EDITORS NOTE
‘There is a misconception at times, that continental Africans and those not recently from the continent are seperate entities in themselves. In some instances, there is a small amount of truth to this belief.
It baffles me at times though, when recent black arrivals from the continent of Africa try so hard to distinguish themselves from Africans who have been in the western hemisphere for several decades or centuries.
Recently we presented an article, which can still be found on this site, praising the educational achievements of recent African immigrants to the west. We touted their cultural and academic contributions to the United States, Britain and various western nations and also praised their determination to succeed at whatever it is they do.
However, what we didn't point out is that at times, some members of this group are in some instances infused with a certain pride bordering on contempt for individuals who may not fall into the recent arrival category and in this case those people are African-Americans and persons from the Carribean Islands.
There is a prevailing concept among some African immigrants and their first generation western born children that, " we" are different from "them". Immediately, in my eyes, this conjures up a drawn battle line or more probable a Berlin wall of some sorts, symbolically seperating the east from the west.
This desire to differentiate however does not fall solely on the heads of the recent arrivals. Western Africans, i.e Black and Carribean Americans, are also guilty of this will and want to differentiate.
When we examine why some of the recent arrivals want to seperate themselves from the the already settled western Africans we find reasons ranging from, "those black Americans have no culture" to "they are ghetto and uneducated".
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Seun Joshua is a writer/designer based in New York, NY and Baltimore, Maryland. When he's not writing, he works in the fields of residential and web design.
>> Divided we Fail by Seun Joshua
When the same question is posed to some black Americans, the responses range from, "the Africans are just weird" to "they are uncivilized". The truth is this, recent arrivals from the continent are not much different from members of the diaspora.
This can be validated with the increased levels of intermarriage among recent arrivals and members of the diasporic community. These barriers that we place between ourselves can be alleviated with something as simple as dialouge. It is the age old remedy for breaking down barriers.
This dialouge can not only lead to improved relations among recent arrivals and members of the diaspora but can create a unified community which, as we've heard throughout time from various black leaders, can lead to the improved standing of the African community and increase our needed contributions to humanity as a whole.
Pan-Africanism is a socio-political world view, philosophy and movement that seeks to unify continental Africans with members of the African diaspora. It basically calls for a politically and economically united Africa both foreign and domestic.
As a philosophy, it represents the aggregation of the historical, cultural, spiritual, artistic, scientific and philosophical legacies of Africans past and present and at the same time promotes values that are a product of the African civilization and its struggles throughout times ranging from slavery to the very new neo-colonialism.
People who agree with this view, would certainly argue against this wall raised by members of this us vs them battle. They are and have always been well aware that a united Africa not only continental but diasporic and continental will serve to enrich both sides culturally and financially.
Recent arrivals from the continent, who look down on members of the diaspora should not fail to realize that they are standing on the shoulders of giants. The opportunities that they are able to enjoy in the west, were provided with the struggles borne by African-American leadership in the form of Frederick Douglass and El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, a man known to most as Malcolm X.
They fail to many times, take into consideration the fact that were it not for these western Africans and their not yielding to the immense repression of institutions like slavery and Jim Crow, they would not be able to find a refuge from the failed institutions of government that has caused many to make their way to the west.
How can these recent arrivals look down on the people they meet in the west, when they themselves were given an opportunity, not had by their counterparts, to build great black democracies out of the ashes of colonialism and have in many cases failed. Recent arrivals should be well aware that not all African-American or Carribean people are negative and uneducated, as not all recent arrivals are jumping and waiving university degrees.
The reality is, many are well educated and have a tremendous love for who they are as a people. The accomplishments they have made to western society throughout the centuries, are for lack of a better word...profound. Apart from this, many have a strong desire to understand their roots and see recent arrivals as good providers of this knowledge.
African-Americans and Carribean blacks also need to understand some facts. They should know that Africa is not mostly an underdeveloped and war-torn continent. They should be aware that there is positive leadership in many parts of Africa, stable government, family structure, and as bad as this may sound, people who bathe.
They should be aware of Africa's advancements in technology, the arts and literature and most importantly the African contribution to humanity past and present.
The fact of the matter is, the accomplishments and failures of diasporic Africans and continental Africans are the collective failures and accomplishments of a united people.
Once we begin to look at things in this light, the walls some of us wish to put up between each other would not seem so needed.
Frederick Douglass
Malcolm X
Information for this article provided by Seun 'Shay' Joshua of Sanaa Magazine.com. All rights reserved. Images courtesy of Google photos. All rights reserved.
