Can Afro-Latinos say the n-word? Is Caribbean cuisine the same as “soul food”? What is an “Akata”? Is Ghanaian jollof superior to Nigeria’s?
These are just a few of the questions that define the “diaspora wars.”
While some of the intra-diasporic debates are a part of light-hearted rivalries, others can explode into intense ongoing feuds that become as anti-Black as Elon Musk’s tweets. More importantly, the diaspora wars serve one purpose:
To divide and subvert the unity of the Black diaspora.
On Monday, Joy-Ann Reid welcomed ContrabandCamp’s Michael Harriot, scholar and podcaster Marc Lamont Hill, activist Nana Gyamfi and The Merc for a discussion about uniting the diaspora. Joy will continue the conversation about the diaspora in a one-on-one conversation with Michael Harriot on Wednesday’s episode of Blacksplained.
To understand either of these conversations, there are a few things you should know:
There is a difference between nationality (country of origin), ethnicity (a social group with a shared ancestry, history and culture) and race (something white people made up).
Black Americans share a unique and distinct ethnicity that, in many cases, predates similarly accepted African and Caribbean identities by hundreds of years.
According to Pew Research, Black U.S. immigrants have higher median incomes and educational attainment than native-born Black Americans
However, Black Americans have lower median incomes and educational attainment than white Americans and other U.S. immigrants.
Three generations of poverty is almost “uniquely a Black-American experience.”
According to multiple studies, these economic and social advantages “completely dissolve” by the third generation, leaving the grandchildren of Black immigrants with “the exact same structural barriers as native-born Black Americans.”
Puerto Ricans can say the n-word.
White people can say the n-word.
Black Americans have a right to react however they want when people use the n-word.
Catch part 2 of this conversation on Wednesday’s episode of Blacksplained.
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