Embracing Black Womanhood from a Global Perspective
This time last year I was tossing around the idea of visiting Africa for the first time. No, there wasn’t some ray of light that shone upon my forehead one morning, accompanied by a voice telling me to go forth and exile my spirit to the Motherland. My sister had just married into a Ghanaian family and since my parents decided to travel to Accra for the holidays, I figured I’d tag along too. We all had an open invitation from her in-laws, so it was the perfect opportunity to see the Africa that exists beyond my remote control.
I went to Ghana with an open mind, willing to learn whatever it had to teach me about my ancestral roots that I read about in my high school history class. But see, therein lies the crux of the media’s portrayal of African culture. They often make the entire continent appear as if nothing has changed since we were captured centuries ago. As if time has stood still over there and Black America has marched onward, carrying the torch of our primitive ancestors who are still struggling over there in the desert.
Oh, but wait. They aren’t all struggling. Quite the opposite, in fact. And the poor, emaciated African women who all carry baskets on their heads that we see on TV were surprisingly difficult to find. My first experience with Ghanaian women was a clothing line launch and auction held at the Coconut Grove Hotel in Accra. While the women in the room excitedly waved their bidding cards in the air to claim the designers’ inaugural pieces, guess who sat silently because she couldn’t afford them? The longer I sat in the room with these women, it felt less and less like I was thousands of miles away and more like I was at an event right here in New York with friends.
This sentiment continued throughout my trip. The women I met listened to the same music that I did and laughed about the same jokes on television. We chatted about the same stories in hip hop culture and shared the same issues managing the naturally kinky hair we all have in common.
To be brutally honest, while my trip to Ghana was nothing short of amazing, I expected everything to be more “foreign,” as ridiculous as that may sound. It took some time for me to appreciate that the global community of Black womanhood has far more similarities than differences and we should tap into that connection instead of succumbing to these artificial lines of division that have been created based on geography. I look forward to the days when we are able to genuinely connect with our sisters abroad without clinging to the notion of a new American Black woman, and encourage those who haven’t done so, to take a trip to visit your sisters overseas. You’ll be surprised to see how much you both look just like your (great, great, grand) parents.
The one thing that made me smile at this article was the fact that you mingled with the rich folks. They NEVER ever highlight this group in Africa. We are all poor, starved, diseased and then some! Glad you went with an open-mind!!!!!! VIVA LA AFRIQUE!
Not just rich people,even middle class. We have a growing middle class here that no one talks about. Ofcourse there are poor people,but show me a place where there aren’t.
Every country has it’s privileged, the few. If they stop showing images of the poor, rural, etc…they will become forgotten or ignored. This has been the case in the states.
Very true.
“And the poor, emaciated African women who all carry baskets on their heads that we see on TV were surprisingly difficult to find.”
I love hearing the experience of African Americans that travel to African countries. However, statements like this annoy me. I really enjoyed reading the article and didn’t want to be a debbie downer… However, you were in Accra, Ghana, a specific city in a specific country. Why do people lump the entire continent that is so rich with all these different people, languages, cultures etc. into one? The women you saw on tv could have been from any number of nations (including Ghana) where Yes, women absolutely do carry baskets on their heads (and there is nothing wrong with that).
To each their own…
@Beautiful Mic and Whatever: I agree! I really loved this article. I’m glad she mingled with the middle class Ghanians and thus had her initial stereotype of Africans de-stabilized. That’s important. But I also don’t appreciate statements like the one you, Whatever, quoted for the very same reasons that you and Beautiful Mic stated. Well said.
Every race and culture have its stereotype that is fed to us by the media and my gawsh dont the media like to show the poorest of poor to represent the continent of Africa which people just naturally lump together, sometime that everywhere of Africa is poor. I met a white girl once who told me “i wasn’t at all loud and ghetto….um no offense”
Offense taken, but the fact was she didn’t had a lot of if not any experience with black people besides the reality ones she saw on TV. I know the comment on the basket on the head may have been annoying to see but it was honest on how a lot of people view Africa and im glad too see that -that stereotype was shatter once she got there :) I would love to visit their myself one day , oohh can’t wait!
@Whatever I was actually being facetious :) I did see the ladies with the baskets but my point is that if you believe television you would think that everyone on the entire vast continent lives in poverty and that there are no businesswomen or entrepreneurs or wealth in general to be found. I wanted to highlight a different side of this one country to reinforce the fact that we share many similarities in our cultures. I was annoyed growing up when teachers would classify Africa as a country because it is not. It is a continent with many diverse nations and I feel that traveling to visit them clears up a lot of miseducation that we are fed in the American school system and media.
I have been living in Accra for several months now and can 100% speak on the beauty of connecting with sisters on the continent. I have found so much joy, love and laughter with my Ghanaian and re-pat sisters here on the continent it has at times kept me from running on the next plane back to new york.
But seriously, I don’t know where you were in Accra but clearly you didn’t take a taxi/spend much time on the roads. How can you say you didn’t see any poor women with baskets on their heads?? Seriously, seeing 7, 8, 9 year olds hawking “purrrrre waterrrr, yea its purrreee” and “plantainnnsss, yeaaaa they’re plantainnns” is an every day occurrence when living here.
@ Nelle.
Been Living there for a few months aye? Lol. Seriously Ive been trying to get in touch with US citizens who are over in Africa, esp. Ghana, working and living. Could I bother you to drop me a line at [email protected]? It would be so greatly appreciated!!!
OMG!! This is so timely because I just recently got back from my trip to Europe!! It was absolutely the most refreshing trip I had taken in my entire life. I was so happy to see my beautiful European sistahs. I met one stunningly beautiful sistah from South Africa and I told her that I hope to visit South Africa real soon in the future. I loved being overseas so much I wanted to just move there! Being overseas is an eye opening experience because it allows you to understand other cultures and customs that can be drastically different from the ones we have here in the US (and that’s a good thing!). It made me even question some customs we have here that actually don’t make a lot of sense. Even dating (if we can call it that) seemed more simpler over there than here…*sigh*…I could talk about this for days but I won’t:)..
Ladies if you get an opportunity to go overseas, I would encourage you to take it.
Great article! I just got back from my trip to Europe. It was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life. I met this stunningly beautiful woman from South Africa and I told her that I hope to visit that country real soon. I felt like I got a good perspective on the world and how it compares to living here in America. There are different customs and cultures and just a different way of life. Even dating over there seems different than here in the states (and maybe that’s a good thing!). I could talk about this for days but I won’t. Ladies I would encourage you to take an opportunity to see what the world has to offer.