1820s vs. 1920s. vs. 2020s: The African Experience

You are given 3 choices of eras to live in. What option do you go with?

— Mundui ムンドゥイ (@RonoTecnico) January 19, 2022

I asked the question above in a Twitter poll which lasted 48 hours. I expected the results to be overwhelmingly (C)- say 85%. So I was a bit surprised when options (A) and (B) got more than a few fans.

I guess, for us the 2020s is a lived reality we are currently experiencing. The 1920s experience requires us to imagine how that period would have been, which may disregard historical reality. The 1820s imagination is even further removed from 2020s current reality. Books, films, can only tell so much about the experience of 1820s and 1920s. If I had voted, I would have quickly gone for (C) no debates.

THE 1820S

I imagine the 1820s was a year of animal savagery. If you lived in the 1820s, childhood could kill you. I haven’t researched but I’d say about 75% of us wouldn’t have made it to puberty. And for you to have a meal it was an extreme sport. Your ancestors in 1820s had to win an argument with a pack of wild dogs, and a gazelle that refused to die.

And if you were a woman? Ever heard of the Luo legend Luanda Magere and his Nandi bride? A woman would be used to settle debts (Refer to Graeber’s Debt: The First 5,000 years).

THE 1920s

1920s would be of racial segregation. If you were white in the West you’ll be enjoying the Roaring 20s. Cars were just becoming affordable, the middle-class were unionizing. If you black in the west you’d be called NIGGER, and treated worse. If you were white in Africa you’d be enjoying racism backed up by Science, eugenics, and your pure as Jesus white skin.

Whereas a black African, you’d have to lick and brush some white man’s boots to have access to a bit of white privilege. And adopt their names such as Joshua or Esther (but not Jesus for some reason). If you complained, or acted bigger than your place, you were detained or killed. So most of you, most of us Africans, would have lived in quiet existence, not causing trouble, not inviting attention.

THE 2020S

2020s here we are. 60 or so years of independence for many African countries including my homeland Kenya. A few things here and there to complain about. Systems, corruption, tribalism, unemployment, sycophancy… But you have hot water in your shower. Scratch that, you have piped water. Scratch that, you have plumbing. You don’t have to walk 20 kilometres to do something important. If my grandfather’s feet could talk…

Now you hop into a car, your’s or somebody else’s doesn’t matter. When a volcano erupts in the Pacific you know about it. When a black man is killed in the States, you join the activism, thousands of kilometres away. Personally, option C on that Twitter poll is an easy selection.