Hello again! I'm Rosa "Marie Ya" Jouf, The Real Africanist! I've always had an insatiable desire to learn about Africa. But, after attending an exhibition on African wax fabric some years ago, I realized that I needed to take what I knew about African history and culture and use it to serve Africa in a more meaningful way.
So, the exhibit was held at a local black art museum, and the curator was a Ghanaian American doctor who was building a reputation as an authority on African wax fabric. I was super excited about the exhibit because I love all things African, and with the speaker being from Ghana, I was certain that the gallery talk would be just what the doctor ordered...but boy was I wrong!
Now, I do believe in giving credit where credit is due. The wax prints were stunning, the props were perfect, and the sheen that the wax is famously known for, was doing what it was supposed to do - it was shining....so no problem there.
The problem, however, was that most of the fabric was technically not "African" fabric. It was African print "Dutch wax" fabric, which is made in Holland for the African market, but viewed culturally by Africans as one of their own. And while there were a few pieces of "African-made fabric" on display; it was definitely not the best that I'd ever seen. It was dull, worn looking and simply hanging over what appeared to be a bathroom towel floor rack, that was just kinda standing there at the very end of the exhibit....and I'M SO NOT kidding. 🙄
The fabric display was an insult as far as I was concerned, but I was even more disappointed with the gallery talk itself. The entire presentation was all about how "fabulous" the Dutch fabric was and how much Ghanaians and Nigerians spent on it annually (which according to the speaker, made those who couldn't afford it somehow less important than those who could).
So, after patiently sitting through what I would call, an anti-African presentation, I could hardly wait to ask the mountain of questions that were swirling around in my head, like:
- where did you get your information from?
- what was the history of wax fabric in Africa before the Dutch started producing it?
- are you aware that the African textile industry is on the verge of collapse because Africans have a preference for Dutch wax instead of African wax?
- and, who hired you, don't they know that I could've done a much better job (nah...just kidding...but anyway)?
I asked the presenter the first three questions, and you could tell by the look on her face she was not pleased with my line of questioning. She gave me and the African fabric the "side-eye" and responded, "I used the internet to do my research > Africans had nothing to do with wax fabric production before the Dutch> and we as Ghanaians rarely use those African fabrics anymore because they just don't measure up to those (as she pointed to the Dutch wax)."
OH NO SHE DIDN'T - I SAID TO MYSELF🤬 - Here we go again!
Now don't get me wrong, the doctor was entitled to her opinion, but I was still appalled by her response. Because not only were there impressionable, young black people in the audience, but I thought the objective of the exhibit was to showcase African culture, not to glorify how great the Dutch were at stealing, appropriating and exploiting African culture!
I'm telling you, when I left that museum that night, I was so hot I could've spat fire! 🤣 I mean, to some people, the whole Dutch thing may seem sort of trivial, but to me, The Real Africanist, NOT SO MUCH! I ranted and raved all the way home. But when I finally calmed down and decided that I WOULD NOT rest until I proved to the "whole-wide-world" that African fabric was just as beautiful as any other fabric, if not more.
So, when I woke up the next morning, I hit the floor running. I started to work on creating what would turn out to be a fashion show in which models would proudly strut down the runway in garments made of authentic African textiles while a brief history of each textile and its country of origin was read over instrumental Afro-beats.
The show was innovative, entertaining, educational and most importantly, PRO-AFRICAN! The young African and African American people who participated in the show came alive as they learned interesting details about African history and donned the beautiful designs that reflected their own African heritage. IT WAS AN AMAZING NIGHT!
Also, in addition to the show, that was the night that I doubled down on my commitment to help transform the image and narrative of Africa in education and cultural spaces, and TODAY, I AM HAPPY TO SAY THAT I AM MORE DEDICATED THAN EVER TO DOING JUST THAT! 😊
#IamRosaMarieYaJouf
#TheRealAfricanist
#ITeachAfrica4Real
(click here to see some pics of the show)
