#02 Chao Tayiana: History as a Verb We're Just Doing Us

“History (for me) is a verb: I history, you history, we history.”
- Chao Tayiana




The railway and how it became more than it was intended
How there is a lot of power in understanding what the railway became (an essential part of Kenyan lives)  as opposed to just focusing on what it was intended for
The railway as a great connector, both in life and death
A citizens’ approach to the concept of the Museum and colonialism
Why participation is key
Re-evaluating the concept of the Museum
“I didn’t like the idea of history being taught in a passive way”
The cool thing about oral history - once you learn something, it becomes your responsibility.
How so much was lost - we need more than 3x the effort it took to destroy African culture/history to recover some of the lost bits
What we lost once we put history in glass cases, boxes, and buildings
Why building methods that are designed for us is crucial
The pipeline during the Mau Mau uprising
Origin of the current idea of a museum - institutions that completely excluded Africans
Why Europeans took artifacts from Africa
How African children related to culture while growing up
The experience of having a fellow tribesperson/country person tell you how you are “so African”
Tracking the conversation around stolen African artifacts in European museums
Changing the articulation/language on African artifacts in European museums - it is critical that we centre Africans in these conversations
The sack of Benin city
African artifacts in European museums
Restitution is much more than objects


Important Links:

Chao Tayiana

African Digital Heritage

Museum of British Colonialism

The Train to Uhuru by Carey Baraka

Africa’s Looted Art - A DW documentary