Africa Day: The Beauty And The Strength Of Africa

There lived a dark girl among light-skinned children; they had never seen anything like her before, skin so dark, yet glowing. What did they do? They told her she was different, she was unusual, she was inferior. She suffered neglect for years; she suffered low self-esteem and inferiority.

Amidst all of these, she maintained excellent grades, she was blossoming, she was intelligent with a smile like the sun, and she had a good heart and a good spirit with love for all, what did she get? Disdain.

There came a time, the dark-skinned girl- Iche grew, she realized she is not different but she is unique, she realized her skin don’t crack, she realized she is way more intelligent and gets ahead with ease. What did she do? she grew a thick skin, she did not stop loving, she simply stopped caring, she became fearless and constantly put her wins and dark skin out for all to see, She developed herself and became a better version of herself. She is still developing, she is still growing, and she is AFRICA!

Africa is not just a landmass, neither is it a place of birth, Africa is an identity, it is a skin color, it is a life, and it is a soul. Africa lives within us and in us.

The continent is estimated to have been formed 2 billion years ago made up of 5 major cratons which are Zimbabwe, Kaapvaal, Tanzania, Congo, and West Africa. The age Africa was discovered by the European exploitations of Sub-Saharan was the 15th century. According to Kemetic history of Afrika, the ancient name of Africa was Alkebu-lan which translates to “Mother of mankind” or “Garden of Eden”

Today, the 25th of May, 2020 is celebrated as Africa day, the day Africans all over the world celebrate the privilege of being born with dark or caramel skin, kinky hair, and bred with rich cultural heritage.

There is no tribe that enjoy some of the privileges available to the dark-skinned girl-

She adapts between hot and cold climates, it is blessed with mild climates.

Africa boasts of varying colors of skins, ranging from chocolate skin to caramel skin, to ebony black beauties. No continent has these number of variations

The continent has the greatest human genetic variation reflecting evolutionary role as the source of all human DNA.

Multicultural ethnicity is very visible and predominant in Africa; two towns 1km away from each other might have 2 distinct cultural practices.

Africans are multi lingua; the average African speaks more than one language, usually a native dialect and a Lingua Franca. There is an estimated 900 to 1500 different languages in Africa.

Deep-rooted exciting traditional practices, undaunted in the face of civilization, African cultural practices have been a study for many.

Africa Day 2020 is celebrated today amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, different virtual meetings held to discuss the way forward for Africa after the pandemic and to celebrate the black color, the strength of the black man, tradition, and history of Africa, legends who have put the continent in the world’s map, today is about Africa, today is for the rugged, beautiful black skin, today is for Iche, the dark-skinned girl; the past might have been dark but the future is bright.