Enemy Combatant
Friday, January 14, 2005
Dragging George Around The Black History World Tour
Everyone remember, a few years back, when Bush was roundly lambasted for allegedly asking Condi Rice, "They've got blacks in Brazil?"
Well, now that Black History Month is coming around again shortly (after MLK Day Monday), I thought I'd try to save Americans further embarrassment from this provincial hick, and try to edumacate the Crawford Cretin about the worldwide African Diaspora -- which, I contend, is more far-flung than its next two rivals, the Irish and the Jews. (Of course, like Venn diagrams, there are points of overlap -- say, the Afro-Irish of Montserrat, or the Falashas of Ethiopia).
But just where in the world - other than Africa and America -- can you find black people?
First off, everywhere there was an African slave trade. Which means the New World -- not only the United States, but pretty much all of South and Central America. Bush ought to be aware, though, that there are longstanding communities of African descent all over North America, as well, including Afro-Canadians in Nova Scotia, and the descendants of shipwrecked Africans in Mexico's Costa Chica region.
Not many people, however, are aware of the even-older Asian trade in African slaves. Seldom do you hear about the Siddis of the Indian subcontinent , nor of the Afro-Iraqis, who have lived in the Basra region for a thousand years; Afro-Palestinians have been around about as long.
In Europe, the black slave trade was small, relatively speaking -- but that didn't prevent African bloodlines from ending up in the most influential families -- the Medicis and the House of Windsor, to name two. There were sufficient numbers of "Negars and blackamoores" in London by 1601 for the Virgin Queen to decree their expulsion. Nowadays, given more liberal immigration policies nearly everywhere, there are black communities all over Europe -- Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy. Athens, Greece, has a black city councilwoman who was born American; heck, even the Swedish Parliament now has three black members. Communities of African descent can be found in Japan and Australia, too.
In short, George, if you see a black person anywhere in the world in your travels, please: Pull your jaw off the floor and keep your mouth shut.
You don't want to look like a tourist.
