"Africa is not a country..."

Africa contains 53 countries...it is a continent.



CNN is in the midst of their second installment of Black in America and I came across this incredible article discussing Africans and African Americans. I highly encourage you to read the article but I am going to give you some of my highlights below...

The basic gist is that African immigrants have a hard time dispelling the myths of what they people of Africa are like, even African Americans hold to many of the stereotypes the Western media has created.

Take a moment and think about what you think of when you hear "Africa", what do you think about the people there, what do you really know about the enormous continent?

"I have been laughed at because of my accent and asked all the ignorant questions," said iReporter Ajah-Aminata N'daw, 25, of Fall River, Massachusetts. "Questions like: Did I live on a tree? Roam the jungles naked? Have wild animals at home?"

The article talks about how Africans who come to America are finding that many of their values and moral code align more with White Americans than African Americans...Here is a great example from right here in Athens Georgia:

Chinedu Ezeamuzie, 21, of Athens, Georgia, arrived in 2003. He had spent the majority of his life in Jabriya, Kuwait, and came to the U.S. to pursue his education.

In Athens, Ezeamuzie found his ideals at odds with those who shared his skin color at Clarke Central High School, his first stint in a public school.

On his first day, he donned khakis, a button-down dress shirt and nice leather shoes. He caught the African-Americans' attention upon stepping into the cafeteria, he said.

"They give me the look," he said. "Why is this guy dressed like the white folks, like the preppy guys?"

Ezeamuzie didn't understand why so few black students were in his advanced-placement classes. He didn't understand the de facto lunchroom segregation or the accusing glances he got for eating with white classmates. One classmate called him a traitor and asked, "Do you not like black people?"

This article brings to light some controversial ideas, these ideas directly reflect the opinion of the author, but I encourage you all to really sit with what they have to say and discuss it with those around you.

Ezeamuzie and other Africans say they feel African-Americans too often dwell on slavery and the racism that has persisted for more than a century since the Emancipation Proclamation.

"We have all been tortured," said iReporter Vera Ezimora, 24, a Nigerian student living in Baltimore, Maryland. "Now that we are free, holding on to the sins of white men who have long died and gone to meet their maker is more torture than anything we have suffered."

I highly recommend you check out the rest of the article....

Interesting Immigration Fact:

According to The Migration Policy Institute about 36% of African immigrants (in the U.S) hail from West Africa!

Here is an extra treat from CNN...