On February 20th, 2020, I had the opportunity to attend the symposium and discussion: Redefining Blackness in America. Created by the wonderful Amara Mgbeike, this event featured speakers such as Rebecca Amonor, Cera Smith, and Dr. Carolyn Roberts.
The event began with Dr. Roberts, a professor at Yale, recounting her experiences as a first generation immigrant coming to America from the West Indies. Rebecca, a current Yale student majoring in English and African American Studies, continued the conversation, sharing her background as a second-generation Ghanaian American and her relationship with Yaa Gyasi’s novel, Homegoing. Afterwards, PhD student in the Department of African American Studies, Cera Smith facilitated a Spectrum-like discussion, in which they asked the audience a series of questions dealing with Blackness, and we had to agree or disagree by walking to a particular spot in the room. The discussion concluded with a panel of students reflecting and answering questions about their Blackness. The panel included Fred Makolle, Jessica Ainooson, Somto Okereke, Rayshawn Johnson, Chloe Benzen-Duval, and Kevin Tamakloe, all of whom come from different backgrounds in Blackness—African-American, African, Afro-Latinx, and Black British.
With this event, I finally felt understood as a second-gen immigrant—specifically with Dr. Roberts and Rebecca’s speech. To begin, Dr. Roberts articulated particular experiences that every African faces in America. The first was the ostracization from both the white and Black community. Growing up in a rural southern town, I was mostly surrounded by white people. I knew I was different from a very early age. But even though I was excluded from this community, I was fine with it—I let it happen. I was hardly surrounded by Black people. The only Black people I really knew was my family. So, I did not feel like I belonged in either the white or Black community. I don’t know what’s worse:missing the opportunity of joining these communities or having the opportunity but being denied by other members in that community.
The next experience Dr. Roberts mentioned is always being asked to represent the whole community. Rebecca’s speech on Homegoing, exemplifies this experience. In the novel, one of the main characters in the novel is asked to write a poem for Black History Month. She responded that she couldn’t because she was not Black. This makes sense. She is not the Black version everyone in America expects. Being a Ghanaian-American like her, I don’t share the same experience as African-Americans. And with Cera Smith’s discussion, it was clear that everyone agreed that Blackness is not the same for someone from an African country and for someone from America. Being the only Black female in my school, it was hard to represent the whole community. I worried that I would fail them. But honestly, for me, I am privileged enough to insert and remove myself from the community; I could choose not to represent them.
This leads to Dr. Robert’s last point—the anti-African-American bias in African communities. For example, in Cera Smith’s discussion, we talked about how some Africans, like myself, benefit from affirmative action when it is meant for African-Americans. There are many prejudices about African-Americans in the African community, and yet we benefit from their struggle. How can we fix this?
We must have solidarity with one another. From Dr. Roberts’ speech to the student panel, we all came to a realization that both Africans and African-Americans need to have a sense of humility with one another. We need to find our voice and help others find theirs. As Africans living in America, our relationship with this country differs from that of African Americans. Our culture, struggle, and history are vastly different. But regardless of when or where, here, we are living through and sharing history together.
-Kelsey Tamakloe ’22
