continents that where built around the same time. Am not saying they were black but what am saying is there must have been travel before the Europeans ventured to the Americas or any other part of the world. Making it possible to share ideas.

With Jews debate I have heard racist comments made and mostly racist and those I have no interest.

I do know that in some parts of India/ Himalayas and sounding countries there are tribes who claim to be Jewish. They have asked to be allowed back to their promised land too. Not because they are defendants but the length of time they have practiced the religion.
I have also read somewhere, Thomas as in one of the disciples his resting place was somewhere in India or somewhere there.

If anyone is interested in African empires that is not Egypt they can read about the rise and fall of kingdoms in the interlascustine region. Some of the kingdoms date back to 1100 AD 1500AD. After that, you have the chwezi empire. It covered South Sudan, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, north of Tanzania, Burundi under one ruler. The tail end of it ended when the British invaded and captured the leader in the 1800s. Some of the kingdoms are now smaller but they are still in existence. A lot where abolished by the British empire when they colonised in order to make it easier to control.

The movement of tribes and stories, how each tribe came to be is also available online for anyone willing to learn. I find some of them very interesting. You can read on the Yoruba and Igbo which I find very interesting. Their understanding of God who created them is very monotheistic. The them is similar in most African stories of creation even though the god would have children and those that serve him or her. I
love to learn the movement of the banto tribe from Cameroon which is meant to be the birth place of all Bantos all the way to the east coast of Africa. The nilotics from south of Barh el gazel who migrated south , east and west of Africa. Some of the descendants became ja Lou, ( which is Barack Obama's African ancestors). Hamites and nilo- Hamites who are meant to be Arabs or Asians ancestry migrated across Africa from the east ending up in places like Rwanda and further south. The only similarity they have now is that they are slightly lighter in skin tone to of most Africans. (Not all Africans). That would include some Somalians, Eritreans, Ethiopian tribes. What I have just mentioned is just the basic. The whole history is so complex and books are out there for people who are tired of Tutankhamun or cleopatra. I don't know specific names of books though. I would also avoid those written before the seventies by people who are not Africans. Am only saying this because there are a few that have been proven wrong both In sociology and anthropology.

The first slaves that where taken weren't bushmen with no communities and kingdoms. They were prisoners of war who got sold to the missionaries to help carry their Language. They later on became a commodity in exchange for guns.

quencher · 20/08/2016 22:58

Mamamother in the video his best example in the first five mins comparing Igbo with Egypt would have been yoruba. The goddess is always painted yellow and decorated with gold. Interesting goddess to study and learn about too.

GinIsIn · 20/08/2016 23:03

If you mean the ptolomeic dynasty, ie. cleopatra, nope - they were Macedonian Greek. And her mausoleum has never been found so there are no samples of DNA, not sure where you read that?

Pandora2016 · 20/08/2016 23:21

The term 'Ancient Egyptian' refers to a culture, not a race.

You might as well state that Americans are white. Some are, some are not.

This discussion started on the wrong foot.

quencher · 21/08/2016 00:06

Mamamother I have just watched whole of that video and loved it. A11 should actually watch it. I think there are some distorted views a long the way on what you have posted. He has also filled in some of the gaps I have.

I listened to his speech about Shakespeare once and fell in love with him. With this video I think am going to get a bit obsessive with him and his work.

Thank you. Grin am in love

A11TheSmallTh1ngs · 21/08/2016 23:20

quencher

Will take a look!

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