"We should not be eternal guests. It is up to us to create our own values, to recognize them and to carry them throughout the world. We are not alone in the world, but we are our own sun. I do not define myself relative to Europe. In the darkest of darkness if the other does not see me, I do see myself. In the darkest of darkness if the other does not see me, I do see myself. And surely do I shine!"
- Ousmane Sembène, Senegalese Filmmaker

As Black people descended from West and Central Africa and from enslaved Africans brought to the Caribbean and the United States, we have all been subject to the myth of Black inferiority. But Senegalese filmmaker, Ousmane Sembène, reminds us that, in a world that asks us to see the Western and European countries as the center of civilization and desirability, we, in fact, are the sun.

We understand our Blackness as a compass gifted to us by our ancestors, guiding us to liberation and expression. It leads us back to ourselves while carrying us into the future.

TODAY'S PRACTICE:

Journal 

In what ways have you witnessed the decentering of Black voices, experiences, and ideas—including your own or those of your ancestors? How can you re-center your own experience, your own ideas along with those of our ancestors, thinkers, and artists in your daily practices?

To learn more about Ousmane Sembène and his films read this article from Criterion or watch his film, Black Girl (1966).