Art, attitude and the African woman

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence from British rule and the entire month of October has been dedicated to the celebration of Black History. It is fitting to reflect on the enormous contributions that people of African origin have made to the world of art – for instance soul stirring music (James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson) and passionate literature (Chinua Chebe, Wole Soyinka, Maya Angelou). However, it appears that communities of African origin are yet to harness art as a tool for inspiring excellence.

The sad reality is that young black people have very few role models to look up to. And yet research carried out in 2007 by the University of Leicester ’s Department of Media and Communication, suggested that “Beckham, Kylie and Angelina Jolie serve as more influential role models for young people than any of the famous figures from history do.” It is certain that humans of all ages tend to mimic the behaviour of others – especially those behaviours that yield socio-economic success.

If black youths have few role models, then the female subset has far fewer people to emulate. How many women of African origin are globally recognised as thought leaders and people of influence in the 21st Century? How many women of African origin are excelling in industries that defy stereotype – in the business world for instance? And how visible are the precious few? When Michelle Obama appeared in a series of fashion magazine covers earlier on this year, I observed that a number of young girls (who probably aspired to be singers and MTV dancers previously) were tugging at their mother’s skirts along the supermarket aisles saying, “I want to be a lawyer when I grow up. I want to be a first lady when I grow up…”

Inspired by the quest for change, I have written a novel. Egg-Larva-Pupa-Woman tells the story of a young Nigerian girl who is growing up at a time of great political conflict in her homeland. And yet, despite the disruption of her privileged life by a series of mysterious events, she goes on to achieve greatness and make peace with her past. They say that fact is stranger than fiction. I say that fiction is no stranger to the truth. It was easy to write this book because defiant and resourceful women like my protagonist are fairly common in my community. So why are they so invisible in our media-driven 21st century?

Any time is a good time for education, reflection and positive action. However, the season (Black History Month) is a better time than most for the world to celebrate “black art” and perhaps start to demand more substance from it. Egg-Larva-Pupa-Woman is my contribution to the quest for a new art, a new attitude and a generation of African women that will inspire the world – not merely entertain. What will yours be?

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