Ever since watching Black Panther in theaters, my interest in wearing African jewelry has dramatically increased, despite previously not being a fan of wearing jewelry.

Perhaps the main reason is because while in the past the item may have looked great, it had no personal value to me & was more of a fashion statement.

These three pieces of jewelry however are unique, as they have personal meaning to me.

African Past

The African Ancestry Heirloom Pendant represents my ancestral past & ancient connections to six precolonial nations (aka tribes) in 5 present day countries:

• Mandinka from Senegal 🇸🇳
• Fula (aka Fulani) from Guinea Bissau 🇬🇼
• Mende & Temne from Sierra Leone 🇸🇱
• Kpelle from Liberia 🇱🇷
• Yoruba from Nigeria 🇳🇬

I visited the Yoruba people last year (& loved it!) & my desire is to visit the ancestral lands of all of these nations as well as interact with the tribal locals who are blessed to inhabit the region.

African Future

The Wakanda necklace is created by Douriean Fletcher & is based upon the science fiction necklace featured in the movie Black Panther.

The necklace represents to me Africa’s potential as a technological, cultural & political power. It is a future I desire to see achieved in the present world.

The number seven is often seen as a number for completeness as well as perfection & to me represents seven areas Africa as a continent needs to focus on in order to make Wakanda a reality:

• Energy (solar, nuclear, wind, etcetera)
• Agriculture (plants, animals, distribution)
• Mining (refining resources within the continent)
• Medical (medicine, surgeries, etcetera)
• Communication (internet, television, virtual reality, etcetera)
• Finance (banking, a continental currency, etcetera)
• Culture (promoting languages, customes, etcetera, within & abroad)

Perfecting each of these would enrich, enlighten & uplift over a billion people privileged enough to live on the continent.

Note: Their is also an either category—space—but that is a given as humanity is destined to build settlements upon other worlds.

African Present

The Juneteenth ring by CustomMade represents the present & I picked three symbols that currently define me.

Juneteenth Flag

• The Star represents freedom of Africans in America in not just Texas (where enslaved Africans were freed on June 19th, 1865–hence the name Juneteenth) but in all 50 states.
• The Nova Burst is a symbol for a new star or new day, which represents a new beginning for African Americans.
• The curve or arc represents a new horizon with promises of new opportunities for African Americans
• The colors Red, White & Blue are borrowed from the American Flag, & are a reminder that our enslaved ancestors who built the United States (unjustly without compensation) are Americans.

Credit: CBS 85 & National Juneteenth Observance Foundation

Cross & Crown of Thorns

The Cross & Crown of Thorns represents my spiritual faith which differs from my ancestral faith (more info on that in the next section).

Since there are numerous cross variants from Europe & Africa, I wanted to show case something that was generic as well as specific, which would also transcend cultures as some crosses are specific to certain regions or people groups (Latin, Celtic, Ankh, Cathololic, Protestant have their own variant crosses apparently).

Inspired by Danbury Mint’s Crown of Thorns Cross (which I purchased but rarely wore), the cross represents Jesus Christ’s sacrifice to atone for my sins, while the crown of thorns indicates God’s Kingship which was mockingly acknowledged by the Roman/Italian soldiers who crucified Christ.

The Star in the center indicates how precious the sacrifice was, & the empty cross itself symbolizes that Christ tasted death once & is resurrected forever more (never to repeat that gruesome sacrifice again).

Yoruba Symbol

The Yoruba symbol is borrowed from the (unofficial) Yoruba Flag & is the only tribe I am related to that seems to have an unofficial flag.

To me the sword/staff represents royalty & wealth while the energy beams around around it represent power & prosperity.

Yoruba is not just a language (which I am learning via Genii Games) & culture, but also a pantheistic religion still practices by millions in Nigeria.

Yoruba today are mostly Christian or Muslim, but all are aware of their ancestral beliefs.

O Dabọ

That’s it folks! Yes, this was a lengthy text, but hopefully this explains why I wear jewelry & it’s meaning to me.