My grandfather - Samuel Modebe Akpati (SMC) - Igwe of Ochuche Umuodu
Marcus Garvey once said "a people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots". This saying rings true especially in present day America. All people of African descent are of a great, rich heritage and history that has for a long time been suppressed, omitted from the history books and therefore the stories of our glorious past are largely untold and unknown to the modern world. As Black people, this easily causes us to forget who we truly are - a strong, formidable, creative, resourceful people of a great past - empires, dynasties and a rich history that we need to tap into for inspiration and guidance. So it is in the hands of us Africans to educate our dear brothers and sisters about who we truly are as a people.
I came up with the name - The King's daughter while I was attending Haadiya Barbel's Goddess Glo Up event in NYC. After I gave a heart searing speech to the collective of about 100 women... a speech that was inspired by my ancestors. Tears flowed and hearts were mended. I decided that day, May 18, 2019 to begin a mission of sharing knowledge of the rich history of Africa in order to bring all Black people of the African Diaspora together, to learn about who we truly are through the arts, to inspire ourselves to rise up, embrace one another, build together and embody the greatness that is within us. This is reminiscent of the original Pan African movement started by the great Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey, Jomo Kenyatta et al. Stories will be shared on this blog of our great civilizations and ancient cultures and kindgoms of Africa.
For those who don't know, Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous and diasporan ethnic groups of African descent. It is based on the belief that unity is vital to economic, social, and political progress and aims to "unify and uplift" people of African descent.
Some prominent leaders of the Pan-African movement were Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea. Some prominent Pan African grassroot organizers were Marcus Garvey, W.E.B Dubois and Malcolm X. The color of the Pan-African also known as the Black Nationalist flag is Red, Black and Green - Red for the blood shed towards attainment of our freedom, Black for our ebony dark skin and Green for the lush, green vegetation of our land.
If we dig deep into our history and culture, we find that we come from a culturally rich, intelligent, majestic and royal bloodline. To give you some context of my background. I'm originally of Nigerian descent - second generation Nigerian living in America.
My memories of my paternal grandfather inspired me to create this space of unity and healing. He was an Igwe (King) - part of 3 clans that could rule the people of Ochuche Umuodu in Eastern Nigeria. He was one of great wisdom and intellect. My father inherited the title of Igwe from his father as the first born son and then passed it on to the next King in line of the 3 clans, after 3 years of service to his people. This is why I say "I am the King's Daugher" because of my royal bloodline. The words that I share with you on this platform is inspired by the spirit of my ancestors and not only of my grandfather but tens of thousands of those that came before me.
My purpose in this life is to uplift and unify my people - my black brothers and sisters. Just like I am The King's Daughter, YOU are also The King's Daughter because you come from greatness. You are beautiful, bold, unique, brilliant, creative, stoic, resourceful, resilient, unbreakable - a WARRIOR!!! You and I survived 400 years of separation and disconnection from ourselves, our people spread out and scattered all across the world - far away from your source of identity - your homeland. You survived this separation because you are of a strong bloodline, a royal bloodline - resilient, peaceful, majestic, resourceful. We rise against all odds stacked against us because this is who we are to our core. Now is the time for us to unify, come together to heal together. Let's dream together and build together as the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. I see a beautiful, bright future for us. An empowered Black race, united and returning back home to motherland to build up our Africa.
The face of Africa is the reflection of the Black race to the entire world. Racism is based on how the world sees Africa. When we uplift Africa, we uplift the entire Black race and we build a new, glorious future. Racism, oppression and the injustice to our people will be no more. More to come. Stay tuned.
Peace & Blessings,
Odaiche - The King's Daughter
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