In the Early Modern Period (around 1500-1800), West Central Africa (modern day Angola, the Congos, and Gabon) was home to a variety of different types of cloth and clothing. In this video, we discuss some of the textiles, jewelry, and other adornment that people in this region wore to cover up or show off status, primarily focusing on the kingdoms of Kongo, Ndongo, and to a lesser extent Loango. Join us as we explore some Central African Fashion History! This video is part of Untold Black History III, a collaboration for Black History Month discussing interesting and positive Black history from around the world. No Generative AI was used in the creation of this video.

Check out the Untold Black History III playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLivC9TMdGnL8Nnt6Ra8JPQUzHCPI9tcUE&jct=5s3lCP4eK5V4eiLuTPeFSg

Thank you to the following people for lending their voices to some of the primary source quotes in this video:
@ravinelux
@CivilWarWeekByWeek

Citations:
1. Vansina, 266; Heywood, 12-13
2. Heywood; Fromont
3. Vansina; Gibson and McGurk
4. Vansina, 272; Heywood; Fromont
5. Thornton, 12-13
6. Vansina, 276
7. Vansina, 265
8. Vansina, 267-268
9. Vansina, 263
10. Thornton, 19
11. Fromont, 845
12. Heywood, 22
13. Fromont, 846
14. Heywood, 196
15. Vansina, 272-273

Sources:
Fromont, Cécile. “Common Threads: Cloth, Colour, and the Slave Trade in Early Modern Kongo and Angola.” Art History, Volume 41, Issue 5 (November 2018): 838–867, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8365.12400

Gordon D. Gibson and Cecilia R. McGurk, “High-Status Caps of the Kongo and Mbundu Peoples." Textile Museum Journal, Volume 16 (1977) https://archive.org/details/gi....bson-mc-gurk-high-st

Heywood, Linda M. Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press, 2017.

Thornton, John. “Precolonial African Industry and the Atlantic Trade, 1500-1800.” African Economic History, no. 19 (1990): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.2307/3601886.

Vansina, Jan. “Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500-1800.” Essay. In Textiles: Production, Trade, and Demand, 263–82. Ashgate Publishing Limited, 1998.

Clips used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhznFtHhkBo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCpT-4vctNY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oStCNLZBjUM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2ADpO6bau8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijVfGarTEfc

Other Resources:

https://mavcor.yale.edu/mavcor....-journal/nature-cult

https://mavcor.yale.edu/mavcor....-journal/depicting-k

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00:00 Intro
00:45 Types of Adornment
01:37 Textiles in West Central Africa
03:44 Making Raffia Fabric
06:38 Class and Clothing
11:59 Decline of West Central African Fashion
12:35 Conclusion

Autism, Misinterpretation & The Mirror: Reading Black Autistic Children Correctly #blackexcellence #youthwisdom #reyasekhmet #autism #autismawareness #autistic

Reya’Sekhmet is back in the lab building on her knowledge of Autism. Because families aren’t silent because they don’t care, they’re silent because they don’t have the language.
This episode gives them the language. Reya'Sekhmet and Ra’Asar break down autism through an Afrikan‑centered lens, explain why misinterpretation becomes mislabeling, and show how siblings, parents, and community can create a home where autistic children feel safe, valued, and understood. 🔥📚✨


🎙️ Host: Reya'Sekhmet / J&J-Life http://cash.app/$JJ1Life

🎙️ Guest: Aakhu'Ra Pa Sa'Ankh (Ra'Asar)


📖 New Book Alert: The Magical Adventures of Ra'Lena

Purchase my New book at: www.reyasekhmet.com


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Timecodes:

0:00 – 🎶Intro Music
0:25 – 🌟Welcome
3:08 – 🧬What Autism Looks Like In Our Community
10:17 –🕯️Autism, Dr. Umar, Dobb Hats, and Stingy Brims
14:00 –📜 Reya’Sekhmet Parable: Receipts, Not Reactions (Re‑Seating the Mind)
16:41 – 🕰️The School System Is Not Built For Our children
26:00 –🔦Why Black Autistic Kids Are Misunderstood
43:21 –🕯️ The Family Side — Silence, Shame, And Survival
55:20 – 🩸 Reya’Sekhmet’s Community Mic Check
57:31 – 🗣️Autism Is Not New In Our Community
58:17 – 🔦 The Emotional Side: What Autistic Kids Feel
1:00:34 – 📚 New Book Alert: The Magical Adventures of Ra’Lena (Rise of the Flame)
1:02:30 – 🔦 Truth, Love, And Responsibility
1:04:21 – 🎶Outro Music


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⁣Come home.
Register now at:
https://www.abibitumi.com/sj2026interest

Covers the life and work of Amos Wilson, one of the greatest thinkers and practical Afrikan nationalists of the twentieth century. Credit goes to RANM RBG TV for actually recording and posting the original video. His channel: https://www.youtube.com/channe....l/UCFFnDFA8_jSJ340fZ

MOSIAH & THE BLACK ARTS REVOLUTION

Little as its known, the Garvey Movement had a monumental impact on the Harlem Renaissance and the early development of Jazz. The UNIA-ACL, became a hub for Revolutionary Black Arts, so much so, the makings of a completely independent arts industry was in process... In this presentation, we break it down.

For those who would like to support these presentations please follow the link below: https://www.paypal.me/abengapparel

#PreludeToMosiah #Mosiah