Celebrating Afrika Month
In marking the Africa Month, we have designed a multidisciplinary programme inspired by the African Union having declared 2021 as “The AU year of the arts, culture and heritage” as the cardinal effort in our pursuit of envisioning the ideal of “the Afrika we want”. We will achieve this by celebrating six pan African revolutionists who established themselves not only as political leaders but also as cultural icons in oratory, philosophy, literature, fashion and all other subsidiary sectors all centred on a pan-AfriCAN epistemology that mainstreamed our unique identity as a people. These are icons whose looks, words and deeds unpack to us what the legendary Kwame Nkrumah meant when he mused: “I am not an AfriCAN because I was born in Afrika, but because Afrika was born in me.”
The month of May is recognized as Afrika month — a time when the continent of Afrika commemorates the founding of the Organisation of AfriCAN Unity (OAU). Celebrated on the 25th May since its establishment in 1963 — Africa Day as it is now known, marks the beginning of a quest for the unity of the continent and for the political and economic emancipation of its people as well as co-operation among them.
For this Afrika Month, the “abOVEnormal campaign”, represented by Masingita Masunga will commemorate and celebrate being AfriCAN by remembering six AfriCAN revolutionists, Winnie Mandela, Thomas Sankara, Queen Cleopatra, Haile
Selassie, Queen Nzinga and Fela Kuti. We will remember them through photos, fashion and masterclasses/shows that will profile the different aspects of their lives. The masterclass/show will include discussions about their heritage and the country where they come from. A seasoned television personality, Masingita is a passionate human rights activist whose advocacy work include mainstreaming issues affecting people with disabilities.
The overall objectives of the programme are as follows:
- To restore belief and confidence in leadership and leaders of Afrika.
- To help AfriCANs to know, believe and invest in the continent.
- Bridge the gap that is caused by borders.
- Boost and develop the image of Afrika.
- To preserve AfriCAN history, culture and heritage
- To Celebrate Afrika
- Promotion of AfriCAN products and talents.
The Afrika week online sessions, hosted by Masingita Masunga in the last week of the Afrika Month (22–30 May 2021), will be hosted at the premier post-Apartheid centre of memory, Freedom Park, in Pretoria which pays homage to our freedom struggle icons. She says: “We will be featuring different guests including thought leaders, who will look at the mammoth contribution made by these icons to the definition of Afrika not only in terms of their involvement in the anti-colonialism struggles, but also giving the continent a unique personality in terms of its fashion, oratory, deeds, behaviours, mannerisms and ideological outlook all centred on a pan-Africanist epistemology that rejects Eurocentricism of Occidentalism. Their lives in totality led the decolonisation of the mind project. We therefore have to embrace their outlook particularly now as Afrika continues to struggle against acculturation of our peoples and the continent mounts a struggle against the individualistic and consumerist tendencies that manifest particularly among the so-called ‘born frees’.”
Since the beginning of the year Masingita Masunga commemorates the important dates and events through her abOVEnormal campaign (abOVEnormal is a lifestyle of non-conformity, non-confinement, resilience and resistance to situations, circumstances and attitudes that are limiting.) She also brings awareness about important social and national issues. She does this with her monthly pictures, messages, videos, opinions articles in multiple platform.
The overall theme is the “The Afrika Month aboVEnormal REVOLUTIONISTS — REMEMBRANCE.” Yes, the theme is correct. The phraseology, typology and spelling are deliberate because we are inspired by the 1970s troubadours such as Mothobi Mutloatse, Sipho Sephamla, Oswald Mtshali, Duma Ndlovu and others to whom form became as revolutionary as content, the truth
“We are going to pee, spit and shit on literary convention before we are through; we are going to kick and pull and push and drag literature into theform we prefer. We are going to experiment and probe and not give a damn what the critics have to say. Because we are in search of our true selves undergoing self-discovery as a people.”
For more information, please contact:
Katlego Msomi 082–256–4500
