Rahiel Tesfamariam, author of “Imagine Freedom: Transforming Pain into Political and Spiritual Power,” held a book discussion at Busboys and Poets 14th Street on July 11, with a mission of leaving audiences with more than thoughts on literature. Tesfamariam, an Eritrean immigrant, used the moment to emphasize the need for African Americans to cultivate closer ties with Africa beyond the realms of cultural appreciation.
“I think that African Americans need stronger ties to the continent that go beyond culture, esthetics and music,” Rahiel Tesfamariam told The Washington Informer. “I think that we need to look at what our political relationality is.”
Tesfamariam, a Stanford and Yale University graduate, is dedicated to raising awareness about the “African freedom struggle,” which she stresses is ongoing.
“It continues to this day. It did not end with the end of colonization,” she emphasized.
Countries like Kenya have struggled to maintain freedom from external partners like China and the Western world. In recent weeks, Kenyan President William Ruto has been engulfed in political controversy because he tried to force a contentious tax bill to go through, which resulted in widespread violent and deadly protests nationwide.
Ruto attempted to address the country’s $80 billion debt from China, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
While Kenyans and other Africans work to maintain freedom, Tesfamariam established a correlation between the challenges faced in Africa and those experienced by Black Americans in the United States.
“We have very similar freedom struggles and struggles against white supremacy and capitalism,” Tesfamariam said. “There are also many ways that we don’t have access to our own natural resources on the continent, and that is an ongoing land and resource struggle… It’s one African Americans face [in the United States] as well as not having a deep connection to the land that we live on,” she added.
The author also said that the divide between Africans and African Americans has been “very intentional and a systemic divide” that isn’t by accident.
“The divide is created to ensure that white supremacy maintains a stronghold on the continent and in the United States. As long as we don’t connect our issues, then we don’t see how antebellum slavery and the history of colonization on African soil are very similar to each other,” she explained.
Antebellum slavery was a condition that forced enslaved people to abide by Slave Codes from 1830 to 1860; one condition was to prevent enslaved people from gathering without a white presence, ensuring enslaved individuals wouldn’t organize together.
Tesfamariam said at her book event that the “media has control” in how people view the notion of freedom.
“If we were truly free, African and Black Americans would be united,” she declared.
Tesfamariam also noted the media has played a role in “how [Black Americans and Africans] understand each other or don’t understand each other, and the stereotypes that we embrace about each other.”
In recent years, newsrooms and some police departments have taken a stand in limiting or nearly cutting the usage of mugshots due to racial bias. The San Francisco Police Department argued in a news release that mugshots “overstates the propensity of Black and brown men to engage in criminal behavior.”
Additionally, WRCB, a Chattanooga-based newsroom in Tennessee, vowed to limit the usage of mugshots, claiming that they “disproportionately affect people of color and low-income neighborhoods.”
Book Packs Power, Triggers Emotions, Calls to Action
As Tesfamariam offered the importance of improving African and African American relations during the discussion last Thursday, she also reflected on the power “Imagine Freedom: Transforming Pain into Political and Spiritual Power” offers to readers.
During the book discussion, moderated by Panama Jackson, a columnist at theGrio, Tesfamariam, reflected on her new work.
“Well, there’s one chapter that seems to resonate with people the most, and that’s the trauma chapter,” she said.
Tesfamariam also told the audience about the time when she went to record the audio version of her book, and the director started to cry and told her that he couldn’t get through the script.
[After, the] white engineer started to cry, and that’s when I knew I had something,” she added.
During the discussion, audience members listened to the author’s sentiments, adding constant finger snaps, claps and verbal affirmations, to express the impact of the conversation.
Rena, a reading coach who preferred not to use her last name, said she was impressed and learned a lot from the conversation. An African American, Rena said Tesfamariam’s thought-provoking talk made her wonder, “Why aren’t [African Americans and Africans) as connected, or what’s missing from us…are we too indoctrinated from white people?”
Tesfamariam emphasized what she hopes audiences will gain from reading the book.
“It’s important to understand that we tackle a two-fold trauma that is both personal and systemic, and so we also need personal and systemic solutions to the issues that we face today.”