embodied resistance the science & continuities of Africana fighting arts

Africa World Now Project

The notion, assumption, and/or idea that the various peoples who were enslaved during the periods and processes of the solidification of the racial global economy that claims our ancestors were deprived of culture, strips of all associations with historical and ancestral groundings is a product of centering European historicity as the dominant expression of social, historical, political and epistemic knowledge systems.

This argument is rooted in the fact that one of the most vibrant places to find the most articulate expressions of African/a humanity is in the way we resist injustice—inequity—violence. The way we conceptualize and engage in struggle against systems of oppression, the foundation of which is an advanced understanding of the praxis of being human.

See everything Sylvia Wynter.

African/a struggles operate on multiple and simultaneous levels of human existence. It always was, always will be a struggle to realize a world beyond. The material and nonmaterial praxis to balance forces seen and unseen. The science of African/a fighting arts…a commitment, conscious or unconscious, to embody resistance.

Of becoming rebel.

Building on the work of Dr. Kamu Rashid, I assert that of becoming rebel can be understood in the Swahili tradition as, “Harakati za Waasi”, translated as “Movement of Rebels”.

For Dr. Rashid, it represents the tradition of radical resistance that is embedded in the history of Capoeira and other African Diasporic combat arts. These arts were used in the people’s resistance to state oppression throughout the Americas. Harakati za Waasi seeks to honor these traditions by seeking to engage in the rigorous study and practice of the theoretical and technical applications of African combat systems. Additionally, Dr. Rashid and the collective seek to broadly disseminate these arts within the African community for the sake facilitating cultural transformation.

Today, embodied resistance: the science of African/a fighting arts with Kamau Rashid.

Dr. Kamau Rashid is an Associate Professor of Educational Foundations and Inquiry at National-Louis University in Chicago. Kamau earned his Phd and BA from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Arts degree from Northeastern Illinois University.

Dr. Rashid work focuses on African American history and culture, particularly on the inter-generational dynamics of African/a social critique, which includes an exploration and theorizing of W.E.B. Du Bois as well as contemporary African-Centered scholars and critical race theorists. Undergirding this, he studies art (Hip Hop and comics) as a radical public pedagogy.

He is co-developing an oral history and archival project focused on African American social movements in the Chicago area from the 1960s to1980s with Dr. Richard Benson of Spelman College. And is currently working on Finding our way through the desert: Jacob H. Carruthers and the restoration of an African worldview as well as The critical theory of W.E.B. Du Bois: The Struggle for Humanity. He has published a number peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and received various grant awards to support his work.

Lastly, likely most importantly, Dr. Rashid is active in a number of community organizations in the Chicago-area including the Kemetic Institute of Chicago, a research and educational organization focused on mapping, exploring and applying the ancient and contemporary contributions of ancient Nile Valley civilizations.

Our show was produced today in solidarity with the native, indigenous, African, and Afro-descended communities at Standing Rock; Venezuela; Cooperation Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi; Brazil; the Avalon Village in Detroit; Colombia; Kenya; Palestine; South Africa; and Ghana; and other places who are fighting for the protection of our land for the benefit of all people.

Enjoy the program!

Image: Statue of Zumbi