In the first lecture, Dr.Carr brought about the concept of Mbongi, a “common shelter” where many traditional functions take place. For example, education, conflict resolution, or maintenance of social life can take place in an Mbongi. Dr.Carr mentioned that Mbongis can be places such as barber shops, churches, or front porches, which had certain rules that needed to be followed for entry and exit. His statement was a surprise to me because after further deliberation, what he was saying made complete sense.
At the start of the lecture, Dr.Carr displayed a picture of a man with a bird for a head. The bird was called Ibis and was a symbol of intelligence because of a certain technique it could do with its beak. It was this subject that hooked us into my second topic about human brilliance and excellence. Dr.Carr gave us three key statements. The first, human brilliance must be connected to African brilliance. Second, human excellence must be connected to African excellence. Finally, to be African is to be brilliant and excellent. After Dr. Carr discussed these three statements, I felt a sense of self-confidence and honor knowing that my ancestors had such a developed and creative intellect to be the pioneers of today’s writing and mathematics.
Dr.Carr made a statement, “To be beautiful is not how you talk, but how you behave”. This statement really spoke to me because it made me rethink the idea of beauty. Is it beautiful to look like Miss Universe and talk articulately, or be a normal person who cannot speak “proper” American English, but knows how to carry themselves? It’s these kinds of questions I asked myself after hearing that remark.
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