Reply to Advice - Fitting in With Other Black Kids

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think most black Americans who are descended from slaves know that their ancestors were sold by other Africans to Europeans. Recent African immigrants are not descended from slaves and instead come from a long line of people who have always been free in Africa. So, they are regarded somewhat differently by people who are descended from slaves.[/quote]

I think the animosity is going both ways and there are historical factors at play. I've had African friends tell me that their parents told them not to mix with the Black Americans. I think as much as many of us Black Americans are acutely aware that our ancestors were sold by Africans (whose descendants are now coming here to a place where our ancestors have had to struggle our way through America after their ancestors sold ours), Africans might have also bought into the Black exceptionalism and believe that "the bad ones were sold".

Blackness is not monolithic and I can understand why an African immigrant might feel more affinity with another immigrant, even if they aren't from the same country. And just because we might share similarities in color, Black Africans are often not culturally all that similar to even each other - let alone Black Americans.

I hope for the poster than her daughter is able to find her people, and perhaps there are opportunities within that community to have open and healthy discussions about Blackness and affinity. [/quote]

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