The fire now? A Meditation on Shattered Dreams of Racial Harmony

Abstract

A centuries-long history of displacement has connected Africa, Europe and America. Recent events demonstrate that, even though racism and segregation are now legally banned, basic human rights continue to be denied to people categorized as “black” the world over. This essay recalls the pan-African perspective which once united the powerful voices of African American Civil Rights activists and Diasporic intellectuals to those emerging from decolonizing Africa. It further shows that, since the 20th century pioneers’ dreams of Racial Harmony were shattered, the contemporary “black” (African American and African European) intelligentsia declares that, unless the Western “system of privilege” in place undergoes fundamental changes (including a rewriting of History), the anger felt by the mass of deprived people of color, tumbling down the statues of fallen heroes from a questionable colonial past, will inevitably lead to The Fire Now. But, drawing on positive memories from my life in Ghana and on inspirational autobiographies by writers and artists of diverse heritage, I prefer to join the ranks of Kwame Anthony Appiah’s “cosmopolitan humanists”, declaring: “We do not have to deal decently with people from other cultures and traditions in spite of our differences; we can treat others, decently, humanly through our differences”.