Headlines filled with political turmoil — and the creeping sense that history is repeating itself — makes this pressing question nearly impossible to ignore: should Black folks flee America?? The calculation is layered with history, trauma, and the constant reminder that racism doesn’t stop at the border. All things considered, should we search for safety elsewhere, or is there truly no escape from the reach of oppression?
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That’s the Black folks’ dilemma, and folks are weighing in on the discussion.
What Would Our Ancestors Say?
Our ancestors worked in chains on this soil, building major infrastructure including the White House, the U.S. Capitol, according to the National Archives, and the railroads by slave labor — and they survived. We have done more than enough to earn our spot on this land, and the thought of having to flee it — of abandoning everything they fought to endure — feels somewhat conflicting. While our ancestors never left because they didn’t have the freedom to leave, the question is: would they want us to stay today?
This brings us to our next issue — actually leaving. While we’re better off than generations before us, it doesn’t mean we can just uproot our lives and move to another country. And let’s be honest, those that depart don’t always have the best results. While one content creator boasted about his successful outcome in South Africa, another admitted to fully regretting their decision to move to Ghana. The country promoted their “Year of Return” campaign back in 2019, inviting the African diaspora, including Americans, to visit the country to reconnect with their ancestral roots. Is it a risk worth taking?
Global Racism
In Europe, people of African descent reportedly face discrimination when trying to rent or buy a home. And in Italy and Austria, the FRA also reported high levels of discrimination in access to housing— 39% each— according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. In Asia, social exclusion targets Black folks including severe cases of xenophobia and racist videos fueling a million dollar industry in China, per the Human Rights Watch. Black people also reportedly face microaggressions in Japan from subtle discrimination to instances of racism seemingly due to ignorance, according to Black woman traveler and blogger, Malikah Kelly.
South America offers no easy escape either. Afro-Brazilians and Afro-Colombians contend with systemic inequality, violence, and limited access to resources, per the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. Five experts were asked if Australia was “a racist country” and the results reported by the Conversation left our jaws in place… as expected. No matter where Black people go, it seems the same ugly issues rooted in racism have the same harmful effect on us, over and over again, all over the damn world.
Black Internet Weighs In
A TikTok user by the name of theplanistobefamous has opened the discussion, and folks couldn’t help but weigh in. According to him, the debacle is real, because leaving the U.S. feels both necessary and impossible, and every option appears to be flawed one way or the other.
“Do I need to flee the country?” he asked. “I’m confused.”
“And being Black. Racism is everywhere for us,” one person responded. “Do I have the money to leave? No. But do I have the energy to fight?? Also no…” a second added. “Canada is also going through their own rise of yt supremacy,” a third wrote, while another revealed, “I ain’t never coming back! I’m in Senegal. It’s absolutely peaceful and beautiful. Super cheap to relocate!”
The question of leaving America is complicated, personal, and fraught with risk. Black folks have weighed the possibilities: discrimination abroad, the cost of moving, and whether they’ll ever truly belong anywhere. The results of these daring moves vary, and for Black folks, this is the enduring dilemma.
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