Basil Davidson's 'The Bible And The Gun'

Africa’s Pride

Basil Davidson, a great journalist who accompanied Africa in gaining recognition through his writings, teachings, and other articles. A great activist he was, he traveled to many places and other countries. During that period, he encountered many people facing racism and fascism issues. With those experiences he discovered, he began using them to write books and documentations of history. He acknowledged the fight African American had faced to get the freedom of today. Davidson documentary “The Bible and The Gun” is based solely on religion, racism, and colonialism in African. The Europeans came over to Africa with the motive to seize the Africa’s territory.

Haile Gerima, a writer from Ethiopia is known for one of his outstanding

Whites were very inconsiderate of the African American Culture. Blacks were very worshipful in songs, dances, and prayers. Missionaries forced them to change their place of worship and ways of celebrating God. Missionaries believed they could change Africa’s spiritual cultural. Physically the slaves were prohibited from attending church, but psychologically the church was deep down in them. Slaves learned to hum as a way of welcoming Gods presence. No matter how the whites treated the slaves they knew there was a God and as they were getting whooped they would say “Father have mercy on them”. Religion in the film “Sankofa” played a big part in everyday life of blacks. The only thing they had to hold fast to was their religion. The white man was acting as a God. When the slaves went to pray they white man would be in the building lit up with candles. Only certain slave s would be accepted to come pray or enter the

Along with a drummer beating wild on the drums. This is a part of the African culture. Many visuals signs were in the film one a bird, the last supper image, and the mother with her baby. I believe these images pertain to strength, determination, and freedom. They used many literary devices in Sankofa such as “snakes will eat whatever is in the belly of the frog”. This meaning eventually if the slaves were quiet and conning enough they would get the opportunity to receive whatever the white man had. Blacks were very capable of running away the fear of the whites is what kept them in captivity. Whites knew the power blacks had so the only way to keep them as slaves was to put fear in their hearts. Viewing both the documentary and the fictional film people will understand what black history is about and what our ancestors did to get us here today. Many of don’t believe but colorism, racism and fascism still exist today. We all worked for the same rights. Blacks faced slavery for many long years but they never lost hope. Both movies showed how we as African Americans deserve to be treated equal plus