Abstract
This poem stages a classroom conversation about language, knowledge, and the study of Black history and thought. Through dialogue between a professor and a student, the conversation reflects on a central question within Africana Studies: why are indigenous African languages rarely included in how the field teaches, writes, and shares knowledge? While colonial languages such as English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese function as practical tools in the modern university, the poem raises the question of what may be missing when African languages remain largely absent. Drawing on ideas like Ubuntu and Sankofa, the poem imagines Africana Studies as a living practice carried in the languages that Africana communities dream in, pray in, and pass wisdom through.
Recommended Citation
Mwangi, Peter Njagi and Becknell, Charles E. Jr
(2026)
"The Reclamation,"
Journal of Multicultural Affairs: Vol. 11:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/jma/vol11/iss1/4
Included in
Africana Studies Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Poetry Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons
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