Sharing ideas strengthen ties
Spirituality unites Africans worldwide
Most African students who come
to study in the United States leave
their homes with the idea that they
will quickly adapt to the American
culture, because there are many
blacks in America. When they ar
rive, they find out that the brother
hood they hoped and expected is
not automatically established. More
over, we Africans tend to blame our
failure to make relationships with
African-Americans on them. We
often show our frustration and dis
appointment with lines such as:
“They are so condescending, and
they do not know anything about
Africa — Like all other Americans,
they think we live on trees and run
around naked beside snakes, el
ephants and giraffes."
Somehow the African student
expects the African-American to
have an innate knowledge of our
history, geography, society, and
even our great politicians. After all,
in high school, we learned about
African-American history and we
memorized Martin Luther King’s, “I
Have a Dream" speech.
On the other hand, many Afri
can-Americans are very disap
pointed when they f rst meet people
from Africa; they, like us, expect
and hope for a natural bond to be
established, and are very disap
pointed when they see tnat Afri
cans do not automatically rush to
embrace their lost brothers and
sisters. They get the feeling that we
do not like them, and that we prefer
to establish relationships with
whites. And they also may feel
frustrated that Africans often do not
identify with their struggle in
America.
The fact is, there are differences.
No one can expect two groups
living in different ecological, politi
cal, and economical environments
to remain the same, because they
were once one people in the past.
These differences are translated in
behavioral differences that are
highly visible and the cause of the
initial frustration seen in both sides,
a frustration heightened by the fact
that expectations were so great on
each side to begin with. Often each
group stops there and we buy into
stereotypes. But the ties between
the two groups are emotional and
spiritual.
In “Black Writers in French,"
Lilyan Kesteloot shows how what
she calls the Harlem Renaissance,
influenced the African poets which
started the decolonization move
ment in Paris. The American writers
of the Harlem Renaissance “made a
very deep impression on French
Negro writers Dy claiming to repre
sent an entire race, launching a crv
with which all blacks identified.”
They are Langston Hughes, Claude
SIGMA CHI
FIGHrNIGHT
Friday, April 23,1993
Coliseum
State Fairgrounds
Anyone interested in boxing
should contact Bob Meyer
at the SIGMA CHI HOUSE
or at 436-7051
McKay, Jean Toomer, and Countee
Cullen on one side, and Leopold
Sedar, Senghor, AimeCesaire, Leon
Damas on die other side. The Ameri
can writers insisted that they were
African by essence and made a
point to acknowledge their heri
tage.
Last weekend, when I attended
the Big Eight Conference on Black
Student Government, I realizedhow
these ties between Africans and
African-Americans are still present.
Most of the speakers at the confer
ence made references to their Afri
can heritage and insisted that it be
remembered, because the values'
which helped the blacks in America
su rvi ve thesla very experience, were
deeply rooted in African traditions.
Marcia Gillepsie reminded her
audience that tne strength of the
African family, as well as the spiri
tuality of their ancestors, helped
sustain them. Beyond the speeches,
it was fascinating to me to see the
black fraternity and sororities’ step
shows. I sat there and was veiy
su rprised to see these young women
and men execute steps and dances
that took me right back home,
because they undeniably had Afri
can roots.
Being in an environment where
virtually everyone was black also
took me back to my first year in the
United States, when I attended a
black university. And with no sur
prise, those were the times that I
experienced less culture-shock. My
transfer to UNL was the time when
I really started living the life of a
foreign student. The first semester
was not easy. I remember that I had
a hard time having relationships
with the women that I lived witn,
and slowly, I pulled myself away
from the group.
For Christmas in 1986, one of the
women who had been nice to me,
Damon Lee/DN
KedkJia Mossi, a native of Niger, talks about ways that
African-American students and native African students can
unite to represent their cultures.
gave me a little plaque that said,
contacts with people who had simi
lar backgrounds as me. Now I think
that I have a full experience of
“No one can make you feel inferior
without your consent." Being in an
all black community, one may not
experience this. My father, of course,
understood that part of the experi
ence being in a foreign country was
to be with people who were differ
ent, and he encouraged me to chal
lenge myself by not limiting my
America, and I feel comfortable
' MARCH 8 • 7:30 PM
PERSHING
AUDITORIUM
intermingling with the different eth
nic groups living here.
I believe, though, that African
nationals studying in the United
States should make an effort to
develop a special relationship with
African-Americans, because of the
many things shared by the two
groups.
The future leaders of the
decolonization movements in Af
rica and the leaders of the black
liberation movements in the 1920s
and 1930s in America, have kept
close contact andshared t^eir ideas
to strengthen each other in their
struggle.
Today, also, the leaders of
tomorrow's Africa must not neglect
what we can draw from the experi
ence of a people who are looking
for ways to improve their commu
nities. It is also significant to notice
that the Civil Rights movements in
the 1960s in America, and the inde
pendence movements in Africa,
were going on at the same time.
Conferences such as the Big Eight
Conference on Black Student Gov
ernment, which target African
Americans. and the All African Stu
dent Conference, which targets
African nationals, should find a
way to join their audiences. Also,
African-American students should
participate actively in exchange
programs with African universities
ana institutions and lake a keen
interest in development issues in
Africa.
It will be an enriching and spiri
tually rewarding experience, and
will also strengthen ties between
the young generation of Africans
all over the world — a tie which
was promotedby the African-Ameri
can writers in the 1920s and 1930s.
KedidiaMoMi U • graduate Ktudcnt study
ing French literature, and a Diversion*
contributor.
