Earlier (September 2020) OK, Let’s Give Them Reparations—If They Go Again To Africa
I stay in France, and a frequent topic within the information right here has been and stays the crossing of the Mediterranean by individuals leaving varied international locations in Africa. Piteous reviews of adults and youngsters being plucked half-starved from their rickety boats and rafts have been on the information, solely outdone by these about boats discovered after their passengers had fallen off and drowned.
Virtually each day we hear reviews about individuals from the African continent who would reasonably stay in Europe. No matter else one may say on the topic, the truth that giant numbers of them pay some huge cash and threat their lives to cross the Mediterranean demonstrates the seriousness of their want to stay amongst white individuals.
“In America, it’s conventional to destroy the black physique—it’s heritage,” Ta-Nehisi Coates has written to widespread acclaim [Letter to My Son, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic, July 4, 2015]. White America is conducting a “battle on black individuals,” the Black Lives Matter Motion maintained—and nonetheless does.
How, I questioned, ought to a non-black man who believes himself freed from any want to destroy black our bodies or make battle on black individuals consider these statements, that are handled respectfully by the nation’s Foremost Stream media?
It occurred to me that there could be an goal technique of judging the validity of the more and more widespread complaints that black individuals had been making about their scenario in america.
Not like Africans, black People usually are not obliged to threat their lives to go away; they will simply purchase a U.S. passport and purchase a airplane ticket to fly away. In 2020, the MSM reported on a number of of them: ‘I’m Leaving, And I’m Simply Not Coming Again’: Fed Up With Racism, Black People Head Abroad, by Kim Hjelmgaard, USA At present, June 26, 2020. However the operative phrase right here is “a number of.”
Not all international locations on the earth are dominated by a racist white majority. There are roughly fifty sovereign international locations in Africa the place the vast majority of the inhabitants is black and likewise a number of within the Caribbean the place whites are within the minority.
So a easy, although admittedly tough, measure of white oppression in america could be the variety of blacks who depart the nation for one the place the bulk is black.
We have now all heard of black jazz musicians and writers—Mr. Coates, for instance—who’ve lived in France. However France, in fact, nonetheless has a white majority and is itself typically criticized for its colonial historical past and racial discrimination.
Black emigration to black-majority international locations could be clear proof that it’s white racism that makes life insufferable for black individuals.
With that in thoughts, I contacted organizations that monitor the motion of individuals from one nation to a different. Might they please inform me what number of People depart america for African international locations? (I additionally emailed a number of embassies of African international locations in Washington however obtained no replies.)
- A communications assistant on the Pew Analysis Heart—I’ve deleted her identify as she appears to not be with the middle—instructed me that she didn’t know if that they had something, they had been often taking a look at migration within the different course, however she would go on the inquiry and get again to me. A number of days later she wrote again:
I double checked with the researchers and we do not need any knowledge taking a look at People searching for citizenship in African international locations. Sadly they didn’t have any dependable sources to recommend to you. Apologies we couldn’t be extra useful.
- Michelle Mittelstadt, the director of communications on the Migration Coverage Institute, referred me to one of many coverage’s web sites (Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Nation of Origin and Vacation spot), the place one can enter the identify of nation of origin and nation of vacation spot to see the reported estimates of People dwelling in sub-Saharan Africa. At present, in 2023, one can see ten international locations marked 1,000, one nation (Mali) marked 2,000, South Africa with 7,000, and lots of international locations with no quantity in any respect.
Right here’s what it appears like for Tanzania:
Clearly these numbers would come with People of any race.
For comparability’s sake, the identical website exhibits over 400,000 Nigerians dwelling in america.
Mittelstadt subsequently wrote to me:
I don’t know that we’d in a position to shed any extra mild on these actions of People to Africa, as they’re very small actions and we haven’t spent a lot time learning them.
Itayi Viriri, head of on-line communications and spokesperson for the United Nations’ Worldwide Group for Migration, responded:
You’re right that it isn’t one thing that we hear a lot about however I actually recall often studying about African People who transfer principally to West Africa and typically take up citizenship. I’m afraid, aside from that and what I can discover through google (African People shifting to Africa, and so on.) I’ve not a lot else so as to add.
Viriri despatched a replica of his reply to 4 of his colleagues in america and West Africa, inviting them to remark; I waited a few weeks however didn’t hear from any of them.
That expatriation by black People to Africa is so unusual as to be ignored by organizations devoted to monitoring migration hardly proves, in fact, that black People usually are not affected by racism.
But it surely may conservatively be interpreted as an indication that those that speak of a “Struggle on Black Individuals” are—let’s assume—exaggerating.
Lawrence G. Proulx (e-mail him) lives on the coast of Brittany. His work has appeared in The Unz Overview.
