When it comes to the tensions between the groups it didn’t start with this generation it has been going on for some time.

There are many reasons as to why the two can’t seem to co-exist and get along. According to an Essence article, there is an “Us against them” mindset leading to the drift between the two, though sociologists have concluded it can take just one generation for Black immigrants to identify culturally as American, stark distinctions of “us” against “them” persist.

ESSENCE began the discussion by asking panelists if the separation between African-Americans, Caribbean-Americans, and Africans is something they have encountered personally, and why they think such attitudes exist. Both sides have negative connotations of each other, for example, some Nigerians refer to African Americans as “Akata” which means wild animal.

African Americans believe that Africans seem to believe that they are better than them because in many homes it is taught to not socialize with certain Black people. Many Africans don’t want to associate with Black because, “For example, many Africans come here and do not identify as being Black because they identify as being Igbo or Nigerian or Eritrean or whatever, and they try to preserve their culture, their language, their customs and pass down that to their children.

So African Americans sometimes feel like many African immigrants come here and don’t want to be associated with [them].” There’s a fight to preserve their culture when they come to the country and many Africans believe that being labeled as anything other than African is an insult to their culture.

There’s also a huge problem with Africans neglecting what Black Americans went through to give them the opportunity to come over here. When Africans get here they seem to ignore the hardships that Blacks in this country went through to ensure that they would be given equal opportunity when they immigrated, it seems from the article that Africans have a preconceived notion that African Americans/Blacks are lazy and since they've been in this country for so long why aren't they ahead, “So you’re carrying around the idea that if I get here and I was a doctor back home and I’m a cabdriver here and I somehow sent my kids to school and they somehow end up being Ph.D.’s, why couldn’t you, and you’ve been here this whole time?,” forgetting the social injustices that Black people face in this country.

Overall, when it comes to the way both ways interact with one another and view each other it’s very negative. It seems that both sides were fed very harmful stereotypes and that has led to the drift among the community.

But the question is, where did these stereotypes come from and who is instigating these harmful perceptions? Also can these ideas be untaught in this generation or will it take time?