We can be more, Eric insisted. We can be greater. We can be larger. We need not be small and petty. Crushing each other just as the state crushes us. This political hope has remained a throughline in Eric’s music. Critique that is rooted in hope. We can be better.
Keguro Macharia at Gukira. Listening to Eric Wainaina
Macharia in this passage is writing about a song, Nchi Ya Kitu Kidogo.
I've had a few vacation days and have done very little except to eat and to consume media. One message many people are trying to get across is that we are not prepared for another Trump administration. That lack of preparedness goes doubly for me.
Practiced organizers tell us to get local. There is still so much we can learn from far away. Indeed finding ourselves aligned with people globally is big source of hopefulness.
One of the proverbs Macharia uses is "imagining freedom." His writing is so gratifying because it's often very specifically rooted in everyday living.In this essay he looks back to ways Eric Wainaina and other young people were imagining freedom in ways that people at the time may not have recognized as such.
I love this essay because stories of songs and how songs travel through space and time are always fascinating. I enjoyed listening to Eric Wainaina tell a story about performing "Nchi Ya Kitu Kidogo" with Daniel arap Moi within earshot in this interview. He's proud that he didn't stop singing, but doesn't take the credit for everyone singing it.
Singing out is something we all can do.
