The Black Man's Folk Hero

[Fanservice]

Catcher Freeman??

 

[010101]

We've lost the concept of wanting better for our children mentally.. . Its nothing else really to discuss here. If you not teaching your kids morals and how read and write you ain't on sh*t..

children are their parents

if we reflect back honestly we can see the pattern

i am hyper aware of all these things because of how my father grandfather uncle's & og's were

super super super fukked up & not knowing because no one ever called them on their fukkery

if it were not for life circumstances i would have most likely been on a similar type of time

but nah i won't be cursing any women & children with a lifetime of pain the way they did

i am clearing the air one time

none after me

*

 

[CinnaSlim]

The original cowboys were black and Mexican.
Dahomey warriors
Shaka Zulu
Red Tails/Tuskegee Airmen
The Black Panthers
These are some of the most popular along with plenty poets, orators and athletes.

 

[Warren Peace]

John Horse

real

 

[The Fade]

nikkas is in here saying Harlem Hellfighters all typa’ shyt like little Black kids is running around pretending to be John Henry . This site be too much lol.


OP, different regions have different folk heroes but on the continent, especially Niger-Congo the chieftancy is still a seminal part of our culture in that young kids talk about being the chief one day, subjects recite folk songs and tales about the chief and the broader population (non-blacks) see it as the defining strain of African polity. Very often the chief also gets his pick of women (Which ain’t cool)

If you extrapolate that FUNCTIONALLY (Not nominally) I think that you’ll find the various kingdoms of South Africa were more in line with the West African variety than a traditional European “kingdom” in that the monarch directly administers his realm on all levels of society, so there’s not a council with a minister of treasury etc. he just meets them directly and is more beholden to them than a pre-magna European King.


So yeah i think the chief, famaa, oba, iyolane, King is the Black mans folk hero.

Yeah not like there’s a song about Buffalo Soldiers sang by a famous reggae musician that everyone knows the lyrics to.

nikkas become John Henry when they work themselves to death that’s the message of the story. So of course kids don’t wanna grow up to be that. Most people know the story though

Weird ass diasporan crab shyt

 

[that guy]

So Japanese/Asians got the Ninja, the Samurai, the Pokémon master.

Western/European cultures have the Knight and much more. You can even count fictional ideas like the Wizard.

Even Americans have the glorified Cowboy and frontiersmen.

Lets even consider the complicated Italian/Irish anti-hero mobster as their popular folk character, all sensitivities aside.


But who or what would you say is the classic folk hero of black and African culture? Whether it is a historic warrior or something modern, fictional or real, what is the one iconic every-man you would say exemplifies us in popular culture and folklore?


And please no diaspora war bullshyt. Entirely inclusive of all ideas throughout time, cultures, backgrounds and histories of black people.

Our “folk” heros are real people unlike other cultures Harriet Tubman, nat turner, MLK, Malcolm x, Garvey, John Henry, who a lot of black superheroes are based on, etc etc. Even the cowboys you mentioned the infamous Lone Ranger was a black man, Gaspar yanga. Our history in the US alone is choke full of folk heroes that aren’t fictional.

 

[FrontoBama]

Yeah not like there’s a song about Buffalo Soldiers sang by a famous reggae musician that everyone knows the lyrics to.

nikkas become John Henry when they work themselves to death that’s the message of the story. So of course kids don’t wanna grow up to be that

For one, Harlem Hellfighters and Buffalo soldiers are two completely different units. Buffalo soldiers slaughtered Indians and raped women at the behest of white slave owning males. Secondly, the song is about his own sense of revolution as it pertains to the experience of the American (as in both) Black in a harsh land.

JohnHenry is about the magic negro that’s big and dumb, based on a historical person. Whatever they told you that in 2nd grade was wrong, Further, if ppl don’t want to be John Henry because he dies, then why aren’t Buffalo soldiers plastered all over schools and parks the way Mansa Musa or Shaka Zulu are?

 

[that guy]

For one, Harlem Hellfighters and Buffalo soldiers are two completely different units. Buffalo soldiers slaughtered Indians and raped women at the behest of white slave owning males. Secondly, the song is about his own sense of revolution as it pertains to the experience of the American (as in both) Black in a harsh land.

JohnHenry is about the magic negro that’s big and dumb, based on a historical person. Whatever they told you that in 2nd grade was wrong, Further, if ppl don’t want to be John Henry because he dies, then why aren’t Buffalo soldiers plastered all over schools and parks the way Mansa Musa or Shaka Zulu are?

You are one of the most anti-black posters on this site

 

[FrontoBama]

You are one of the most anti-black posters on this site

BISH I MIGHT BE

But I know my history.

 

[lurker emeritus]

@Lexington Steele

 

[Wildhundreds]

children are their parents

if we reflect back honestly we can see the pattern

i am hyper aware of all these things because of how my father grandfather uncle's & og's were

super super super fukked up & not knowing because no one ever called them on their fukkery

if it were not for life circumstances i would have most likely been on a similar type of time

but nah i won't be cursing any women & children with a lifetime of pain the way they did

i am clearing the air one time

none after me

*

All facts breh

Im just expressing the importance of a support system and guidance.. Thats why its important they keep us from working together. Thats why breaking down family structure is paramount.

 

[010101]

All facts breh

Im just expressing the importance of a support system and guidance.. Thats why its important they keep us from working together. Thats why breaking down family structure is paramount.

nothing external save physical force can break a family

it's internal personal flaws at the heart of this

the refusal to take responsibility is a big big big part of the issue

the only way it gets done is if you do it yourself

wait for the world to change or some sort of external saviour then you will wait forever

*

 

[Wildhundreds]

nothing external save physical force can break a family

it's internal personal flaws at the heart of this

the refusal to take responsibility is a big big big part of the issue

the only way it gets done is if you do it yourself

wait for the world to change or some sort of external saviour then you will wait forever

*

The "man" put a hiccup in the order of things. Take a people and strip them of their native culture is a big deal cuz.. We seriously have to work together to overcome this.. No other way.

 

[BlackDynamite310]

I always considered John Henry nate turner folk hero’s. Modern ones would be Malcolm x or the black panthers

 

[Buddy]

The correct answer is John Henry

..

Blaxploitation? No.