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Zanu Project Rethink - Why I Am Proud of My Ancestors — Transcript

by Franck Zanu · 3,788 words · 555 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:02[Music]
0:12hello guys welcome back to the studio
0:14yes there was an episode last week and I
0:17promised that um I would do an episode
0:20to share my answer in the room that day
0:25in
0:251991 about what makes me proud of my
0:30ancestors as a black
0:31man so welcome back to the studio I can
0:35see you guys can wait to hear from exit
0:37I'm excited I'm excited and listen I I
0:41was born in Benning Republic okay and I
0:44grew up with my grandfather cuz my
0:45father passed when I was 11 my
0:47grandfather named me zanu zanu means
0:51that which belongs to the
0:54dark and every time I I say the name
0:57especially in the west like who names a
0:59child like that but the full word is
1:02Zuli you
1:03know and so zanu either he or that which
1:07belong to the dark people like why who
1:10name a child like that so when a place
1:12is dark what do you take
1:14there light that's correct that's what
1:16he
1:18meant that's what my grandfather meant
1:21so my grandfather had three boys and by
1:24our tradition if my grand grandfather's
1:26second son gives birth to a boy my
1:29grandfather would name that boy okay so
1:33my father gave birth to five girls I was
1:36the only and so the day I was born I was
1:38taken to my grandfather and I didn't
1:41understand the name either and then uh
1:44he said when he looked into my eyes as
1:46they gave to him and unwrap it for the
1:48first time I saw a light and I said this
1:50one he belongs to the dark which means
1:52I'm attracted to negative things and
1:54guess what name does actually work on
1:57kids I love I love negative things
2:01meaning that I love things that are not
2:04the group think the common thought the
2:07the the the comfortable you know I don't
2:10it doesn't inspire me I like things to
2:12challenge me but as I was growing up and
2:15they were explaining the name and I was
2:17okay jeez that's why he called me you
2:19know I didn't appreciate it until
2:22recently people say wow that is a
2:23definition actually marches you because
2:25my grandfather used to say when I come
2:27home and I complain like I was bullied
2:29in school somebody did this he would say
2:31yes those are your good people
2:35what because he believes that you would
2:39discover yourself if you have people
2:40like that those who challenge you and so
2:42he would laugh he he made me to laugh
2:46when I came to the United States and I
2:47hear people say a lot oh I I I like to
2:50be among positive people my grandfather
2:52used to say if you are standing always
2:54under the light how would you know how
2:56much you shine
3:00so if you always around positive people
3:03you don't know anything about yourself
3:05they pampering you until one day when a
3:07little darkness is introduced boom
3:10you're gone
3:12poof so he
3:14says occasionally find the dark place
3:17and go there and if you see that you're
3:18not bring enough then go charge your
3:20battery he never went to school my
3:23parents never went to school nobody I'm
3:25a first generation scholar in my family
3:28by that I mean the first to go to
3:30primary school but here is an old man
3:32who was never educated but these are the
3:35ways he you know I don't know if he
3:38meant it if he knew it but slowly it
3:40began to have impact on
3:44me that that's that's my understanding
3:47in introduction to life P he lived until
3:49103 before he died wow W 103 that's
3:53amazing and that day he walked from
3:55another house where he went to heal
3:57somebody's eyes he was a herbalist and
3:59achieved would
4:00priest I adore him a lot no classroom
4:04could give me what he gave
4:06me and that helped me to travel the
4:08world live in very difficult cultures
4:11and never failed I have empathy and
4:15understand that when I leave my house I
4:18have no
4:19standards imposed on how people should
4:22relate to me
4:23no when I leave my house I have no
4:25expectation how you or you or you should
4:28relate to me
4:30that is asking for
4:31trouble I have only one standard how I
4:35should present
4:36myself to the
4:40world wow how I want to be accepted
4:43should not be dependent on how you
4:45should approach me no no no no no
4:48because you know what when you have
4:50standards for people and you have all
4:53these expectations how you want people
4:54to talk to you but I don't know how Zuri
4:57woke up this morning I don't know when
4:59he woke up the first phone call he got
5:02what news he got the grandma is dead the
5:05mother is taken to the
5:07hospital which would affect his mood and
5:10within that hour I was the first person
5:12he met and I'm expecting him
5:15what you understand what I'm saying yeah
5:18people leave their homes some they in a
5:21zombie State they don't know if they are
5:23happy or if they are sad they're trying
5:25to find out in the first few hours of
5:27the morning Unfortunately they run into
5:30you but because you live your life
5:33having standard expectations of people
5:35you meet how they should treat you
5:37you're going to have problem every
5:38second of your life because they're
5:40going to disappoint you but me according
5:43to my grandfather when you leave your
5:46house stop at the door and count 10 and
5:50say to yourself what you believe should
5:53be the standards you will present
5:56regardless of person's class wealth race
6:01color and you
6:03see you'll be
6:06free and were you
6:09free when people ask me hey zanu good
6:12morning how are you I say I'm tall
6:13handsome and
6:15happy okay because I'm very
6:18free absolutely I have
6:22decided that if I should ever get angry
6:25it should be intentional just because I
6:27want to save somebody's life that's only
6:29time I will be angry but I challenge any
6:32human being to make me angry you fail it
6:34is the only thing that drives me yes
6:37proing you wrong every
6:38day so that day in the room in in France
6:44while the people were going around I
6:46have never faced that question I have
6:48never faced that question I don't have a
6:51the answer I've never even thought about
6:54it right so the answer came from their
6:57answers so I'm listening and I was like
6:59oh my God if I introduce myself it would
7:03be one of them whose parents gave me
7:06that name Frank I'm a black man from
7:08Africa here I'm hanging with a French
7:11name right so I will use their
7:13grandfathers G me that name what is my
7:16official language it's either French or
7:17English they gave it to me my mode of
7:20dressing they gave it to me the
7:21curriculums that raised me to even be
7:23able to be in that room they gave it to
7:25me the pl ride to that country they have
7:29for fathers built it you
7:32understand so it was hitting me and I
7:34said
7:35huh wow then when it came to me I said
7:39it I said wow I have never never thought
7:43about it but this is the first time I
7:45will say to you by listening to people
7:48the burden with which they live their
7:50lives and grow this is the first time I
7:52will say I am really really proud of my
7:55great my ancestors because they left
7:59nothing
8:01behind nothing at all I've traveled the
8:04world as a black man and I have never
8:07seen a black country where the people
8:11who live in it are foreigners that were
8:12brought there by blacks as slaves not
8:15one single country yet the black race
8:18has more countries on Earth than any
8:19other country
8:2154 are on the continent 13 black
8:24countries in the Caribbean so 68 black
8:26countries there's not a single black
8:28country where slaves were bought from
8:31outside by black people I've traveled
8:34the world not a single country in the
8:36world
8:37colonized by a black
8:40country there's nowhere you go on Mother
8:43Earth where the language they are
8:45speaking was imposed on them by force by
8:48a black country I've traveled the world
8:51and I have never seen a religion that is
8:52imposed upon anybody anywhere in this
8:55world by a black country the 68 black
8:59countries in the world the largest
9:01continent by number of countries not a
9:03single one of them has a nuclear
9:05weapon weapon of mass destruction black
9:09countries across the world none of them
9:11is responsible for what we call the
9:13military
9:15complex where we are manufacturing dirty
9:18bombs and sending things into the water
9:21to pollute people I've traveled the
9:23world and I'm yet to see one product
9:26that was forced to be sold in another
9:28country by a black
9:33country so it means the black race is
9:36the only race on
9:38Earth that represent what the United
9:40Nations have been looking for for the
9:42last 100 years
9:43peace yes we fought internal Wars just
9:47like anybody and that is all we
9:50did therefore in my travels there was no
9:54place I went on Earth where the people
9:56that pointed fingers at me and say your
9:58people did to me never the black person
10:01is the only one who travels this Earth
10:04and no one will point a finger that's
10:07what my ancestors Left Behind
10:11nothing holy I I think that
10:16is that makes me feel good yeah yeah
10:19that's that's that has to be
10:21definitely um I'd say more powerful than
10:25anything any of the other countries have
10:26said you know it's it's um
10:30you know it's it's everything and
10:31nothing it's it's that's that's amazing
10:34I don't even know what to rebuttal to
10:36that it's it's would you say that's
10:39purpose you see we always think that
10:43invention is what make people smart so
10:46in February it's coming black people are
10:48going to go to classrooms hanging peanut
10:50butter and said yeah we invented peanut
10:53butter yeah we invented traffic CL and
10:55they stole us you see we trying so hard
10:57to think that only when you invent
10:59something then you are no it's not true
11:02inventions are only based on fear and
11:05necessity but what we have done and let
11:07me tell you something
11:10else countries have been
11:13colonized but each time the col colony
11:16is
11:17over what the colonized country does to
11:19the one that colonized them they pay
11:21prices from West Africa to South Africa
11:24black Africa is the only place where
11:26when the colonies end their colonization
11:29we never hurt
11:32anyone we turn around and we live with
11:34them peacefully and
11:38happily yes we join the Commonwealth of
11:41Nations after Colony we're not stupid
11:44because we never have about anything
11:46like
11:47that but we are thinking always it has
11:50to be inventions no no not at all or we
11:54have to build something yeah something
11:56not at all it's always the consumer
12:00and the producer that's what I thought
12:02of when you guys was consumtion is very
12:04very very powerful we put out a physical
12:07if you remove Africa from the World
12:10Europe Asia and America will be buried
12:13under their own second hand
12:16Goods there's no amount of disposal
12:19place in any European country to
12:23absorb
12:24waste Africa it is
12:31wow when I said it the French guy jumped
12:35over the coffee table and hugged me he
12:38said you made me feel ashamed cuz he
12:41gave it two years before he went to
12:44senagal so the guy was colonized by the
12:46French mhm you hear what is going on in
12:49ner that fool with a black and a pistol
12:52on his side walking back and forth try
12:54to keep the French out of ner and he
12:56said while he was in Sagal every Club he
12:58went to the pointing fingers at him what
13:00the french came to do in this country
13:02they stole all out this and they did
13:03this and they did this then the American
13:06kid said no the British kid said he went
13:07to Nepal and the same thing everywhere
13:09he went were pointing fingers your
13:11people came here and colonized us and
13:12they were trying to force religion
13:14everybody began to give their own
13:16negative stories of how others treat
13:18them when they go
13:21out
13:24wow guys you don't have to invent or
13:27build cars and sell it electronics and
13:30no no no no to be known when human life
13:33began nobody was treated based on
13:35inventions cuz there were no inventions
13:37they look purely at how you live side by
13:40side with the external environment
13:43nature and other human beings we are the
13:46only culture on Earth where you travel
13:48through a black Village a total
13:51Foreigner and they would take the best
13:54food they have to give to you to eat and
13:55give you the best room to sleep in till
13:58today
13:59we do it that is why with all the things
14:02that happened to Africa colonization and
14:05slavery and all that you would never
14:07hear anybody saying he's afraid to
14:09travel through Africa especially if
14:10you're white you're
14:13safer
14:14so whatever America in Britain in
14:18Germany whichever white people did at
14:20the time they did it it was based only
14:24on the intellectual level of the people
14:27that is all they could do
14:32but you you have to recognize that at
14:36the time the Africans were giving their
14:38people to foreigners it is also based on
14:41their intellectual
14:43level Once Upon a Time the Jews had a
14:47law that says an eye for an eye until
14:49somebody said hold on guys if we
14:51continue no one is perfect we all going
14:54to be blind people in this city so he
14:56introduced forgiveness because at the
14:58time of an eye for an eye that was the
15:00only intellectual way you can understand
15:02what is called Justice yeah right right
15:07you understand so every age is based on
15:10the intellectual level once upon a time
15:12when the guy said the Earth was flat it
15:14was based on the tool that was available
15:16to observe it not because they were Dum
15:19so whatever white people did in this
15:21world we have to
15:23recognize among the G8 the most advanced
15:27or industrialized countri the
15:30ga8 name a country that is able to rise
15:33this up and build such an industrial
15:35complex without stepping on a toe it's
15:39impossible it's
15:41impossible even for individuals for you
15:44to become successful
15:46andr you would step on sto toes some you
15:49would not be aware
15:53of you're right you you're bringing up
15:56some points that I never thought to
15:58think of and you know if our parents had
16:00taught us that and had that message I
16:03think we would never grow up feeling so
16:05angry and you know accusatory towards
16:09the white man right and everything that
16:11he did to Hold Us Down the anger you see
16:13the unit no go ahead I'm sorry yeah no
16:15you um I agree I definitely think
16:16there's like there sort of like
16:17helplessness people feel and um I think
16:20yeah that message would definitely you
16:21know put a fire under people and be like
16:23okay yeah like I have this
16:24responsibility to do this and do that
16:26and um and and and be
16:29a a a contributing member to to our you
16:32know Community yes I don't blame black
16:34kids in Chicago or anywhere that are
16:36doing the things that we're not proud of
16:38we fed them with that anger because we
16:41couldn't tell them the story I just told
16:42you do you know how it will feel if
16:44you're young and people are trying to
16:46say something and say mention one place
16:47on Mother Earth where the black man has
16:49done anything guilty and everybody will
16:52just stop yeah that's one of the you
16:54start telling them what their great
16:56grandparents did to people and said name
16:57a place where we have ever enslave
16:59people and they will stop they would
17:01start looking at you and said wow who do
17:04you think would stand in public and
17:06defend slavery
17:08no
17:10well they look back today's Americans
17:13look back and they know that is a stain
17:16on
17:17America but it's upon you to recognize
17:22at the time they did it that is all they
17:25could do
17:30now church is over Pass the Plate
17:35around hey man thank you again for
17:37another wonderful session but I want to
17:39hear the last comment from the two of
17:40you before we back out
17:42so uh yeah uh like I said definitely
17:45it's it's definitely a conversation that
17:46needs to be had and um coming from a
17:50background where you know growing up
17:52there was there was there was confusion
17:54of where you know where where I came
17:56from you know what what specifically to
17:59say and and when I get questioned hey
18:00where are you from you know what's your
18:01culture you know I I don't I don't
18:03really have the answer to that so and
18:04it's definitely a sort of embarrassment
18:06when somebody ask you you're like I
18:07don't know and you know and um
18:09especially being in America where
18:11there's hundreds of different cultures
18:12and everybody knows you know this flag
18:14this food this type of stuff and um so I
18:17think I think to uh to wrap it up I
18:21think it's definitely something that
18:22needs to be talked about and definitely
18:23brought more attention to for sure yep I
18:26think this is a perfect example of how
18:29important perspective is and that is why
18:33I felt as a kid I would question the
18:36adults in my life like why do we say
18:38these things well why is this that way
18:40and they would get so angry with me and
18:42you know call me disrespectful and all
18:44types of things because they couldn't
18:46explain what you're explaining here
18:49today and I think that frustration of
18:52okay this young child is looking to me
18:54as a beacon of light and they're asking
18:57me questions I've never even thought
18:58about out and the only way to stop
19:02myself from getting embarrassed is to
19:04reprimand that child so I grew up vowing
19:08to myself that I would divorce my
19:10culture and that I want to be a new
19:14generation whoever I end up marrying and
19:16if I ever have children that child would
19:18be a new generation of black not the
19:22culture that we see and the culture that
19:24we celebrate and promote yeah a new
19:27generation is um it's identifiable based
19:30on uh uh statement their their thought
19:34process comes from the words they use
19:36you know what they believe and so that's
19:38why it's so important that many
19:40countries around the world they always
19:42want to repeat you know uh America has
19:45you know give me your poor you're weak
19:47you're
19:48wretched your populate your population
19:51that is yearning to breathe Freedom give
19:54them to me that's it he didn't say this
19:56is what I will give them and American
19:58kids grow up seen on the Statue of
20:01Liberty This Promise my country is
20:03making to other people give me your poor
20:05you're weak your wretched your
20:08population that is yearning to breathe
20:09Freedom give them to me he didn't say
20:12give me your Rich your famous mhm come
20:16on my country is asking the world what
20:19what do we have on our statutes in
20:22Africa what do we have what did you read
20:25in Jamaica growing up
20:29nothing
20:31nothing nothing if every black country
20:34had written this in the back of every
20:35textbook what I just told you as who we
20:38are Korea Korea is the only maybe the
20:42only Asian country that has never in its
20:46existence thousands of years of
20:47existence has never attacked another
20:49country that's why the Koreans believe
20:51that they're
20:53pure that's why they teach their
20:55kids yeah they teach them they said we
20:58have never attacked anybody they've been
21:01attacked 770 times manchurians
21:04Mongolians Japanese you every
21:07one does that make them inferior
21:10no right JIS Khan dead died shamefully
21:15because of slashing people right across
21:17Asia but Koreans today are saying to
21:21their children you see how pure we are
21:23they use their weakness to make their
21:25children feel proud
21:28and we should start doing the same you
21:31here running around on a hardwood floor
21:35chasing after an inflated balloon with
21:37tattoos all over your body with an ugly
21:39facial hair and then every day you open
21:41your mouth you poison The Young Ones why
21:44with the students in the school you
21:45build everything they hear about you is
21:47calling a white man evil Trump won a
21:51campaign instead of you saying something
21:53uh
21:55positive you text out there we don't
21:57need them you don't need who LeBron your
22:01team is owned by white
22:05je yeah they're signing that
22:09check
22:11yeah as always Anu you are the geny
22:15guru are we reth thinkers now did we
22:18graduate yeah somebody said it in the
22:20this anybody yes somebody said it
22:21already in the in the comments anybody
22:24uh who follow zanu is said
22:27rethinking yes we're rethinking so I
22:30mention that the cops are going to say
22:32reinkers yes I'm a reinker are you I'm a
22:34reinker yes so yeah yeah we have a new
22:37you know what do they called uh Tor
22:40Swift people swifties and Beyonce uh
22:43beehive oh Jesus and don't forget kaj
22:47barbs and Justin Bieber the bers okay
22:50yeah we are the Believers
22:53the okay yeah we we are building a new a
22:57new community in a generation of
22:59reinkers yes and I when I see two of you
23:02even behind the scene when we talk I
23:04have hope before I'm put into the box
23:07and go SE down below I know I will smile
23:09that yes indeed a new generation have
23:12decided enough of this and you are going
23:13to create your own language based on
23:15your own definition of sux failure death
23:18life after death love whatever it is to
23:20you and your children are going to hear
23:21but only positive language even when
23:24they are in hardship when they are
23:26disagreeing everybody will be a Channel
23:28you bring light to the dark thank you I
23:31really appreciate that I appreciate that
23:35that's amazing all right ladies we see
23:36you again please subscribe follow us
23:38like us uh one more time zpr
23:46[Music]

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