Livestreamer IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr, is one of the world’s most popular content creators with over 50 million YouTube subscribers. Recently, he embarked on a 28-day, 20-country tour across Africa, and what's happening is remarkable.
He learned Amapiano dance moves in South Africa, where his participation in an initiation ceremony at a royal palace in Eswatini, earned him the name "Logijimako" ("the one who runs"). Then he walked barefoot at Addis Ababa's Adwa Victory Memorial to honor the Ethiopians who defeated Italian colonial forces in 1896. That’s not all.
Speed has said this tour was about “showing the world what Africa really is.” In return, he experienced just how much love so many African countries showed him. Despite some hostility he faced in Algeria, countries across the continent pulled out all the stops to show Speed — and the world — the rich history, beauty, and cultures that define Africa.
The continent can speak for itself, but for so long, the anti-Black world we live in has painted our ancestral homeland as a "dark continent." Speed's livestream is helping dismantle the colonial teachings about Africa that have been forced on us.
One livestream won’t fix everything, but every effort to decolonize Black minds globally is a win, especially for the next generation who are tuned in. The more we know each other, the more we can realize the interconnectedness of our liberation.