Diaspora Opinion: I love you…Me neither

What is it like to be a young African in the diaspora ? How do these young African migrants live the diaspora ? How do they perceive being Africans, the basis of their belonging and how they define their relationships with other Africans ? What is’en about their identity and sense of belonging in France, the United Kingdom and the United States ? The report “Being African : How do young Africans live the diaspora ? », has revealed that young Africans in the diaspora suffer from different types of discrimination. They are faced with exoticisation in France, micro-aggressions in the UK, surveillance and profiling in the US.

They also have a unique dual heritage that makes them proud of African languages, food, music and history, at the same time, they identify strongly with the language and culture of their host country.

Although they are exposed to many negative stories about the continent in mainstream media, they are not overly influenced by stereotypes. Instead, they rely on interpersonal relationships and social networks, and sometimes on trips to the continent, to gain knowledge about Africa.
In addition, experiences of discrimination and recent racial awareness in host countries have also led to increased interest in Africa.

Not being fully in its place

If young people from the diaspora experience different types of discrimination in France, the United Kingdom and the United States, the result is the same : the feeling of not being fully in their place in the country where they live, says the document. They fall back on their African identity, but see it as something to be proud of, something to be nurtured, preserved and developed through visits and historical re-enactment. Young participants from the diaspora in the three countries (UK, USA and France) feel that they do not belong to or fully identify with their country of origin.

One of the main factors of this feeling is the discrimination against them, which manifests itself differently in each country: exotization in France, micro-aggressions in the United Kingdom, etc, monitoring and profiling in the United States. The result is the same: the feeling of not fully belonging to the country in which they live.

Identity withdrawal

Many participants in the survey said that awareness of their marginality had increased after witnessing racist events that made international news headlines, such as the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, the emergence of #BlackLivesMatter (BLM), the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the BLM riots that followed.

This led them to fall back on their African identity, which they consider to be something they can be proud of, that they feed, preserve and develop through visits and a historic reconstruction. However, participants did not fully identify with Africa, even if they had a keen sense of their African identity – linked to language, history, food and appearance.
In the participants’ first years of life, the African identity was supported by parental education, the family and wider networks.

However, many participants only became fully aware of their African identity in adolescence. This awareness is linked to both negative and positive factors. For example, among the positive factors that have contributed to strengthening their African identity, we can cite nightclubs and African social festivals, which are places and spaces where one binds with other black friends.

Feeling of belonging

Although many participants indicated that they did not know Africa – or only some countries on the continent – they nevertheless sought on various occasions to learn more about it, whether traveling to Africa, chatting with their African family and friends, connecting with other Africans on social media (including their family), or, by listening to african music, watching african films and reading african books. The participants were clearly inspired by their parents, siblings and family members in the diaspora. Participants whose parents shared information about Africa and taught them about their African roots and speaking an African language are more likely to’identify as Africans. The existence of community networks has also played an important role in creating a sense of belonging. In addition, family ties, friendships, and dating choices were largely made by black people.

Participants emphasized that they avoid the mainstream international media as a source of information and knowledge on the continent, arguing that they are highly biased and negative. The negative stories they had noticed concerned poverty, political violence and corruption. Instead of being influenced by these negative stories, they paid attention to the news shared by Africans ( family, influenceers and celebrities ), because they considered these sources to be more reliable.

Hassan Bentaleb