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INSIDE AFRICA
INSIDE AFRICA
Aired July 7, 2007 - 12:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ISHA SESAY, HOST: Hello, I'm Isha Sesay. This is INSIDE AFRICA, your weekly look at life on the continent. This week we are coming to you from New York City's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The library is devoted to preserving the stories of people of African descent throughout the world.
Today we are going to take a closer look at an issue they ponder every day: African identity, whether personal, as in Africa, or ancestral, as is the case for so many people here in the United States.
But is there really such a thing as one African identity? We begin our search in Africa with the dream of one united continent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY (voice-over): It is an age old idea, the African continent united politically, economically, and socially in order to fulfill its potential. The concept of Pan-Africanism formally emerged in the 19th Century, sparked by the effects of colonialism on the continent.
The idea has evolved since then, and now it is back in the spotlight and was on the agenda when African leaders gather for an A.U. summit this past week. But what does Pan-Africanism really mean today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It implies the liberation of the continent from foreign domination -- foreign political and economic domination. It also implies socialism -- a scientific socialism which is the abolishment of the exploitation of human beings by human beings.
SESAY: It was Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, who solidified the concept as we know it today. Once the Gulf Coast achieved independence in 1957, it was Nkrumah who led the fight for continental independence and the calls for African unity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Only a united Africa can redeem its past glory, renew and reinforce its strength for the realization of its destiny. We are today the richest and the poorest of continents. But in unity, our continent could smile on a new era of prosperity."
SESAY: Amidst the post-independence jubilation of the 1960s, Nkrumah's idea of a United States of Africa failed to gain traction among Africa's leaders. Many of them were disinclined to give up their newfound autonomy.
Yet the dream survived, championed more recently by the likes of Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe. But now it appears other leaders are seriously considering the benefits of a fully integrated continent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the Africans are coming to realize that almost 40 years the OAU in Addis Ababa, they have to begin to organize themselves more seriously. And through serious organization, they may be able to solve some of their infrastructural problems, their scientific problems, technological problems, and political problems.
SESAY: But would Africa's people be willing or even able to forgo their individual national identities to stand under the banner of being African? What about issues of ethnicity, culture, and religion? Not everyone believes the differences are insurmountable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem with human beings is that they have to recognize the fact that they don't have single identity, only God has one identity. All human beings have multiple identities. And the Africans will have to negotiate their different identities.
SESAY: Some point to the limited success achieved by the African Union South African Development Community and East African Community as proof the dream of a United States of Africa is doomed.
An argument brushed aside by Netfa Freeman.
NEFTA FREEMAN, ACTIVIST: ... with the regions not being as -- they can't be as effective as a continent's unity.
SESAY: Nkrumah's dream of a united continent appears no closer to becoming a reality than it did at the time of his death back in 1972. Pan- Africanism still faces a huge number of obstacles. With these in mind, it remains to be seen if this generation of African leaders have either the courage or the desire to set Africa on a new and uncertain path.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: There is no doubt that over the years, slavery and colonialism have distorted the notion of an African identity. It seems to simplistic though to attribute it to certain color, culture, or geography. And yet northern Africa is often perceived as less African than the rest of the continent.
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SHAHIRA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDNT (voice-over): Africa, surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian oceans, the Mediterranean and Red Seas, it is a continent awash in culture, religion, and languages. It also is rich in contradictions. And when it comes to African identity, the vast Sahara Desert draws a very distinct line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Sahara has been one main marker which actually divided the north and the south. And on that basis people can argue that North Africa, with a particular kind of history with regard to world historical events, are very different from sub-Saharan Africa.
AMIN: We took to the streets of Cairo to find out just what that difference is.
Most of the many people we asked said they did not consider themselves African. In fact, many of them looked shocked that we would ask such a question.
So why the disparity?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a Mediterranean country, Egypt is much more attached to Europe on one hand, and as a country of the Red Sea, it is attached to the (INAUDIBLE) or Arabia in general.
And in most history that is where the interaction with Egypt in terms of invasions or trade or investment or migration were all related to these two areas.
AMIN: And it is not just Egypt. The Mediterranean Sea has brought foreign influences ashore in North Africa for centuries, impacting not only culture, but also one of the continent's main religion, Islam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sufi orders are very common in countries south of the Sahara. The trend now in North Africa is the Wahhabi, Saudi Arabian influenced Islam has become prevalent in much of North Africa.
AMIN: It is not just natural influences at play.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Egyptians are racists to call us "unga-bunga (ph)" or "cunga-bunga (ph)."
AMIN: Historian Jill Kamil says this type of discrimination is partly a product of years of foreign rule, with it, an association between fair skin and the elite.
JILL KAMIL, HISTORIAN: We have had the Greeks and the Romans, the Ottoman Turks and the Arabs, the British and the French, all have left their mark on Egypt.
AMIN (on camera): So popular is the notion here that white is beautiful, that more and more women are girls are resorting to the use of these skin-whitening creams, which TV ads promise will make your skin fairer within a matter of weeks.
(voice-over): Add to this, the overall image of Africa as a continent of poverty, conflict and disease. And, say, experts, you have a picture of why some North Africans try to distance themselves from the continent that, like it or not, is their home.
Shahira Amin, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: When we come back, unearthing the past. An extraordinary find in the middle of New York City. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Now to a very unusual story. The discovery of the remains of more than 400 African slaves right here in New York City. The find is the largest bio-archaeological site of its kind. And it also sparked a new awareness in colonial African heritage.
Earlier I took a tour of the site.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY (voice-over): A startling find in the heart of New York City. In 1991, construction workers erecting a federal building in Manhattan stumbled upon the remains of more than 400 African slaves. The discovery reverberated around the nation and the world.
On closer analysis, these bones would provide a window into the lives of those lost so long ago and add another dimension to African-Americans' sense of identity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Located here in New York City, it was a rediscovered in 1991 as the final resting place for approximately 15,000 free and enslaved Africans. So that is huge, in and of itself.
SESAY: In addition to the 419 individual remains, archaeologists uncovered a rich array of artifacts also dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The beads, pendants, and engravings were surprisingly well- preserved. The artifacts offer extraordinary insight into the African origins of some of those buried and their distinct cultural identities.
The bones alone reveal a great deal about the lives of the slaves once they actually arrived in America. Their enlarged muscles, torn ligaments, and malnourished bones highlight the hardships these people endured, showing that some were literally worked to death.
Dr. Michael Blakey was the project's scientific director and led the analysis of the remains.
DR. MICHAEL BLAKEY, PROJECT'S SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR: Reproduction was - - women were not able to reproduce more children than could simply replace the population. Growth in the population came by importing new adults and children who were nearly disposable in this period of slavery.
SESAY: The burial ground is the largest-known African slave cemetery in the United States. Its discovery turned on its head the notion that slavery was essentially the preserve of the southern parts of the country.
It also brought to light the contribution made by Africans in building the New York City we see before our eyes today.
BLAKEY: And when it came to building fortifications, the slaves were used to build those fortifications. On Manhattan Island a wall was constructed from the Hudson River to the East River, that wall is known today as Wall Street.
So you have got a lot of famous names in New York City that really owe their origins to the enslaved population here.
SESAY: Twelve years after the skeletal remains were brought to light, they were re-interred in a moving and deeply symbolic ceremony. For all who attended, the day was a powerful reminder of the ravages of slavery. For the African-Americans who were present, the ceremony also highlighted the heritage and the enduring ties to the African continent.
In recognition of the historical and cultural significance of the site, a memorial is now being constructed and is due for completion in late 2007.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prior to the construction beginning, the site was always a place of sacredness, spiritual connection. People would make annual pilgrimages to the site. And once the memorial is completed, I think that will resume.
SESAY: But not all African-Americans believe a memorial is an appropriate way to commemorate the lives and deaths of their enslaved ancestors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take it down. Take it down. It had no right to be built there. Take it down. Who -- what civilized people would ever want their burial ground or their cemeteries covered over? Can you name me one? I can't name one.
SESAY: Undoubtedly the unearthing of the African burial ground has dredged up memories of a dark past. Yet beyond the pain, the site has gone a long way towards filling in some of those gaps concerning the lives of enslaved Africans here in the United States.
It also, perhaps most importantly, has given African-Americans a more complete understanding of their heritage and ultimately themselves.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: When we come back, the journey home. A look at how some African-Americans are seeking their Africa within.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: From New York City, we have come south to Atlanta's Martin Luther King National Historic Site, a site dedicated to the memory of Dr. King. He spent his life fighting the oppression and discrimination that were the legacy of slavery. And while that legacy has affected generations of African-Americans, their African roots were often all but lost.
Now new DNA technology is prompting the quest for answers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Papa.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My uncle Matt (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mm-hmm. And who is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Granny.
SESAY (voice-over): They are universal human questions, who am I? Where am I from? For some African-Americans, answering these basic questions has been far from easy. The trans-Atlantic slave trade robbed millions of Africans of their freedom and many of them their identity.
Their descendants, people like Doug Jackson (ph), are left with little or no knowledge of their roots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can first remember wanting to know more kind of as a kid in elementary school when we would have cultural days, because I know a lot of people would be able to come to school and they would be, you know, in their garb from Ireland or from Britain or from Italy. And you know, they would have the flags and everything.
And I know that, you know, at that time, we were kind of -- African- Americans at that time were pretty much relegated to the continent level.
SESAY: But now a number of companies say they can offer African- Americans the opportunity to establish links with long-lost ancestors. African Ancestry is one, the cost, a few hundred dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A person swabs the inside of their cheek to collect the cheek cells and then returns the swabs to us in the packaging that is provided. Our lab sequences the DNA and then Dr. Kittles does an analysis of a person's DNA sequence against our African lineage database, which is the most comprehensive database of African lineages in the world, and determines ancestry.
SESAY: African Ancestry has compiled a DNA database of thousands of people from more than 160 ethnic groups in Africa. Growing up, Doug heard stories about his family originating from Ghana, but nothing was ever confirmed.
His knowledge of his ancestry went as far back as North Carolina in the 1800s, and then it simply stopped. But having a young son made his desire to know more even greater. So last fall, Doug and his son, Nicholas (ph), both took the test provided by African Ancestry. Getting the results was an emotional experience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember when we got the envelope, he and I sat together outside on the stoop and we opened it to -- and it was just this kind of discovery, if you will, that we got to experience together. And I think it was a feeling of enlightenment and elation kind of for both of us.
SESAY: The results said their maternal ancestry is from Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau in West Africa. And their paternal forefathers hail from Mozambique. Doug says the discovery has enriched his family's life, one that will be valuable for 6-year-old Nicholas as he grows older and defines his own identity.
But some genealogists and bioethicists are skeptical about the accuracy of this new wave of DNA tests. They claim the results are misleading.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ignorance of genetics and the sort of popular fetish of genetics that has developed within Western society, proffered by scientists and others, has lulled many into thinking that, you know, you put your DNA into machine and it comes out with an answer; rather than to realize that even this sort of hard science evidence is interpreted and will -- and the results will vary.
SESAY: Arguments over scientific credibility don't concern Doug. He says he completely trusts the results provided by African Ancestry. In fact, he is now planning to visit African with his son for the first time.
For this father and son, there is a sense all of the pieces of their ancestral past are now in place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel great. I know where I'm from now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: That is it for this week's special look at African identity. We say goodbye now from outside Martin Luther King's Ebenezer (ph) Baptist Church in Atlanta. But there is much more still to come next week. So please, let INSIDE AFRICA be your window to the continent. Take care now.
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