By Mocholoko (Dr), Zulumathabo Zulu © 2019

Today Friday November 29, 2019 is Black Friday. I woke up at 4am in the morning to reflect on this. Do you know how Black Friday came about? In 2017 I wrote a comprehensive article Link Between Black Friday and Slavery. In that article, I debunk the debunking of the Snopes website.

African resistance in the face of death. Picture Credit: PBS.

As a result of doing the scientific research with respect to the historicity of Black Friday and understanding the implications thereof, I made a conscientious decision never to purchase anything to do with Black Friday Sales. No matter how attractive is the deal, I shall never put myself in a position where I enjoy the benefits of Black Friday that denigrade; trample upon and desecrate the painful memory of the African ancestors who have gone before us. The African descendants of the Diaspora who were subjected to a systematic succession of callous transgenerational brutality are hereby remembered lest we forget. As we write these lines, their descendants have not been awarded reparations for these historic injustices which are rightfully deserving to them.

The enslaved African on the run from the White Establishment that seeks to re-enslave him. Fugitives of slavery. Picture Credit: Ohio History Central

We cannot violate the sanctity of the valiant emancipation struggle of the Diasporic ancestors to satisfy our transient material needs. You cannot even plead poverty or lack of the means as a justification to commit this act of sacrilege by taking advantage of the tempting and desirable specials of Black Friday. Doing so would be not different from committing an act of sexual rape on the grounds that she asked for it or you were unable to control yourself or she enjoyed it or beating a woman on the grounds that she provoked you. We must resist the commercials and the inducements of Black Friday. We must selflessly and vehemently resist the trappings; the inducements and the frills of Black Friday.

An instructive page from the book Indaba My Children of the great legend Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa warns us that even the sweetest honey can produce excessive bile and there is death in every pleasure. Unrestrained pleasure kills a selfless spirit. We must not allow ourselves to be overruled by the urges of the flesh.

Wherever you may be and whatever your circumstences, I encourage you to take an uncompromising stand on this question. We must demonstrate that we have a fundamental sense of morality and pride as a people and will not sell out on the altar of self-aggrandizement; enjoyment or necessity. If we fail to take this high moral ground stand, then the future generations will say we sold them out by failing to uphold the fundamental sacrosanct principles of honouring the memory of those who have gone before us and we will be found guilty as charged.

La lucha continua! (The struggle continues)! No rendirse! (No surrender)! Nunca jamas! (Never! Never))! El destino es nuestro! (The destiny is ours)! Tsa Badimo! Ezamathongo! Thokoza Makhosi! Mocholoko, Zulumathabo Zulu.

References

Mutwa, C. (2001). Indaba, My Children: African Tribal History, Legends Customs and Religious Beliefs. Penguon Random House: London.

Zulu, Z. (2017). Link Between Black Friday and Slavery in Zulumathabo on the Internet 2.0, URL: https://zulumathabo.com/2017/11/24/link-between-black-friday-and-african-slavery/ (accessed November 29, 2019).