Before Modern Time Telling, African Societies Used The Sun To Organize Their Days

a bunch of clocks with the hands on different times
Briona Lamback
May 8, 2022

White culture’s concept of time affects nearly every aspect of our lives. But that doesn’t mean it’s right!

We've always done our own thing. Can we use Colored People's Time (CPT) to fight white supremacy’s lies about time?

Lie #1: Time Is Fixed 

Time is a social construct. Ancient African people used the sun to organize their days. Black countries tend to be “polychronic,” meaning time is fluid, not fixed, and should adapt to changing circumstances. That means tardiness isn’t always inconsiderate. We process time differently based on our personalities and cultures!

Lie #2: Urgency

White culture created harmful ideas about "professionalism," including a false sense of constant urgency. This discourages equity in the workplace – if decisions have to be made IMMEDIATELY, it’s impossible to consider everyone’s voices.

Lie #3: Milestones

We're taught that everyone should seek marriage and children by a certain age. This is beneficial to capitalism, not necessarily to us! Issues like high childcare costs, and the benefits to children of having older, more stable parents, mean many Black people are following our own chosen timelines instead of the “norm.”

We should never base our lives on white culture! CPT can be a tool to help us navigate living in a white supremacist society. We don't have to bend to appease whites – nor adhere to their time standards!

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