Perhaps the biggest contribution I can make to the African mind is to help erase the enduring shame of colonialism. The fact that our ancestors were violently coerced and systematically deceived into submitting to foreign rule is a dark chapter, but even worse is the psychological aftermath: the conviction that their indigenous norms, traditions, and very existence were a mark of shame to be shed in exchange for so-called civilization.
We are fortunate that our skin sets us apart from our colonizers, providing a visual anchor to our distinct heritage. After all, similar cultural erasures happened globally—in Europe, pre-enlightenment traditions were reduced to museum artifacts and folklore, while in the Americas and Australasia, indigenous cultures were nearly wiped out entirely.
This inherited colonial shame can trigger an instinct of aversion—a hatred for our ancestry, or even ourselves—trapping us in a victim mentality and creating a generation that wishes for a different history. But in reality, what makes us African today is the inseparable combination of our rich ancestry and that colonial interruption. We should not be embarrassed of who we are. We must remember the ways of our Jajjas, while opening our minds to integrate the foreign influences left behind. We must be willing to forgive the colonizers, forgive the grandparents who felt forced to collude with them, and begin doing the work today. By synthesizing the old ways of Africa with the lessons and tools from colonization, we can forge an African identity that our children can happily inherit.