The following is a guest post by commenter Femi:
First of all don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not bashing anybody who is genuinely interested in Africa’s past and present. Just a daily dose of realism.
Africa is huge and diverse. The reality is that there are politically and culturally distinct countries. Looking only at West and Central African countries, already between African French and English speakers I could always vibe subtle tensions. The rather disciplined and perhaps more repressive approach of Anglophones sometimes stands in contrast to the more laissez-faire but confrontational mentality of Francophones. The difference is quite perceptible in certain details, not to mention all the differences within one region across different tribes.
The sad truth is that a lot of people from the self-declared “African diaspora” don’t even bother reading contemporary African media but instead limit themselves to literary romanticism, over-idolised stories about a battered continent and second-hand information from their local media – if any is available at all. On the other hand, when some people do read contemporary articles from born-and-bred African journalists, they are either shocked or immediately come up with a “white-led” conspiracy theory of shills who are sent out to discredit their homeland.
Africa as a whole continent has been belittled and exoticised by the West and North for centuries. It won’t do anybody a favour, least of all to Africans themselves, trying to neutralise the white half-truths and lies by black half-truths from the West.
Unfortunately there is also a bit of hypocrisy sometimes from some of the alleged “brothers and sisters” outside of Africa. I’ve been talking to a lot of people of colour about Africa. There were always three or more of the following points I could see or they would state themselves.
- They wouldn’t eat many of the traditional dishes.
- They make fun of the music and the accents when you turn your back, though they pretend to like it in front of you.
- They make fun of certain behaviours that seem odd to them.
- They wouldn’t make any effort to communicate with locals who don’t speak English, let alone learn a tribal language.
- They would frown upon some of the local traditions and possibly even get upset.
- They think Africans make unnatural efforts to be “smart asses”.
- They would go mental in dealing with the patchy infrastructure where electricity and communication outages are potentially a daily annoyance.
- They would get bored over the conversations after a while. Politics is a common topic. There aren’t many discussions about “white people this, black people that”, only when there are riots with black youths involved somewhere in the West. Or when Obama was elected president.
- They cringe over the thought of ever living in Africa. “Visiting is all right but staying – hell no!”
Experiencing the previous points first-hand will make the majority of Western born and raised people of colour lose at least some of the romanticism and eventually choose to be very, errm, Western.
See also:
- Examples of African English-language news online:
- YouTube: Jouelzy: African American in West Africa: First Impressions (2015, 12:30 minutes)
- stereotypes about Africa
- Black Brazil in the black gringo gaze
I can only repeat my comment:
Well, the thing is, Western born and raised POC ARE Westerners. Some might not see it that way, and they are certainly different than white Westerners- but they are Westerners and they can’t escape that.
On the other hand, they are free to shape their identity any way they want, even if it means using some romanticized or inaccurate images about Africa. It’s not correct but it is the way all identities are shaped. All identities on the world are shaped the similar way.
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With regard to ‘Western-born Blacks’. What does this term mean?
Is it applied to Blacks solely in the West? Since there is a large Black population that reside also in the Caribbean….
One of the problems is that how does one define ‘African culture’? Even on the continent today they have experienced the Westernisation process.
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@J Western born blacks include those on the Western Hemisphere, and sometimes includes those in countries west of Africa. In this article, however, I do believe the reference was to North America, South America, and the Caribbean.
I also agree with your last point. Africa is not just about huts and slums. There are parts of Africa, like Nigeria, that have housing developments and some cultural aspects similar to that of Western society.
To be honest though, although all of the above points are pretty much true, I think that there is another reason why Westerners would not want to go to Africa: many Africans do not want them there. Even here in Canada, I encounter many Africans (mainly Nigerians and Ghanians -sorry if I misspelled either) who treat you like you’re less than because your ancestors were slaves. Some even say it to your face. I’m sorry, but even I have strong feelings about even going to Africa, but less living there.
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Cheers CiCi.
The reason I asked because there is a huge difference between countries like Jamaica, Barbados, which are predominantly populated by Blacks and run by Blacks as a ‘country’.
As compared to Brazil where Blacks are a significant majority but lack power and American Black who are a significant minority, but who also lacks power.
I guess what I was trying to get at by my rhetorical question is that there are huge differences even between ‘Western Blacks’.
With regard not to going to Africa, there are many stories where those in Africa have welcomed back home those from the diaspora
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I should have also added that a more appropriate term, sometimes used in anthropological studies, although it also has different meaning at different times is the term ‘Creole’ when we begin to speak of Blacks born outside the continent, and also cultures depending who is doing the speaking off course
Creole peoples
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creole_peoples
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Haha, reality indeed. I agree that many of we, the western peoples of the African diaspora, do have immature and overly-romanticized views of “Mother Africa.” I think that we often see ourselves as little Alex Haleys—just a plane flight away from some wonderful “welcome home celebration” in an African village of our ancestry. We will remove a scrap of paper from our pockets and read aloud the name of some ancient ancestor in swahili. Suddenly a family of villagers will burst forth with tears in their eyes, dancing and ululating, like they do in those National Geographic specials. They remember that name! It is their great, great, great, grandfather!!… Brother?.. where have you been all this time!!??
It’s a rather ridiculous and juvenile notion, and is as uninformed a view of Africa as most White people have. I think that because we share a common ancestry and similar coloring, we often imagine that we really know about Africa. We name our son Jamaal, and wear a faux kinte cloth necktie, and voila, instant African!!!
http://www.exposay.com/will-smith-hopes-to-relocate-to-africa/v/7407/
Many of us would be shocked to think that a sizable percentage of Africans despise African-American culture, and think it to be course and uncouth.
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It is true that many Africans are becoming more and more westernised. But that’s exactly the point. It’s all the more reason to look at what’s really going on at present and ideally also think about what can be done to improve things for the future. Africans don’t have the “luxury” to keep living in a romanticised past in their heads, unlike many outsiders who are looking at the continent from a “safe” distance.
The point I was trying to make is that there is ‘real every day life’ everywhere in Africa as we speak. And for the largest part life is neither romantic nor heroic in terms of combat zones against white colonialists. The people there have to somehow get through every day life as everybody else in the West does. Many of the same kind of jobs have to be done over there as in many places elsewhere in the world.
Rich Western countries also have to take quite a bit of responsibility for African “brain drain”. Many educated Africans are lured to the West with salaries that are relatively high compared to most African countries. However the pay is still lower than what their local Western peers would expect. That’s what makes African experts (medical, pharmaceutical, engineers, teachers etc) attractive for the West.
On the other hand, there are quite a few brilliant engineers, software developers, electricians, communication network experts, social scientists, professional coaches, you name it, among POC in Western countries. Professionals which are needed so badly to build up and maintain the crumbling infrastructure in many African countries. However very few Western POC are tempted to go work in Africa and live African every day reality. The only exception here seems to be South Africa, which, in my opinion, is not exactly representative for the whole continent.
I don’t think anybody would expect POC from the West to eat, behave and speak like people do in sub-saharan African regions. However, the solidarity and idealism of many (probably most) POC from Western countries is really only skin deep, apart from a common past long time ago.
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The problem with West and romanticized view of Africa is that the West wants Africa to stay exotic, traditional and the same, without progress. While globalisation is not a nice process, imo, wishing for others to stay same and without progress so you could see them as “unique”, “true” or “exotic” is selfish.
Africans can choose what they want and what they don’t want for themselves. Just like nobody should force them to accept some western things if they don’t want, nobody can force them to live in a stereotypical way westerners often see Africa.
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All I want to say is I’m glad to a pic and discussion involving my homeland (even though I’m an “Anglophone” and would have preferred a pic of say, Bamenda).
However, the solidarity and idealism of many (probably most) POC from Western countries is really only skin deep, apart from a common past long time ago.
Oui, Femi. They don’t want to read or learn or really “know”. What was that you said, Abagond, about POC overcoming the “Wall of Lies”?
the West wants Africa to stay exotic, traditional and the same, without progress. While globalisation is not a nice process, imo, wishing for others to stay same and without progress so you could see them as “unique”, “true” or “exotic” is selfish.
Took the words right outta my keyboard.
Merci, Femi!!!
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Africans think every place outside of Africa is exotic, haha. Especially America and Europe. And I hate how countries like America try to make it seem like they’re helping Africa and feel sorry for them when they go and make deals with governments they know are corrupt, to steal Africa’s natural resources. Shame on them. Greed is a huge problem in this world. Even in Africa, when some people find out you are coming from America or Europe they will try to steal your stuff so they can sell it for money. Its a big problem.. always bring locks and be careful where you leave your money.
And thanks for showing a picture of Cameroon, Abagond!
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What exactly is the romanticized view of Africa?
And Caribbeans are closer to Africans from my experience, than black Americans. I don’t know about South American blacks though.
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“What exactly is the romanticized view of Africa?”
I think, for White Westerners, it’s seeing Africa based on it’s hut villages, rather than it’s cities and industrial centers. It’s a perpetually nostalgic view that celebrates the safari while ignoring the skyscraper.
For Black Westerners it’s the nostalgia of creating a mythical homeland where none of the problems of the West exist. It’s imagining a place full of Lion King sunrises and Ladysmith Black Mambazo choirs echoing across the pristine savannah. It’s also failing to see Africans as people who are as intelligent and industrious yet as flawed and divided as everyone else in the world.
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Yes King, that sums it up quite nicely.
For those interested, here is a Facebook page of Afrik’art, a regular TV magazine about contemporary African art. If you scroll further down there are some interesting videos – in French only but I suppose you get the gist.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/AFRIKART/155543374340
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Oui Ankhesen. Double respect. Alors on topo le camfranglais. Le speech ki réuni tous les mans… 🙂
(mé franchement j’suis assez nul kan même…)
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The thing is, the real Africa is much more interesting than the romanticized version.
Femi, I have some reservations regarding your comments about the brain drain and the professionals from the diaspora we supposedly need, but overall I wholeheartedly agree with the substance of both your article and comment. Especially this part:
The real challenge, for the African-descended individuals who are genuinely interested, is to get past both the nightmarish depictions of Africa from the western media AND the idealized caricature of the timeless Africa. To be honest, I don’t think it is actually possible without a first-hand experience and a great deal of open mindedness.
The misconceptions about Africa are just overwhelming.
Actually, as far as African-Americans are concerned, the country which hosts the more important community of African-descended POC seems to be Ghana. It is due to the government’s policy to attract them, both for historical (panafrican) and economical reasons.
There are a lot of articles on the net regarding the African-American experience in Ghana, and several books have been written about it. It is very interesting because it is contrasted. It features success stories and failures. It’s a good illustration of the ambiguities and misunderstandings on both sides.
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“They make fun of the music and the accents when you turn your back, though they pretend to like it in front of you”.
Guilty as charged. The first time I met a man of African descent who was FROM Africa, I messed up his name and thougth it was funny. I thought I was being cool…..damn me.
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Yes Dahoman X, I stand corrected about Ghana. On the other hand, (I suppose we can agree) the influx is coming predominantly from British POC with Ghanaian origins. Ghana is fairly stable and comparatively less riddled with corruption than other countries in the region. What I always wondered is if it’s due to its stability that it attracts POC from the West or if it’s the POC’s influence that contributed to its stability. It’s most likely a mixture of both. A sort of positive feedback both ways.
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With regard to:
“What exactly is the romanticized view of Africa?…”
“For Black Westerners it’s the nostalgia of creating a mythical homeland where none of the problems of the West exist. It’s imagining a place full of Lion King sunrises and Ladysmith Black Mambazo choirs echoing across the pristine savannah.
It’s also failing to see Africans as people who are as intelligent and industrious yet as flawed and divided as everyone else in the world”.
Although I understand the point there is something in the wording that suggests that Blacks in the West fail to see
“Africans as people who are as intelligent and industrious…”
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“Kelly, however, says poverty and red tape are the major reasons Rastafarians have not migrated en masse to Ethiopia”…
As a black man, this is the only place that I have ever felt free,” he said. “That is what drew me to this place. That is why I stayed.”
Sewell, 59, concedes that life in this desperately poor country has not lived up to his expectations. Since moving to Ethiopia
http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/Rasta-Close-To-God.htm
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I think it has to do with ones exposure, whether you have a romanticize version of Africa. I admit I may at times I have said things, that took the Africans I knew aback, but I say things here that might seem a little strange. My exposure was from meeting mostly college students, so I have met students from Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, Biafra and Nigeria early in my life. I got to know them and came to somewhat understand their life was like in their country. Later I worked with engineers from Ghana and Ethiopia. The engineer from Ghana wanted to work long enough in the states so that he could buy construction equipment and take back home to build his house. He had no plans to stay here for good. Most of the students I knew went back home after they got their degrees. Most were in technical fields.
Femi,
I don’t think most Blacks in America think your music is funny. Of course there have always been blacks here who run away from any music that has rhythm, unless its Cole Porter.
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@ J.
Often, Blacks in the West do fail to see African’s as intelligent and industrious, especially when considering them in masse. You might add to that failure, the words, “cool” and “sophisticated.”
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Cheers for the clarification King.
Just to say that within the UK this not the perception – and hence my earlier remarks
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My impression is that it was less true in the UK today, because of the higher rate of African immigration there, relative to the U.S., as a percentage of population.
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Cheers
I am not sure about the rates of population.
When I said it was not a perception of the UK, I was referring specifically to ‘diasporic Blacks’ from the Caribbean and their perception vis-a-vis African populations
and viewinem as less intelligent and not industrious
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edit:
and view-ING THEM as less intelleigent and not industrious
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I’ve heard and read similar complaints many times. Although I don’t disagree with a lot of what you’re saying here, I don’t like the Diaspora-bashing tone. What does “self-declared African Diaspora” even mean? Are we inventing an experience that doesn’t exist?
The criticisms of our often limited and knowledge of African history, customs, cultures, geography, etc. are valid. But I think that criticism should come with an understanding that that ignorance is nurtured by our experiences in The West. And that rather than simply seeing us as being in collusion with white Western anti-African propaganda, it might be better to see us as victims of it.
If you don’t want to see us as victims, that’s fine too. But we do suffer from not having realistic views of Africa. My main objection here is the harshness. I don’t think it’s necessary or helpful. I am so tired of thinking and feeling that nearly every conversation I see and hear amongst black peoples about our contradictions has to be so contentious.
On top of all that, in many ways this is as unfair a generalization of Western black people as you’re claiming we’re making about Africans in Africa.
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@ Femi:
I don’t think so. Ghana’s stability has nothing to do with westerner POCs, but obviously this stability plays a role in their choice to visit and stay (Mhmm… I somehow suspect there is far less African Americans living in, say, Somalia…).
This said, Ghana’s stability is not an exception anymore in West Africa. Democracies such as Senegal, Mali, Cape Vert or my native Benin first come to mind, but authoritarian regimes like Burkina-Faso are pretty stable too. Heck, if the 28 years-long reign of Popaul in Cameroon is not stability, I don’t know what stability is.
Oh, and you don’t want to bet your money on the level of corruption being lower in Ghana than in any other African country. Trust me on this one.
According to an article I found on the net, there are more than a thousand African-Americans living in Accra only and about 10 000 who visit every year. The main cause is the Ghanaian’s policy (initiated by J.J. Rawlings in the 90s) to attract them, for both historical (panafrican) and economical reasons, as I stated in my previous post.
More about this here:
http://www.nathanielturner.com/ghana.htm
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1229122-1,00.html
@ IVale :
I totally agree with you.
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The following links report 2 individual African-American experiences in Ghana:
http://www.mamiwata.com/ghana.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6818533/
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Dahoman X, thanks for the links. Interesting reading.
I think Ghana made some moves towards stronger economic diversification at the right time for them. They have managed to become relatively less vulnerable to the imbalance in economic sectors that other resource rich countries in the region are facing. One of the problems in West and Central African countries is that the largest and most lucrative sectors pay over-proportionally higher salaries and hog the most skilled and educated work force for themselves, leaving many other sectors in a dilemma. Much of the service (including public) and manufacturing sectors cannot provide comparable quality and consistency to, for instance, the oil industry. That makes it fairly unattractive to even start a business which is not in some way connected to the flagship industry of that particular country. Add to that the fact that equal education for everybody is not exactly on top of the priority list of corrupt law makers.
As for president Biya. At least half of those 28 years are certainly not accumulated through merit and good leadership. He spends half of the year in foreign luxury hotels and only really pops out with repressive measures when the locals get ‘a bit nervous’. You may call that stability, however the way it is perceived by the majority is closer to a form of complacency, time wasting and personal enrichment of government officials. The number of Cameroonians who are tired of the current government is rising by the minute. There is a general feeling that a lot of things that would require progression or improvement are not moving forward, unless it can be achieved through corruption. Yes, it’s working “somehow” but it’s getting closer to a tipping point that nobody really dares to imagine what it could look like when things escalate. Many locals know that at least some change is needed but nobody wants a worst case scenario. This is perhaps some form of stability, however it is one that bears a lot of tension and “potential energy” which is not necessarily benign. The results of elections are the more disputed the longer one leader stays in office. Whether it is a default attitude of the opposition to suspect fraud or if the fraud is truly happening is also subject to discussions. I keep hearing that the latter is more likely.
Addressing IVale’s point-
I don’t intend to be unfair, just realistic. I was describing what I’ve seen and heard first hand not too long ago when I spent a few years in the USA, and also from Caribbean people in the UK and even France. Some of the reactions and opinions about contemporary Africa really surprised me, some left me speechless. You may say that I keep meeting the “wrong” people. Perhaps so. I should say, I hope so.
I know that the distorted pictures of Africa are painted mainly by white-controlled Western media and literature. The point is though that everybody who is sceptical about what they are presented through tinted glasses have the possibility to inform themselves on a level that goes beyond spoon feeding. It has never been easier to get at least a more diversified range of information. This requires of course a certain amount of interest in the topic. You may of course just sit back, get carried away by African myths from a past that is long gone or esoteric stories about Nubians and leave it at that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not generalising for everybody. What I did notice though is those who are the most militant about African mythology and their spiritual connection are the most likely to shut down their senses to Africa’s real life in the 21st century. They are usually also the most disappointed or disbelieving when directly confronted with reality.
If this is unfair, I apologise.
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Ooops!
Femi, my reference to stability under Biya’s rule was an (obviously failed) attempt at humor…
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
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No problem, Dahoman X. I think I lose my sense of humour as soon as someone mentions those 28 years… 😀
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Oui, Femi…ma cher Femi….
*shudder* Biya came to power the year I was born and never left in all that time. I remember the rise of the SDF party when I was child going to school in Nkambe (NW Province). No child at my school believed the opposing SDF Party stood for “Social Democratic Front”. They staunchly proclaimed it meant “Suffa Don Finish”. That’s when “nursery rhymes” began….
Paul Biya don shit fo’ draws
Paypa no dey fo’ wipe ‘e lass
…’E take money, broke am
Wipe ‘e laaaaaaaass….
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Oh, it gets better…you’ve probably heard this one….
A Cameroonian dies and goes to heaven. He meets God, and asks God (in pidgin, of course) how he keeps track of everybody’s sins. God shows him a room of clocks/timer which spin every time a human tells a lie. There’s Mother Teresa clock, which doesn’t move because she hardly ever lied. There’s George Bush’s clock, which spins often because he lied all the time. The Cameroonian asks where Biya’s clock is, to which God replies,
“Oh…his is upstairs. I’m using it as a ceiling fan.”
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Ankhesen 🙂
I don’t know if one should laugh or cry about those jokes….
As Pius Njawé – R.I.P. – said :
“La seule solution valable, c’est un coup d’état en respectant la non-violence. Ceci passe d’abord par l’éducation. Il faut convaincre le peuple à participer dans cette aventure.”
The only valid solution is a non-violent coup d’état. We have to educate the people and convince them to participate in this adventure.
Many people – too many I think – still shy away from anything that smells ever so slightly of socialism. It’s the devil’s work in the heads of many, especially when a certain “comfort” and complacency has been creeping in, thrown at the people in small doses by the establishment. I think that’s where education has to come in. It’s also about solidarity. But first of all it’s about people not losing their temper, as that is exactly the best propaganda for the ruling elite.
Peace.
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@ Femi,
Vraiment, cheri.
There’s been too much blood spilled at home. A bloodless coup would be the best solution.
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I don’t know if one should laugh or cry about those jokes….
I just go with laughter. Because you know you’ve become a true villain when small children start singing little songs which make horrible fun of you.
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It all boils down to ignorance, Femi. What do you expect? Africans that were stolen and now make up the Diaspora had their rightful cultures beaten out of them so all they had left were romanticized notions of their homeland. The good part of that is many blacks here get a sense of pride and like Mira mentioned a sense of identity they didn’t have previously. It wasn’t until recently that blacks here even learned anything about their history in the New World, let alone a peep about Africa. Many of us have hunger to learn about Africa but nowhere to turn to obtain that knowledge. And obviously only a precious few of us can afford to go over and see life first hand. Even so, it would be but a snapshot as there are so many different cultures. I have a friend in Lagos and I look forward to going in the next couple of years. It would be wonderful if other countries like Ghana attracted more blacks from the Americas as many of us could use the education.
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Mira i definetly agree with your point.
As an immigrant from western africa when i arrived in the U.S.A i was surprised to see the ignorant beliefs held regarding Africa by Black-Americans. It seems most have come to believe every myth regarding Africa as a land full of destitute and unintelligent people. In a way it is disheartning but it’s fully expected. But then again Africans as a whole are now also buying into the myth that is perpetuated which assumes that Black Americans are unintelligent beings and not in the least bit driven. I believe this stems from the cultural diffrences which have now amassed overtime, and with that being said understanding one another and dispelling the myths of each other in our mind will take a long time
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Well, it’s not a secret that many non-Americans all over the world don’t have a… how shall I put this? High opinion on Americans.
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@ Poetess :
I tend to believe that the number of African-descended peoples living in Africa is underestimated. Most of them are actually invisible because, unlike the African Americans in Ghana, they are not organized in communities with associations and al. Most of them are isolated individuals or families who naturally blend with the local populations.
For instance, until the earthquake in Haïti a few months ago, I was totally unaware that there was a small Haitian community in my country (Benin). As most of my compatriots, I discovered their existence only through the local radios and televisions who interviewed them after the seism.
Put aside such exceptional situations (Haitian earthquake), the Africans from the Diaspora are only noticed when they engage in public activities such as music or panafrican militantism. We have a good example of this too in Benin, with the Jah Family. They are Rastafarian who emigrated from the French West Indies 2 decades ago and are well known here.
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I would think visiting Africa would open Black Diasporans’ eyes to the beauty and complexity of Africa. I have several Black friends (African American, Jamaican, Haitian, etc.) who have visited African countries (South Africa and Kenya) and loved their time in the Motherland.
My cousin is marrying a Kenyan and will be living there. She’s lived in Africa before.
Traveling and seeing for yourself probably goes a far way in dispelling stereotypes of Africa being some jungle full of uncivilized people.
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Ah I love this post. I agree with pretty much every point.
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OK Abagond,
I’ve decided to take over this thread as a way to spread POSITIVE images of Africa for those of us with near or distant African heritage…I’m sick of all the NEGATIVE sh’t I’m reading on this blog.
I am Over reading all the negativity about black people, from both the black men and women attacking each other on this site and others, and your white trolls who want to act as this is a white man’s world and every one else is just here for the food.
So, I will (if you don’t mind of course) post gossip and pertinent information about Africa/ Africans, who are coming up in the world, making a mess in the world, or information so that African descendants on our side of the pool can see how the other half is living.
Black Americans are not the only REAL black or African descended people in this world and if we (African Descendants) want to get anywhere in the “west” — we need to be aware of what is going on in the world.. because we are all linked, judged by, and are affected financially and socially by the one thing we have in common — skin colour and our African heritage.
Black/brown people need to UPLIFT each other, not bring each other down…we’ve been at the bottom for so long, the only bloody way to go is UP!
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First story _ salacious Gossip (got to kick this thing off right!)
For those of you who didn’t know…Naomi Campbell, Jamaican/British Goddess of the Modeling world was dating a Russian billionaire, Vladimir Doronin for a few years.
Naomi has her own TV show, “The Face” in which she supported a Chinese beauty contestant, Luo Zilin, on the show, who went on to win the shows contest and modeling contract.
Anyhoo, earlier this year, Naomi and Vlad broke up, and Vlad, (in a b’tch a’s revenge move) started dating the Chinese winner, Luo Zilin, from Naomi’s Show….wth
Naomi proceeded to get little miss “Traitor from China” Luo stonewalled in the Modeling industry, fired by her modeling Agency, and Luo lost her modeling contract(s) in America (and people say black people have no power!)
and Naomi has been seen “out and about” with a Nigerian Billionaire, Kola Aluko (it’s said he is Richer than Vlad Doronin)
“Aluko is a wealthy Nigerian businessman with interests in the energy and private aviation industries. He is a founder of Fossil Resources, an oil trading company, and Atlantic Energy, a private Nigerian upstream oil and gas company. He also serves as a member of the advisory board for Swiss luxury aviation company Vistajet and drives for the Swiss car racing team, Kessel Racing.”
I have to admire Naomi for her tenacity and desire to not lower her standards — she went from dating Millionaires to Billionaires, and it seems that she has no desire to downgrade
and even though it’s a little catty, I like that she has the “power” to make or break her protégé who she pulled up from the unknown, but I have to wonder — maybe she wouldn’t have been backstabbed if she had put her energy into pulling up a black model instead of trying to be seen as “colour blind”
at least a black or brown model, knowing how HARD it is in the modeling world for us “exotic” women, would intrinsically understand that sleeping with your bosses ex-boyfriend will only get you so far in the fickle world of Modeling.
http://www.bunitv.com/component/k2/item/3390-photos-noami-campbell-hanging-out-with-nigerian-multi-billionaire-kola-aluko
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2335359/Model-Luo-Zilin-SACKED-unprofessional-conduct-amid-antics-Naomi-Campbells-billionaire-ex-Vladimir-Doronin.html
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Actually, I have to make a correction, I was wrong in saying Luo was the winner of the TV show “The Face”
It seems the actual winner was a “black/mixed race” model, Devyn Abdullah, and Luo was the runner up.
Devyn Abdullah, apparently pissed Naomi off with this but she won anyway:
“Devyn was the cause of one of Naomi’s flare ups after announcing that she didn’t consider herself “a black girl model.” Naomi declared the sentiment a “disgrace,”
Well, I’m sure she has now found out like every other woman of colour in the modeling industry… if you’re not blond or pale-skinned, then you are “black or exotic” and have to hustle twice as hard.
http://www.yeshacallahan.com/black-model-on-the-face-says-she-doesnt-consider-herself-black-naomi-blacks-out/
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Ten Nigerian Multi-Millionaires You’ve Never Heard Of
1) Kola Aluko
Source: Oil, Aviation services
Kola Aluko, a Nigerian energy and aviation tycoon, founded oil trading firm Fossil Resources in 2001, then went on to become CEO of Exoro Energy- an indigenous oil exploration and production firm. Aluko is now Deputy CEO and a leading shareholder of Seven Energy, which has operations and key interests in four onshore fields in the Niger Delta.
2) Eddy Martins Egwuenu
Source: Banking
A former bank chief, Egwuenu is the second largest individual shareholder of the Zenith Bank Group. His 1.5% stake in Zenith Bank alone is worth about $60 million.
3) Jide Omokore
Source: Steel, Oil, Dredging
Omokore is the chairman and founder of Energy Resources Group, one of Nigeria’s largest privately-held conglomerates. ERG has interests in oil trading and exploration, haulage services, steel, dredging engineering and property development. The group’s annual revenue exceeds $400 million.
4) ABC Orjiakor
Source: Oil
Trained orthopedic and trauma surgeon, ABC Orjiakor is a successful businessman on all parameters. One of Nigeria’s wealthiest men, Orjiakor is the Chairman and CEO of Shebah E&P Company Limited, an oil exploration firm which has a 40% stake in the offshore block OML 108 which produces over 8,000 barrels per day. Orjiakor is also chairman of Zebbra Energy Limited which owns the deepwater concession OPL 248 offshore Nigeria.
5) Sam Iwuajoku
Source: Commodities, Aviation services
Iwuajoku made his fortune importing rice and steel rods, while leveraging his extensive political connections to obtain a series of generous import duty waivers from the Nigerian government. Among other ventures, he reinvested in private aviation services. His company, Quits Aviation services is one of the few fixed-base operators in the country. Quits Aviation Services owns a large maintenance hangar at the Murtala Muhammed International airport in Lagos and a jet charter service.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2012/11/02/10-nigerian-multi-millionaires-youve-never-heard-of/
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6) Gbenga Oyebode
Source: Law, Investments
One of Nigeria’s most renowned commercial lawyers, Gbenga Aluko is a founder and Managing Partner of Aluko & Oyebode- a successful corporate and commercial law firm in Nigeria. He owns a minority shareholding in MTN Nigeria, and sits on the company’s board. Oyebode also serves as chairman of Access Bank PLC, Okomu Oil and Crusade Insurance. The value of his shareholdings in these companies is worth tens of millions of dollars.
7) Arthur Eze
Source: Oil
The Nigerian oilman sits atop Atlas Oranto Petroleum, a West African exploration company which owns several producing and non-producing oil and gas assets across Nigeria, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea and the Gambia. In 2010, Oranto Atlas sold off a set of oil blocks in Liberia for $250 million. Eze pocketed $200 million from the sale.
8) Aderemi Makanjuola
Source: Offshore support services
The reclusive tycoon is the founder and Executive chairman of the Caverton Offshore Support Group, Africa’s first integrated offshore support service provider. The company provides marine, aviation and logistics support services to oil exploration and production firms based in West Africa. Some of its clients include Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
9) Dele Fajemirokun
Source: Diversified
His father, Henry Fajemirokun, was a renowned shipping magnate and one of Africa’s most successful businessmen after Nigeria’s independence. Nigerian Maritime Services Limited, the shipping company he founded in 1962, is still one of the largest shipping companies in Nigeria today.
10) Michael Ade-Ojo
Source: Car distribution
Michael Ade-Ojo is the biggest seller of Toyota vehicles in West Africa. His Elizade Group accounts for over 10% of all Toyota sales in Nigeria. He is also chairman of Toyota Nigeria and is a key shareholder of RT Briscoe PLC, an NSE-listed distributor of Toyota cars in Nigeria
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Legion, Legion… get in the spirit of what I’m doing 🙂
as I said, at the end of the day, all of us with “African ancestry”, regardless of how much or little, region, nationality, language spoken or phenotype share the “African” in common…
Africa = black, that’s what unites all of us African descendants in the diaspora.
we all got at least 1 ancestor who came off the ship and landed in North, South America, or the Caribbean… so yes, Legion, I am invoking my rights as an “African descendant” of the diaspora to talk, gossip and bring in up to date information on our distant African cousins.
I’m also sick of black people talking about “what and who is black” when their a’ses don’t know what being African is all about or what is going on currently with the Continent.
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Thank you, thank you….
and don’t worry, as you see, I always find a way to tie in and give a shout out to the Caribbean yard…can’t help myself
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@ Linda
All right. We will see how it goes.
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Jouelzy, someone I follow on YouTube, is now in West Africa. She did a video giving her first impressions of West Africa (Togo and Ghana so far) as an African American:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xErJN81wXMw)
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