Possibilities of Belgo-Congolese art

(Penguin Classics, 2021)

Qui oubliera ? Qu’à un Noir, on disait tu … Non certes, comme à un ami Mais parce que le vous, honorable, était réservé aux seuls Blancs. Qui oubliera ?

Black words, Lisette Lombé

Racism is damaging and causes mental distress (Brennan 2016, 172-173). Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder has been defined as a condition of a population that has been suffering from multigenerational trauma through slavery and still experience institutional racism today (Ibid., 173). Fanon already laid bare the psychological consequences of racism and mentions the inferiority complex as an “outcome of a double process: primarily, economic; subsequently, [..] the internalization of this inferiority” (Fanon 2008, 4).

Although the independence of Congo dates back to 1960, the process of decolonizing the big narratives in Belgium has been rather limited and contested (Demart and Abrassart 2016, 11). The downplay of Congolese voices in academic or public spaces and the minority position of Congolese working in the cultural and artistic field in public institutions are illustrative of this issue (Ibid., 11). Moreover, the different treatment between diasporic artists, the Belgo-Congolese and artists residing in RDC has been implicitly expressed by artists in regards to the institutional policies of promotion (Ibid., 15).

The Brussels collective Warrior Poets, inspired by the power of spoken word and the life and works of Audre Lorde, has the mission to decolonize knowledge. They want to create a space for personal narratives to challenge colonial and status quo language and thinking patterns. For Audre Lorde poetry was a vital element of change (Michaels 2006, 31): “Poetry is one of my weapons by which I attempt to change what must be our common future.” (Vimeo 2020). Lorde has founded the Afro-German women’s movement, stimulating them to define themselves first before society does it, and adopting the hyphenated term to create worldwide alliances and connections (Michaels 2006, 24). Personal narratives give discrimination a face and has the potential to give voice to other anonymous victims (Michaels 2006, 25). She would also lead the way in intersectional thinking following the work of Kimberlé Crenshaw; race, class, gender, sexuality and religion all operate simultaneously as axes of difference (Wekker 2016, 21). Mbembe does not take binary categories, such as resistance versus passivity, as efficient (Mbembe 1992, 3). Instead he thinks of the postcolonial relationship as living together in a process of zombification, where the oppressor and oppressed are extracting each other's power (Ibid., 4,10). Through “baroque practices” the oppressed confirm the fetish (power regime), but simultaneously bereft it from its power (Ibid., 25).

Through the artistic works of various Belgo-Congolese artists, Clette-Gakuba tries to discover possibilities to surmount colonial tensions and to give voice to minorities (Clette-Gakuba 2016, 250-251). From their hyphenated experience, their works give an uncommon perspective on Belgian society (Ibid., 250). Joëlle Sambi is an artist who has lived experiences in both countries. For her literature is an act of activism (Sambi 2018). In her poem ‘Congo Eza’ (2007) (Congo is a country) she resists both the powerless and oppositional position and rebalances the power relations between Belgium and Congo (Clette-Gakuba 2016, 252). Lisette Lombé is another poet who adds the dimension of gender in her works. In her poem ‘Qui oubliera’ (Lombé 2018) – based on the speech of Patrice Lumumba on 30 June 1960 – she evokes the condition of women that has been ignored in colonial violence (Clette-Gakuba 2016, 257). In taking up the role of storyteller of visions she has of Congo and relating it to a Belgian universe, she links both experiences. With her work she engages in groups that struggle for emancipation and tries to open up to a new political presence (Ibid., 257). These artists transform the colonial question in being in-between both countries (Ibid., 258).

In order to break the politics of difference, Mbembe evokes the term ‘afropolitan’ to have people of African origin “understand themselves as being part of the world rather than being apart. [ ..] there is no world without Africa and there is no Africa that is not part of it.” (Mbembe and Balakrishnan 2016, 29).

Book tips for addressing colonial oppression on the individual level:

• Lisette Lombé: Black words

• Joëlle Sambi: Le monde est gueule de chèvre

• Audre Lorde: Your silence will not protect you

• In Koli Jean Bofane: Pourquoi le lion n'est plus le roi des animaux

• bell hooks: All about love

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References:

Audre Lorde - The Berlin Years 1984 to 1992, Directed by Dagmar Schultz. 2011; Berlin: Salzgeber Club, 2020. Vimeo.

Brennan, Fernne. 2016. Race Rights Reparations. Institutional Racism and the Law. London: Routledge.

Demart, Sarah and Gia Abrassart. 2016. Créer en postcolonie 2010 – 2015. Voix et dissidences belgocongolaises. Lannoo: Brussels.

Fanon, Frantz. 2008. Black Skin, White Masks. London: Pluto Press.

Clette-Gakuba, Véronique. “Mise en oeuvre de la Question Postcoloniale en Belgique: Les Artistes Joëlle Sambi, Pitcho Womba Konga, Mufuki Mukuna et Lisette Lombé.” Chap. 6 in Créer en Postcolonie 2010-2015. Brussels: Lannoo, 2016.

Lombé, Lisette. 2018. Black Words. Amay: Maison de la Poésie.

Mbembe, Achille, and Sarah Balakrishnan. 2016. “Pan-African Legacies, Afropolitan Futures.” Transition, no. 120: 28-37.

Mbembe, Achille. 1992. “Provisional Notes on the Postcolony.” Journal of the International African Institute, 62 (1): 3-37.

Michaels, Jennifer. 2006. “The Impact of Audre Lorde's Politics and Poetics on Afro-German Women Writers.” German Studies Review 29 (1): 21-40.

Penguin Classics. Digital Image. Oprah. 2021. Accessed January 10, 2021. http://www.oprah.com/inspiration/5-essential-audre-lorde-books-to-add-to-your-list

Sambi, Joëlle. 2018. “Hors Conrad: Congo Eza.” Continents manuscrits, no. 11. Accessed 29 December, 2020. http://journals.openedition.org/coma/2998.

Sambi, Joëlle. 2007. Le Monde est Gueule de Chèvre. Bruxelles: Biliki.

Wekker, Gloria. 2016. White Innocence.Paradoxes of Colonialism and Race. Duke: Duke University Press.