Moving to Africa as a Black foreigner? You may not get the welcoming you expected.
Many African Americans moving to Africa arrive on the continent in a state of utopia. It’s like a 400 years late welcoming home. The hard truth? I have met Africans who didn’t quite embrace me. There aren’t a huge number of Americans moving to Africa. And sometimes, I’m the first African American they’ve met—and though we resemble each other, there’s a silent separation that’s hard to ignore. There are centuries of misconceptions and unfamiliarities to comb through. Looking back, there have been social situations that have left me emotionally drained with disappointment. I wish I had kept my high expectations in check. It would’ve helped me avoid the blues that can come with adjusting into Africa as a Black Westerner. With that said, I must admit that I have met some pretty awesome people since I have moved to Ghana. I think after we get passed all the centuries of brainwashing about each other, we find that we are not much different at all. We all want to be able to provide for ourselves and our families, we want work toward a better environment in Africa, and all of us need a helping hand to do it. As a nation of people we have all suffered the emotional abuse and mental brainwashing that goes along with being exposed to an oppressive environment of systematic slavery that was imposed upon all of us. So, it has been an experience that is continuing to enrich my life in ways that I will never be able to fully realize.