African Americans and Egyptians: A Comparison | Black Agenda Report

17.2.11

African Americans and Egyptians: A Comparison | Black Agenda Report: "Now that Hosni Mubarak has been driven from office, and despite the fact that Egypt remains under the dictatorship of the military, people ask how Black Americans might follow the Egyptian people’s example. It’s not a frivolous question. Black Americans have some inkling of what Arab nationalism must feel like. Black people on the East Coast feel the pain when they see videos of African Americans being beaten by police on the West Coast. When Blacks are humiliated or disrespected in Georgia, brothers and sisters in Chicago get upset. That’s Black nationalism, whether the folks experiencing those emotions admit it, or not. It is the same kind of connection that exists between Arabs from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, and throughout their Diaspora. When Arabs are humiliated and made to feel powerless in Gaza or Baghdad, the shame is felt in Jordan and Morocco. Nationalism can be a great burden."