Confession 11: "The Lonely African."

"The Crown" on Netflix is one of the best dramas the network has to offer. When it first aired, I watched it with the eyes of a commonwealth millennial raised to revere the monarchy. You see, as a young boy in Zimbabwe I was made to understand that everything  "white" was supposed to be better. White names were placed before our own because we had to find a way to belong in our own country. The new Zimbabwe was still very much a white world post independence- the only difference was an all-black administration that was keen on preserving western ideals. And this wasn’t their fault because they were direct descendants of a generation that had been looted in every way possible. These white folks broke into our space and humiliated us for our customs. They called us savages and then placed a bible in front of our faces. The worst part is our ancestors internalized this hate and then we inherited it. In this episode I got to speak to Rachelle Pean about this violent crime with intergenerational consequences. Rachelle is a spiritual student, healer, social worker, and author of “Balance Your Sh*T: The Chakras" (which is available on Amazon).  Our conversation was guided by Colin M Turnball’s “The Lonely African,” which is an anthropological study of a village in Eastern Congo at a time when it was under Belgian rule. Rachelle and I also talked about self-love within the context of a relationship, the beauty of slowing things down in your life, and how to connect with your ancestors. Tune in, heal, and don’t forget to share the podcast with your tribe.