adopting our friends as honorary Africans. You know that one friend who seems to have 100 Nigerian friends? The one who’s pretty much one by affiliation? Well, start teaching that friend the customs, the language, the foods, the music and the greetings of the culture.
Invite them to Nigerian parties, or better yet, Nigerian weddings. Give them a Nigerian name. Convince them to get measured for some traditional wear. Make them feel included in the community. Believe me, the sense of identity will have them cooking jollof rice better than your Mom (except mine of course 🙂
Let’s say don’t have a slew of first-gen African friends, the few you may have are still your lifelines to the Mother Land. This idea is somewhat similar to us first-generation Africans perfecting our balance between learning American culture and abiding by our own. We needed you all to help us assimilate into customs that did not exist in our households. Unfortunately, so many of us were battling our own identity issues during our upbringing in America that we were unknowingly selfish in our exchange of culture and customs. But with time came the wisdom to assist in the rebuild and recharge of your identities.
Our generation – coming from a 29 years old– is also arguably the most traveled generation of the modern era. We’re a hybrid of coast-to-coast jet-setters and international voyagers. Embark on a trip with your friends to Africa, a land where the majority of the people are black. Let me repeat that because the concept and imagery are so foreign that it probably didn’t register. Embark on a journey to a land where almost EVERYBODY is BLACK. To visit a place where you don’t have to worry about racism or be conscious of your blackness is liberating in and of itself. All the exposure to African culture and heritage is great and all in America, but to experience it in full effect, thriving in its most natural state is necessary to feeding the soul of your identity.
It’s already happening in some sense. Just take a look at the music industry, specifically rap and hip-hop, and how the recent wave of afro-beat, afro-fusion and dancehall music gave us