About 1,000 years ago in Nigeria, there was a Yoruba queen called Bilikisu Sungbo. She was clear-headed enough to find a sensible way to safeguard her kingdom. Some say it came under attack by animals trained by her enemies, but this is only speculation as to why Bilikisu Sungbo constructed a 12ft thick and 70ft tall wall around the place she ruled called Eredo, which was even larger than London. Mark Simpson, the director of Black History Studies, decided to use his creative licence to write a children's story about Bilikisu's achievement. It is called 'The Great and Mighty Wall'.
In about two hours one time under the Mediterranean sun, he penned the story that it took the illustrator Panyin nine months to complete. Her elaborate and colourful creations really complement Mark's rhyming story. Their combined artistry was executed well enough for even an adult to be interested in the book and learn something new. It is almost guaranteed that you will as well, because many African stories such as this are not passed on or as popular as they should be. This is a crucial part of the cultural neglect that Africans in the diaspora are experiencing; we have limited characters to connect to and are barely represented in the medias and cultures we consume everyday. Exactly this issue inspired Mark to create this children's book, for there is a wealth of empowering information which is not made accessible to kids. In the future, Mark Simpson hopes to make cartoon feature films about African history for young people.
I found out this beautiful information by attending a book reading by Black History Studies with my little brother. He didn't want to go at first but I took him to this very local library because learning is constant, school holidays or nah. In the end he heard an inspiring tale about the positive power of an African woman. This is an image that stereotypes and tropes in society can prevent people from accepting or acknowledging sometimes. The physical experience of 'The Great and Mighty Wall' included music composed by Mark Simpson and his booming voice as he read his book, its images projected for all to admire on the wall behind him.
A good few kids turned up and BHS was very organised, by providing packs of word searches and colouring activities for them to consolidate and expand their knowledge on Nigerian culture. These are available online for free so you might feel to do and share them yourself. As well as that, it is important to financially support a cause like this. So buy this book for your little cousins and read it to them just for £6. Get to know this story of a black queen and let them treasure it too and tell their friends about her. It's so important that everybody remembers to educate the young bucks outside of school. Everything starts at home.
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