Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do any of you live in places where the two meet? If so what have their interactions been like?
Quote:
The source of the tension, Stovall said, is that Africans don’t understand the history of oppression that black people in the United States have faced. Additionally, many American black people are unaware of the turmoil that Africans have faced back home. The problem, Stovall said, “is our inability to communicate our history, to engage our histories.”
Though both groups have roots in the same continent, their histories and experiences differ significantly...
I'm sure some of those current crazy images portrayed by black actors in America and western television and music videos don't enhance understanding either.
To a point, I disagree. History means nothing. My grandparents came to America from Russia, escaping the oppression of the Tsar. That is completely meaningless to me, and has made no contribution whatsoever to who I am as a person.
A Black American and a Black African have nothing in common whatsoever, any more so than a White American and White African. They may, incidentally, be able to find some common ground if they both grew up in a place where Blacks were subjected to discrimination or oppression. But no living Black American was directly affected by Slavery, and very few old enough to have been directly affected by Segretation. Similarly, very few Black Africans are old enough to have been directly affected by Colonialism. However historically important those phenomena are, a Black American and a Black African meeting in the street have not been influenced at all in their lifetimes by slavery, segregation or colonialism. No more so than I and a 25 year old Russian have any common experience of serfdom or oppression in Russia.
As an aside, has it occurred to you that Barack Obama did not spend one single day of his childhood living in an African-American household, society or neighborhood, and cannot know from personal experience that that would be like. He is the 44th US president to be raised as a white child by a white family in a white social framework. It would be "unnatural" for Obama to assume that he has anything in common with even a Black American, much less a Black African.
To a point, I disagree. History means nothing. My grandparents came to America from Russia, escaping the oppression of the Tsar. That is completely meaningless to me, and has made no contribution whatsoever to who I am as a person.
A Black American and a Black African have nothing in common whatsoever, any more so than a White American and White African. They may, incidentally, be able to find some common ground if they both grew up in a place where Blacks were subjected to discrimination or oppression. But no living Black American was directly affected by Slavery, and very few old enough to have been directly affected by Segretation. Similarly, very few Black Africans are old enough to have been directly affected by Colonialism. However historically important those phenomena are, a Black American and a Black African meeting in the street have not been influenced at all in their lifetimes by slavery, segregation or colonialism. No more so than I and a 25 year old Russian have any common experience of serfdom or oppression in Russia.
As an aside, has it occurred to you that Barack Obama did not spend one single day of his childhood living in an African-American household, society or neighborhood, and cannot know from personal experience that that would be like. He is the 44th US president to be raised as a white child by a white family in a white social framework. It would be "unnatural" for Obama to assume that he has anything in common with even a Black American, much less a Black African.
Any black American over the age of 50 remembers segregation. The same with Black Africans. It was only during the early 1960's that many African countries became independent.
Obama may not have been raised by black parents but he lived in the real world so experienced racism and had friends who were black.
Do any of you live in places where the two meet? If so what have their interactions been like?
Take it from me,they find common ground when its time to go to "bed" together.
Esp. African men,who seem to be very vocal about the differences between black amercians and Africans.
My father never cared for AAs. I have difficulty interacting with them myself. We just do not have anything in common.
I agree that both groups have little in common beyond us both having African roots. The cultures and experiances of both groups are different like was pointed out. It really comes down to both groups needing a way to get broader exposure to each other. We Black-Americans generally know very little about Africa. But I relate this to how we've been exposed to Africa. For most Black-Americans our main exposure to Africa have been Tarzan movies,news and events focusing on poverty and famine and shows dealing with Africa's wild life.
One thing that Africa could use more of is a bigger cinema and media presence. People can learn a lot about other people just by seeing their movies and TV shows. Most Black-Americans and Americans in general have never seen an African movie or TV show. Seeing more African movies and media can broaden Black-American's view of African people and the continent as a whole. This is why I like watching shows like 'Inside Africa','African Voices' and 'Market Place Africa' on the CNN International Channel. These shows give Americans more exposure to Africa beyond what we've gotten in the past.
The reason I emphasized the role of media images is because I've read other articles like the one I posted where many Africans coming to the U.S would often get asked questions that they felt were weired. Like:
"Do Africans live in trees?"
"Do you keep lions as pets?"
"Do you live in the jungle?"
"Do you speak "African"? etc
I guess the question is what are Americans learning about Africa that would cause them not to ask questions like these?
Any black American over the age of 50 remembers segregation. The same with Black Africans. It was only during the early 1960's that many African countries became independent.
Less than 5% of Africans can remember colonial days, and lmaybe 5% of African Americans alive today attended segregated schools. (12% of African Americans are over 65, and more than half of those grew up in states with integrated facilities.)
Quote:
Obama may not have been raised by black parents but he lived in the real world so experienced racism and had friends who were black.
So did I and so did George W. Bush and so did Bill Clinton..
Last edited by jtur88; 10-27-2013 at 03:17 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
