In 2019, Mike Tyson took an ancestry test and discovered he descends from the Congolese people. In announcing this discovery on a podcast, he called himself a “nigga from Congo.” Interestingly, people didn’t take offense to the n-word, but some took offense to him declaring his Congolese heritage. In this same podcast, a co-host claimed that the Congolese are known for their strength and fighting power, to the extent that they can kill gorillas with their bare hands.

Gorilla Fighter – a poem by Alison Mechelle Caddell

Never underestimate the power of a hidden bloodline. It can never be imagined, the truths you know nothing of. Given that we only know the things others choose to tell us. Given that it’s mixed with lies, so even we can barely stand us. All to say – we seem to hate us and what we used to be. 

And now, what they called us in hate, we call ourselves in jest. And it’s ironic because claiming our true identity is when people get upset. “Nigga from Congo” he said. “Ain’t that some bullshit?” he asked. I gotta say – they were effective in teaching us to laugh at our pain and condemn what we have the right to claim.