I have always been fascinated by ancient Egypt (Kemet). It was almost like learning about myself. What I love about this history is the way it contradicts the negative and limited portrayals of Black people and the African continent. This perspective seemed nowhere to be found when I first moved to Chestertown to attend Washington College.

Later I took a tour with the Deputy Director of Washington Collegs’s Starr Center, Dr. Pat Nugent, and local members of the African American community as we walked through town to learn about the significant landmarks of Black history in Chestertown. That’s when I found a piece of Egypt in Chestertown. We stopped in front of a monument built to celebrate the brave 400 Black soldiers from Kent County, Md. who fought in the Civil War. The town’s original memorial only highlighted the white soldiers.

I raised my hand and I said to the group that this monument is actually what the Egyptians called an “Obelisk.” I told everyone that in Kemet there would be tons of this obelisk around. I shared a little bit about the fact that Egypt was regarded as one of the most advanced civilizations known to man.

That's when I began to think about the correlations between the brave 400 and Ancient Kemites altogether. The brave 400, like many Black troops who fought for this country, did not get the recognition they deserved. The Civil War’s purpose was to determine the destiny of slavery, and yet the Black soldiers were not recognized for their efforts.

As I was pondering the relationship between the 400 Black soldiers and Kemetic culture, I found that the similarity is how America has traditionally failed at giving these very much Black people the respect and recognition that should receive in order to paint a positive narrative about Black people around the world.

The Egyptians were African people (Black people), and yet they are often depicted as white in films. The 400 Black soldiers fought for their freedom and made major contributions to the war itself, yet they aren’t being seen or depicted at all. This lack of proper representation is representation of how America purposefully wants to control the image of Black people, and continuously aims to make that image a negative one. The world needs to know our contributions to society. Whether our contributions are spiritually and mathematically advanced understanding, or if we were a group of brave 400 men who fought in the Civil War, the world still needs to know that Black people are more than what America depicts us as.

Click "Four Centuries" below to return to the main page.