Nigeria Anti-Gay (Marriage) Bill

I've been thinking about some of the issues I have with the fight for gay rights in most of sub-Saharan Africa, mainly it's approach from the West (or should I say the former colonizers).

There's a condescending nature of the West when they tell African nations: "We'll pull aid from countries that pass anti-gay legislation." The United Kingdom's Prime Minister David Cameron said something of a similar vein not to long ago.



Before I go into it, I do believe every minority group in every country should be treated and respected as a human, regardless if you are a racial, ethnic or sexual minority. More so, whoever you sleep with is only your business, as long as you're not having sex with them in public.

The part that bothers me most about this is not even the recent legislation being passed in Nigeria or some that may be passed in other countries, but the passive aggression coming from the West. "They're all on a journey and we want to help them get there," said David Cameron. But did you ASK these nations what is their journey and WHERE they would like to be? You assume that these nations want to be like the West? Many of them want to be African. If you listen to some of the homophobic rhetoric of these leader, despite their bases for the argument, they want to make sure their country has a strong African identity. Do I believe anti-homosexuality laws define an African identity? Hell no. But I also do not believe that African nations should be told aspire to be "Westernized."When you begin to realize African cultures are not backward and they need to be TAUGHT how to think, then maybe change can happen. African countries, based on all the resources they have are more than capable of making their countries work for them. Plus, many of their economies are doing better than many Western nations at the moment. Didn't Angola just offer it's former colonizer Portugal aid?

Now that we are in a post colonial and increasingly global society, the approach of these Western nations to anti-gay policies in Africa should not be "we won't give you money" but instead understanding how to approach the issue that would be effective in an African nation and not basing it on how things are done in West.

To be quite honest, African cultures are very active cultures, especially when it comes to politics. When Africans are angry, we are angry. That's why protesting almost always turns into bloodshed and militant groups form. Do I support this violence? No, not at all because in the end the statement is made at the cost of innocent lives. However, I understand where it is coming from - the mind.

In the United States, when laws are created to protect the rights of minority groups, it doesn't change the minds of people by any means, but because the culture is passive, little is done to challenge the laws which in turn changes HOW people discriminate against minority groups (for example, "white flight" from Northern US cities from the mid 1960s onward).

In South Africa, considered the most liberal African country, who have had laws to protect the LGBT community for around a decade now, corrective rape toward lesbians is still rampant, if not worse than before, DESPITE the laws to protect women from rape combined with the laws created to protect lesbians. In many African countries, people don't passively obey a law simply because it's in place. Instead, the laws will be completely ignored unless the mindset is changed.

If the greater society of an African nations believes homosexuality is sinful, they are not going to support any legislation that protects gay rights. However, if there is dialogue between groups, a compromise can be reached and a change in the mind can begin. It will be a slow process, but in the end, Africans from both sides of the aisle can live peacefully. After that, there's a much higher possibility of this kind of legislation being supported by the majority. This does not mean the West needs to interfere, but instead support dialogue when asked.

Long story short, when the need is there, they'll ask. The West needs to stop assuming Africa needs them. What Africa needs right now are more leaders who are more interested in their populations than their bank accounts.

International Education Week at Columbia College = AWESOME

Currently I am tired from the madness that many that are a part of International Student Organization at Columbia College understand as International Education Week. This insanity may be exhausting, but some how, it has been an enlightening experience.

Today was International Fair, which featured the Travel Mobile (which had a lot of decor, courtesy of the student body at Columbia), delicious food, a flamenco dancer and a belly dancer. People who missed this, I feel sorry for you.

This week, there are TWO events the focus on African issues (one more than the other). Tomorrow evening will be a screening of the award-winning documentary, "This is Nollywood." For those of you who are unfamiliar with Nollywood, get familiar real fast and real quick, because it is currently the third largest film industry in the world and it is based in Nigeria. Even though many of the films from Nollywood are close to a fail when it comes to production value, the reason why the industry is doing so well is that it focuses on unique and modern African stories in an African way. The movies can transcend the continent a lot easier than movies from Bollywood or Hollywood. However, it looks like the production value for Nigerian films may begin to change as quickly as Nollywood became a booming industry, since there are a select few filmmakers that are not only maintaining the African content, but also are focusing on the cinematography.

The other event focuses on a rising star from South Africa, who plays Zane Park on the award-winning teen drama Degrassi: the Next Generation, Shannon Kook-Chun. Of course, I have spoken about this a few times, but what is more interesting the buzz that it is getting throughout Chicago. Interestingly, people assume that this event is simply about Degrassi, but it is more so about several cultural/ethnic issues that are important to acquiring a global worldview. If it was simply about Degrassi, any actor from the show could have been chosen, but Shannon was picked for a particular purpose.

Firstly, he is of Chinese and mixed ancestry and was born and raised in South Africa during the infamous apartheid era. What many Americans sometimes fail to understand that the issue of race, especially during apartheid South Africa, is well beyond the "simple" of issue of black and white (or black versus white) and still is in post-apartheid South Africa. Race relations on every corner of the world definitely are much more complex than many can comprehend and South Africa is/was no exception. This is a rare (and FREE) opportunity to ask someone who grew up during and after apartheid (that is not black or white) deep questions about his experience.

Secondly, he plays an openly gay character. This is a two-sided coin that must be explored. For someone who is Asian to play a gay character in a TV show that is shown in North America is almost groundbreaking. As many may have noticed, the depiction(s) of Asian males on many television shows can be rare and limited. Usually, they fit in one of two stereotypes: smart, shy and asexual or a karate master. For someone to play an "unconventional" role helps break the stereotypes of the Asian male and shows the diversity among those that are Asian. Shannon plays Zane Park, a cool, confident gay male. Also, he plays a gay character, helping to break the stereotypes of gay men in the media.

Thirdly, Degrassi is not the only show he is in. He has been able to show his versatility as an actor by being in multiple productions (one of them a feature film soon to be released). In the popular Canadian drama, Duhram County, he plays a gangster (again, breaking the Asian male stereotype). This is informative for aspiring actors for improving their trade.

My point, overall, is that you can't simply judge a book by it's cover (I know, cliche). But you have to dig beyond the surface and see the roots. The whole point of International Education Week is to encourage people to become more aware of how global our environment is becoming. Having this knowledge is key to not only being well-rounded, but being the person who is at the top of the pile for a job (and we all want money in our pockets, don't we?). Putting "Degrassi" in the event title was a marketing scheme to draw fans in, but the real treat is what you learn from the experience. Learning about a booming movie industry outside of Hollywood let's you know what the (potential) competition is on a global scale (or maybe even what market you can tap into to set yourself a part from other filmmakers).

I'll leave you all with this - "Curiosity killed the cat, but at least the cat died after learning something."

A Tale of an HBCU's Discriminatory Dress Code?

It's been a hot minute, but I am back with an interesting story.

This week, there were several things I did that are apart of my usual routine (it does change a bit weekly, since I like a little of variety). Particularly, I watched "Real Housewives of Atlanta" and went to the village luncheon hosted by the Office of African-American Affairs at Columbia College Chicago.

Since I am assuming many of you have at least heard of the "Real Housewives of Atlanta," I'll just explain the village luncheon, which is a lunch in which students of African descent can network with Columbia faculty and staff of African descent over food and lively discussion on hot topics that affect the African-American community at large. This luncheon takes place on a monthly basis.

One of the topics brought up was Morehouse College's new dress code. Morehouse, one of the many historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), is an all-male school in Atlanta that prides itself in molding the "ideal" African-American men. The new dress code prohibits the follow:

• Do-rags, hats, and hoods worn in classrooms or any other indoor venues
• Sunglasses worn in class or formal events
• Jeans at major programs and no sagging pants on campus
• Clothing with derogatory or lewd messages in words or pictures
• Clothing usually worn by women (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, etc) on campus or college-sponsored events

Many of these regulations I understand and I personally do not have a problem with (even though I could argue that there is a sense of "whitening" in some of them, but that's for another posting), but the last one seemed like there was an obvious form of discrimination against gay African-American males (remember how I said I was going to talk about homosexuality in the African-American community?).

Based on what I have seen on "Real Housewives of Atlanta" and also how the Advocate dubbed Atlanta as America's gayest city earlier this year, I know that many of the gay African-American men in Atlanta regularly dress in clothing typically designed for women, not in the sense of cross-dressing. Morehouse College, being an educational institution in Atlanta, must be fully aware of this and for them to make this rule, obviously they have had students that have regularly dressed like this and I assure you most, if not all of them, are gay.

During the village luncheon, one student angrily protested how this rule is discriminatory, while many argued that even though it is discriminatory, Morehouse College has a right to create that rule since it is private.

My question to all of you is, regardless if you think this is discrimination or not, is it wrong for a private institution of higher education to have a rule that may marginalize a group? Would it only affect the institution? What does this say and do to the African-American male that is gay? What positive and negative affects could this have on the African-American community overall?