RETHINKING AFRICAN SOLIDARITY AMONG DIASPORAS IN THE RESISTANT READING OF DANIEL 1:8

Abstract

The reading of Daniel 1:8 ostensibly show that the desire to maintain solidarity with one's homeland isan age-long common denominator for those separated from their homes throughout human history. This paperexaminesthe need for African solidarity among Africans in the Diaspora in the light of Daniel 1:8. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative research designs. It adopts the resistance reading and the African cultural hermeneuticsmethodsin its interpretation of Daniel 1:8. The work also deploys the questionnaire survey methodto assess Africans in the Diaspora's perception of issues of African solidarity. The work findsthat the resistance approach to the interpretation of Daniel 1:8 is a viable inspiration for reframing and championing African solidarity abroad. It also discoversthat the majority of Africans in the Diaspora feels a deep connection to Africa as their root, with a deep sense of pride as Black Africans, and sees the need for African solidarity.It finds, in addition, that there are African Diaspora groups, especially with common ethnic interests, who use various aspects of African culture, such as name, song, food, and medicine, among other things, in showcasing African solidarity in the Diaspora. The paper concludes that the resistance to the pressure of assimilation into foreign systems could gain momentum with the idea of African solidarity amongAfrican Diasporas and reinforce the existing foundations of cultural preservationand the sustenance of the collective identity of Africans in the global space.