Viewing American culture from an external standpoint as someone who grew up in Africa, one stark difference between our two societies that I have always observed is how we deal with issues of race and ethnicity. It has always been apparent to me that issues surrounding racial disparities are openly discussed within American society, whereas in African countries, we often seek to avoid such topics.
Growing up and witnessing these discussions taking place within America, whether in the news or on social media, it wasn’t uncommon for my friends and me to speak about how obsessed Americans tend to be surrounding issues of race and ethnic identity.
For Example, a common occurrence I’ve frequently observed involves the emphasis placed on racial disparities in studies conducted by think tanks or research institutions in America. For instance, typically in studies examining obesity rates in the US, considerable attention is given to how racial disparities contribute to higher obesity levels among minority racial and ethnic groups.
In African nations, such disparities are seldom addressed publicly due to their social taboo status. In fact, I cannot recall a single instance in which any media network has publicly addressed anything along these lines. It would be incredibly strange for me to hear about a study highlighting issues in ethnic disparities between Igbos, the Yoruba, and the Hausa on Nigerian television, for example.
Africa’s History with Race/Ethnicity
Addressing these sorts of racial and/or ethnic issues typically carries a social taboo, as they are seen as being too divisive. This has a lot to do with the way African countries’ borders were originally established. Rather than our countries being formed out of ethnic or religious ties, Africa’s borders had been drawn up by European powers during the colonial era.
As a result, Africa’s borders were drawn up, often without thought or care for the religious, ethnic, or linguistic differences between African tribes. Following the end of the colonial era, the newly independent African governments sought to maintain the sovereignty of their newly independent countries. Therefore, there had often been brutal conflicts fought between secessionist movements within many African countries following independence.
The often brutal conflicts, fought by African governments against nationalistic secessionist movements typically represented by minority groups within the country, have left underlying tensions among certain ethnic groups in many African nations. In some cases, these brutal conflicts saw instances of mass killings, human rights violations, even genocides. In Addition, you also have Apartheid which took place in Southern Africa, with its memories of racial oppression still being fresh in the minds of people who lived through it.
As a result, talk around issues of race or ethnicity often carry a significant level of weight. All this history has meant that issues surrounding race and identity are generally avoided by many in Africa. People would rather avoid these types of conversations as they have the ability to strike a nerve or cause offense.
The few times, I ever see these types of conversations taking are in South Africa and I think the country is a perfect example of why these types of conversations are generally avoided. Rather than these discussions, around race especially, leading to any sort of positive outcomes; in South Africa, these talks tend to boil over into often increasingly heated and contentious debates.
America’s Obsession With Race
America, on the other hand, takes a completely different approach when dealing with issues of race. In contrast to us here in Africa, Americans are more than willing to engage in discourse around issues of race and ethnicity. In fact, there are various prominent people whose entire reason for gaining prominence is their willingness to engage in issues around race and ethnicity, such as Nicole Hannah-Jones, Al Sharpton, to name a few.
It is not as if America has no history of repression and conflict which stemed from issues of race and ethnicity; America similarly has plenty of such history if you look at Slavery, the Jim Crow Era, Japanese Internment camps, etc.
However, America’s strategy of dealing with discourse around race and ethnicity is usually to talk about these issues in an open manner; of which they do a lot.
While I do believe there are positive aspects to the American model of having these discussions, I think that on many occasions this discourse may go too far. I think this approach often leads to an overemphasis on issues around which has its own negative effects.
Victimisation
This often overemphasis on any kind of racial disparities that arise in American society is often associated with the “systemic racism” in American society or the longer-term effects of racial discrimination in the past.
While those claims do hold a lot of truth, however there is a genuine issue with constantly reinforcing this message. It can foster a negative perception, particularly among minorities, that regardless of their efforts, they are perpetually victims of the overarching system.
Ultimately, both approaches have their merits and drawbacks, highlighting the need for nuanced and context-specific approaches to addressing issues of race and identity.
