Egyptian social media went into a state of meltdown earlier this week over a newly released trailer for the new season of the Jada Pinkett Smith-produced Netflix series “African Queens,” reportedly focusing on the life of Queen Cleopatra, which will air in May. The “historical docu-drama” had raised the ire of Egyptians because of both its portrayal of Cleopatra, who was of Greek descent, as a Black African woman, and having a Black female expert in the trailer insisting that “Cleopatra was Black. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

While some are enraged by what they view as a gross historical inaccuracy, the majority of the voices view it as “Afrocentric” propaganda, which asserts the view that the rulers of ancient Egypt were Black and had no connection to modern-day Egyptians, who are in their way of thinking the descendants of racist Arab or Islamic colonizers who have erased Egypt’s true Black identity. For a lot of Egyptians, not only are such views considered historical and cultural appropriation of Egyptian history, they also alienate modern Egyptians from their heritage and history.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of “Afrocentrism,” it is a belief popularized by some African-American leaders, such as the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan, that “African Americans suffer from a stolen legacy of cultural riches, of which white European racists have conspired over the centuries to keep them unaware.” Chief among them, so the theory runs, is the Blackness of Egypt’s pharaohs.

[It was really intriguing that Mahmoud was writing this at the same time our son Ebola and I were discussing it on Facebook. Different perspectives in agreement regarding Jada Pinkett Smith’s “documentary.” We had a good conversation about loosey goosey with historical facts. For example, I don’t care if The Little Mermaid is black, pink, orange purple, or green – she’s a fairytale. (Just like we’ve always though Idris Elba would make a BANGIN’ James Bond. Oh, man.) But I do care if Anne Boylen or Cleopatra is depicted as such, especially if you’re going to call it a “documentary,” which is what the Netflix production claims That word used to be equated with some sort of factual presentation. In a Rosa Parks documentary, I would not expect to see Meryl Streep cast as the heroine, fine an actress as she might be and the roof would be raised for the howls of outrage. Righteous, I might add. Can we just be done with this BS? There is so much wonderful history yet to be discovered and told – have at it! ~ Beege]