Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, was not identified by her skin complexion in her homeland. In her interview with NPR in 2014, she mentioned that the trans-atlantic slave trade was not taught within the Nigerian educational system. There is a major cultural shift from being “black” in America versus being “Nigerian” in Africa. It sounds weird to even type this. I would like to say I’m Nigerian also, but I’m not. I’m of African descent. This train of thought is a product of slavery. My native tongue, food, customs, culture, and so much more have been striped away from me and millions of other African-Americans. I’d prefer to say African-American, but race is “white” and “black” in the United States.
Race is a human-invented, shorthand term used to describe and categorize people into various social groups based on characteristics like skin color, physical features, and genetic heredity.
Smithsonian: historical foundations of race
White equates to that which is good, fair, and pleasant, while black is attributed to that which is evil, dark, and bad. Hearing that day after day, year after year, does something to your psyche. This has been hardwired into American culture. Being described by a person’s skin color is dehumanizing.
I attended a party one year with a room full of diverse ethnicities of people. One couple (Caucasian man and African-American woman) had biracial children. The son’s hair was noticeably curly and bushy. An unrelated Caucasian woman embraced their biracial son and proceeded to run her hands through his hair and shout in amazement as if their child was an animal at a petting zoo. If that wasn’t enough, she tells her husband to come and look at his hair.
WOW! A boy with kinky-curly hair.
This is what “white” people did during slavery times. This biracial child was not an exotic animal or pet–he is a human-being.
By the beginning of the 19th century, “white” was an identity that designated a privileged, landholding, (usually male) status. Having “whiteness” meant having clear rights in the society while not being white signified your freedoms, rights, and property were unstable, if not, nonexistent.
Smithsonian: Historical foundations of race
Interestingly, Chimamanda had to learn what it meant to be “black” in America. I guess I would have to learn what it means to be “Nigerian” in Africa. It is baffling to think about atrocities that happened over 400 years ago are still affecting our communities today.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I Became Black in America – JSTOR Daily
