An Open Letter to Africans in The Diaspora

Dear Fellow Africans,

You have been busy at being amazing, earning various accolades in education and in industries such as banking, engineering, finance, medicine, nursing, tech, entertainment, entrepreneurial, etc., and knocking down barriers that seemed impossible to some.

You have accomplished so much with so little in lands far away from “home” and with cultures that are sometimes difficult to understand, segments of which are filled with hate that is sometimes difficult to objectively justify. You have navigated dangerous work spaces, communities, interactions with people affiliated with hate groups, police officers that approach you with anger just because you’re black but change their tone once they realize that you are an immigrant and you might be educated. You have been busy at winning and you are doing this often with a smile, positive attitude (even though it is sometimes forced), elegance, flare, joy, and pride. You have been spreading positive images about what it means to be from your respected country, even though some leaders make it difficult because they believe calling your countries “shit hole countries” would help their politically divisive message to their racially charged base. You have been busy acquiring properties and building wealth for yourself and your offsprings. What is even more amazing is that fact that you have been able to accomplish this with very little community support than you are used to. What you have accomplished and continue to accomplish is remarkable. You may not know this, but you are nothing short of inspirational.

However, as great as it is to be inspirational, it is even more fulfilling to be uplifting. We need to ask ourselves what we can do or how we can better support and uplift our cousins who are direct descendants of those kidnapped from their countries hundreds of years ago and sold as commodities into slavery! What are we doing to aid in their struggle for equality?

What about our cousins that are first, second, and third generation Americans? These are the people I’m referring to when I say our “cousins”. Yes, the enslaved “gained” their freedom, but did they really? After gaining their freedom, systems (“the system”) were put in place to keep them down and impoverished; this is a similar tool used to keep colonized nations impoverished. What the white colonizers and settlers of the U.S. did was kidnap multitudes of black people and subject them to servitude and a life of subordination. Laws were put in place to destabilize their communities, homes (incarceration of black men brought to you by the 13th amendment), keep them from acquiring wealth, from living in peace, etc. I can go on and on about how the system was designed to screw our cousins.

The crazy part is the system does it so well that when some of us came here from our various countries, we believed some of the stereotypes that have been perpetrated over the years by the great American propaganda machine. You don’t believe me? Remember when the image of Africa some Americans knew were those that only focused on the impoverished parts of Africa? I personally had to educate my mates in high school that to see the kinds of wild animals they often associate with “Africa” in Nigeria, you have to go to a zoo. I had to educate them that we had cars and lived in houses with electricity and running water. I was not mad at them because I realized that they just did not know any better.

Often times I’ve conversed with people of color in the diaspora about the struggles of our cousins and they often repeat rightwing news media outlet talking points that paints people of color the culprits and their oppressors as the victims (search Google.com for Karens calling the cops). Some of us are actually convinced that we’re not African American, “I’m not black, I’m African.” Or that because we are American by naturalization and not birth that we are somewhat different and are somehow excluded from those same struggles and afflictions our cousins continue to face simply because we were privileged enough to have not been raised in the system; “I don’t sag my pants” or “I don’t dress like a thug.” Some of us have the mentality that achieving success equates to not experiencing racism, or experiencing racism lite. This mentality and way of thinking is extremely dangerous because the system is built to be anti-black and thinking this way ignores the core issue. I did not blame us for not being in touch with these things, but we have been ignorant too long. We have been silent too long. We have been neglectful too long. We have not been our “brothers and sisters keepers’’ for far too long. Our cousins have been fighting for us long before we even arrived at these shores. They have been going to bat for us long before you or your parents dreamt of living in America.

Did you know that without the civil rights movements we may not be here? Did you know that the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s played a role in ending the race-based immigration quota system? Look into the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This act did away with the race-based immigration quota system and replaced it with a system that prioritized refugees, people with special skills, and those with family members living in the United States. Are you starting to see the connection? The Act also forbade discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas on the basis of race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence. How did it benefit the civil rights movements to push for these policies? That is another topic for another discussion. However, their push for these policies on immigration was probably influenced by the leaders of the civil rights movements’ visit to Ghana in the 1950s and 1960s. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, and Maya Angelou, to name a few, all visited and spent time Ghana during these times. They realized that their struggles are also our struggles. They were being their bothers and sisters’ keeper.

I’m sharing this to paint a picture on how important it is for us to join the fight for our collective freedoms and equality. If our cousins did not fight for us in the 1950s and 1960s, we might not be here, or our being here would look a lot different. If we do not join the fight to demand justice and equality now, our children and their children would have to, and that is assuming they are not assassinated by a “law enforcement” agent before they get a chance to do so. Yes, you may think you are successful now, but what would your success do for you if a police officer can murder your brother, sister, mother, father, daughter, son, husband, or wife, without being held accountable because they have “qualified immunity?” Think about it. Still don’t think this fight affects you?

Now, to my cousins reading this, I appreciate you; I salute you; I commend you; I am in awe of your strength; and I am deeply moved by your strength to persevere through so many hurdles that have been thrown your way. You have been able to accomplish wonders with boots and knees on your necks. I hope you can find it in your wonderful and loving heart to forgive my brothers, sisters, and cousin for not knowing better and please have the patience to educate us. Some of us are here because we had to come here, not because we want to come here, but we are here nonetheless.

The United States’ politics continues to make it difficult to live in parts of the world and some people had to and continue to need to escape these politically unstable environments. These instabilities are often caused because the United States have to “protect her interests” in these countries. What are these said “interests?” Various natural resources that American companies exploit from these countries without full compensation and often with reckless disregard for the environment and the citizens of the countries they are exploiting. Or to borrow a friend’s summary; “the US is a colonial and imperial power that has derived its wealth on the domination and exploitation of other countries, especially in the African continent. From kidnapping Africans and selling them into slavery, supporting Apartheid, and to now maintaining AFRICOM and also extended its ‘war on terror’ to Somaliland and beyond, the US continues to cause harm.” This has caused various people that were living a peaceful and successful life in their respected countries to seek refuge (“refugees”) in the United States and start over. If you are having a hard time comprehending this phenomenon, just think how hard it would be for you to move, often alone and without family, to a country where you do not understand the language or culture, and some people hate you because you are foreign; some of the things you have been forced to endure and get accustomed to. But this is reality for some of us, and on behalf of our community, I want to express my most sincere gratitude for having us. When you are ready to visit or revisit Africa, the Caribbean, and other countries, you are most welcome.

Finally, to my fellow people of color in the diaspora, it is the time to act and be on the right side of history. Your silence, inaction, and complacency is a message to the “powers” that be that you are okay with the maltreatment of our people. Please, do better!

Yours faithfully,

A Nigerian, African American