Black (Africa) vs Black (America)

The sun finally came out! I'm looking forward to going outside today.

I'm just watching "Coming to America" on tv for the 10th time or something. The jokes still crack me up! Eddy Murphy is so handsome and lovable; unlike his alter ego in Raw. Not only is this movie entertaining, it also touches on a lot of real issues: gold-diggers, arranged marriages, living in a different country, tensions between Africans and black Americans, and arrogant rich guys with bad hair! It's also one of the few movies that shows a green lush Zimunda instead of the usual dusty, abandoned, desert village that's supposedly home for us. By the way, Adrian has some beautiful pics from his visit home.

Talking of tensions between people from African countries and black Americans (or African-Americans, the pc term?)--question is what's the deal? This question was bluntly thrown in my face last week by a well-spoken black American man. He added, "A lot of you (Africans) think you're better than us."
My response, "It's bullshit."
We can't deny that this attitude exists. Sad to say, I've often witnessed my fellow countrymen giving bad treatment more often than not. I once took a buddy of mine--black girl from New York--to visit a Kenyan acquintance. When we arrived at the house, the guy we wanted to see was gone so we hang around to wait for him. The woman of the house was very rude to my buddy, asking like 21 questions about her life. Then this Kenyan woman proceeded to bitch about how black Americans are lazy and dissed their way of life. I was pissed that she had the balls to say this to my buddy's face. This was just bad behavior. Although there are some truths she said, it was so disrespectful of her to treat my buddy like that. We left the house shortly afterwards without looking back. And how immature is it for people to argue about who's ancestors ran faster vs who went in the slave ship?

There's no denial that those tensions exist; and I think looking at the demographics makes the picture more clear. Majority of Kenyans, and other Africans, leave home in pursuit of education and job opportunities. Because of the stress we go through to get abroad, most of us are very driven in accomplishing specific goals. After living here (U.S. or wherever else) for a while, you get a reality check about the system. You realize that there are certain benefits reserved for citizens (loans, scholarships, affirmative action programs) and then you wonder "Why aren't these people taking advantage?" For us, it just makes sense.

I have tried to look at matters from the other perspective and even though I don't understand all of the 'whys'--I'm hesitant to make sweeping judgements on people. Factors like socio-economic class, family background, culture, and even personal views come into play. How can you as a product of the middle-class, enjoying the benefits of a solid education and family support compare yourself to a person who grew up with few resources, struggling with basic needs? The concept of delayed gratification is a middle class construct. But just think for a moment, what if there wasn't some reward waiting for you after all your hard work and sacrifice? Then, what's the point in saving, or putting things off for tomorrow? Priorities would shift very fast. Leaving home makes one appreciate a lot of things, like a supportive family network that pushes you to achieve the best. I've found that the general view in the U.S. is that if you're black, you're not expected to amount to much. I think that when nobody believes in you, it's hard to believe in yourself. If you're constantly bombarded by negative messages, you start to internalize some of them. That's happened to the black community in this country. Despite our cultural differences, I think we should focus more on what brings us together.