Monday, April 17, 2006

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.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

true story - africans in the diaspora sometimes forget that we know/have people back home who have not tried to exploit their potential even when incentives have been available - stereo typing is a bad habit we all need to break

Girl next door said...

@ Anon,
We need to check ourselves from feeling so superior coz as you said, there are "people back home who have not tried to exploit their potential...."

Nakeel said...

Strong points raised there gal.
Focusing on what brings people together and appreciate each one is the thing.

walk said...

true true! i dated an american chick like two years ago and we used to joke about stereotypes but in the end those stereo types had the last laugh on us.apart from one line emails. she probably still thinks i wanted a green card.

Girl next door said...

@Nakeel,
we do have a lot in common=)

@Joe,
making fun of the stereotypes makes people realize how dumb they can be. You discover all kinds of cultural beliefs esp. when you date outside.

Anonymous said...

Well that is an interesting topic and I have just come from my race class so I could do a whole paper about it.We tend to look down on blacks here but we also do have the same problems back home ie layabout youth,baby mama drama etc.But it is true that there are more opportunities to succeed for them then we do have but just because some people dont take them it doesnt mean that their race and culture is defective.It just means that some people are ignorant of the opportunities that's all.
Plus in some strange way due to underlying class structure when it comes to the workplace and friendship at times white people will accept a black foreigner faster then a black american.I have white pals who only have me as their "black friend".
Also do you know that alot of the Africans here are what we could call a self selected group?This is to say that we are have been weeded out by the embassy so usually most of the Africans here are here for school undergrad and grad plus; so they end up being a smarter lot then most African Americans here who aren't all well educated so it is easy to look down on them as more doors are open to us and we dont have as much historical tension with white americans as they do so they whites feel slightly more comfortable with us at some points.
But also black americans do see us as a threat, they see us as here to push them down the class ladder and take away all their gains and hard work.
Anyway let me not blog on your blog , there is so much to say but not enough time!Nice post btw!

Girl next door said...

@ Acolyte,
I don't mind you blogging on my blog coz you've brought up some really good points! You're right about how relations btwn white people and Africans aren't as strained as it is with the black Americans. The legacy of slavery weighs heavily in the inter-racial relations in this country. It's true that most Africans in this country are a 'self-selected' group. Thanks for stopping by with your great comments!

Anonymous said...

at the same time would you or a black american will be treated better in the arab world