What I find ironic and distasteful is that many here either refuse to see the problems or claim to see it but then rush to sweep it under the table under the banner of unity. What Ninja Ras will see as tribalism is also racism and coloursm; AND IT EXISTS so we must reason it. Ras Hal has given much insight unknowingly into to proving exactly what Kelani has been speaking about. There is division within the African race. Not just in natural traditional tribal lines but also along race and colour lines. It is blatant and it INHIBITS PROGRESS AND TRUE UNITY. How do we that recognize this, deal with it? If we had been discussing white racism it would be crystal clear how ineffectual and insulting it would be for whites to say forget the past and forget racism and lets all ‘be happy'. Black people that live in white supremacist culture and are on the receiving end of racism know it is not that simple. It is the same way within the African community, on the continent and in the Diaspora. Unity for many means skirting the issues, and it is only by confronting the issues and thrashing them out publicly and thoroughly that we can achieve real unity. It will hurt but it is necessary.

“Within the Habesha tribes there is deep hatered and we often use deragotary names to describe one another. For example a Tigrinia person may call a Tirgray person Agame(meaning begar and equivalent to the N word here in the west) these are two tribes who are like first cousins. Another example the Amhara call both the Tigrinia people and the Tigray people Tigre in a way that shows that they are more sophscticated and better than the two tribes. During the struggle for liberation Eritreans especially Tigrinia people refered to Amhara people as donkeys and animals. My point is if tribes of the Habesha people who are one people can not get along imagine trying to get along with a totaly different set of people. An Amhara hates a Tigrinia or Tigray people more than the Oromo people believe me when I say that and vis versa.”
- Ras Hal

Read carefully what Ras Hal has said… do you not see the effects of colourism in this account? What we like to brush away as tribalism is also colourism and racism in many instances especially when you have groups of not only differing ethnicities but also varying phenotypes! I am not saying that Ras Hal personally is a racist and despite his claim Kelani has not said that either. What I am saying is that he needs to look very clearly at his history and through his experience and his first hand accounts we too must sit and dissect the social landscape. Many Africans in the Diaspora also like to say that we are all Africans and the same. But ask someone who is on the receiving end of racism by his OWN PEOPLE and they will certainly tell you this is not so. It is not that difficult for people who see themselves as ‘black’ or ‘African’ to hate themselves reflected in other ‘black and ‘African’ people when these others embody a phenotype that they find distasteful. We see this feat being achieved everyday. Racism is not simple and it comes in many guises. It does not mean that all are ‘evil’, but it does mean that in many ways the perpetrators of this black on black colourism are also the victims. Until we reason this properly this issue will keep surfacing. It is not going away on the board because it is not going away in the society. For those who think the story has already been told, I will assure you that it has not, for there are many who still deny its existence. We have not dealt with it, and many feel comfortable in their fake superiority so do not wish to. This is a very big issue and it will continue to be dealt with.