The Black Chronicles is a book written from a vulnerable position. It is mostly written from the perspective of a young boy child who has experienced neglect and witnessed abuse from his father . He is at a point where he realises that all this is unnatural, it does not feel right. For one the father needs to answer for the negative environment he has created in the home; this hostile setting conducive for the brewing of hate, fear and anger.
This youth is also confronted by the inevitability of growth and fears that he might grow to be just as his father is: abusive to his women (plural) and neglectful to his children. This is a reality the boy fears and dreads as he, unlike his other siblings who have adjusted and acclimatized to the environment, is sensitive. Though not mentioned in the book, he has experienced love from his mother and his other siblings are raised by a stepmother who now lives with the father.
So when this boy who has had the experience of love is put in this environment full of hate and anger, he starts to feel conflicted and realises he has to confront his father about it. But his father never has time to listen to his kids so the boy puts it all on paper. Thus in the first part of the book you have the young man's concerns as he holds his father hostage and forces him to listen and spend time with him. The book will essentially hold my father hostage as at some point he will read it and finally listen to the 16 year old me.
The other vulnerable voice through which the book speaks is of a young girl who had just passed and feels her family and community are all responsible for her death. She feels that their lack of action and neglect has led to her demise. The girl can be assumed to have died from the hands of her blesser/sugar daddy or from a virus that can be contracted through promiscuity which society condoned through their silence and inaction against such.
Letter to my pallbearers speaks to every member of society and asks of them, what role are you playing to protect the vulnerable in society? Because if you do not play any protective role, you are complicit and could be accused of playing a supportive role for the perpetrators of abuse.
We also hear the voices of women in abusive relationships struggling to get out for reasons of dependency and fear of social ridicule if they were to leave their husbands and return to their father's homes. The piece titled "Entropy" wakes us up to another kind of abuse other than the common known physical abuse... These women are not fictitious, they are my stepmothers. Some went out, some could not and are held prisoners in their own homes.
As the reading progresses, so do the concerns of the growing young boy and he elaborates on those concerns he spoke of while holding his father hostage. He paints his concerns and confusions about love on "Love's Grief", he wonders about the right time and age to wed on "Stage and Age" as his peers have married at certain ages; he voices out his political opinions for his father's benefit on a few pieces on the section while also dealing with the grief from a loss of a dearest sister.
The section concludes with pieces that highlight the effects these abuses in a household have on the community as a whole. We see the insensitivity of the male character on "The Birth and Death of Hate" which aims to demonstrate the effects of raising kids under hostile environment and the effects it has on the black community. This is not to excuse the abusers and violent characters in our communities as forces of nature arising from our own creations. This is rather to help us understand that our actions have far reaching consequences for the whole community.
The next section titled "The Black Heart and All its Darkness" deals with the struggles to love for that same boy raised under a household with no love. He does not know what love is. He thinks love is that elusive feeling that cannot be explained. He thinks love is like a mirage that he needs to be constantly chasing after just for the cause. He also thinks love is pain, emotional pain caused by frustrations and unsatisfied needs for attention. He has a void inside created in the house hold he grew up in and he constantly seeks a young maiden who could just fill it up for him. He seeks a girl, a lady, a woman who could make him feel loved so he could feel whole again. He is broken. The saddest thing is that in such a broken community where all the parents are alike, he is doomed to meet a woman just as broken as he is and they will continue to break each other apart...or he will just finally settle for being "The Dark Blanket" in those cold nights.
This section just demonstrates the difficulty of loving and finding love when you have never seen love; never experienced love nor even been loved enough to give it. Love and Pain become one. The ying and the yang! The good and the bad! Food and Liquor! A trick and a treat!
Realising the challenges of life as presented by his own history, the young man starts thinking about things beyond himself. He looks for inspiration to go on and starts contemplating about the value of a life. The section on "Black Thoughts and Other Emotions" represent a transcendence from the self and into greatness. The youth starts contemplating about the meaning of his life and resolves to give meaning to his life through his actions. He resolves to make a difference in his surroundings and bring some light to this darkness he was raised in. He makes "A Solemn Resolve" to live and be remembered for what he did.
The last section is titled "Black Progress". It represents hope in that the new generation will do things differently. It starts off with a piece titled "A Baby Born". This baby brings hope and new vibrancy to the black community. This baby, "The Black Pawn" represents the hope and future leaders of the black community.
This baby will be guided through to promotion by this young man who had to face and overcome all of his personal and emotional struggles to get here. Chess might be the new baby born in the black community or it could even be the young chess Phenom, the young master Mhango who is the new baby born representing this bright new light that suddenly shines in the black community.
This section represents new hope and the piece titled "The Chronicle" reminds us not to make our struggles the inheritance of our children. It reminds us that we need to confront and conquer our challenges so the next generation does not have to. They will have their own struggles waiting for them.
This book is written more from heart than mind. It is more vulnerable than anything and inspires the same emotions from the reader. It allows you to feel and exposes your vulnerability then it carries you through that roller coaster of feelings to bring you to the next level of your existence. That of living for a bigger purpose than yourself. Selfless service to your community and to the next generation. That is a bigger purpose than living for self-enrichment.
This is more a work of heart than a work of art. And yes, it is dedicated to my beloved late younger sister Beatrice, forever the love of my life. The closest soul to mine, closest thing to an angel I'd ever known...then she became one.
I hope this sheds some light to those who own a copy. Happy reading.
I am hoping the next question after this essay would be "where can we get a copy of this book"?
To which I will say: www.theblackchronicles.net
Call or whatsapp :0715814519
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