"Africans, African-Americans and Island folks have a love-hate relationship between each other. Rather than love each other like sisters and brothers from different mothers, they'd rather hate each other, not realizing their real enemy is the same villain, who tried to impose their culture on us and rob us blind." - Professor William E. Brilliantine

When some Africans, African Americans and Islanders immigrate to the States, they already have preconceived notions of African Americans and how they live their lives -- some positive -- some negative.

I remember when an African American family sponsored three university exchange students from Ghana, Nigeria and Trinidad. Shortly after they arrived, the students asked to go sightseeing. So the wife, her husband and their two teenaged kids gladly obliged. But, after about three hours of visiting the usual tourist sights, they noticed that each of the students seemed quiet and looked a bit disappointed, as the day wore on. When asked what was wrong, the Ghanaian student said that they wanted to see the 'real' America.

The real America? they asked the students.

Yes, the real America! they answered.

Well, it seems these students wanted to see the real 'African America'. They even had a list!

They wanted to see 'holes-in-the-wall' (seedy 'hood nightclubs), ghettos/slums, gang members, 'love peddlers', drug dealers, 'skanks' and 'chicken heads' (street names for women of low virtue and morals) the projects, a welfare office, a car wash (like the one featured in the movie 'Car Wash", a chicken restaurant, a barbeque joint, an African American cemetery, some graves where gang members were buried, a strip club, a liquor store, a jail or prison, homeless African Americans, a watermelon patch, a 'hood grocery store or convenience store, a pig farm, an outside basketball court, and other places where African Americans usually hung out -- all the people, places and things they saw in the movies, on TV, in the news or heard about from other Africans and Islanders who had traveled abroad.

Well, to say the students' sponsors were floored is an understatement. They were literally speechless. The wife said her husband cut the sightseeing trip short, went back to the house, sat each of the students down and, gently but firmly did his best to clear up the their misconceptions and stereotypical views of African Americans and their overall lives. Believe it or not, the wife said, the students seemed even more disappointed. When asked what was wrong this time, the Nigerian student said they wanted to takes lots of pictures to show their families and friends that the real African America really existed but were beginning to doubt there even was real African America. If this kept up, they would have nothing to show for their year in America and, everyone would think they're lying about being in America.

So, other trips were quickly planned by the sponsors, where what the students wanted to see, primarily, was wisely balanced with what they should also see regarding African Americans and the lives they lived. The students toured African American museums, local businesses, weekend festivals, stage/dance performances, church concerts, middle-class-upper-class neighborhoods, the Black Chamber of Commerce, a couple of HBCUs where they met African American students and Professors, attended blues and jazz concerts, a Buffalo Soldiers' parade, an African-American circus performance and other such events.

The sponsors later said that these sightseeing events were eye-opening to these students, as well as to themselves, because it revealed just how much the media and traveled Africans and Islanders influenced how home-based African and Island immigrants viewed African-Americans in general.

On the flip side...

When African-Americans venture out of the States to Africa or the islands, they also have preconceived notions of Africans and Islanders too and how they live their lives, some positive, some negative.

Some years back, a local African-American professional social club organized a month-long trip to visit Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. They saved for a year. According to the story, they were so excited to be in the Motherland, going to and fro, sightseeing on tour buses, visiting local markets, taking in local festivals, enjoying local foods and dancing the night away in the local nightclubs.

However, about a week before they were to leave Senegal for their island tour, some African-Americans seemed a bit let-down by their visit to the Motherland. Why? They complained that they had yet to see the 'real' Africa.

The real Africa? their host asked.

Yes, the real Africa! they answered.

These African-Americans wanted to see the real Africa; in their minds, African wildlife (zebras, elephants, lions, hyenas), villages where 'real' Africans lived in mud and straw huts, half-naked Africans walking around with plates in their lips and bones through their noses, fertility dances, witch doctors and tree houses where Africans lived like 'Tarzan', 'Jane' and 'Boy' (characters in a series of films) and 'feeding stations' (places where NGOs fed malnourished Africans) -- all the people, places and things they saw in the movies, on TV, in the news or heard of from White Americans and Europeans who had traveled to Africa and the islands of Jamaica and the Bahamas.

But, they found it a bit difficult to reconcile their pre-conceived notions (expectations?) with what their eyes saw, up close and personal. They couldn't believe the Africa of clean contemporary cities, high-rise office buildings, tree-lined paved streets, well-dressed and bejeweled African people, cell phones everywhere, hair salons, barber shops, hospitals, nice restaurants, fancy cars everywhere, clothing boutiques, banks, hotels, furniture stores, jewelry stores, shopping malls and beautifully kept neighborhoods.

In response to the African Americans' question about seeing the real Africa, their Senegalese host then asked them a probing question: "If you invited my family for a visit, would you take us on a tour of your ghettos, your projects, show us homeless African-Americans, gang bangers and drug dealers?"

Well...that was enough to shush them up and the question of seeing the real Africa was never asked again, for the remainder of the their time in Senegal.

Later on, or so the story goes, these African-Americans reluctantly admitted that their trip to the Motherland was an eye-opening experience, not only to them but their hosts too, because it revealed just how much the media and the stories of White Americans and Europeans influenced how African-Americans viewed Africans in general.

As a result of their visit to the Motherland, these African-Americans were much more educated and open-minded. Never once did they ask their island hosts to see the real Jamaica or Bahamas...in their minds...shanty towns, marijuana fields, yard boys/yardies, Rastafarian villages and voodoo ceremonies. They just set out to enjoy the island sights, people, food and nightlife. However, they did say, later on that they were asked on several occasions, being from Texas, if they had an oil well in their backyard, own a gun, ride horses, own cowboy boots and eat barbeque every day.

So...after years of casual observation, I've concluded that Africans/Islanders and African-Americans are more alike than different, when it comes to preconceived notions and stereotypes, whether they admit it to themselves or not...something present in almost all ethnic groups.

Other side observations...shallow as they are:

1. Swag/Strut/It Factor. Nigerian men (more than any other group of African men) AND African-American men possess a certain 'air' about them. It's in the confident way they carry themselves, their walk and the set of their shoulders. Over here, we call it the 'Soul Strut'. It usually shows up in little African-American boys between 6 and 10 years old. By 12, they usually have it down pat. This is one of the main ways some closely observant African-Americans can spot an African or Island male -- they lack that 'Soul Strut'. But within a year's time, it usually shows up and is usually fully pronounced, by the second year. After that, it's hit and miss, unless they open their mouths -- not so much, if they are born over here or immigrated at a very young age.

2. Style/Flash. Whether out on the town, in the boardroom or just chillin', Nigerians and African-Americans can put it down, when they dress. Both turn heads, when they walk down the street, decked out in all their finery. Island folks and other Africans come close but Nigerians and African-Americans rule. Just saying!

3. Sweet-Mouthed Men. Ahhh..the sweet talk. Some Nigerian and African-American men can literally talk the panties off women and the greenbacks out of their purses, although some women will hotly deny it.

4. Party Central. Nigerians and African-Americans throw the BEST dances and parties and their nightclubs are usually packed to the rafters. They can party on 'til the break of dawn. And it's not unusual to see other Africans and Islanders in attendance. Over here, they even have some after-hours joints that only open from 3am-6am, for those who still have some party in them.

5. Mutual Curiosity. It's a bit amusing to see how some Africans, African Americans and Islanders come out of 'lurk mode' when one or another, are under cyber attack and, invariably, end up asking each other: "If you hate Africans, Islanders and African-Americans so much, then what are you doing on this website?"

From my observations, the answer is simple -- all are curious about each other. They want to know all about these people who share their same complexions but are culturally different. They want to know each other and learn from each other. But sadly, this curiosity is over-shadowed by misconceptions, myths, cultural stereotypes and the 'Good Negro/Bad Negro Syndrome which leads to some of the worse online wars on the internet. Some wars are so intense, administrators and moderators are forced to close some threads, so as to extinguish these flame wars. At times, a visitor may think they've stumbled onto the African, African American and Island version of Storm Front.

Yes, it's that bad at times!

What's interesting, though, is there seems to be some sort of love-hate relationship between some Africans, African-Americans and Islanders, whether they've immigrated or not...or admit it or not.

Even more interesting is what one group says they hate and quickly denigrate about another group seems to crop in their very own group. This is very evident in States like New York, Illinois, Texas and California which boast large populations of African immigrants, with Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans, Jamaicans, Haitians, Cubans and other Islanders, leading the pack.

It's a veritable potpourri of Afro-Caribbean Soul, best savored slowly.

Eyes and ears don't lie.

Brutal honesty, a calm, rational head and an open heart may reveal the commonalities between African, African Americans and Islanders -- that which many already sense or know.

Or maybe they don't.

There's a thin line between love and hate.

The question is...on which side of the line will you stand?


Copyright © 2014 Zboyd

This is the harm the media and western brainwash has done to the black-race and its continent.
BTW, That Nigerian brother in d article fall my hand sha.