"And you know African's, they don't like black people."

[tone_milazzo]

I heard a stand up comic say that recently, but he didn't elaborate.

My story has a kid from East St Louis and a man from Benin. I hadn't considered that the kid might have some serious prejudices towards Africans and vice versa.

Is there tension between African-Americans who've been here for generations and African immigrants?

Comments

[kimbari]

Sometimes Africans look down on African-Americans because AA's were "slaves," and some AA's look down on Africans because they think they're primitive. I would say the latter is rarer than the former, and in both cases the parties are assholes and should in no way be considered the norm.

So really, with RARE exceptions, I'd say the answer to your question is no.

[justjayj]

I had a friend from Camaroon who looked down on African-Americans because he thought they were rude. It was sort of "ugly American" syndrome.

[thatmikeychick]

I've noticed it personally, but I didn't see it as anything more than simple American disdain in general. Sure, there's probably some additional contempt on top of it, but in my experiences, it's been more of a, "how can you be so selfish - you lot have everything" kind of deal than an actual dislike for the sub-culture itself.

[dicedpear]

oh my goodness, may I please steal your icon????

[dicedpear]

thank you! also, not to be a nag, but in your profile it says in favor of abortion. Maybe say "pro-choice" instead? haha.

also! what does your last interest mean? the one in chinese (i think)????

AND I LOVE MAKING CLOTHES. Good on ya, mate.

[kittikattie]

I've seen it on a grand scale, sometimes even directed at me. *points to icon* Some Africans will look down their nose at Black Americans. Reasons vary--they're not "ambitious enough" or they're "lazy," they're uneducated, they haven't improved thier lot, etc. This completely dismisses the fact that African immigrants are cherry picked to be sent here or come here and are some of the best and the brightest, and here in the US we can't exactly leave the less wealthy/smart/well off people back at home. One accusation is that they don't know their African culture, which is ignoring the fact that most blacks are the descendants of slaves who were stripped of the culture when they were dragged to the US. A lot of this is perpetuated by racist messages that are exported by the US about what black people do or think or value

[miggy]

I'm not about to overstep your own personal experiences, but I just wanted to add in that the New York Times had an article on this very topic... oh, ages ago, and it basically backed up everything you said, kittikattie, with quite a number of interviews and statistics about college entry for the different backgrounds.

[x_breakmesoftly]

Off-topic, but your icon seriously kicks ass. :D