I hate to admit it, but I have spent the past week fighting my way out of a MAJOR snit.
I'm talking a world class, full throttle, hissy pissy attitude that makes PMS seem like a hangnail. And I'm even more embarrassed to admit WHY. But here it goes......
"Umm, to all my brothers and sisters on the African continent, BARACK OBAMA IS OUR PRESIDENT, AIIIIGHT? JUST BACK UP OFF HIM!"
God, it feels great to just admit that childish sentiment and get it out of my system! Here's how it got there in the first place---
In a recent blogpost, I shared my November 6th Daily Nation newspaper article about what the Obama victory meant to me as an African American. Basically, I rode the crest of a completely euphoric wave from the moment CNN declared Obama President-elect. Between tears and joy, it was the closest thing to bliss I'd experienced since the first time Prozac kicked in.
So why did one of my Kenyan colleagues have to go and piss a sister off? It happened last Friday, after he'd read my article. He sent me an email containing these two questions:
1. Why do African-Americans have to bring in their families every time they are narrating their experiences — I don't find that common with Africans/Europeans/Asians.
2. Are African-Americans overburdening themselves with history? Can the persecution mentality be their main barrier to progress, which clearly was not the case with Obama?
Now, y'all know me, and how I have a hard time censoring myself, right? Well, Higher Power Herself must have restrained my fingers from typing an instant reply that began with,
"Dear ig'nint-assed m-f....."
"That's right, I said it!" Or at least I almost did. Those questions ticked me off in so many different ways, it's hard to know where to begin. First, why should I have to explain to my Kenyan "brother" why this historic event made me give thanks to the forefathers and mothers? Aren't Africans known for honoring their ancestors....or did all my years of reading Alice Walker and Toni Morrison amount to nothing??
And no he didn't step to me with that "persecution mentality" nonsense! As I explained in the 5th draft of my email response, I was surprised he couldn't understand why so many African American journalists were invoking America's racial history when describing their feelings. After all, a mere 40 years ago, black people weren't even allowed to set foot in most mainstream American newsrooms, unless we were sweeping the floors or emptying trashcans.
Ummm...that would have been when President-elect Obama was about 7 years old.
So I'm not talking ancient history here, or just whining about slave ships or Southern plantations. The fact that in our new President's lifetime, a level of virulent racism that seemed to make his recent triumph impossible was actually able to flourish, is nothing short of astounding. So what part of the word "miracle" was my Kenyan colleague having trouble grasping????
Don't worry, I managed to craft a non-defensive, even indulgent response to his queries. (But don't let me catch his ass in a dark alley any time soon.) Still, beyond my fit of personal pique, the incident gave me a better grasp of the literal chasm of awareness that exists between Africans and African Americans. What we don't understand about each other is mind-blowing.
Basically, most Africans think most African Americans are thugs, hoes, athletes or blinged-out entertainers. On the other hand, a lot of African Americans think most Africans are desperately poor, diseased and just one step up from the jungle.
Don't kill the messenger, y'all...I'm just tryin' to keep it real up in here. If you wanna set me straight, feel free to drop me some knowledge.
Anyway, my point in making those wildly-stereotypical pronouncements is simple. I had my ass on my shoulders about my Kenyan colleague's questions because after all my experience working in Africa, I still expect my African "heritage" to grant me instant acceptance and understanding. It doesn't matter that I arrive in each new setting unable to speak the local language, ignorant of much of a country's history, and often unwilling to make some of the required cultural adjustments.
"A sister's just tryin' to get over with 'The Black Skin Pass', ya feel me?"
But time after time, that door gets slammed squarely in my face. Four months into my Nairobi gig, I'm just as alien to my Kenyan colleagues as I was when I got here. Oh, we're friendly at work, collegial even. But so far, my sense of "otherness" is still palpable. And I only have myself to blame for thinking it would be different.
Which is probably what's making me feel all tetchy about what Africans appear to NOT know about African American history. I'm all, like, "Oh, we're some damn 'victims' who are 'overburdened by history,' huh? And yet now you want to claim Obama as yours, huh?"
"Well, peep this...Obama's father may have been born in Western Kenya, true dat. But, er, um, he rolled with Barack, Jr. for about, say, a year or so in total, right???? And then he went back to Kenya, right??? In other words,
"President-elect Barack Obama is AMERICAN, dig? Ya'll need to check yaselves right quick, okay?"
By now, you've probably deduced that this posting is one big psychic belch to rid myself some negative, and extraordinarily unproductive thoughts. As the title suggests, for the most part, I'm following Jay-Z's advice and "brushin' my shoulders off" about this matter.
But it's made me commit to at least trying to do my part to close the gap between Africans and African Americans. We have a loooooooooooong road ahead towards understanding about each other's histories. That may be one of the most exciting side-effects of an Obama presidency.
I'd be down for that, for real.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Below is what I recently wrote on this subject in response to someone who was singing about Obama's African-ness:
True, true, true. Therefore the scenes of corrupt politicians and thieving government officials in Kenya and Uganda dancing till dawn at the election of Obama don't make sense unless these same politicians feel that Obama's election will finally help them put a stop to their thieving, selfish, corrupt, sycophantic and bungling ways.
And where has the notion come from that Obama is African? I like to quote Whoopi Goldberg on the race question … when she once said that she is not African American but an American who happens to be black. Amen, I said to that. The whole notion of black Americans calling themselves African Americans is as empty as blaming their family ills in 2008 on slavery. ... One just has to call oneself Ugandan-Kenyan (if one of one’s parents are from either country) to understand how ludicrous that is. Children born to Ugandan fathers and raised in Uganda are Ugandan. Ditto those born in patrilineal Kenya. In America, the only measure of citizenship is birth or naturalization. Anyone born American is nothing else but American of whatever hue.
That said, Obama’s victory is worth celebrating for a many reasons, but that he is African is not one of them. And the reason is simple; Obama is not African and Africa’s problems have nothing to do with him since we know exactly where they emanate from. I am not aware of any Obama supporter in the United States who said that he was supporting the man because of what he expected him to do for Africa. But one might hope that he will uplift America and then African leaders might be inspired by his story to do what is right by their own people. Though largely wishful, that is a notion I might entertain. But the idea that Obama’s victory is a victory for Africa? Oh dear me, no!
One just has to look at Uganda in the week that Obama won the presidency. Corrupt and thieving ministers were exonerated by their own despite committees they had set up recommending otherwise. A girl was barred from taking her exams by a pontificating school official despite her having already given birth and shown readiness to continue her education – idiocy that we are used to. The ministry of Health continued to wail about lack of drugs in the same breath as it had wailed about drug stockpiles that were expiring because they were undistributed – mismanagement as expected. The president’s acquisition of a personal luxury jet stayed en stream despite crumbling roads and lack of proper sanitation for millions – warped megalomaniacal priorities as expected.
Black, white, Latino Americans should be encouraged to celebrate Obama’s victory because it is difficult to imagine that he could be worse than George W Bush has been. His election is thus a great event for America and, thus, the world. Black Americans should especially celebrate one of their own finally being judged by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin.
Post a Comment