What is Africa?

I went to see Black Panther on Saturday. I wrapped myself in authentic Kente cloth from Ghana and waited for my BFF Jen to pick me up. We were excited to see this Black Superhero Movie and to take a visit to Wakanda.

We arrived in time to have a meal and a drink; then off we went into the theater. After over twenty five minutes of previews, we were instructed to put on our three-D glasses and this marvel of color, culture and coolness began.

One of the first lines that caught my attention is the line Chadwick Boseman who plays King T’Challa proclaims as he flies back home, “this never gets old.” This is the same way that I  feel every time I fly into Africa, no matter what country. Whether I am going to Senegal, or Cameroon or Rwanda, it never gets old.

I have just begun to discover,  learn and explore the continent in the last five years and though my skin color always betrays me, I feel as though Africa is home.

The feeling comes from everything and nothing in particular; it is the way they dance in church in Senegal and the Gambia. This reminds me of the African American ring shout that is seen in the Black Church in the United States. It is the beautiful dresses, head wraps and style on streets all over the continent; even in the smallest villages the women are dressed beautifully. This reminds me of the way grandma insisted that we not leave the house wrinkled or soiled. In the community you always made sure you looked your best. It is in the cadence and swag of the men as they laugh; it is the sound of the drumbeat, that reminds me of the music I grew up listening to.

What is Africa? Well, for me it is art and music and culture, it is the people and the way they move, it is the women who so beautifully command attention in the markets, on the streets and in worship. It is color and culture and oh so much coolness.  It is everything that is Black, Brown or Beige and beautiful on the continent and the diaspora.

All of this I saw reflected in the movie Black Panther in this fictional African country called Wakanda . . . I can’t wait for my next visit, because seeing Africa depicted so positively on the big screen-never gets old.