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RACIAL IDENTITY: THE DILEMMA OF AN AFRICAN IN THE U.S by No topic evokes more passionate outburst and emotion than race issues and question in American society. This may have been the product of several past antecedent in their evolutionary history and pattern of settlement of the present day America. Several efforts had been made in the past and present to maintain the distinct cultural and racial identities of the multi-plural American society so as to minimize friction and provide a safe haven for racial identity harmonious for collective growth and peaceful co-existence. It is a well settled understanding that there exist the threat of racial domination, marginalization, when there is a lopsided policies which denies the advancement of any race an undue advantage over the other. Friction arises from socio-political and cultural rivalry and competition for economic advancement by people of diverse races, history and background. Following the migration pattern and diversity in the population of the American society, the following racial classification became accepted and official. Viz.: Caucasians (whites), Blacks, Native American (Indians), Hispanics, Asians etc. Today within each of these larger racial groups, have emerged sub-accepted distinct groupings like, Irish- Americans, Scottish-Americans, Jewish Americans, Polish Americans, Swedish- Americans, Italian American etc These groups are descendants of white European immigrant settlers in America. Following the same pattern, Asian speaking Americans were further balkanized into Filipino-American, Chinese –Americans, Japanese-Americans etc. In the same token, the Spanish speaking Americans, have sub distinct racial definition as Cuban American, Mexican American, Hispanics and more recently courtesy of the last census definition, more broadly classified as Hispanics and or ,Latinos etc. While all these racial groups which cut across from different continents retain their distinctive national identities with shared values and issues alongside the American values, only the Black race still remain identified by its continental identity of African-American. By this lumping of all black Americans as African –American, or more recently , blacks other than Hispanic speaking et al, it has disenfranchised these large and somewhat people from disparate background of any semblance of identity. The mostly affected groups are the first, second and subsequent generation of Americans born of African immigrants who maybe naturalized, citizens or permanent residents. I was deeply moved by a discussion I had with a 15 year old American born to Kenyan parents .He admitted his paradox and loss of racial classification as he is an American certainly but not an African American going by golden or literary rule interpretation of who qualifies as an African American given the accepted societal standard. Herein lies the irony and trauma faced by this child and several other thousand Americans born to African parents here in America. The difference between these "yet to be racially classified Black Americans" and African-American, is that, the latter have no direct recollection of their African ancestry, nor do they have the second language that the other previously enumerated grouping have. It is pertinent at this point in the diverse generosity to extend same and impartial standard to all. Conversely, racial group identity like Nigerian- American, Kenyan- American, Ghanaian –American, Egyptian-American should be adopted to give this generation their much longed for identity. Like all other racial communities within America, these groups have different issues that is peculiar to them and different to other black communities and needs. The plight of these groups is appreciated when it is discovered that, they are mostly taunted in school, ridiculed when they attempt to define themselves within the ambit of the classification covered for African-American group Their last or first names and lack of proper racial classification ultimately puts them at obvious disadvantage in competition even when they are American citizens. It is time Africans take these issues very serious for the sake of that generation of Americans whose future are now in bleak and in jeopardy for reasons of identity crisis. I have a dream that some day, one of them could be or aspire to better the record of Collin Powell or Tiger Woods, then the relevance of theses issues if not solved, would become apparent and exposed. Don’t give up in this struggle. Ejiofor, Ritchie
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