Posted on 12/18/2005 12:08:30 PM PST by Rebelbase
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A "King Tut is back and he's still black" placard drew the gaze of visitors making their way to view the acclaimed exhibit at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale Saturday.
Across from the entrance, about 25 demonstrators donning T-shirts marked with various pro-black slogans held up the placards. Waving the red, black and green African flag, at times moving to the beat of djembe drums on the sidewalk, they asked drivers in passing cars to honk in support of their goal: reminding people not to take the lighter-skinned portrait of King Tutankhamun on display as an accurate depiction.
"We're visual people, so whatever they throw at us, we're going to take it as a fact, when in reality it's just a theory," said demonstrator Asante Waa. "We're afraid of the implications that this recreation is going to have on kids, especially on black kids."
Particularly controversial in "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" are computer-generated busts of Tut with a skin tone that critics say make him look Caucasian.
"For the Image of the Living God (as Tutankhamun represents) to be replaced with anything else but a black man's is a slap in the face," said Alicia Milligen, a Lauderhill, Fla., nurse.
Demonstrators passed out fliers with information about the Boy King who reigned over Egypt more than 2,000 years ago. They hope to educate others about King Tut by visiting schools, churches and libraries, said demonstrator Evie Iles.
"It's our history," said Iles, who viewed the exhibit and thinks the lighter skin tone may be a marketing strategy. "We encourage people to go and see the authentic artifacts and to challenge what's inauthentic."
Mary Lefkowitz, a retired classics professor and author of "Not Out of Africa: How `Afrocentrism' Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as History," said Saturday that the demonstrators had a point.
"Ancient Egyptians from Memphis (Egypt) would have had to go to the back of the bus in Memphis, Tennessee, during the days of segregation," the Wellesley, Mass.-based author said in a telephone interview. "The Egyptians were kind of copper-colored."
Museum of Art officials say they are talking to historians with different viewpoints about planning a forum on the topic, but no date has been set.
"It's an interesting conversation that needs to be held," Lynn Mandeville, director of community affairs, said.
Museum visitors said they know the ancient Egyptians were not white, but the demonstration did put the race question at the forefront of some people's minds.
Danielle Dyer, a West Palm Beach, Fla., mother who brought her two biracial daughters along, said she found herself looking more at the shape of the eyes, nose and other features.
"You have to be reaching pretty far to find anything racial about it," Dyer said.
Well, gee, these people have to be right, they're African in heritage and everyone in Africa is black, right? After all, Teresa Heinz Kerry is black, Saddam Hussein is black, the dead vermin who headed up the PLO was black, Moammar Qaddafi is black and all those other people in Northern Africa were and are black, right, just like those people in South Africa.
What's that you say? All those people are white? Well, how can that be? I'm sure you'll be getting a call from the Rev. Jesse Jackson about this! Why those assertions that those people are white is like a slap in my face!
What color was King Tut Mummy Grey Green?:)
I think we are ancient souls. Sharky is a new soul.
Blacks should pay Jews reparations for slavery.
I did not visit that exhibit at the Met Mus...
I was still going through recovery and limited mobility!
If by Blacks you mean "Egyptians," I've had the same thought. Logical consistency isn't one of the great attributes of the modern era.
How do I say this?
Ummmmmmm.........*reflecting*
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
So you remember when it was at the Met? When was it?
I seem to remember a while ago a white person from South Africa applied for an "African American" scholarship. The liberals had conniptions over that one.
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"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
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As well as Charlton Heston. Good stuff...
Of course Johnny did that Carol Wayne skit with a sleazy Ferris whats-his-name ("stop at the Schlossen Cut-off, get out of your car, cut off your schlossen," lol.)
Black or green = "fertile, soil, potential"
Red = "life, blood"
White = "death, spirit"
KMT was the name the Egyptians gave their own land - "Kemet" in our language - which meant "black earth" - the kind of earth that was perfect for creating life.
To see people get so caught up in skin color and call that culture is the ultimate form of racism.
bump
I saw a special on Cleopatra many years ago on The Learning Channel. They discussed Cleopatra's Greek heritage and noted that there had been speculation that she may have been blue-eyed with blonde hair. In fact, there are some paintings where she is depicted this way.
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