Slavery has had a damaging effect on African Americans, but also a negative result on the relationship between Africans and African Americans or the diaspora, in general, seeing that many people can’t seem to unify as one and this leads to tensions between the different people of the diaspora.
This topic has been on my mind since I was about 6 starting elementary there was no hiding that I was African and I didn’t see a problem with being African. That was until the kids at school mainly African Americans would make it their duty to belittle me and anyone/thing that came from this continent. I just grew up confused and frustrated that the children who looked exactly like me were punishing me for being “closer” to the continent in which we all came from.
But also at my parents for leaving Mali to raise my brothers and me in a place where we were bothered for being “different” by people who looked exactly like us. There were two moments in my life where I knew this divide had to come to an end when my brother Cheick begged my parents to change his name because it was too African the kids in his class were berating him because of this, I wasn't surprised when I found it was a group African American boys bothering him.
The second instant was my senior year of high school when we were working on our plans for Black History Month and I decided to raise my hand and give a suggestion and this boy turned to me and said: “you’re African though.” This brought back the frustration that I got rid of years ago, so yes I’m coming from a place of bias but I’m here to investigate why this is happening, why is there tension or a divide in the diaspora.
Black people have been exploited for hundreds of years in the United States but also in Africa, while there was slavery and segregation was happening here there was colonization taking place in Africa. The entire diaspora has suffered at the end of the day but since the separation of black people, this has lead to the idea that black people are somehow completely different from each other in the eyes of people in the diaspora.
The audience that will be interested in this article is anyone really, but mainly the people who believe that all back people are completely different and have this idea that we should be categorized separately. This topic is important because without unity in the diaspora there will be limited to no progression.
I feel there is no difference between us, in the words of my professor "we're just distant cousins."
