Black star Quote by Taiye Selasi
““Then Ghana, and the smell of Ghana, a contradiction, a cracked clay pot: the smell of dryness, wetness, both, the damp of earth and dry of dust. The airport. Bodies pushing, pulling, shouting, begging, touching, breathing. He'd forgotten the bodies. The proximity of bodies. In America the bodies were distant. The warmth of it … Why had he hated this view? Of this beach, of the backs of these fishermen, glistening brown, of the long wooden boats, evangelical names in bright tricolor paint on their splintering sides, Black Star Jesus, Jah Reign, Christ the Fisher of Men, in the red, yellow, green of the national flag and the national spirit of open-source ethos, this mixing of Anglican, Rastafarian, Ghanaian? What was there to hate in this? There was only openness. As far as he could see. A cheerful openness. An innocence. An innocent beach on the road to Kokrobite at seven A.M. November 1975, little country lurching, cheerful, unaware, to revolution. Little taxi lurching, blasting revolution, to grief.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Ghanaian Dreams, 2012
The passage juxtaposes sensory overload of a Ghanaian beach with memories of distant bodies, highlighting openness, cultural blend, and the tension between innocence and looming revolution.
In simple terms: A vivid scene shows cultural mix and openness amid political tension.
Key Takeaway
Embrace openness and cultural diversity.
Themes
culture
openness
political tension
memory
identity
Mood
reflective
nostalgic
critical
Type
literary
observational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- travel writing
- personal reflection
- historical context
- social observation
- political analysis
Key Concepts
postcolonialism
diaspora
nationalism
spirituality
Questions to Reflect On
- How does openness influence personal identity?
- What tensions arise between cultural celebration and political unrest?
A Different Perspective
The narrative may romanticize the setting, overlooking hardships faced by locals.
![“What distinguishes [Afropolitans] is a willingness to complicate Africa – namely, to engage with, critique, and celebrate the parts of Africa that mean most to them. Perhaps what most typifies the Afropolitan consciousness is the refusal to oversimplify; the effort to understand what is ailing in…” quote by Taiye Selasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/687/taiye-selasi-17671_celebrate_what-distinguishes-afropolitans-is-a-wil_365180.jpg)
