Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
‘To seek the higher grounds’ is a mantra which I resonate with in all its incandescence. As a novel alternative branch of The Voice of Africa, “On Higher Grounds” has for objective to offer a window into a realm of inquiry that opens and cultivates the mind, inclining it to more abundantly produce new ideas leading towards the development of our beloved Africa.
The design stage of any sustainable architectural work emerges from a conscious place; its debut, perhaps a vision, a beginning impression not yet fully formed, slowly generates itself onto the drawing board. The essential drafting phase my spirit is naturally leading itself to – is the refining of an African intellectual movement.
In this column, the means for its realization is the accommodation of cerebral spaces that honor the imagination in full effect; catalyst patches, for thoughts to bloom in a revealing optic, as these ever-solidifying steppingstones give leeway to utopian contemplations, derivatively cascading towards achievable realities, such as virtuous self-sovereignty and ideological independence.
Its end is to participate in the collective act of progressive world building by harboring the source of light bestowed upon the elemental tools we possess within ourselves. The image to arise in sequel will be brought to life in the motions of the construction stage. While set active, this mechanism drives differentiated socio-economic factors of intersectional knowledge to displace, tie, and thus fashion applicable change.
A priori, and most significantly, this transpires when the symbiotic relationship between the self and the world is diligently strengthened. The distance between the two entities – inner and outer – should be shortened so that both exist within the other, seeing as the whole that is formed promises exponential growth. Africa’s wellness, raised and centered in cognitive view, will substantially improve if gradually, it enters the flow of individual consciousness. Embraced in that continual conversation, progress can only be infused mainstream when the outpour of our feelings mirrors the extension of the thinking self.
The horizon of academia should project to the integration of abstract theory with concrete reality. There is sacredness, along with an ingrained sense of duty, I find in bridging the airy end of philosophy to real life. As a core ethos, this threading work can unearth the sort of transcendental truths that cause flourishing of meaning, bearing the prevailing advancements that the education system should ultimately aim for. To nurture these futuristic aspirations, lifting gifted and knowledgeable voices, the ones that amplify the unifying appeals of Pan-Africanism, is profoundly impactful. Their pedestalization acts as a source of guidance in the reconfiguration of important narratives and fossilize their passage into common discourse.
“Ignorance allied with power is the most ferocious enemy justice can have,” clear-eyed James Baldwin once said. This soulful voice has acted as a torch in tracing down my path onto the vast covering grounds of social justice. The echo of this lesson has long reverberated as a dominant chord in the development of my intentionality; from the very fiber of my being to the shaping of this enterprise, the seed of my life’s work. Applying a fresco technique to display the nuances of dimensionality in storytelling, and using the canvas of general culture, I want to garner opinions from different backgrounds, contrasting as much as they can, to bring light to the dialogue of combative perspectives on topics that are conducive to a long-winded continental awakening. The attention economy requires that we learn to swiftly redirect and funnel our focus to the spaces that need it the most. This is a process of careful selection vis-à-vis the media we choose to consume, and the building blocks most suited to success for the cooperation of various fields. Therefore, the value of transparent critical inquiry by the modern press reporting on Africa is essential in familiarizing the type of mental frameworks that lay at the root of terraforming.
The promise of Africa is evergreen. Now more radiant than ever, to anchor the moment of its cultural rise in a course of active engagement can generate a state of unprecedented metamorphosis. Now that more eyes and ears are on board, the more pivotal it is to sensibly catch and fuel this sphere of momentum in the palm of our hands. African culture has long been the subject of intense desire for its gifts and a discarding of its cause. However, this imbalance can be offset by purposefully alimenting the growth of the creative sector, currently an undervalued area of latent potential. This sector holds the ability to showcase the lushness of Africa’s natural resources, the endless diversity of its cultural reserve, the complexity of its historical wealth, and the monopoly engineered by its rare beauty. This implies that the vibrant energy embedded within African traditions can be harnessed for the greater good of its population. The source of this vitality stems from a unique love of the land, the origin of humanity, and simultaneously a lung of our earth. I seek to magnify the need for idealism. The latter fosters infrastructures of belief, the very ones that propel us forward, the foundation of which strengthens the columns of history that hold the people as they narrate, and others as they lift their heads, listening. We need to spend time imagining Africa’s future. Our stories carry seeds.
Writing, as a means of reframing, enables us to construct narratives that carve out relevant lines of questioning from within the status quo in order for it to remodel itself. If used judiciously, the introduction of these avenues may effectively ripple in time as they create movement in a curated medium for innovation. The narratives we elevate are what glue identity structures together. Hence, the role of the artist is to dislodge heavy chocks, or dive into the immaterial fogs there are to clear. To probe and possibly unveil experiences not yet formulated. To release the naked truths floating in our shared existential solvent. As social creatures, the sharing of this knowledge is directly conducive to mutual support, at least, the moment it is based in human compassion. The divine connection between journalism and community is observed in this primordial exchange. Control over news is control over nations. In effect, keeping a bird’s eye view is the purpose of my writing. Flying over subjects in widening circles of influence will gradually ascend black consciousness to a place of reckoning as assuredly, belief is at the root of everything. This column is a leap into the brighter realms of investigation, existing in an age that frequently appears dystopian. Correspondingly, the concept of tearing the screens of what was previously unknown is part of the ever-regenerative sequence that expands evolution through the veins of society’s fabric.
So, to set a standard of shared transparency with the reader, I want to openly state my engagements by establishing the founding principles of this column. Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel present journalism as a form of modern cartography: “It creates a map for citizens to navigate society.” To abide by this notion, authenticity must be the moral compass. Its essence is surely what citizens intuitively recognize by virtue of its inherent value. Afterall, the choices we make are inherently derived from the information we are exposed to. Value, in such a case, is determined in how we apply our knowledge in the aftermath of this exposition. In this way, my allegiance to the public good is infused by a devotional pursuit of truthfulness – not mere factuality – in the hope of informing the positive application of knowledge, if that enables even the most minute behavioral change. I’ll honor a code of ethics instilled by a commitment to the free press as independence from faction is precisely what sustains the fertility of democratic systems, as opposed to oppressive forces. The pull I feel internally rather springs from an ancestral responsibility to build an Africa the next generations can aspire to. This vision is imbued by the shrewd power of the mind. It compels the combination of education and stoic labor to subvert its corruption. This includes the placement of agents that monitor the multilateral strains of power, the promotion of productivity as a key contributor in improving the standard of living and thus provide access to both positive and negative liberty for populations at large. Yet to assure full transparency, I must make clear that I am subject to error. I cannot claim perfection within or beyond the limits of my perception. In time, it is most likely that my own conclusions be enveloped by greater encompassing truths. However, writing down the bones of these revelations to an open-minded reader is where true movements can be born.
As a college student living in New York City, the constant flux of various planes of being reflects the many seasons that imprint upon the self during its formation. The frequency of this receptivity is affected with time, which necessitates that developers place particular emphasis on the youth. The youth should be emboldened to participate in the making of their tomorrow. My own relationship to the continent was initially built going back in the summers, and with my family, observing how the drastic difference in the appearance of the everyday was embodied in the mundane. Growing up Belgian in a Cameroonian household is what configured the budding of my Afro-European identity: American higher education added yet another layer to this eclectic mix. There is something luminescent about looking at the shape of the self through the lens of one’s lineage when it is unrestrictive. The self is endlessly unfolding, constantly shedding skin, whereas life itself is the continuous, circular process of that peeling motion. In the flood of stimuli we are experiencing, it can be hard to recognize what truly feels groundbreaking, but the condition of perpetually drowning in noise calls for clarity. The speed of information sharing is a double-edged sword which today, requires a scientific rigor of discernment. I find that using my voice in the process of translation of the theoretical to the practical is what, at least, feels evocative. In a spiritual sense, this means to welcome and overcome the waves that wash over us over time with an essence of forwardness. It is the exercise of carrying a rowboat, steadily amidst the submergence of the unpredictable humanity that alters the models we are taught by the guides that precede our journey to the shores. Each mind is composed of a unique assortment of nuance, infinitely rich in the pathways that are made available to the individual who takes care to explore, investigate, and transform for the better.
The name of this column is inspired by Stevie Wonder’s funk song, “Higher Ground”, from his sixteenth studio album Innervisions. All instruments on the record were played by Wonder in an outburst of creative inspiration he had during a May 1973 session, when he orchestrated this stimulating cocktail of sound. To give a brief ambient description, the energy of the track expresses a certain dynamism, the undercurrent of the bubbling commotions which permeate times of rapid transformations. I personally view it as a musical manifesto, exemplified in both content and form, especially as a great many parallels can be drawn from the societal issues of the early 70s to the present. Within the heavy political climate, it is important not to deny our own singular internal wars. In fact, to engage in your internal war is most crucial because it is ongoing, and its outcome is what determines the ability to launch external changes. Solutions are found whilst engaging, most vigorously and determinately. Remaining subject to questioning when dealing with ideas of ambiguous nature, embracing doubt with perpetual enthusiasm – even when no answer seems feasible – is what precedes discovery. This practice enables us to see straight down to the root of the matter, then shoot up to new skies. ‘Grounding’ is a term often associated with the notion of reconnecting with the earth, or self-soothing, the fruits of which bear a charge for growth. I wish this space, within The Voice of Africa, to be likened to a garden, where each seed, or thought, may cause some flourishing in its own right, and replenish the soul of consciousness. In this search, there may be a hidden childish musing: an innate desire to solidify Africa’s seat at the table. At last, this cohesive interplay of personal and philosophical renaissance makes us dig deeper, and as a by-product, brings us higher and higher.
