Understanding Pan-African Studies: A Personal Journey

Hola mama, I hope you are doing well. I miss you and Papa. I know you asked me how my classes were going but because you asked me on the first day of the the quarter I was not able to give you a clear response. However now midterms are around the corner and I want to explain to you about a few of my classes, particularly my Pan-African Studies class. I know you are not quite sure what exactly Pan African Studies (or “PAS”) is, after attending class for about 5 weeks now I can say that I have some knowledge about the subject. I have to be honest with you. I took this class is because my advisor recommended me to complete my diversity requirement before converting into semesters and it was the only 9:50am class available. I know it may sound

bad but being in this class has really opened my eyes a couple times.
Now I know I told you was originally going to take a Chicano Studies class for my diversity requirement but I realized I already know about Chicano Studies and it was time for me to widen my perspective to other ethnicities. I can already hear you in my head saying “pero porque? no eres orgullosa de ser Mexicana?” Yes Mama, I am proud of my heritage but I want to take the opportunity to expand my horizons. The first reading assigned was titled “Black Study, Black Struggle” by Robin D.G Kelly and I have to say I was shocked. I have seen events about Black Lives Matter and racism on college campuses but I never paid attention to them. While reading this article I reflected on the many incidents that I have seen on the news. The degrading of African Americans is seen as a bigger struggle on college campuses. This is my 3rd quarter in college and it has not crossed my mind that there is that sense of non-belonging in universities. Kelley mentions that “universities can and will become more diverse..for black students, but as institutions they will never be engines of social transformation” It can be assumed that college is the place where one is an adult and views the world through a more open minded lens. Sadly its not true. Universities can try to make campuses a place of equality without discrimination, however it is the the students within the university who will ultimately decide to create a place of diversity and acceptance. The words written by Kelley, “In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body-it is heritage”. Since the antebellum period blacks have appeared to the world as second best and despite the reforms and fight for equality, there is still a sense of hierarchy in society. This caused me to reflect on the incident that happened not too long ago when a sorority at UCLA had a “Kanye Western” theme party. This created an uproar on the campus because the sorority mocked black people by dressing in inappropriate attire misrepresenting black people. It is upsetting to realize that people still categorize blacks into the stereotypes that were introduced to America roughly 200 years ago. I even asked mi mama on why is it that even as grown adults we still judge primarily based on what the media has shown to society. Despite the negativity for such characteristics there is history behind them.
Throughout the early days of film production, blacks were portrayed in films as unintelligent along with several stereotypes.

In the documentary Ethnic Notations directed by Marlon Riggs explains and examines the birth of stereotypes “showing blacks as sub-human or animal like”. The documentary showed caricatures and films exposing blacks as either happy slave or a rebel. From the late 1820‘s to mid 1960‘s these stereotypes were not only very popular but also created a false vision of a black person. According to the film, the first well known character introduced was the “sambo”, this was created to show that slaves enjoyed serving their master, as the whites would call “the good ol’ days” before the civil war. The second popular character was the “Nat” shown as a a rebellious slave was created after emancipation happened and many whites felt threaten that blacks wanted to be treated as equals. The documentary mentions that it is because of those degrading images African Americans have been given such as negative stigma in society. In the 21st century the racial stereotypes still exist, in Curtis Keim’s novel Mistakening Africa he states that “we(society) also stereotype because it is virtually impossible to know everything that is going on in reality and therefore we...base out judgements on partial information”. It is because of these negative images that were embedded into society roughly 200 years ago, we as a society still judge black people primarily based on such characteristics. Thus, which goes back to the question I asked mi mama, why? Why do we quickly judge and primarily only base blacks as a 2st century version of a ‘sambo’ or

‘nat’?
To say that these characteristics may go away in time may or may not happen. Yes it has only roughly been 200 years but it is because of the mass media constantly shoving these ideas into society. Though society has become more diverse, the linger of such characteristics will still be present. As for universities despite the amount of diversity classes assigned for GE’s it all depends on the students wether or not accept the information given to them about various cultures and history. The way these stereotypes will slowly come to a close is if students choose to broaden their perspectives on other histories other than their own. Well Mama, I hope I got you to understand how in such a short time, this class has opened my eyes to Pan-African Studies. Can’t wait to see you soon. Send papa my love.