Kokoro
Fatoumata Diawara Lyrics

Why are we not proud of who we are? We are black Africans,
We should be proud of our African heritage and culture, as descendants of Sunjata Keita and the Mandé people, yet we look to Westerners, Chinese, Asians, and Arabs by bleaching our skin, selling off our land and resources, and adopting their fashion.

We have our own culture and civilization, which we must be proud of.
It is important for us to embrace and take pride in our African traditions, rather than attempting to conform to other cultural standards that do not reflect who we truly are.

Instead, we want to look like Westerners, Chinese, Asians,
We have been conditioned to believe that non-African cultures are superior and that we cannot be proud of our own traditions or physical features.

and Arabs by bleaching our skin, selling off our land and resources,
We go to extreme lengths, such as skin bleaching and selling land and resources, to fit into the societal standards of non-African cultures, further distancing ourselves from our own traditions and values.

and adopting their fashions. As a result,
We adopt Western fashion, which is often not suitable for our physical features or cultural norms, which creates conflict within ourselves.

we are lost and our traditions escape us.
As a result of abandoning our African traditions and heritage in favor of other cultures, we become disconnected from our history and cultural identity.

So who will come to defend our African dignity in our place?
If we are not willing to stand up for our own culture, then who will defend our dignity as Africans?

Let's not turn our back on our traditions
We should embrace and honor our African traditions, rather than abandoning them in favor of non-African cultural standards.

Let's embrace them, be proud of them
We should take pride in our African heritage and traditions, rather than attempting to conform to non-African cultural standards.

Let's not abandon our traditions
It is important that we do not give up our African traditions and values, even when it may seem easier to adopt non-African cultural standards.

We need to welcome them, like a miracle
We should embrace our African traditions and values as a blessing and take pride in them as a vital aspect of our cultural identity.

Let's not turn our back on them
We should not reject or abandon our African traditions and values, even when faced with pressures from non-African cultures to conform.

They want to destroy our traditional values
Non-African cultures often attempt to diminish the importance of our cultural traditions and values, leading to the deterioration of our cultural identity.

Because we are Africans
Our African heritage and identity is often viewed as inferior to non-African cultures, leading to a loss of cultural pride and disconnection from our traditions and cultural identity.

We have lost all our cultural references
Given our collective abandonment of African culture, we have lost the connections that our cultural traditions provide us in terms of insight and history.

Because they see us as slaves
Non-African cultures often view African cultures as inferior, leading to a reduction in our pride and connection to our cultural traditions and identity.

Our ancestors have abandoned us
As a result of the pressures placed upon us from non-African cultures and society, we have lost touch with our African cultural heritage and traditions.

They want to kill our traditions
Non-African cultures often attempt to minimize or eliminate our cultural traditions and heritage, leading to a disconnection from our cultural identity and heritage.

Our human warmth is disappearing
As a result of adopting non-African cultural standards and abandoning African traditions, we are losing touch with our humanity and cultural identity.

I bow before our ancestral traditions, mother
As a proud African, I take pride in our ancestral traditions and heritage.

I pray to the spirits of our ancestors
I hold our cultural heritage and ancestry as sacred, and pay homage to our cultural values by allowing them to guide me.

Why are we not proud of who we are?
We, as Africans, should take pride in our cultural heritage and identity, without the need to conform to non-African cultural standards.