Mixtape- untitled

 Preston Anderson

African Literature 

Mixtape Final

11/10/22

Playlist here: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/homegoing/pl.u-XkD04oLtDaP47lG


                    After learning about the Black Gothic, I realized and even questioned the world around me a bit more. Whether it came down to my lineage, race, religion, or even sexual identity, The Black Gothic made me realize how much slavery has impacted the life that we know today. I decided to heavily focus on the book Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and In The Wake by Christina  Sharpe because it tackles the roots of slavery among a family tree, and we get to witness the effects of it in each generation. 

                    The first character we see in Homegoing is Effia. We learn of her mistreatment from her mother in her home village since birth, and we saw her journey from her “Homeland” to becoming a wife to a general at the cape coast. Effia’s story intrigues me because you can make the argument that home isn’t a physical place because as we learned from the term “Redlining,” The oppressed will never truly have a physical place to call home. The song “They just keep moving the line”from the musical SMASH explains this experience perfectly by talking about the struggles of trying your best to achieve what you desire just for the oppressors to constantly move the finish line. This goes back to the previous statement about home not being a physical space but an emotional one. The song “Home” from the musical The Wiz captures this feeling because we understand more meanings about what makes a home a home, and we learn that home is truly where the heart is.

               

       The next character I wanted to discuss is “Ness.” “Ness” is important because she is the first character we see who is born into slavery. We witness the cruelty of slavery from her perspective and we see her want to leave captivity. I believe “Freedom” by Beyoncé fits into her chapter because unlike her mother, “Esi,” we felt Ness’s want for freedom and a better life for her child. 

         In “kojo’s” chapter, opens up the discussion about religion and the effect on the black community today. Kojo’s mother would tell him stories about African religion and how they believed in multiple Gods that would give many blessings in their homeland. She would then say how the oppressors tried to brainwash the transported slaves in America to believe in their one and only white God. “Mama Will Provide” from the musical Once on this Island talks about one of the African Gods, “Asaka” the goddess of earth and mentions other gods in African religion. This chapter made me question of dominant this “White man god” religion would be if it wasn’t forced upon African Americans by their oppressors. This religion has caused a lot of harm and confusion in the community I personally suffered. As a Black queer growing up in a religious black household it was difficult every single day.”Precious Little Dream/AIDS is God’s punishment” from the musical A Strange Loop talks heavily about the negative impact this religion has affected the community to this day.

          The Next generation of this lineage is the Character “H” we understand that he was kidnapped at birth and grew up not knowing any of his history. His chapter begins with him being incarcerated because he was falsely accused of an incident between him and a Caucasian Woman. Hearing this reminded me of the case of Emmitt Till, a black boy who was falsely accused of whistling at a white woman and was brutally murdered. “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday relates to this because it talks about the countless black souls being hanged, beaten, and murdered. I also chose this song after realizing that the Anti-Lynching bill didn’t come into effect until this year March 7, 2022. I also chose the song “This is America” by Childish Gambino for “H’s” chapter because it talks about the unjust police system regarding African Americans.

       In this next generation of “Willie”, we really saw an effect of the term “White passing” meaning that a person of a different race, was able to obtain certain privileges that only white people had. That’s when I learned more about Colorism and how it’s still effective in today’s society. Statistics show that a person with lighter skin will most likely get hired over their darker-skinned counterparts even though they have the same credentials. We also see how slavery played a part in Colorism because lighter skinned slaves where seen as more valuable and worked as a house slave, while the darker-skinned slaves worked outside crucial environments. I chose the song “I know where I’ve been” from the musical Hairspray because I believe this song correlates with this topic with one of it’s lyrics saying, 


          “There’s a light in the Darkness

             Though the night is black as my skin

             There’s a light burning bright showing me the way

             But I know where I’ve been”


I added the song “Being Alive” by Beyoncé because of “Yaw’s” chapter because I was so fascinated by the black excellence he achieved while coming to America and becoming a professor, and this song dwells on the fact of loving your blackness despite the the hardships you go through.

          Towards the end of the novel, we see the character “Akua” ” and we experience the spiritual aspect of the middle passage and how it is tied to the sea is haunted. Akua strongly believed that their ancestors, from the stone that’s been passed down for generations, watched over them and that the sea was their home. The song “Down By the riverside ” plays into the belief of one finding peace and serenity in water. The song “Endless Night” from the musical The Lion King emphasizes the importance of ancestors in African beliefs.

          The last generation of the novel, we’re introduced to Marjorie and Marcus. I chose the song “Make them Hear you” from the musical Ragtime to relate to Marjorie's story because she decided to use her voice through poetry to express herself, and “Make them Hear you” expresses that experience well by talking about the importance of black voices whether it’s with a sword, or the writing of the pen. “The Great Divide” by the McClain Sisters was a good song to express the ending of the novel because we find out that Marjorie and Marcus are a part of the same family tree that’s been separated by slavery years prior. The song gives the listeners hope that no matter how far something or someone is, if it’s meant to be then, it will always come back home.


        

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