Anyone would think that being black in America will be inviting as there are African-Americans with whom the blacks share ancestry. As an African arriving in America, I presumed that I would enjoy the fort of shared ancestry. How misguided I was. My reception bemused me as the racist contempt I received was for the most part from African-Americans, an experience many Africans will attest to. There is no doubt that there is a huge schism in existence between Africans and African-Americans and this has resulted in deep resentment.
This hurdle stems basically from historical misapprehensions fostered by the media. Surprisingly, many African-Americans on the one hand believe that Africans are unrefined and backward. On the other hand, African immigrants also believe that African-Americans are aggressive and indolent.Back in Nigeria, studying American literature in college (University) and being acquainted with the works of W.E.B. DuBois, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and the Harlem Renaissance, I did not learn what it feels like to be a black person in America.
In Nigeria, racism only existed in books as what is obtainable is tribalism. Our identity has been and is still entrenched in ethnicity and not skin color. I had never thought about being referred to as black until I arrived American. All I had ever thought about back in Nigeria was “I am a Nigerian.”
To ignore the schism between Africans and African-Americans is self-defeating and prejudiced. This phenomenon has made many African immigrants shattered as a people, visionless, and a people weak with regards to their agency. They either develop as individuals or form connections only with people of same ethnic groups.
It is noteworthy that the two groups have different historical background experiences which has resulted in today’s reality. To African -Americans, racism remains the main cause of their socio-economic status.
Another important thing to know is that both groups react to the situation differently. Undoubtedly, most African immigrants come to America for economic betterment. For them, they can take up any job in other for their sole reason for coming to be achieved. While many African-Americans continue to blame slavery for their lot.
The time has come for everyone, irrespective of the group you fall into to rewrite and retell their stories. It is about time we took responsibility and be bonded as one black people, to love, trust, and respect each other beyond the existing divide. Then and only then can We Rise.