Dear Subscribers,
I’m excited to announce that Kentake Page has undergone a complete transformation—our brand new website is now live!
Kentake Page has a cleaner and more intuitive design. You’ll find a richer, more in-depth About page, and the very first post on the new site is the powerful poem Ancestral Intelligence by CJ Spears—a talented young writer I met through Substack.
The redesigned website features a minimalist aesthetic, prioritizing New Posts, a Featured Post, and Trending Posts before showcasing a selection of randomly generated pieces from the archive. I hope this streamlined layout makes it easier for readers to explore without feeling overwhelmed by the wealth of content we’ve gathered over the years. While I’ve authored most of the posts, my best friend has contributed a significant number as well—particularly the insightful interviews with scholars featured on the site.
Redesigning Kentake Page has also made me reflect on the foundation and guiding principles of the site—the people, books, and ancestors that made it possible.
As you may know, Kentake Page is deeply rooted in the African principle of Sankofa—the call to look back, reclaim what was lost or forgotten, and carry that wisdom into the future.
The site is also anchored by four central pillars:
Edward Scobie: “Don’t let our history die.”
Queen Hatshepsut:
“I have restored that which was in ruins.
I have raised up that which was destroyed.”African Proverb:
“Until lions have their own historians, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”Marcus Garvey:
“A people without knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.”
My work on Kentake Page is further grounded in the scholarship of Marimba Ani. The concept of Maafa is fundamental to everything I do, think, and say. Like Ani, I feel a deep connection to our ancestors. Or, perhaps it is more accurate to say that I have one foot in this world and the other in the ancestral realm. I must confess that there are times I believed I had written something original, only to discover that Ani had already explored it in ‘Yurugu.’ Hers is truly a shoulder I stand tall on.
My Mother and the Birth of Kentake Page
My mother, Delores Anderson, is the reason Kentake Page exists.
She often complained that I was selfish, reading hundreds of books for myself alone. I’ve never sought the limelight and have often been accused of “hiding my light under a bushel.” I am, at heart, a loner, needing vast stretches of solitude to read, reflect, and grow. Years later, when I reconnected with my high school friends on social media, they told me their strongest memory of me was seeing me walk away from them at lunchtime, only to find me under a tree, reading.
“You always had a book in your hand,” they would say.
As a teenager and young woman, I read every philosophy book I could get my hands on. I can’t quite recall what it was my teenage self was searching for—perhaps answers. What I do remember is that I didn’t find what I was looking for until I discovered the works of Welsing, Ani, Wilson, Okri, and others.
Therefore, day in and day out in my early forties, my mother would say:
“You walk around with too much knowledge in your head! You must learn to share it.”
I would simply look back at her in silence, wondering why she was so critical of me—can’t one just read for oneself? However, one day, I finally responded: Okay, then!
To put an end to her persistent urging, I launched Kentake Page in December 2012.
I’ve had many moments when I considered abandoning it.
More times than I can count.
Especially when work and study commitments made it difficult to post new articles.
And then, there was the loss of someone very dear to me.
Talbert Walters was a father figure throughout my womanhood. The best parts of who I am are, in part, because I knew him. His passing was devastating. For three years I mourned. I could not write. I could not read, because all I did was cry, and my tears would wet the pages of the books.
So I owe a debt of gratitude to my eldest son and my bestie. Without them, Kentake Page might have been lost, while I was busy—unknowingly—searching for pieces of myself.
Even now, I am still discovering pieces of myself.
Haiti Has Been Speaking to Me
I have never known my biological father.
Recently, a DNA test revealed that my paternal roots trace back to Haiti.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Only very recently did I learn—through DNA results—that my paternal lineage is Haitian.
I have loved Haiti since childhood, believing my fascination stemmed from the Haitian Revolution—an event that has always felt monumental to me.
Now, I know that I have a direct blood connection to western Haiti.
This region of Haiti was especially shaped by the gens de couleur, which sheds light on my own complexion. Yet, more profoundly, it makes me wonder if Haiti has been calling to me through my blood—not only through the pages of history books.
I am now convinced that our blood carries our istwa—our stories.
The Books That Made Kentake Page Possible
I recently tried to list my top ten nonfiction books.
It proved impossible!
While I can easily name my top ten fiction books, choosing nonfiction was far more difficult—there are simply too many that have shaped who I am.
So I decided my favorites must be the ones I revisit again and again—the books I reread, quote from, and keep having conversations with, long after our first meeting.
My number one book—since the moment I first read it—has been The Isis Papers by Dr. Frances Cress Welsing.
Next is Yurugu by Marimba Ani.
The rest of my favorites, in no particular order, include:
Indaba, My Children — Credo Mutwa
When We Ruled — Robin Walker
Who Betrayed the African World Revolution? — Dr. John Henrik Clarke
The Hero with an African Face — Clyde W. Ford
The West and the Rest of Us — Chinweizu
The Autobiography of Malcolm X — Malcolm X and Alex Haley
Sisters of the Yam — bell hooks
Of Water and the Spirit — Malidoma Patrice Somé
From the Browder File — Anthony T. Browder
Black Women for Beginners — Saundra Sharp
African Intellectual Heritage — Molefi Kete Asante
Blacks in Science — Ivan Van Sertima
A Way of Being Free — Ben Okri
Daughters of Africa — Margaret Busby
Precolonial Black Africa — Cheikh Anta Diop
Black Star: The African Presence in Early Europe — Runoko Rashidi
In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens — Alice Walker
Ancient Future — Wayne B. Chandler
Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? — Haki R. Madhubuti
The Falsification of African Consciousness — Amos N. Wilson
These educators and books are the foundation of Kentake Page. In many ways, they made its existence possible. They not only built Kentake Page, but they also built me too.
Are there other scholars and books I cherish?
Absolutely!
There are far too many to name. They are too numerous to list. As I continue to write personal essays in the tradition of Alice Walker and bell hooks, you’ll meet the thinkers and writers who have captured my heart.
However, there is one person I want to honor right now.
Trojan Pam
Pamela E. Harris, who also wrote as Anon and Umoja, was known to many as Trojan Pam. I own two of her books: Trojan Horse: Death of a Dark Nation and The Interracial Con Game.
She passed away in 2018.
I still remember the joy I felt when she once commented on a post on Kentake Page. I promised myself I would buy her other two books and write a post in her honor. I have yet to fulfill that promise.
Yet every now and then, she walks softly across my heart and gently drifts through my mind.
She did so recently after I watched the film The Odyssey. When I returned home, I took Trojan Horse from my bookshelf and read until I drifted off to sleep.
Books are also how I keep one foot in the ancestral realm. It is important to note that many of the people who teach us do not always leave us when they die. Sometimes, they stay with us, waiting patiently on our bookshelves, ready for us to reach for them once more.
What Comes Next
There is still much work to be done on Kentake Page.
I’m updating older posts, continuing to write new ones, and striving to stay faithful to my book project. At the same time, I’m reflecting on what I want to offer subscribers here on Substack.
For paid subscribers, I’ll be launching a new series called What’s Hidden in the Book?
I’ve just finished reading Linda M. Heywood’s Njinga of Angola. Even a single close reading of this book reveals countless possibilities for new writing.
For Kentake Page, I might write a biographical post about Queen Njinga.
Or I might craft a deeper interpretive essay about her life for the new Kentake Page Essays series.
I could also explore the world Njinga was born into, before she became queen: Who were the kings of Angola before her? How did the kingdom of Ndongo begin? When did the Portuguese arrive? That might become a free Substack post.
And then there are all the other things hidden inside the book—the details, connections, and questions that surface only through deeper reading.
Those essays are on the horizon.
A Black history keepsake is also in the works, which I plan to offer to Kentake Page’s supporters.
Both the Kentake Page Essays and the keepsake will offer supporters meaningful ways to contribute to the site’s hosting and maintenance.
All of this, in some way, brings me back to my mother.
More than a decade ago, she remarked that I was walking around with too much knowledge in my head.
She insisted I had to learn to share it.
I started Kentake Page to quiet her persistent nagging.
And the rest, they say, is history.
I invite you to visit the new Kentake Page website and spend some time exploring it. Be sure to read the powerful poem “Ancestral Intelligence”—you’ll quickly see why it deserved to be featured.
If you enjoy the new site, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts—feedback is always welcome! If there’s a biography or istwa event you haven’t seen yet on Kentake Page and would like to, please let me know. While I can’t promise immediate updates, I’ll be sure to add your suggestions to my list.
Thank you, as always, for being part of the Kentake Page community and for your unwavering support.
Wish me luck.
Mucho luck!
Warm wishes,
Meserette Kentake
So excited to be a part of this beautiful rebirth!