The Unlearning Process: Reclaiming Your Melanin as Technology | Ankwetta B. Achaleke – #PodcastShorts

In this short article, we will learn about the psychological and structural barriers created by colonial education and how to dismantle them. Our guest, Ankwetta B. Achaleke, reveals that true sovereignty begins when we stop measuring our worth by a benchmark designed to keep us in a position of inferiority.

Learn How to Leverage Your Story through our Story To Asset Framework.

The Myth of the “Incomplete” Leader

Many established leaders in the African Diaspora have achieved immense success by mastering Western systems. However, Ankwetta identifies a hidden cost to this success: “narrative fragmentation.” She explains that the colonial education system is built on the premise that “you are not enough.”

See the short clip below by Ankwetta B. Achaleke:

This starts with language. When we are forced to drop our native tongues to learn another’s, we aren’t just changing words: we are disconnecting from our original intelligence. Ankwetta notes that “the way we tell our stories determines how the world perceives us.”

If we use a borrowed language and a borrowed perspective, we often end up living as a “shadow” of our true potential, constantly seeking validation from the very systems that benefit from our perceived inferiority.

Melanin as Ancient Technology

The pivot in Ankwetta’s message is a radical shift in perspective regarding our biological and cultural heritage. She describes melanin not just as a physical trait, but as one of the “oldest technologies” on earth.

See also Breaking Barriers: Leisha McKinley Beach on the US Public Health System & HIV with Black Americans

This is the core of Roots to Relevance. To move from a state of being “half-full” to living at our fullest potential, we must undergo a period of “unlearning.”

For the Diaspora leader, this means moving beyond the “Mission Clarification” phase. It is not enough to be visible in Western spaces, such as standing for parliament or leading a corporation.

If that visibility is used to feed a system that views you as a “problem to be solved,” you have not yet achieved Digital Sovereignty or personal freedom. True power comes from “remembering”, tapping into the technology and intelligence that existed long before the current textbooks were written.

From Validation to Institutional Wisdom

To transform your Story into an Asset, you must stop seeking validation in everything Western. This paradigm shift is essential for Legacy Building. When you build a business or a program based on someone else’s principles, you are essentially “riding another person’s horse.”

Actionable Steps for the Established Leader:

• The Language Audit: Identify where you are using academic or corporate “jargon” to mask your authentic voice. Simplify your message to align with your Human-Centric Growth.
• Unlearn the Benchmark: List the key performance indicators (KPIs) of your life and career. Ask yourself: “Whose values do these represent?” Re-establish your own benchmarks based on Sovereign Learning.
• Codify the “Remembering”: Use the Story to Asset Framework to extract the lessons you learned outside of the formal colonial system. These are your most valuable proprietary methodologies.

By reclaiming your narrative and recognizing your heritage as a sophisticated technology, you move from a consumer of Western validation to a Founding Architect of your own legacy.

To see the full video interview, make sure to subscribe to the Obehi Podcast YouTube. You can also read our analysis of the episode with Ankwetta B. Achaleke: Empowering the African Narrative: Ankwetta B. Achaleke’s Journey from Diaspora Activist to Architect of Legacy