AFAIC
No, Black America has no more claim on ancient Egypt than white America has on ancient Greece and Rome.
Some white Americans are Greek and Italian immigrants directly descended from their ancients.
Few if any Black Americans descend from Egypt or Sudan.
Many Black Americans do in fact descend from relatives of the Dhar Tichitt Soninke.
Urban Dhar Tichitt --starting 4000 yrs ago-- bears no relationship to ancient Egypt
If Black Americans need ownership of an African civilization they have ones their ancestors built.
All the ones from the Bight of Biafra to Sierra Leone to S Mauritani to Lake Chad.
Ones they know nothing about and display very little interest in.
No, Black America has no more claim on ancient Egypt than white America has on ancient Greece and Rome. Fair enough as to EXTREMIST notions. But in general, Black Americans
have just as much claim to ancient Egypt as white Americans have to
Greece or Rome. Af-Ams, like ancient Egyptians, are tropically
adapted Africans who share several biological commonalities:
limb proportions, dental, blood type, DNA, etc etc -all the other
things noted above. This ground is not simply rhetorical, or based
on personal preference, or a political program, but based on credible
science. It must never be conceded. White people have been noting
the biological links for over a century- whether in Petrie’s 1800s
research, to the 1950s limb comparisons of black Americans to
ancient Egyptians, to modern 2000s research 0n crania and limb
proportions (Keita, Ruff, Lovell etc etc).
Just on the biological basis and African location, ancient Kemet is
part of the Black American’s African heritage, just like Kush, just
like Mali, just like Zimbabwe.
Over and above the science is the culture-religio aspect, including
the Biblical narrative where Moses freely groups together Egypt, Kush,
Phut, Punt etc etc, We don’t have to wait for the 19th century to come up
with such groupings. This is why CA DIop references Moses hisself
approvingly. Added to this are the broad cultural features and links
with “sub Saharan” cultures- divine kingship for example, animal cults,
etc etc. that work with the biological connections. These links need not
be ultra tight, super proof type connections, any more than the broad
European connections Germans can say, make with Italians.
Some white Americans are Greek and Italian immigrants directly descended from their ancients. Few if any Black Americans descend from Egypt or Sudan. The weakness of this argument is that some seem to think there
has to be a sort of direct descendant relationship rule to claim that
continental heritage. The problem is, no one on the other side of the
debate equation has ever followed any such rule. Europeans sure
don’t follow it, nor do “nativist” Arabized types in today’s Egypt
who despite their claims are not the direct descendants of the ancients.
We can ask: How is it that only Black Americans, who demonstrate
numerous biological and some cultural links to fellow populations in
Africa, should be bound by this putative “direct descent” rule, when no one
else in question is bound by it? How is it that only Black Americans
should “confine” themselves to West, and West Central Africa, but
Arabs and Europeans get to play freely on the board? This is the classic
Eurocentric double standard. It should be vigorously rejected.
Save for Italian and relatively few Greek immigrants, the vast majority
of white Americans are northern Europeans without any direct descent
link to Rome or Greece. Black Americans don’t have to show any
direct descent ancestry to Egypt and Sudan or any other “extra proof”
over and above what white Europeans show on their side of the fence.
.
If Black Americans need ownership of an African civilization they have ones their ancestors built. All the ones from the Bight of Biafra to Sierra Leone to S Mauritani to Lake Chad. Ones they know nothing about and display very little interest in. Agreed there can be much more done on West African cultures
but as AFRICANS, Kemet is just as much one of those African cultures
as say the Fante of Ghana. Now there is a closer more localized geographic
link with West Africa all agree, but let none fall into the “geographical
apartheid” narrative of Eurocentrics, where Af-Ams “confine themselves”
to West Africa, or the stereotypical “true negroes” or anthropological fame
or the “Sub-Saharan” theme. They want us to stay in those little check boxes,
but don’t confine themselves likewise to northern Europe. Furthermore, the
ancestors who built, would be the same “sub-Saharan” Africans who laid the
foundations for Kemet. Ancestors don’t stop at West, and West Central Africa.
To paraphrase a one popular meme “All the base, belong to us..” Also keep in mind that in the Atlantic Diaspora, the cultural narratives of
Kush and even Egypt (by other classic disaporan writers) have played an
important part. Here for example is a snippet from our old friend Marcus
Garvey’s “pan African” UNIA Anthem:
“Ethiopia thou land of our fathers
Thou land where the gods loved to be,
As storm cloud at night suddenly gathers
Our armies come rushing to thee..
Advance, advance to victory,
Let Africa be free
Advance to meet the foe
With the might
Of the red, the black and the green..” --------------------------------------------------
Now don’t get me wrong. I agree with much you say, but Af Ams
and the Atlantic Diaspora are people shaped by broad multi-continent
connections and intercontinental connections, either directly, or as
Part of the diasporan cultural narrative. This is a heritage they
cannot escape.