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Back to Black
By Elvina Quaison on November 5, 2014 — With all the negative race related stories on my timeline I’ve been forced to think about being ‘Black’ again. Living in Ghana, being Black is one of my definers; in the UK it’s almost my only one. As Amy Winehouse put it I’m going Back to Black, so let’s go!
Makola Market, Accra. Photo: Anthony Comyn.jpg
So as I prepare to move back to the UK I am starting to realise I am suddenly going to be ‘black’ again. In Ghana I have dealt with being seen and treated as a ‘returnee’, ‘repat’, ‘Abrokye fo’ and other terms which generally mean you are Ghanaian-ish. Yes your parents are Ghanaian but you were born and brought up abroad so you are not quite 100%. Your percentage of Ghanaianness can increase or decrease depending on whether you understand a language, can speak a language, can cook the food, can eat the food with your hands…for breakfast!!!! And on it goes. Right now I think I am hovering around 70%.
In Ghana you are or are not many things, but your blackness is not of particular relevance and that for the western grown person of colour is a bit of a revelation. Suddenly other elements of what makes you who you are are more interesting. My hair, which is in locks, becomes a definer. The way I walk and speak, what I am contributing… My marital status is of extreme importance as is my position in the womanly ranks of motherhood, or not (heh, at your age). Suddenly you become a person with texture, layers, depth…you become a three-dimensional human.
The spectre is still there as there are many complexities to the ideas of what is and isn’t black, tied to colonialism, slavery and modern day perceptions of what is acceptable black behaviour formed within the black community itself. Some would still avoid certain activities and label them as residue from our colonial rulers/slave masters; they would label those that wish to take part as bougie wannabees or coconuts (the brown coconut, this term wouldn’t translate if you use the green ones popular in Ghana).
For me this is the choice of individuals, how they wish to see and respond to something. I have learnt that many situations, activities or places are nothing more than what they are; it is the person that puts a value upon it and reacts to it and with it accordingly. I remember talking to a friend and telling them that I was doing Yoga, their response was ‘you are so white’; I couldn’t be bothered to tell him the origin of the exercise – in his mind there were certain things black people don’t do.
Vina on Labadi beach, Accra
On my part life experiences are just that, experiences to be explored where possible; where elements of it become politicized that is when another choice must be made. That, however, is dealing with the human element, not the activity/thing in and of itself.
The same person having their four-course high end luxury meal will be the same person who has a favourite spot to eat their fufu and abenkwen (groundnut soup); are they not to enjoy the different experiences because one is more black then another? We are a product of our environment and upbringing, at times I crave a Sunday Roast and at others all I want is my plantain and beans. Limits of who, how and what we are, I find, wholly unhelpful.
The cultures I am moving through all throw up varying challenges to my plans of progression as through their eyes there are limitations to what they think I can accomplish, or what my role should be. Whether it is my femaleness, my size, looks or race and the list in no way stops here (humans love a good categorize, judge and limit exercise). The problem arises for us all individually no matter our make-up, when we agree with these limits and make them our life story, blocking our journey.
Ghana, or rather my decision to move to Ghana, has shown me there is no ultimate journey, there is no I am this person here and will become that person there. You are who you are wherever you are. Some spaces it is easier to be you in others more challenging. Therefore I look forward with excitement and a sense of nervous anticipation at what my next phase will bring.
In essence there will be no ‘Back to Black’ as I lived it in the UK first time round. I am black and am very happy this is the body I was given for this life experience. However my stint at University of Life Ghana campus has shown me that it is up to me what relationship I have with my blackness and how I choose to live my life. As I move to the UK campus to continue my studies I have no idea what the future will bring but that is the point. Let the new semester begin, I am ready for the next set of lessons.
By Elvina Quaison on November 5, 2014 — With all the negative race related stories on my timeline I’ve been forced to think about being ‘Black’ again. Living in Ghana, being Black is one of my definers; in the UK it’s almost my only one. As Amy Winehouse put it I’m going Back to Black, so let’s go!
Makola Market, Accra. Photo: Anthony Comyn.jpgSo as I prepare to move back to the UK I am starting to realise I am suddenly going to be ‘black’ again. In Ghana I have dealt with being seen and treated as a ‘returnee’, ‘repat’, ‘Abrokye fo’ and other terms which generally mean you are Ghanaian-ish. Yes your parents are Ghanaian but you were born and brought up abroad so you are not quite 100%. Your percentage of Ghanaianness can increase or decrease depending on whether you understand a language, can speak a language, can cook the food, can eat the food with your hands…for breakfast!!!! And on it goes. Right now I think I am hovering around 70%.
In Ghana you are or are not many things, but your blackness is not of particular relevance and that for the western grown person of colour is a bit of a revelation. Suddenly other elements of what makes you who you are are more interesting. My hair, which is in locks, becomes a definer. The way I walk and speak, what I am contributing… My marital status is of extreme importance as is my position in the womanly ranks of motherhood, or not (heh, at your age). Suddenly you become a person with texture, layers, depth…you become a three-dimensional human.
Without the shackles of the politics of living while being black in the UK you give yourself permission to be more
Your angle of self-vision shifts, what you do or don’t do is not couched in your blackness. The dominant shade around you is shades of blackness, so whatever you do is ‘acting black’. Now as to whether you are acting Ghanaian is a whole other article. Without the shackles of the politics of living while being black in the UK you give yourself permission to be more – play golf, ride a horse, go bike riding in the hills. You can do any activity and not feel the omnipotent eye of colour wars watching you and judging you for acting ‘white’.The spectre is still there as there are many complexities to the ideas of what is and isn’t black, tied to colonialism, slavery and modern day perceptions of what is acceptable black behaviour formed within the black community itself. Some would still avoid certain activities and label them as residue from our colonial rulers/slave masters; they would label those that wish to take part as bougie wannabees or coconuts (the brown coconut, this term wouldn’t translate if you use the green ones popular in Ghana).
For me this is the choice of individuals, how they wish to see and respond to something. I have learnt that many situations, activities or places are nothing more than what they are; it is the person that puts a value upon it and reacts to it and with it accordingly. I remember talking to a friend and telling them that I was doing Yoga, their response was ‘you are so white’; I couldn’t be bothered to tell him the origin of the exercise – in his mind there were certain things black people don’t do.
Vina on Labadi beach, AccraOn my part life experiences are just that, experiences to be explored where possible; where elements of it become politicized that is when another choice must be made. That, however, is dealing with the human element, not the activity/thing in and of itself.
The same person having their four-course high end luxury meal will be the same person who has a favourite spot to eat their fufu and abenkwen (groundnut soup); are they not to enjoy the different experiences because one is more black then another? We are a product of our environment and upbringing, at times I crave a Sunday Roast and at others all I want is my plantain and beans. Limits of who, how and what we are, I find, wholly unhelpful.
Are they not to enjoy the different experiences because one is more black then another?
I am looking forward to moving back to the UK because in a way I am not moving ‘back’ as I refuse to pick up where I left off mentally or physically. There is an advert at the moment which asks ‘What is your Black?’ The question is interesting because answering it means you believe it is a definable ‘thing’ to which you are living within. Or you see the truth: there is no black, there is me and I am made of so many things some relatable to others who share the same shade as me and some who do not.The cultures I am moving through all throw up varying challenges to my plans of progression as through their eyes there are limitations to what they think I can accomplish, or what my role should be. Whether it is my femaleness, my size, looks or race and the list in no way stops here (humans love a good categorize, judge and limit exercise). The problem arises for us all individually no matter our make-up, when we agree with these limits and make them our life story, blocking our journey.
Ghana, or rather my decision to move to Ghana, has shown me there is no ultimate journey, there is no I am this person here and will become that person there. You are who you are wherever you are. Some spaces it is easier to be you in others more challenging. Therefore I look forward with excitement and a sense of nervous anticipation at what my next phase will bring.
In essence there will be no ‘Back to Black’ as I lived it in the UK first time round. I am black and am very happy this is the body I was given for this life experience. However my stint at University of Life Ghana campus has shown me that it is up to me what relationship I have with my blackness and how I choose to live my life. As I move to the UK campus to continue my studies I have no idea what the future will bring but that is the point. Let the new semester begin, I am ready for the next set of lessons.