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I hate this arguement but let me give you the short version. The Nigerians coming to the US are from well to do middle class families. The hit the glass ceiling at home, so they came here. These are also the extra motivated people. The group of African immigrants here is pretty self selecting. So they've already got a head start when they get here. They likely went to private school, lived in a gated community at home and had all the trappings of middle to upper middle class life.
And just like here, if you start off with middle class or higher upbringing, your chance for success is really high.
Yes, some immigrants weren't able to transfer there professional licenses over right away, so they do "basic jobs" in the US. Or they are among the few not so educated people who come over. What that person lacks in education, they make up for it in drive. You have to be extra motivated to travel, halfway across the world to make a fresh start abroad. You aren't a "regular person" in terms of motivation, so you will try everything you can to succeed.
But most are coming over with a privileged background. Next time you meet a Nigerian cab driver, ask him what he studied in school. He'll likely tell you about his BS. Or ask if he had a car and driver at home. Odds are, he probably did. 75% of the Nigerians I know surely did. Their parents have masters degrees.
So these Nigerians are succeeded because they are starting off with privilege. Just like their middle class black peers.
I hate this arguement but let me give you the short version. The Nigerians coming to the US are from well to do middle class families. The hit the glass ceiling at home, so they came here. These are also the extra motivated people. The group of African immigrants here is pretty self selecting. So they've already got a head start when they get here. They likely went to private school, lived in a gated community at home and had all the trappings of middle to upper middle class life.
And just like here, if you start off with middle class or higher upbringing, your chance for success is really high.
Yes, some immigrants weren't able to transfer there professional licenses over right away, so they do "basic jobs" in the US. Or they are among the few not so educated people who come over. What that person lacks in education, they make up for it in drive. You have to be extra motivated to travel, halfway across the world to make a fresh start abroad. You aren't a "regular person" in terms of motivation, so you will try everything you can to succeed.
But most are coming over with a privileged background. Next time you meet a Nigerian cab driver, ask him what he studied in school. He'll likely tell you about his BS. Or ask if he had a car and driver at home. Odds are, he probably did. 75% of the Nigerians I know surely did. Their parents have masters degrees.
So these Nigerians are succeeded because they are starting off with privilege. Just like their middle class black peers.
This is an interesting argument because in some ways, it does help prove the OP's point (I think he simply stopped short of including important factors). I've always thought that at some point in our history, socioeconomic status became more important than race. Can I pinpoint that time in history? No. However, it seems that success breeds success regardless of skin color. Thus, I understand the point the OP is trying to make.
So for argument's sake let's assume that race is not indicative of one's success in life and instead their socioeconomic status. Thus, how does one move from extreme poverty to middle class and from middle class to upper class, etc? In this day and age, I think that is the more pressing cultural question that we must tackle.
This is an interesting argument because in some ways, it does help prove the OP's point (I think he simply stopped short of including important factors). I've always thought that at some point in our history, socioeconomic status became more important than race. Can I pinpoint that time in history? No. However, it seems that success breeds success regardless of skin color. Thus, I understand the point the OP is trying to make.
So for argument's sake let's assume that race is not indicative of one's success in life and instead their socioeconomic status. Thus, how does one move from extreme poverty to middle class and from middle class to upper class, etc? In this day and age, I think that is the more pressing cultural question that we must tackle.
Race definitely puts up roadblocks. There is a ceiling and people will pre-judge you. But many times Nigerians will get the veneer of the model minority too. But for our native born black kids, we have disadvantages. I don't have the studies handy but black boys are four times more likely to be suspended from school. We seem to want to blame this on some pathology of black boys, but the reality is teachers give harsher punishments to the black kids. Kids disrupt class all the time. Unfortunately the white kid usually gets a trip to detention and the black kid gets suspended. Leaving him a permanent troublemaker label that shapes future interactions with teachers and follows him through school. Teachers don't try as hard with the troublemakers and it becomes a self fufilling prophecy.
You also cannot forget the impact of choosing to live somewhere vs being born there. You have a mindset of mobility.
Class or class experience is important too. If you do not know anyone with a professional job, who will teach you about the interview, process, or options. If you are the first person to go to college, who guides you through the major picking or financial aid process.
Most of the benefits of class are related to networks.
Many Nigerians who come here are diplomats or the product of diplomats. The Nigerian community is also very tight and reclusive. There is a joke all Nigerians know each other. And it is pretty true. And we all know a lot of opportunity us built into personal connections.
But on a separate note. We, here in the US, tend to assume people with certain accents are smarter than others. Nigerians learn British English, which we associate with being sophisticated. So it is like having bonus points. Black Brits get similar privilege. As do French ones.
Social mobility us pretty nil these days, and your position in the middle class is precarious. But it is absolutely critical we reduce income equality or more importantly the opportunity gap for our long term success.
I lived in middle class suburbia with college educated parents. My schools had lots of programs and my parents were knowledgable enough and confident enough to know how to get around the racism so I would have appropriate opportunity. Not everyone has that benefit.
So the problems are complex. Class is somewhat protective, but perception is important as well. We can't expect similar outcomes when the experiences are wildly different.
To be frank, I am an educated middle class black woman. I am doing fairly well but that does not mean I do not face discrimination, even in liberal california. I've just gotten a lot better as sussing out which people are likely to be a problem and who isn't.
There are still plenty of people out there who look at me and assume that I aspire to be in love and hip hop or other terrible reality show. Or who assume that I am not well educated.
The thing that is most precarious is there is always uncertainty for why you are treated poorly. Was the instigator a brat or racist. It isn never clear.
Most people are well intentioned, but they are also unaware of their bias. They tend to think people like me or be average Nigerian is an exception not the norm.
We as a society associate lots of bad behaviors with blackness. And want our minorities to be poster children for their group instead of treating each of us as individuals. But when one of ghee poster children isn't what we have associated with the minority, it doesn't Chang our world view or expand it to include those traits, we just file those people away as exceptions, contrary to the rule. And that is what causes the problem.
Race definitely puts up roadblocks. There is a ceiling and people will pre-judge you. But many times Nigerians will get the veneer of the model minority too. But for our native born black kids, we have disadvantages. I don't have the studies handy but black boys are four times more likely to be suspended from school. We seem to want to blame this on some pathology of black boys, but the reality is teachers give harsher punishments to the black kids. Kids disrupt class all the time. Unfortunately the white kid usually gets a trip to detention and the black kid gets suspended. Leaving him a permanent troublemaker label that shapes future interactions with teachers and follows him through school. Teachers don't try as hard with the troublemakers and it becomes a self fufilling prophecy.
You also cannot forget the impact of choosing to live somewhere vs being born there. You have a mindset of mobility.
Class or class experience is important too. If you do not know anyone with a professional job, who will teach you about the interview, process, or options. If you are the first person to go to college, who guides you through the major picking or financial aid process.
Most of the benefits of class are related to networks.
Many Nigerians who come here are diplomats or the product of diplomats. The Nigerian community is also very tight and reclusive. There is a joke all Nigerians know each other. And it is pretty true. And we all know a lot of opportunity us built into personal connections.
But on a separate note. We, here in the US, tend to assume people with certain accents are smarter than others. Nigerians learn British English, which we associate with being sophisticated. So it is like having bonus points. Black Brits get similar privilege. As do French ones.
Social mobility us pretty nil these days, and your position in the middle class is precarious. But it is absolutely critical we reduce income equality or more importantly the opportunity gap for our long term success.
I lived in middle class suburbia with college educated parents. My schools had lots of programs and my parents were knowledgable enough and confident enough to know how to get around the racism so I would have appropriate opportunity. Not everyone has that benefit.
So the problems are complex. Class is somewhat protective, but perception is important as well. We can't expect similar outcomes when the experiences are wildly different.
I would guess in the Muslim north, there is a lot of illiteracy but south Nigeria where most of the successful Nigerians are from is a lot more literate. I've never met an illiterate Nigerian. They are usually great students and have high paying jobs.
Studies show that Nigerians have high education attainment and are over represented in some elite institutions. Being that they are able to attain socioeconomic success, do you think it's fair to say that discrimination is not the cause for racial disparities in society?
A lot of Nigerians are conservative church-going Catholics. Strong family values, well-behaved kids. I suspect not many have children out-of-wedlock or expect to live off government handouts.
I've had a couple of Nigerian coworkers and they were both highly intelligent, highly educated, and very hard workers with fantastic attitudes. They were also very conservative family men. Not one single time did I ever hear them complain about racism or how they are oppressed. They didn't have the chip on their shoulder like most American-born blacks do.
I don't feel the least bit sorry for the ghetto blacks who blame their problems on "racism" when it is almost always their own damned fault they are having a hard time in life (due to adopting the thug culture, stupidity, and/or laziness).
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