On the Day of the African Child we reject colonial arrogance and passive victimhood to reclaim our story and our future

Paul T. Shipale (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar)

On this year’s day of the African Child, we want to reject the colonial narrative and arrogance that denies us our African humanity. In the same vein, we vehemently reject the passive victimhood mentality that denies us our African agency.

We reject the colonial stereotypes and their internalization as ultimate political truth in order to teach our future generations to remember our history and overcome it where it constrains the present.

For centuries, Africa has been described by others before Africans were allowed to describe themselves. Foreign explorers arrived on our shores and proclaimed they had “discovered” lands that had been inhabited, governed, cultivated, and civilized for thousands of years.

They drew maps, wrote books, and created narratives that portrayed Africa as a continent without history, without institutions, and without the capacity to govern itself.

The colonial project was not sustained by military power alone. It also depended on ideas that were carefully designed to justify domination.