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  Posted By:
  KaiaShivers at 02/27/2008 8:04:29 PM
  Comment:
  The Other Side of the Coin: A Response to Meri Danquah
  
  Sadly, Danquah paints a lop-sided, and one-dimensional picture of the relationships and perceptions between members of the African Diaspora in the United States.
  
  First, I disagree with Danquah analyzing black relationships in America based on individual accounts without scrutinizing the system in which they were developed. As slavery was throughout the Americas, colonialization ripped Africa apart. Both events are significant in examining relationships among "black Americans" and "black immigrants" and should always be referenced when speaking of the fractured interactions of the various groups(African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, Afro-Europeans and Africans).
  
  Secondly, Danquah refuses to acknowledge the beautiful relationships that are forged between the groups. The comments in her article suggests that the descendants of Africans who were enslaved in the United States currently disregard their Africanity and see it as something different from their "blackness". However, black American identity in America is interwoven in African ancestral roots-that can not be denited.
  
  Lastly, I find it troubling for Danquah to not acknowledge the scewed perceptions of black immigrants regarding African Americans. She failed to mention the black immigrant perception that looks at "black Americans" as the most de-evolved group of black people. In many black immigrant groups we are seen as a "culture-less" people, a group without any roots.
  
  However, I see this as a direct result of our fractured relationships in the disruption of Africa many years ago. Frankly, black people have not largely been in sync since Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican man who mobolized over a million black people acrosse th world. Unfortunately, he was framed by a black Caribbean man.
  
  In my opinion, the issue of Obama and the question of his "blackness" stems from the substantial concern from the black American population who has been abandoned by the same elected officials they have supported over the years. Ironically, many of the Congressional Black Caucus initally endorsed Hillary while their "black" constituency opted for Obama. That speaks volumes! I have hope. I know I can. And I will say it out loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud.
  
  Kaia Shivers, Newark, New Jersey
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  Posted By:
  nattydaps at 02/27/2008 1:14:17 PM
  Comment:
  i think this is a very important article.more often than not these retrogressive perceptions are taken for granted and it's about time that someone should bring in the right picture.it is essential to transcend this ridiculous cultural zones and move forward as one race and people.
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  Posted By:
  kunzi at 02/27/2008 8:47:47 AM
  Comment:
  This article is missing the part where the author tells us about what her african friends and family say when they denigrate afro americans...I am african and I know what is said on that side of the spectrum....on the other end I've dealt with the sneering condescendence of some afro americans who believe that an african accent translate into inferiority... my take is that people are snobs and it doesnt matter if they're african or afro american, africans will snob and denigrate other africans too simply because they're from different countries or tribes,or social status same as african americans(dr Cosby)...what I KNOW for a fact is that everytime I've been down and out in this country my people have been there for me, continental africans and those of the diaspora alike....money and status insulates some of us from the perils of being black in america , but there's always that day when you get stopped for DWB,or you're subjected to one of those other insidious practices, and then you realize that to some your are Toby and not Kunta....lets snap out of this siliness
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  Posted By:
  kunzi at 02/27/2008 2:59:47 AM
  Comment:
  This article is missing the part where the author tells us about what her african friends and family say when they denigrate afro americans...I am african and I know what is said on that side of the spectrum....my take is that people are snobs and it doesnt matter if they're african or afro american, africans will snob and denigrate other africans too especially if they're from different countries or tribes,or social status same as african americans(dr Cosby)...what I KNOW for a fact is that everytime I've been down in this country my people have been there for me, continental africans and those of the diaspora alike....money and status insulates some of us from the perils of being black in america , but there's always that day when you get the proverbial lashes(DWB,or other) and you realize that to "them" your are Toby and not Kunta....lets snap out of that siliness
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  Posted By:
  blessinggirl at 02/25/2008 7:36:59 PM
  Comment:
  Skeptomania, where do you get your nativism from? Whites who have replaced Latino immigrants as objects of hate? There is indeed a rift between American blacks and African immigrants. Both groups have a vastly different frame of reference. It seems to me Africans just don't get our distrust and paranoia. Their countries are riven with tribal strife, and those who get out and come here see America as a land of unparalleled opportunity. It strikes me as extremely strange that Africans can speak standard English, and many of us black Americans defiantly refuse to learn how and consider poor grammar and diction a badge of blackness. By the same token, I find it irritating how condescending and clannish African immigrants tend to be. I also find it appalling how some cling to cultural traditions--like female genital mutilation, male misogyny and eating unsafe "bush" foods--while climbing the ladder toward that so-called American dream. We have to look beyond our cultural comfort zones and respect each other, I think, even if we do not understand.
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  Posted By:
  Nspades at 02/25/2008 1:50:18 PM
  Comment:
  Loved this article, however I would have liked to see the author address the enmity between our two black americas. Specifically what we native African Americans see as a dismissive view of slavery by Africans and derisive attitudes about us as well. Oh well, maybe next time.
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  Posted By:
  PHX at 02/25/2008 1:37:57 PM
  Comment:
  Your editor's response is a reaction to your fellow African immigrants making an effort to separate themselves from American-born blacks for years.
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  Posted By:
  teij at 02/25/2008 1:16:56 PM
  Comment:
  I wanted to inquire if the author has ever thought about the Black American perspective in regards to African immigrants. Your editor's response is not much different from the general Black American response to Africans. Although this does not justify it, one has to consider is there any truth to it? Is it possible that African immigrants think that they're better than Black Americans? My experience says yes.
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  Posted By:
  jcheek00 at 02/25/2008 12:45:39 PM
  Comment:
  This topic is distressing for me personally because I understand both arguments and I'm also in a relationship with a woman who's family is from Congo-Kinshasa. African-Americans, descendants of slaves, presently feel like the struggle their ancestors, great-grandparents, grandparents, parents and their own struggles today have benefitted not only African immigrants, but immigrants and non-immigrants of color with opportunities in all levels of society: housing, voting, education, etc. These benefits, however, (some African Americans feel) are not recognized by immigrants as a result of African-American achievements and are instead met with insults by immigrants, naturalized, or citizens of color of African Americans being lazy, not appreciating opportunities, not working hard, etc.
  
  But i think the resentment and bitterness of African Americans are misplaced and believe that the there are cultural as well as class differences between African Americans and African immigrants that play more of a factor. Some African immigrants are leaving middle class or upper middle class settings to come to lower class African American neighborhoods where African immigrants might find their values and perspectives in conflict with the first African Americans they come into contact with in the U.S.
  
  I find that I have a lot in common with my girlfriend and her family because we share similar values and perspectives. If there's something to be done to improve relations between Africans and American Blacks, a discussion of where each side has come from and where they want to go can be a good start.
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  Posted By:
  Hal in MS at 02/25/2008 11:46:08 AM
  Comment:
  Of course it sort of upsets the applecart of victimhood, that black africans and caribbeans would willfully come to the bad ol' USA.
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  Posted By:
  blackadept at 02/25/2008 8:51:33 AM
  Comment:
  A black person (UK of Caribbean ancestry)with many relatives who have emigrated to the USA and done well for themselves, I have to agree with your article.
  
  The most crucial battle African Americans now fight is an internal one.
  
  Black Americans will soon come to understand that they actually have an awful lot of power and opportunity in their own hands. They have been brain washed into thinking that they don't. Black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean are successful in disproportionate numbers within the 'black' community in America. Caribbean blacks experienced slavery and the Africans have experience war and famine too.
  Imagine if Obama thought like the average African American, you'd all be voting for Hillary and feeling grateful as you'd have no choice.
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  Posted By:
  skeptomania at 02/25/2008 7:13:22 AM
  Comment:
  I am afraid your friend is absolutely right. I am an african African living in Africa, but who has been to the US, and also lived in Europe. My father taught me African-American and Carribbean history and culture issues. You people like to swan about in those countries without paying any due respect to the people who made it possible for ALL black people to be treated with some modicum of respect there. You wilfully lift what you want from their culture when it suits you, and do not respect the struggle they waged for all of us. Think about it: nearly every positive movement for black people (Garveryism, Rastafarianism, early NOI, the Panthers, Pan-AfricanMovement, Fanonism, Egyptology, Fela's music [YES], reggae, etc) either comes directly from the diaspora, or was nurtured by them. Where did Nkrumah get his "Black Star"from? What has been your contribution to black knowledge apart from your book that will just be full of such whining? Africans in the west are engaged in cultural, political, aesthetic, and spirtual freeloading of black culture in the most pernicious manner, and you should stop. What"country of immigrants"? That is a white idea. Slaves did not go willingly to US as your parents did. Native Indians did not welcome America either. As you are Ghanaian, go back and build Ghana, instead of reaping where you did not sow. Or stop complaining that those who gave you the right to live in freedom don't like your behaviour. They shouldn't even give you guys the right to vote.
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  Posted By:
  skeptomania at 02/25/2008 6:55:36 AM
  Comment:
  Unfortunately, the observation made by your editor friend is true. Africans now travel the western world without paying any respect to descendants of slaves who forced, though struggle, the white world to accord all black people respect. I am an African African living in Africa, but who knows the history of black people very well, and have lived in the West. You take for granted at the aesthetic, political, social and cultural levels, what those people struggled for, and rarely accord them any respect. What "country of immigrants"? That is a white idea, and the slaves never chose to emigrate, unlike your parents. That friend of your is right to be annoyed. If you are Ghanaian, go back and build Ghana, instead of trading on blackness to live comfortably in other peoples' countries. You want to reap where you did not sow. Sorry, but that's how it is.