How Luther King's ideals can help us realise our quest for Kenyanism

Martin Luther King Junior was born on January 15, 1929. [File, Standard]

Martin Luther King Junior was born on January 15, 1929. Last Sunday was his birthday. But while he is widely known in Kenya, he is hardly studied. My experience through our education curriculum from primary, through secondary and university level did not help me focus intentionally on King. My classmates suffered the same misfortune.

Overall, we learnt very little of our connection with the African tribe that journeyed - the African Americans. The curricula offered very little about the Africans of the diaspora, and even less about their connectedness with the African continent. The result is a dimmed appreciation of the high value and relevance of the African-American body of wisdom as a key component of knowledge for East Africans. The widespread Kenyan perception of the African Americans is that they are a different community all together. The sense of oneness and solidarity with them is remote.