Monday, January 9, 2023

During a tour of the ancient city of Kebili, our group was humbled to walk through the rummaged remains of a flourishing city from thousands of years ago. The structures in many cases were only piles of rocks, but even the smallest buried stones would hold a story to tell.

One of the most intriguing things that happened during this tour was when one of the members of our caravan pressed questions to our tour guide regarding societal racial issues in the city that once stood here. To me, it seemed like many of these questions were presented in a way which suggested that the person asking already had some idea of what they wanted to hear.

In particular, I found myself at a crossroad when the question was asked “what do you mean by ‘black’?” This question, at first, seemed pretty silly to ask - especially considering the language barrier that existed between our group and the tour guides.

My mind was flooded with questions: was this question being asked out of an honest curiosity about race in ancient societies, or was this more about the semantics or choice of this particular word? Was this question about the political correctness of the use of the word “black?” If so, is this an appropriate question to advance on someone with a minimal grasp on the English language?

I was worried that this question might have been presented as some sort of trap, as if to catch someone saying something that could be judged or accused of racism. It felt to me that this question could have been a part of a larger plot or preconceived notion to be used by this person to “cancel” a different person from another culture.

And at the core of all of these questions, my ultimate thought arose: is it our place to judge another culture for their ideas and social practices?

I learned a lot from this mental confrontation. Studying identity and social topics such as race, which is no doubt incredibly important to the advancement of society and academic interests, is hugely complicated. There are immaculate ethical complications that arise with who gets to ask questions and what questions get to be asked. In this way, my experience in Kebili was eye-opening.