God Ain’t White

Call to end the demonization of African faith

There is no institution or symbol more powerful and pervading amongst Africans worldwide than the Christian faith. All over this globe, millions and millions of Black people turn to the images of the cross, the Jesus and the Bible for guidance and salvation. Christianity has a hold so strong as to be unshakable. Christianity is the beginning and the end for masses of Black people across this globe. And one of the most brutal truths about this indoctrination is that we were initiated into it by violence. We uphold our following by violence. And we perpetuate violence by our insistence that to be Christian is the only way someone will find themselves in God’s grace. Being Christian saves you from the wraths of hell. Being Christian makes you better than other people. And being Christian is one of the hallmarks of white supremacy .

All of this Christian critique was inspired by my guilty pleasure of Real Housewives of Potomac. A current storyline has seasoned member Wendy engaged in a back and forth with the newest housewife Nneka. The jist of it is that Nneka has hurled the accusation of Wendy’s family possibly being followers of an African based faith. For further insight to those who don’t watch the show, Wendy and Nneka are both Nigerian of the Igbo ethnic group. The rest of the cast is Afro American. In the latest episode, Wendy and Nneka argue about the who , what, when and why. But what really was supposed to captivate the audience by the director’s positioning is the mention of shrine, of witchcraft , of hexes. And in typical stupid American reaction, the cast pulls the shocked and scary faces as if they just heard the most outlandish thing ever.

It enrages me because religion is not a joke. Religion is not entertainment . And I have further agitation that a group of African and African descendant women are bashing and denigrating African based faiths.

It is especially egregious to me that Wendy and Nneka, who are Nigerian and presumably know much more about these cultural practices would put their culture and their faith based beliefs on stage for entertainment purposes.

There’s an irony to me in it all because the first episode of this season, Wendy showed her taking her sons to their First Communion. The First Communion is a Catholic rite which involves the taking of the blood and body of Christ. Obviously ,it is not literal blood and body, being bread and wine. But it is a ceremony. It is a ritual. It has occult overtones . The argument could be made that it is a form of witchcraft.

And yet the 1.3 billion Catholics in the world aren’t assailed with the stigma of committing “ black magic”. The worship of shrines which was something Wendy and Nneka went on about is literally embedded in the Catholic faith, with many saints receiving offerings and worship across the globe. But an African faith based shrine is worse?

It would take too much time of this day to really go in about how problematic Christianity, in particular Catholicism is. It would take too much time to go in about all of the evil acts perpetuated by Christianity to be the force that it is. I’d have to write books to get into the meat of why and how Christianity is so dominant in the Black world. But let it be known that Christianity is not the better religion. Christianity is not the ancient faith of the African people. Christianity has not helped us as much as we may think it has.

I say all this with the conviction of someone who has two grandmothers who went to Church every Sunday, often times on Wednesdays and Fridays too. Grandmothers who swore by Jesus and who said ,” Lawdhammercy “ just as often as they’d say hello. Grandmothers who have since passed but may visit me for daring to be so bold. If you know, you know.

Christianity has evolved into being a very integral part of Black American culture. We have our own versions of Church and church culture that are our own. We have produced a beautiful genre of music called gospel that till this day gets this heathen in her feelings when the spirit calls me. In fact , gospel and choirs are probably what I miss most about church. You ain’t felt nothing till you done heard some singer hit that high note on a Sunday morning. I can respect and know that fact and still think of the evil of Christianity.

I can still think about my foreparents brought over so , so long ago who were forced to worship a God and teachings that condoned their suffering. I can think of the lesson of Ham and his children being condemned which has been interpreted as being about Black people. I can think of how Churches invested in slave ships and did business with slave owners. I can think of all the vestiges of Christianity left on landscapes across the globe, that had people abandoning their gods, their traditions, their beliefs. Christianity allowed for easier access for trade and commerce for European imperialists. Christianity was about business. It was never about faith or morality when it came to the conversion of African people.

Christianity is the reason Blonde hair and blue eyes serves as a synonym for everything that is right with the world. Ask yourself why.

One thing though, is that in spite of this centuries’ long efforts and even the mass embrace by African peoples across the globe of Christianity, it did not stamp out our native , ancient African traditions. Even amongst us Black Americans, arguably one of the most ingratiated into Western systems as we are, we have retained our own African based faith traditions and beliefs.

No one else on this globe is as spiritual as the African. You won’t find as many atheists amongst us which is surprising when you consider our sordid history these past few centuries of interacting with the European. It is that beautiful African specific brand of spirituality that keeps us pushing on whether we’re in a famine or systemically disenfranchised. It is our faith that keeps us pushing even when you get in our heads about our beauty and our intelligence. It is our faith that keeps on keeping on even when you’ve rigged the world to think you are God.

And that spirituality that is not beholden to any religion but is especially empowered by our ancient African religions should never be up for entertainment , to be denigrated or used for us and by us to attack one another. I have embarrassment for Wendy and Nneka and all of the ladies of Potomac. Real women of faith would know better. Those steps would be better guided by an ancestry of authenticity not an adornment of a faith bestowed on the spirits of conquer.

I am for all faiths. In this age of rapid moral decay, with so called leaders of the world threatening to end it if they just get the itch, a belief in anything higher than one’s self gets me clapping. I am for any belief system that gets people to take stock in their humanity and their space in the world. I am for any belief system that affirms that people are not the highest power and we don’t have the right to dictate the faith of any other being.

For Black people, we have no right to still be clutching our pearls and bashing african traditional religions. Don’t you know our witches were our doctors. Don’t you know our wisemen and griots were doing magic? Don’t you know we had so many ceremonies, languages and celebrations for our faiths that have just died because of our contact with the European. Don’t you know they made us turn away from our Gods. Don’t you know the spirit of the mother , the worship of the woman as the holy figure? How do you not know this beautiful, amazing rich African history? How come you don’t want to know? I want more of us doing Vodou. I want more of us discovering Santeria. I want more of us learning Spiritual Baptist songs. Teach about the Orishas. Let the witches come out of hiding. Give us your potions. Let us embrace what has been hidden for so long. So many have been going to church on Sunday and working them roots at the same time for centuries now. Why must it forever be hidden? Cue in the irony for me as a visitor to New Orleans and seeing most of the Voodoo culture down there being the domain of white folks. They done stigmatized our religions so much for us but have happily made themselves the face and promoters of said faith. Make it make sense! I pray we find ourselves. Embrace the Blackness. Love the darkness. Decolonize the whiteness of your God.