Poem: The Renegade: By David Diop

[Funmi Tofowomo Okelola]

The Renegade

My brother you flash your teeth in response to every

     hypocrisy

My brother with gold-rimmed glasses

You give your master a blue-eyed faithful look

My poor brother in immaculate evening dress

Screaming and whispering and pleading in the parlours

  of condescension

We pity you

Your country's burning sun is nothing but a shadow

On your serene ‘civilized brow'

And the thought of your grandmother's hut

Brings blushes to your face that is bleached

By years of humiliation and bad conscience

And while you trample on the bitter red soil of Africa

Let these words of anguish keep time with your restless

     Step -

Oh I am lonely so lonely here.

By: David Diop

Funmi Tofowomo 
--The art of living and impermanence. 

[Funmi Tofowomo Okelola]

Dear Prof. Emeagwali. 

Good evening. I hope all is well with you.  It is extremely sad that an innocent poem (The Renegade by David Diop) that I posted and shared on this listserv elicited your deep seated hatred towards me. It is okay.  

For your information, I was born and raised in Ondo town, Nigeria many years ago. I left Nigeria almost 33 years ago because my boyfriend (now my husband) decided to leave the country for the USA. 

Prof. Emeagwali, it is not my fault that I am a weeper (according to you) for Nigeria, but it is my right to voice my discontentment about the state of affairs in my country (Nigeria).  Abi? 

I would love to share The Four Agreements with you and the listserv: 

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz
1. Be impeccable with your word.
2. Do not take anything personally.
3. Do not make assumptions.
4. Always do your best.  
 

On Jan 23, 2013, at 2:29 PM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:

You are really the last person on the planet I would have classified as a weeper.

I have always held you up as a role model. You went out there and created a magnificent website
that has uplifted the image of Nigeria in terms of its literary prowess and provided valuable
information on the cinematic world. This is one helluva  achievement..In fact it is the only site with
such class and quality.

You did not whimper and wring your hands in agony and weep  over the fact that there are were no web sites on
literature. You did it. That is my point.

Nothing pleases and amuses the world more than
a  Black person wallowing in self pity. We are a group of activists and movers. ....and will always be.
that is the meaning of Still I Rise. Maya Angelou was referring to the centuries of oppression and insults
hurled at Black people in the US and the psychological warfare to boot - but  for her such programs of dehumanization had
failed. Black perople never lost their self of pride and kept their head high -  while actively engaged on the ground in change.
If such change meant revolution or self help so be it. David Diop would be proud of her- as he would be of the thousands of
freedom fighters that fought for Africa's liberation. The challenge now is to carry on the battle with heads high
in political activism.

Gloria Emeagwali







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[Funmi Tofowomo Okelola]

Dear Prof. Emeagwali. 

Good evening. I hope all is well with you.  It is extremely sad that an innocent poem (The Renegade by David Diop) that I posted and shared on this listserv elicited your deep seated hatred towards me. It is okay.  

For your information, I was born and raised in Ondo town, Nigeria many years ago. I left Nigeria almost 33 years ago because my boyfriend (now my husband) decided to leave the country for the USA. 

Prof. Emeagwali, it is not my fault that I am a weeper (according to you) for Nigeria, but it is my right to voice my discontentment about the state of affairs in my country (Nigeria).  Abi? 

I would love to share The Four Agreements with you and the listserv: 

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz
1. Be impeccable with your word.

2. Don’t take anything personally.
3. Don’t make assumptions.
4. Always do your best. ” 
― Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

On Jan 23, 2013, at 2:29 PM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:

You are really the last person on the planet I would have classified as a weeper.

I have always held you up as a role model. You went out there and created a magnificent website
that has uplifted the image of Nigeria in terms of its literary prowess and provided valuable
information on the cinematic world. This is one helluva  achievement..In fact it is the only site with
such class and quality.

You did not whimper and wring your hands in agony and weep  over the fact that there are were no web sites on
literature. You did it. That is my point.

Nothing pleases and amuses the world more than
a  Black person wallowing in self pity. We are a group of activists and movers. ....and will always be.
that is the meaning of Still I Rise. Maya Angelou was referring to the centuries of oppression and insults
hurled at Black people in the US and the psychological warfare to boot - but  for her such programs of dehumanization had
failed. Black perople never lost their self of pride and kept their head high -  while actively engaged on the ground in change.
If such change meant revolution or self help so be it. David Diop would be proud of her- as he would be of the thousands of
freedom fighters that fought for Africa's liberation. The challenge now is to carry on the battle with heads high
in political activism.

Gloria Emeagwali







--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsub...@googlegroups.com