It's sad that so many readers--predominantly white and nominally liberal--responded to this thoughtful essay with defensive disparagement and even denial. It's a feckless, immature response. Please just grow up.
12
Lived in London, Paris and Madrid for 5 years each. None are a paradise for blacks from any country. If one is the Art Director of Vogue or the like, no problem ....maybe even some extra creds. But for blue, white collared workers and the unemployed, about same as NYC.
11
Why am I not surprised to see the mostly negative comments?? Black people are damned if they do, damned if they don't. I am a 19 year old young black woman and I have absolutely no desire to live here in America for the rest of my life. I have been to Europe since I have family living there and much prefer it. I definitely intend to move there once I finish my bachelors. I am not a tree, If i don't like my environment I can simply move. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. I do believe Black Americans (who want to leave)should look outside of this country for a better life. The world is so big and wonderful. The good outweighs the bad. At the end of the day If I can tell other black people anything about moving , LIVE YOUR LIFE FOR YOURSELF AND CREATE YOUR OWN HAPPINESS. That is exactly what I intend to do.
44
Amen to that! Agree 1oo% on creating own happiness. That's Exactly what I've done living abroad. Check out my travel blog www.iluv2globetrot.com for a little inspiration sis ;-).
6
Actually I'll take Washington DC over Paris any day as a place that has the possibility for an inclusionary ethos that lets people of all colors and classes live and breathe free. We are not there yet but I'm not ready to throw in the towel, think it is possible to build small utopias, like my kids' wonderful public charter school, Washington Yu-Ying, where all kids, including aubergine-colored boys, learn Mandarin and are valued. Lord knows the US has its race problems but I feel more optimistic about the rising culturally dexterous class in this country and our possibilities for getting race relations right in coming decades than about France?! And if I gave up on the idea of America and moved I would surely choose Toronto over Paris. Just sayin'.
13
As an African American expat that has been living abroad for over 5 years, I totally understand Mr. Williams' point of view. I love the fact that being abroad, I'm looked at as an American. Point blank, I wouldn't trade in my little blue passport for anything but being away from the USA has opened my eyes to numerous benefits of living outside of my home country brings as a Black person abroad.
I've lived in Asia and now the Middle East, and have never felt safer in my life since being abroad. I was just reflecting the other day of just how scary it would be to raise a young Black man in the USA during these times if I had a child. I am so much more comfortable and happy abroad at this point in my life.
I've lived in Asia and now the Middle East, and have never felt safer in my life since being abroad. I was just reflecting the other day of just how scary it would be to raise a young Black man in the USA during these times if I had a child. I am so much more comfortable and happy abroad at this point in my life.
21
America isn't a place that belongs to whites. That is not true. However, as African-Americans, I do not know if we can afford to lose any more of our children to the brutality of police. It might be time to consider sending our children and even taking time ourselves to visit other countries. We can not keep trying to make America safe for our children who have done nothing wrong, but keep losing their lives. We moved from the south at one time in droves. It might be time to consider putting our children's futures ahead of our fears of relocating.
11
The comments by African-Americans who have had the opportunity to travel and live elsewhere, and are in a position to compare the two experiences - here and there - are extraordinarily illuminating and humbling. I'm very grateful to be able to read them.
22
Odd that the only African American this person encountered was a Rapper, never mind the plethora of Black Students/Service Men and Women that live abroad. But I digress...
It's a hard transition that most established Adults cannot make without a lot of sacrifices. Languages, no Familial Connections and many of those/Us that have made the Migration arent honest enough about what it truly entails. You have to redefine who and what you are, this is not an easy task. One that cannot be remedied by Facebook postings of "Exotic" places. Those of us that have made the Transition should do more to show the Uglier side of our new Homes and Cultures. Its a process and not a Glamorous one.
It's a hard transition that most established Adults cannot make without a lot of sacrifices. Languages, no Familial Connections and many of those/Us that have made the Migration arent honest enough about what it truly entails. You have to redefine who and what you are, this is not an easy task. One that cannot be remedied by Facebook postings of "Exotic" places. Those of us that have made the Transition should do more to show the Uglier side of our new Homes and Cultures. Its a process and not a Glamorous one.
9
The author bases his premise on the false racial narrative that the real threat to black Americans are racist cops and white people gunning them down left and right. Nonsense. Blacks were 31% of those killed by police last year, even though they committed 38% of violent crime and 43% of cop killings, according to the BJS. The fact is blacks are migrating in droves but not for the reasons the author implies: they are overwhelmingly moving out of black neighborhoods because they know the threat comes almost exclusively from other blacks. The homicide rate is 7 times that of whites (6000 a year) and according to Jill Leovy, author of 'Ghettoside", only 40% are ever solved. In terms of interracial crime and killings, 85% of the 400.000 violent crimes are black on white (of course, whites who dare to raise this fact are derided as racists). Blacks are 25 times more likely to target whites than vice versa. Don't lecture us with anecdotes on how you cannot be safe anywhere; there are entire areas of this nation that are "no-go" zones for whites, which is also known as Routine activity Theory. Why is it that blacks are constantly moving into white areas if they are in such danger from whites, Mr. Thomas, and not the reverse? How dare you compare your situation to Jews, who not only have a minimal crime rate in Europe but who are targeted precisely because of their religion. Michael Brown died because he attacked a police officer; Jews in Paris were shot because they were Jews.
18
As a Southern Black woman living abroad, I more or less agree with what Williams wrote. I found the piece beautiful and persuasive. Just like with The Great Migration and its mass exodus from the South to northern and western destinations, sometimes people have to vote with their feet. The key, for me, is when he wrote that Black expatriation should be "tempered by a healthy skepticism toward the idea of finding utopia anywhere."
Leaving won't cure all ills. Here in Venezuela, for example, I've yet to experience "being treated first and foremost as Americans and not as blacks.” While studying abroad in Australia, I endured racist comments during a night out.
Because of my color, people in Venezuela are always surprised that I’m American. They think I’m Haitian, Trinidadian, or Jamaican. I’m very aware of the fact that I’m almost always the darkest person in an area, and it’s something that hasn’t stopped me from entering spaces where people who look like me generally have not gone.
In short, I’m all for leaving the US for a short or extended time period. Surrounding race, the US is a gravely ill society; being distanced from the race problem has helped my own psyche and expanded my viewpoints surrounding race. People just need to be realistic as far as why they’re leaving and not have the “grass is greener” mentality. Otherwise, they may find themselves disappointed and clamoring to go right back home.
Leaving won't cure all ills. Here in Venezuela, for example, I've yet to experience "being treated first and foremost as Americans and not as blacks.” While studying abroad in Australia, I endured racist comments during a night out.
Because of my color, people in Venezuela are always surprised that I’m American. They think I’m Haitian, Trinidadian, or Jamaican. I’m very aware of the fact that I’m almost always the darkest person in an area, and it’s something that hasn’t stopped me from entering spaces where people who look like me generally have not gone.
In short, I’m all for leaving the US for a short or extended time period. Surrounding race, the US is a gravely ill society; being distanced from the race problem has helped my own psyche and expanded my viewpoints surrounding race. People just need to be realistic as far as why they’re leaving and not have the “grass is greener” mentality. Otherwise, they may find themselves disappointed and clamoring to go right back home.
21
Why no mention of Liberia - a haven created for ex-slaves - or any of the other "black" nations of Africa as a suitable destination? I hear Zimbabwe is nice this time of year. Why the focus on Europe? If white racism is so overwhelming why go to "white" societies at all, however enlightened they may be on racial issues? Or the many nations controlled by other so-called "people of color", like China or Latin America?
9
You seem to miss the point. It is the white society in the USA that is the problem not whites worldwide.
13
As James Baldwin observed, "there are no untroubled countries." When you leave this one you take yourself with you. I once considered expatriating myself in Paris. The day a French woman felt comfortable enough to discuss Algerians with me, using the same derogatory language that white people in America use to describe African Americans I knew that Paris was not the place for me. I could not be comfortable living in a place where I was accorded special status because of my language and country of origin when people who look like me, people who could be me, were viewed and treated with contempt. Baldwin also came to the conclusion that the thing to do was to confront the conditions at home, to work at changing them by agitating, protesting, writing - DOING something about them. The biggest changes in this country have come as the result of activism, protest. It takes courage and a capacity to sacrifice comfort for the sake of a larger good to make change. Think of the brave men and women who withdrew economic support of bus companies that took their money and treated them like second class citizens. Think of the courage of those who faced guns,hoses,whips, and dogs, who took blows,who risked and sometimes lost their lives for the right to vote, for the right to exercise full citizenship in this country. Where would we be if they had emigrated? Emigrate to a place where you do not have full citizenship? No. Fight for full citizenship and human rights in this troubled country.
17
and, of course, being a europhilic black man, the most psychologically damaged type, he writes of london and paris, and internet inter-connectivity, leaving out the fact that africa is the least connected continent and cuba is the best place for a real black american (meaning having a psychological orientation based in an afro-cultural framework) to begin the journey of ex-patriation, or better yet, renunciation!
5
Did you miss the recent NYT article on the Cuban have nots, who, sacre bleu!, have darker complexions than the better off. Kinda like down south in Brazil.
7
London has it's own share of obnoxious racism as does France, is my belief. However, if one strikes it rich in either England or France, there is a sure fire chance of assimilation and acceptance regardless of one's race. I believe the same goes for the United States. However, if an American Black, like his West Indian brethren, is stuck in the British or French underclass then I don't see the "improvement" the writer envisions here. The case for an "exodus" here is made on the premise that the African Americans who migrate in hopes of gaining visibility and respect are the one's along the lines of James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Oprah Winfrey, Jayz and Kanye West, among others, the "talented" class. The writer's "London friend" is a skilled knowledge worker is my guess. The Michael Browns and the Eric Garners or Akai Gurleys are not exactly the population that Europe would encourage the migrations of unless they're looking for fleshing out their already bloated underclass with some American tang.
12
Stop whining and complaining about the USA. You should try living in Ecuador as a black person. My suggestion, clean up the acts of black youths, don't riot, don't loot, get an education, and to all of the males, don't abandon your kids. Be a father.
15
It struck me as interesting that the example of racism closest to the author was the stigma of affirmative action cited by his friend who moved to London. If Mr. Williams considers the stigma of affirmative action racist, does that judgement not extend to affirmative action itself?
I also wonder if the author realizes that article could only have been published if written by a black man. These ideas, if put forth by an author of any other race, would have been considered deeply racist. Racial double standards employed to decry racism. This absurdity would delight the French.
I also wonder if the author realizes that article could only have been published if written by a black man. These ideas, if put forth by an author of any other race, would have been considered deeply racist. Racial double standards employed to decry racism. This absurdity would delight the French.
7
This article is a bit naive, and it also overlooks the fact that most countries (especially those in Europe) have their own deep-seated racial and colonial histories...their own brand of anti-blackness. Even a cursory reading of the histories and news stories regarding the treatment of peoples of African descent in the nations that he mentions would illustrate that white supremacy (especially anti-black violence) is alive and well outside of the United States.
12
I am puzzled by this part of the article: "Last year, he left New York for a new job in London. When I called him to compare impressions of life abroad, he confessed, “The race situation back home occupies so much space in your mind, even just safety-wise, I actually never fully understood what it meant to be American, and all the advantages that come with it, until now.”" Just what were all the advantages that come with being in American that he only understood when he living in London?
3
One reader wrote " the power and agency of choosing to live abroad is something that would strengthen the African-American experience." Unfortunately, this is choice that currently only a few black people can enjoy. For these few it would doubtless be the case that being free of the constant racial profiling in the US would be great relief. Still, this has to be weighted against the greater opportunities in the US for talented people.
As an African-American in my junior year of college currently studying abroad, I found this article to be enriching. I have had a more fortunate childhood, and before embarking on my journey abroad had the opportunity to visit various countries including France, United Kingdom, and Australia. Upon arrival I felt alienated amongst my American peers as one of two African-Americans, and one of 10 people of color out of 80 students. As Americans formed their social groups, I felt myself retreating because I could not relate to the lives they shared in America. So, I found the shock of being surrounded by White Americans in such a heavy dominance more of a culture shock to me than actually being abroad. My experience amongst locals has been amicable, and I appear as another American in a city filled with foreign exchange students, and I'm pretty sure I let my Black identity occupy my mind more than the people I ecounter do, as I make a mental note of each Black faces I see in passing. I have only been abroad for a month, and I'm sure time will alter my opinions and actions, but I miss the community and camaraderie; the passion and struggle of Black life, more than I appreciate my annoyminity of just another American. However, maybe that would be different if I found more Black Americans in my actual program to share a common transition of adjusting to life in a new country, something I did not account for before I left.
7
Thank you for this interesting article and insightful comments.
Comment Part 1
As a Black French who live in the U.S., I consider that there is more opportunity to climb the ladder here compared to France. While the French population is very mixed, open-minded, and not community-based, the elite is NOT representative of the population and is VERY white (politicians, CAC40 executive, media, etc.). For instance, 'Le Monde' - one of the biggest newspaper in France - has not a single Black amongst its journalists. Can you imagine the NY Times not having a single Black columnists, contributors? Can you imagine, not teaching to French teenagers, transatlantic slave trade, slavery, black litterature (Cesaire, Fanon, Maryse Condé)? Can you imagine not having ethnical statistics - because WE are one and indivisible - while Black are more likely to be unemployed in France?
I do understand the concern here, I am myself dubious about having and raising a child in the U.S.
In my opinion, all is about education: (1) Education of the population for more open-mindness (2) Education of our black kids that are discriminated because of the cost of education in the U.S. (3) Diversity into the classrooms.
Comment Part 1
As a Black French who live in the U.S., I consider that there is more opportunity to climb the ladder here compared to France. While the French population is very mixed, open-minded, and not community-based, the elite is NOT representative of the population and is VERY white (politicians, CAC40 executive, media, etc.). For instance, 'Le Monde' - one of the biggest newspaper in France - has not a single Black amongst its journalists. Can you imagine the NY Times not having a single Black columnists, contributors? Can you imagine, not teaching to French teenagers, transatlantic slave trade, slavery, black litterature (Cesaire, Fanon, Maryse Condé)? Can you imagine not having ethnical statistics - because WE are one and indivisible - while Black are more likely to be unemployed in France?
I do understand the concern here, I am myself dubious about having and raising a child in the U.S.
In my opinion, all is about education: (1) Education of the population for more open-mindness (2) Education of our black kids that are discriminated because of the cost of education in the U.S. (3) Diversity into the classrooms.
9
Black Americans so unhappy with their lives here in this country are free to leave to find their happiness elsewhere. But, beware, the grass is always greener on the other side.
7
On New York City buses, in the college classrooms where I teach, in the houses in my neighborhood, I see people from Africa, many of them from former French colonies -- Mali, Niger, Dahomey, Senegal -- and many of whom he speak French. Yet they have left their native lands for the U.S., not France.
Just as we whites need to think about our white privilege, the author needs to think about his American privilege and how that affects his treatment in France. And let's be honest: he's in Paris, presumably in some fashionable arrondissement, not just any French city. Does he get treated as well in other parts of France, I wonder?
This article seems frivolous, a privileged person's rather haughty contempt for those who cannot afford his luxuries.
Just as we whites need to think about our white privilege, the author needs to think about his American privilege and how that affects his treatment in France. And let's be honest: he's in Paris, presumably in some fashionable arrondissement, not just any French city. Does he get treated as well in other parts of France, I wonder?
This article seems frivolous, a privileged person's rather haughty contempt for those who cannot afford his luxuries.
14
New Zealand needs African Americans - come adopt our country as yours! - dual citizenship - come now, please. I welcome you all with open arms. ;)
5
Do you have any idea how hard it is to emigrate to NZ. I looked into it and I suggest tat you do the same.
3
I have a feeling that to some extent the world of tomorrow will belong to the children of today whose parents had the foresight to obtain multiple citizenships for them. The world is becoming a more crowded place and barriers to migration, particularly for the poor and middle-class, are going up at a rate of knots which I see will only increase in the future. I think the author is right for all people of moderate wealth regardless of color and who want to give their children the best opportunity for future success. The very wealthy need not concern themselves, they and their children will always be able to move with few restrictions.
5
In general, Americans are taught few foreign languages and learn little about foreign cultures. They travel less than Europeans do for instance or for that matter than almost anybody from any country that can put together some money to travel.
So it is not just blacks.
To live in a foreign country requires a willingness to acculturate, not easy for anybody.
So it is not just blacks.
To live in a foreign country requires a willingness to acculturate, not easy for anybody.
4
Your generalized statement is erroneous on many counts. Foreign language from high school up is taught, as well as history of other countries. Perhaps the issue is not being able to practice using it as opposed to those in Europe with *closer proximity to other countries - English being the main exposure to most Americans (big cities of course a different matter).
By travel just exactly what do you mean-within your own nation-America is huge unlike many European nations where an American state can be as large as a country (many). If you mean travel outside one's own country then statistics show Americans are at the top of the list.
*Looking at any map of Europe/Asia - one can see different countries in close proximity-easily traversed as when I modeled long ago. Therefore one is exposed to many different languages.
You don't even mention the fact that many citizens in other countries get extensive paid vacation + paid holiday times (and have more "holidays" then America)
As well apparently it is not easy to ascertain which nation "travels" the most. America is near the top and at this site - the list continues with money/income being a factor.
WorldHum blogged about a press release back in ’06 that stated Germans took 86.6 million trips abroad, Britons took 65.3 million, and Americans took 58.3 million. This didn’t necessarily mean those counties were the most traveled internationally. It just meant that those three countries took the most trips abroad overall.
By travel just exactly what do you mean-within your own nation-America is huge unlike many European nations where an American state can be as large as a country (many). If you mean travel outside one's own country then statistics show Americans are at the top of the list.
*Looking at any map of Europe/Asia - one can see different countries in close proximity-easily traversed as when I modeled long ago. Therefore one is exposed to many different languages.
You don't even mention the fact that many citizens in other countries get extensive paid vacation + paid holiday times (and have more "holidays" then America)
As well apparently it is not easy to ascertain which nation "travels" the most. America is near the top and at this site - the list continues with money/income being a factor.
WorldHum blogged about a press release back in ’06 that stated Germans took 86.6 million trips abroad, Britons took 65.3 million, and Americans took 58.3 million. This didn’t necessarily mean those counties were the most traveled internationally. It just meant that those three countries took the most trips abroad overall.
1
An increasing number of African-Americans are immigrating to the wealthy African nation of Zamunda. It's sad to see they go, but I think they'll be happier there.
4
I'm a white woman married to a Persian man and living in Sweden. I've also lived in Germany and for shorter periods in France, Italy, and Switzerland.
A multi-racial friend of mine who has lived in Switzerland for decades told me that in her native Texas it's like this: " What are you? Black? White? Mexican? What are you?" In Switzerland they think she's (Italian-) American and leave it at that. She tells me she feels ostrasized in her small town just like all foreigners do. Let's be clear: the Swiss tend to be outwardly racist, but because she can "pass," the Swiss focus on her foreigness, not her race.
In Sweden, I notice that Swedes tend to treat all strangers, no matter their race or nationality, like a ghost or a wall. Of course I can't be sure, but I wonder whether African Americans there prefer the cold reception that is standard in Scandinavia to the sting of racism at home.
But I also have a black female friend who, while crouching to take a photo in Paris, was kicked in the face by a Frenchman. And I shall never forget my shame at recommending to another black female friend that she visit Rome, my favorite city, which she had to flee because she was taunted and assaulted.
We all have a lot of work to do. Police forces and the rest of us, too.
A multi-racial friend of mine who has lived in Switzerland for decades told me that in her native Texas it's like this: " What are you? Black? White? Mexican? What are you?" In Switzerland they think she's (Italian-) American and leave it at that. She tells me she feels ostrasized in her small town just like all foreigners do. Let's be clear: the Swiss tend to be outwardly racist, but because she can "pass," the Swiss focus on her foreigness, not her race.
In Sweden, I notice that Swedes tend to treat all strangers, no matter their race or nationality, like a ghost or a wall. Of course I can't be sure, but I wonder whether African Americans there prefer the cold reception that is standard in Scandinavia to the sting of racism at home.
But I also have a black female friend who, while crouching to take a photo in Paris, was kicked in the face by a Frenchman. And I shall never forget my shame at recommending to another black female friend that she visit Rome, my favorite city, which she had to flee because she was taunted and assaulted.
We all have a lot of work to do. Police forces and the rest of us, too.
2
I'd suggest that American high-school students--African-American or not--learn German and take the entrance exams to German universities. The Federal Republic offers Americans free tuition for those who qualify by passing those tests--and Germany is a wonderfully livable place!
6
"How can you change one side of a bargain? When there is no other side." [Battlestar Galactica, 1980s]. Yes, APP-muddled millennials, there was an original.
I'll admit I don't get the connection to this issue, but it was the first thing that came to mind [There's your opening.] while I was reading this.
I don't know what to do. Mr. Williams dun't either.
That's my take for this evening. My friend is calling; I'm goin' watch the T.V.
I'll admit I don't get the connection to this issue, but it was the first thing that came to mind [There's your opening.] while I was reading this.
I don't know what to do. Mr. Williams dun't either.
That's my take for this evening. My friend is calling; I'm goin' watch the T.V.
Why does everyone always think Europe doesn't have a race problem? There isn't that my African-Americans in Paris and other cities. If African-Americans started coming in great numbers the treatment would be similar to the Africans and Arabs. I have friends living abroad i'm a light skinned black female with curly long hair (low on the totum pole of threating to other racial groups). I have friends and family that are Americans living in Haiti, Jamaica, Europe. I think your black skin treatment abroad depends on where your at and how many people that look like you are out with you. I experienced racism not too long ago with my Filipino friend in Berlin. Not getting serviced at my Marriott Hotel or at a resturant in Mitte. You see Samo dolls in parts of Asia and Europe as decor.
The best treatment i had abroad was probably in Panama. I love traveling in Latin America, and especially in Panama since you don't feel judged by your skin color, since people out there look like all shades of the rainbow. When living abroad everyone thinks of Europe, why not look into developing countries in the carribean and latin america? Where it might be easier to build wealth and social climb.
Most of my friends living in Europe or getting ready to move there are able to with their high paying jobs relocating them there. They are lawyers, consultants that graduated from Ivy Leauges. Getting a work visa can be difficult if you aren't from a similar social/educational background.
The best treatment i had abroad was probably in Panama. I love traveling in Latin America, and especially in Panama since you don't feel judged by your skin color, since people out there look like all shades of the rainbow. When living abroad everyone thinks of Europe, why not look into developing countries in the carribean and latin america? Where it might be easier to build wealth and social climb.
Most of my friends living in Europe or getting ready to move there are able to with their high paying jobs relocating them there. They are lawyers, consultants that graduated from Ivy Leauges. Getting a work visa can be difficult if you aren't from a similar social/educational background.
5
Moving overseas doesn't make sense for most people, African Americans as well. Moving within America as the Mormons did in taking over Utah makes a lot of sense. What if a sufficient number of blacks moved within America, first to Mississippi to win control of the legislature and governors office as well as both senate seats. Then did the same in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina.
They could then change the discrimatory laws such as voter ID and denial of right to vote to ex-felons. They could change the attitudes of law enforcement and create an environment less hostile to blacks.
They could then change the discrimatory laws such as voter ID and denial of right to vote to ex-felons. They could change the attitudes of law enforcement and create an environment less hostile to blacks.
6
Living abroad can be an illuminating experience. More Americans should do it regardless of race. As the result of foreign travel and living abroad, I was able to experience being on the wrong end of racism as a white person in Japan. In other countries such as India and parts of Latin America, whiteness confers the opposite -- a sort of "Supercool" status which is also kind of weird and uncomfortable. But regardless of how I was treated (either barely tolerated or abnormally well) it is always a relief for me to come home to America where I was again just "normal". But, that isn't really the case for African Americans, is it? It appears that so many of them can't feel completely safe and at home in the USA. So, if Mr. Williams has the means and the motivation to travel and live abroad and if that is what gives him the relief to feel "normal", then why not? It's such a shame that we can't do a better job in the United States.
10
These are wonderful and overdue thoughts, expressed well.
It seems to me that the idea of getting the heck out of here, at least for a long period of one's life, is not shared more widely because, 1, it seems impractical for many and, 2, the leadership of the "black struggle" wants people to stay here to organize, protest and, yes, be unhappy.
I got myself to Paris at the earliest reasonable opportunity in my life, at age 24. I left behind a bouquet of professional and financial opportunities here to do so. This was a time when James Baldwin was alive and well and living in Paris and I sometimes caught a glimpse of Samuel Beckett going out for a demi-bagette (I lied). Chester Himes was there, too, (or at least I thought he was) but we didn't trade stories, or anything else. Joni Mitchell dropped in and Jim Morrison came over to die.
I had a revelation on the Paris Metro sitting in the midst of well dressed black folks: everyone should see this. Black Americans should, I thought, go to places were the burden of race is not so heavy in the air, where one can contemplate living with no burden at all. See what's it like.
Part of the burden of being black in America is the need to be resentful, to show your community and the world you know how you are regarded and you are angry about it. This is part of the wall between black and white in our culture. Tearing it down can involve going around it before coming back more relaxed and self assured, aware.
http://terryreport.com
5
There is an old saying, that I believe is true: "One can only make changes from within." I hope and pray this is what will happen in the U.S.
2
"there is “more freedom in one square block of Paris than there is in the entire United States of America.”
Then perhaps. But France and the French wondered at our election of Obama a mere 44 years after the the civil right act and admitted it 'could not happen in France' (or anywhere in Europe for that matter). Forty one years after the uproar over Bill Cosby co-starring in I Spy.
Emigration is not the answer. The Back to Africa movement did not turn out so well. Liberia is a mess.
Recent studies show that Whites do get a free pass
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/opinion/research-shows-white-privilege...
Even from Black Cops.
We bend over backwards to disassociate religion from crime. We don't do the same for skin color.
We really need to demilitarize our police and to get the forces to reflect the community they patrol. We also need to have a justice system that holds the police accountable.
Just as the French are now saying "Jews, please don't leave. You are French", I say "Don't leave. You enrich our (and your) country, you helped build . There is no other place on earth where you or me (persons of color) can have have the opportunity and acceptance. Despite the Fergusons and Staten Islands, we are on course to have a post racial society.
Then perhaps. But France and the French wondered at our election of Obama a mere 44 years after the the civil right act and admitted it 'could not happen in France' (or anywhere in Europe for that matter). Forty one years after the uproar over Bill Cosby co-starring in I Spy.
Emigration is not the answer. The Back to Africa movement did not turn out so well. Liberia is a mess.
Recent studies show that Whites do get a free pass
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/opinion/research-shows-white-privilege...
Even from Black Cops.
We bend over backwards to disassociate religion from crime. We don't do the same for skin color.
We really need to demilitarize our police and to get the forces to reflect the community they patrol. We also need to have a justice system that holds the police accountable.
Just as the French are now saying "Jews, please don't leave. You are French", I say "Don't leave. You enrich our (and your) country, you helped build . There is no other place on earth where you or me (persons of color) can have have the opportunity and acceptance. Despite the Fergusons and Staten Islands, we are on course to have a post racial society.
4
It's strange to think there might be a place where people will like and/or treat you better. I am a white male so I guess this is as good as it gets for me. That's disappointing.
2
We have work to do in this country regarding this issue.
I suggest we get started.
I suggest we get started.
5
We did get started...then Ronald Reagan happened. Time to pick up where we left off, with frequent mass demonstrations and marches, and any other peaceful action that gets attention. An African-American President can't do it on his own.
3
As has often been said, white Americans should try living in East Asia to understand what it's like to be black in the US.
For anyone serious about expatriation, language fluency is critical both as a practical measure but also in the moral dimensions of self-growth and understanding others. The blinders must come off to experience our shared humanity.
For anyone serious about expatriation, language fluency is critical both as a practical measure but also in the moral dimensions of self-growth and understanding others. The blinders must come off to experience our shared humanity.
6
the united states is the place for african americans it is the light and the beacon of the world. if they cannot make it here why do they want to move to the ancestral homeland of white america? how and why could they call that home? sure if you have the financial means it makes it easier but you will always be the other. why would they not want to return to their ancestral homelands truly that is where they would not be discriminated against just for the color of their skin.
"Watching what happened in Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island and knowing that blacks are 21 times more likely than whites to be shot by the police constitute a heavy psychological tax. "
As a friend pointed out to me -- For each of those blacks killed by a policeman, how many blacks are killed by other blacks?
As a friend pointed out to me -- For each of those blacks killed by a policeman, how many blacks are killed by other blacks?
8
Unfortunately what the author does not seem to realize is that racism, against blacks more specifically, certainly does exist in countries such as France, the UK, and nearly every other "first-world" country that can be named. The reason why Black-Americans may experience less racism in such countries is that there are so few of them in those countries. A black man from Senegal (a former French colony) in France is viewed as a black man, not a Senegalese, because there are many black people in France of Senegalese descent. This author, if his own advice is taken by many black Americans who might decide to move to France at some point, may quickly find that he becomes viewed more and more as black, and less as 'American' on subsequent visits to France. If something seems too good to be true, like this article, there is always a reason for it.
5
Interesting piece, and it sets out an appealing alternative to racism and danger at home. Big problem is that while France is an absolutely great place to spend time, the fact is that unless you are really bringing something to the table that the French want, as an American you can't legitimately work there. For an EU citizen, it is much less difficult, but for an American, you'd better have a nice source of income. Another issue is language. Not all that many Americans are even passably fluent in French, and without that, you are a tourist plain and simple. Sure, doing the study abroad thing is wonderful and broadening, and if you really click, you might be able to do something there for a longer time, but it's nothing to count on, and of course you'd have to start out being of college age. The expatriation route is always difficult and to be realistic this is something for a very small group of people -- probably in the arts. Maybe for a writer with a book contract like the author of this piece, and maybe for a musician (just maybe) but definitely not for a visual artist, except if you are really well known. The Paris art world is even nastier and more competitive than New York's, and with much less in the way of rewards for all (the French included).
4
As an black expat who has lived in London for nearly 13 years, Mr. Williams' words resonate deeply. It is refreshing to be an American first; something that I rarely experienced before I left the US. However, I think the more important need is for more Americans to spend time abroad. The vastness of US and its overwhelming presence on the world stage for most of the 20th Century has seen even the most well-educated Americans viewing the world from an increasingly myopic perspective - the exact opposite of what is needed in the 21st Century.
My life was transformed by a year in London just after I graduated from college. It was revelatory to see how differently people lived and what they valued (much less stuff, many more experiences). To see how the news was reported and what was chosen as news: the BBC lead every broadcast for 2 weeks with 10-15 minutes of reports on the first African tour of Pope John Paul II in 1982. (The throngs of young people who saw John Paul II on the tour are now the committed Catholics that have made Africa the fastest growing region in the world for the Catholic Church. That tour was barely covered by US media, who were surprised to learn of Africa's growth only as John Paul's successor was discussed.) Understanding these differences is becoming more important; best illustrated by the growing number of US multinationals now being run by people who were born outside of the US. The US is a great country, but it's not the only one.
My life was transformed by a year in London just after I graduated from college. It was revelatory to see how differently people lived and what they valued (much less stuff, many more experiences). To see how the news was reported and what was chosen as news: the BBC lead every broadcast for 2 weeks with 10-15 minutes of reports on the first African tour of Pope John Paul II in 1982. (The throngs of young people who saw John Paul II on the tour are now the committed Catholics that have made Africa the fastest growing region in the world for the Catholic Church. That tour was barely covered by US media, who were surprised to learn of Africa's growth only as John Paul's successor was discussed.) Understanding these differences is becoming more important; best illustrated by the growing number of US multinationals now being run by people who were born outside of the US. The US is a great country, but it's not the only one.
8
Blacks remain her because, warts and all, they love the country and can't imagine a better place to live.
3
I'd like to see some confirmation of your assertion that African-Americans are 21 times more likely than whites to be shot by police.
I wonder if you'd also be willing to put it in the larger context of gun violence against African-Americans. What percentage of that violence is committed by officers? What are the demographics of those who are shooting African-Americans?
And what are the demographics of those who shoot officers?
Enjoy Paris.
I wonder if you'd also be willing to put it in the larger context of gun violence against African-Americans. What percentage of that violence is committed by officers? What are the demographics of those who are shooting African-Americans?
And what are the demographics of those who shoot officers?
Enjoy Paris.
1
I'd like to apologize for the combative tone of my comment. I live in a very violent place - Philadelphia - where the victims, as well as the perpetrators, of that violence are overwhelmingly African-American. (Philadelphia has had a higher per capita homicide rate than Chicago and other large cities for several years: http://tinyurl.com/osfbt6p) We have also had a surge in violence against police officers, particularly over the last eight years. We have had administrations run by people who have presented themselves as advocates of the disadvantaged. who then proceed to mismanage and steal from the resources intended to help those communities. I have usually voted for those people, only to be disillusioned. (I don't count Michael Nutter among that crowd - he was/is a reform politician who didn't get the support that he needed from our City Council, whose members are decidedly not reform). In many ways, I am a product of my environment, and I have become very cynical about many things, which saddens me greatly.
I mention this in an attempt to excuse or explain my comment, because I have found many of the other comments on this essay, by African-Americans who have had the opportunity to compare their experiences here with experiences elsewhere, to be astonishingly illuminating, and very humbling. I'm grateful to those who have shared their experiences, and I apologize for bringing enmity to this conversation.
I mention this in an attempt to excuse or explain my comment, because I have found many of the other comments on this essay, by African-Americans who have had the opportunity to compare their experiences here with experiences elsewhere, to be astonishingly illuminating, and very humbling. I'm grateful to those who have shared their experiences, and I apologize for bringing enmity to this conversation.
5
"dizzying spate of unpunished extrajudicial police killings of black men and women across America" Huh? In the U. S. the police have killed less and less people (Blacks included) than the year prior for the past 20 years. The "unpunished" portion, has declined as well. I think the author is just hypersensitive to it this year because the media decided to highlight a few accounts. After the Michael Brown case, the media tried their best to hype up every single case of a police shooting involving a black person. Remember the swarm of coverage of shooting that occurred in St. Louis soon after the Michael Brown case? Once it was discovered that the suspect had exchanged gun fire with the police, the media went quiet.
3
For affluent, educated, upper middle-class African Americans, the system in the United States is working in their favor. Their children will be accepted to the most prestigious schools. They will be offered prestigious jobs and offered positions on the most prestigious boards all in the name of diversity. Sadly, these opportunities are available for small percentage for American blacks. Many live in poverty and lack the educational credentials and skills to bring them out of poverty. There have been many an essay and research paper written as to the reasons why this is so. I don't think that the magical solution is to go to France but perhaps I am wrong.
2
Percentages of poor, both Black and White, are noted in the following article. Perhaps some commenters can refute it?
http://inequality.org/poverty-matter-black-white/
Looks like 28% of the Black population, and 42% of the White population. It's a shock.
http://inequality.org/poverty-matter-black-white/
Looks like 28% of the Black population, and 42% of the White population. It's a shock.
There certainly is a "black Zion." It's called Africa and many of its inhabitants are black, especially sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, the continent isn't doing all that well. I seriously doubt that many African Americans would want to emigrate to this part of the world. The last time I checked, their "governments" were among the very worst in the world (along with Islamic governments.) While it's not politically correct to suggest a return to colonialism, one wonders if all these African and Islamic nations might do a lot better if they were administered by Western governments.
While I totally agree with the author that black Americans are treated differently in the US than their Caucasian brethren, I'm not sure the Israel analogy would work very well for African Americans. Exactly like all other Americans, they are very fortunate to live here.
While I totally agree with the author that black Americans are treated differently in the US than their Caucasian brethren, I'm not sure the Israel analogy would work very well for African Americans. Exactly like all other Americans, they are very fortunate to live here.
5
Before commenting on how well blacks are treated in France, the wrtier would be counseled to read Manthia Diawara's In Search of Africa or what the French politican Rama Yade has written. Or ask any African who lives in Saint Denis, the 93 zone, about how the French are not racist.
5
My daughter is almost 12 and black. Three years ago I decided that she would have a much better future in Europe (where I am from originally) then in NYC, and we moved to Berlin. I did not want her to keep asking me "mom why are homeless all black?" any more, for one. I also did not want her to grow up with the whole black/white issue, which you can not avoid in the USA. The first black people she met here were a mother taking her boys to school by bicycle. They entered the coffee shop and in 1 minute they spoke in 3 languages. Same thing with the lady we met trying on a ball gown at a Russian seamstress a while after, had been here 25 years, spoke "French, German, English, a couple of African languages and was learning Italian because she wanted to understand what it says at the Opera...". For my daughter to meet black people like these in NYC she should have been part of the top crowds, which we are not. Here, it is not that extraordinary. It would have never happened in Manhattan, not even in the excellent neighborhood we lived in.
Racism exists here as well, as anywhere, but all in all, I think she has a healthier perspective and in 10 years, since her German is already almost native, she will have no problems finding a well paid job coming out of a free German university, with no debt. We keep in contact with our friends and visit, still love NY, but - also after having read that NY school are the most segregated in the country, - I know I made the right choice.
Racism exists here as well, as anywhere, but all in all, I think she has a healthier perspective and in 10 years, since her German is already almost native, she will have no problems finding a well paid job coming out of a free German university, with no debt. We keep in contact with our friends and visit, still love NY, but - also after having read that NY school are the most segregated in the country, - I know I made the right choice.
9
As an African American who lived in Paris for 10 years and is now back in the USA, I can say that I do not share Mr. Williams opinion at all. Although it is different from the American brand, racism is alive and well in France. The biggest targets are those of North African descent. France, I believe, is far less welcoming to foreigners than the USA. A person can be born in France yet not have French citizenship. These people are considered foreigners and treated as such in the country of their birth. What's more, France is more than just restaurants, the Louvre, and a playground for celebrities, or even a study-abroad location. Such a view of the country only feeds a well worn stereotype.
5
Black Americans can emigrate to the Deep South. Only 250,000 African-American voters would make Mississippi majority black. Not that many more in Alabama and South Carolina. Atlanta is the obvious capital of New Africa, just waiting to be born. Blacks will still be a minority in Europe, and unwelcome in many places. Jews went home to Israel in the 20th century. White terrorists drove Black Americans off their ancestral homeland during the same period. But now there's nothing to stop Black Americans from going home and taking back the Deep South in this century.
6
In 1997 I emigrated to Melbourne, Australia where I am identified by my nationality (American) and not my ethnicity (African-American). It was refreshing and a first for me to experience. In 2004 out of curiosity I returned to the US. A Black American friend of mine in Melbourne said that he could never return to the US as he had gotten used to not having to think about race. Well, he was correct. I stayed in the US until 2013 when I returned permanently to Australia tired of the racial polarization and the Republican party. Race is an obsession in the US fueled by the media and stale, redundant rhetoric by both blacks and whites. Obama's election rather than ushering in a post-racial period has actually exacerbated the racial divisions. As a Black person it is always on your mind, no matter what your accomplishments are. Basically it's the white man's world, and the rest of us (including white women) are just living in it. I'm an agnostic, but if reincarnation exists, I would definitely come back as a white person in the US. I know what it's like to live as a black in the US so to come back black again would be nothing but an exercise in masochism. I'd come back of course as a white liberal so I could be tolerant and enjoy black music. No way I'd come back as a right wing intolerant conservative.
Here in Australia I give absolutely no thought to race in my daily life. I'm just a human being over here, and win or lose in my endeavors it's liberating.
Here in Australia I give absolutely no thought to race in my daily life. I'm just a human being over here, and win or lose in my endeavors it's liberating.
8
I find this to be very interesting article as I run a business which caters to Expats and Internationals working to get their legal documents approved for use in another Country and very few of my customers are African American which made me wonder why we don't consider living abroad; personally I regret not travelling outside the US while in College, however I have made it a point to go outside the USA every year as an "Adult" in fact I plan to encourage my children to spend time abroad while they are in School and after College. I also plan to re-locate outside the US in a few years myself and found France to be a wonderful place. The USA is a great Country and there are many Social, Racial & Economic Problems which impact us; however re-locating abroad takes a significant financial investment and I think many people see this as "far fetched" or they feel things are so great here. However, we need to ensure our Children see more of the world, beyond the US Borders; especially since the economy is very much Globalized. I feel the economic opportunity alone warrants us to be more "World Citizens"
2
I immigrated from San Francisco to Montreal in 2000 for personal reasons. Yes, many Québecois think I must have been insane at the time. Although, racial discrimination and intra-racial tension did not factor into my decision to immigrate, I found that the racism that I encounter in Québec is more than an order of magnitude less than is normal in the US. For example, I'm an engineer with a PhD and when I travelled to sites in the US for work, people would actually question me as to if I was "really an engineer." In the office, engineers who I was clearly outperforming would spread rumers that I was only there because of affrimative action or that my work wasn't really that good. While in Québec there's no question of my competence. In fact, I've gained an extraordinary reputation here because of the quality of my work. With respect to intra-racial racism in the US, on numerous occasions while going about my business, some black person would say some thing such as "Look at that boy (or nigger), he think he something cause he got a suit." However, my favorite was the black security guard who stopped me in the lobby and asked if I did "filing and stuff" for the engineers. I told him that I was an engineer and he asked if I went to college.
7
Surely an "Israel" in West Africa could be sought and built.
Of course it would take time and determination—just like the "Israel" beginning in 1948.
Of course it would take time and determination—just like the "Israel" beginning in 1948.
It's called Liberia.
2
The irony is that suburban communities like Ferguson MO, are themselves places that Blacks have fled to in search of a better life. They were seduced by the tree lined streets, relative safety, and better schools just like whites were before them - myself included. They arrived only to find more oppression and inequality. I fear that if they flee to some other country, it could be the same. Or worse.
2
I am 100% sure London is a better place to be black than anywhere in this country, but racism is not a uniquely American problem. For example, I was considering teaching English abroad in Asia as a method of delaying adulthood. Time and time again I heard more than English proficiency or experience teaching, schools were looking for someone who "looked American." I heard multiple people tell me that white blonds had a significantly easier time getting a job than whites with darker hair. I imagine it would be even more difficult for an African-American in this context. I think what I'm saying is that England is a somewhat unique place where African-Americans can be seen as just Americans due to that country's history with Africans and with Americans.
Other than that point, that England might be a special case, this was a gorgeously written and well considered essay.
Other than that point, that England might be a special case, this was a gorgeously written and well considered essay.
2
Really? Are you talking about the white lower class suburbs of London or the Musilum area? Please, racism is a part of this world in all forms and colors. Whites and blacks (westerners) are looked at as dirty in some asian countries. Serbians hate Bosnians. Wait, here's one. Middle class Mexicans in northern Mexico ( spanish decent) verse mexican farmers ( indian decent). Anywhere you go it's ugly face is present but America still has the best chances for someone to make something of themselves. Better to stay here and make this democracy somehow work.
5
You can take your talents elsewhere, if they are not valued, if you are threatened....or you can stand and fight.
It is, the American way.
It is, the American way.
2
jan,
It may be the American way, but not the reality as matters stand at the moment. We are fighting among ourselves on many different occasion, and a lot will depend on us to educate our children to respect the rich variety of cultures and background that our Country has on offer, and to appreciate that only in America is there real hope for harmony and democracy. Many of us have been asleep, let us try to do better; at least we have the freedom to try.
Yesterday an elderly Asian of Chinese origin asked where the local vendor was, and placing some change in my hand, he added picking up his paper: 'He is probably saying his Muslim prayers', causing me to smile but gently shake my head.
It may be the American way, but not the reality as matters stand at the moment. We are fighting among ourselves on many different occasion, and a lot will depend on us to educate our children to respect the rich variety of cultures and background that our Country has on offer, and to appreciate that only in America is there real hope for harmony and democracy. Many of us have been asleep, let us try to do better; at least we have the freedom to try.
Yesterday an elderly Asian of Chinese origin asked where the local vendor was, and placing some change in my hand, he added picking up his paper: 'He is probably saying his Muslim prayers', causing me to smile but gently shake my head.
1
Between 1816 and 1892, according to my references, 22,000 people liberated from slavery moved to Liberia. Most of these immigrants were born in America. Liberia's capital Monrovia is named for President James Monroe; it became an independent republic in 1847. This is not merely to suggest that African-Americans have exercised agency whenever freed from the shackles of chattel bondage but also that there are many places in the world where, historically, their unique talents and skills have been valued.
3
Frederick Douglass must be rolling over in his grave.
This is great article!
I am African-Canadian....key word African...I am immigrant!
I have lived in Canada more than I lived in Africa but I will always be African because of my accent and memories.
I always tell white Americans that I encounter...to me and many other immigrants...the whole thing of Black Culture is oxymoron...to the outsider...that is American Culture...you can slice it but still American. With that being said, one of the main reasons B-Americans do not travel Europe as much let alone want to live there is because of the mentality that most whites are racist or if I am treated this way at my own country what would happened to me at another country full of white people and where I clearly do not belong! Most B-Americans I met have this ingrained fear where most Africans do not!
The irony is in Europe and Middle East which I travelled extensively...they love Black Americans because they are exotic to them!!! and more so because where Africans are seen as immigrants looking for a better place to live...B-Americans are seen as we see German immigrant...they are here because they can and want not because their country is like Somalia!
I am so surprised the author did not touch their fear of that moving from US to Europe and full of white people. It takes a huge perception change and many conversations...but I know from experience in Europe and Asia, they love B-Americans and love the American culture....of course there is always the odd experience.
I am African-Canadian....key word African...I am immigrant!
I have lived in Canada more than I lived in Africa but I will always be African because of my accent and memories.
I always tell white Americans that I encounter...to me and many other immigrants...the whole thing of Black Culture is oxymoron...to the outsider...that is American Culture...you can slice it but still American. With that being said, one of the main reasons B-Americans do not travel Europe as much let alone want to live there is because of the mentality that most whites are racist or if I am treated this way at my own country what would happened to me at another country full of white people and where I clearly do not belong! Most B-Americans I met have this ingrained fear where most Africans do not!
The irony is in Europe and Middle East which I travelled extensively...they love Black Americans because they are exotic to them!!! and more so because where Africans are seen as immigrants looking for a better place to live...B-Americans are seen as we see German immigrant...they are here because they can and want not because their country is like Somalia!
I am so surprised the author did not touch their fear of that moving from US to Europe and full of white people. It takes a huge perception change and many conversations...but I know from experience in Europe and Asia, they love B-Americans and love the American culture....of course there is always the odd experience.
6
The estimated Jewish population in France is somewhere around a half million, so 7,000 Jews leaving France presumably to a large extent to Israel where they do not have any entrance barriers is a very small percentage. I would imagine that most of the remaining French Jews are constrained by the same problem we Americans would have whether black, white, brown, yellow or red, that of jobs and finances.
Given the opportunity I would love to move from the USA given what I view as its rapid social, political and economic decline post Watergate and ever since the Reagan trickle down has meant nothing more than the majority of us circling the drain. However the reality is that most countries if not all have strict immigration policies that encompass personal wealth, job visas, educational standards and health restrictions.
Like many I think Kanye West is a jerk, but a rich one and we all know that money can buy you almost anything including a pass to France. So while Kayne can sip his cognac and wonder what the poor blacks in America are doing I'll give my moral support to those that have the courage to demonstrate in Ferguson and shout "black lives matter".
Given the opportunity I would love to move from the USA given what I view as its rapid social, political and economic decline post Watergate and ever since the Reagan trickle down has meant nothing more than the majority of us circling the drain. However the reality is that most countries if not all have strict immigration policies that encompass personal wealth, job visas, educational standards and health restrictions.
Like many I think Kanye West is a jerk, but a rich one and we all know that money can buy you almost anything including a pass to France. So while Kayne can sip his cognac and wonder what the poor blacks in America are doing I'll give my moral support to those that have the courage to demonstrate in Ferguson and shout "black lives matter".
11
Thank you for this excellent article.
Most of the comments here are missing the point. Mr. Williams very clearly says that moving abroad is not a panacea for black Americans, or that black Americans have to leave the U.S. in order to achieve self-realization. He's merely saying that the power and agency of choosing to live abroad is something that would strengthen the African-American experience, that it's something long idealized throughout African-American history, but not often realized enough in actuality.
Most of the comments here are missing the point. Mr. Williams very clearly says that moving abroad is not a panacea for black Americans, or that black Americans have to leave the U.S. in order to achieve self-realization. He's merely saying that the power and agency of choosing to live abroad is something that would strengthen the African-American experience, that it's something long idealized throughout African-American history, but not often realized enough in actuality.
8
This could be perceived to be defeatist to say the least. Historically Jews escaping pogroms in Eurooe and Nazism in Germany had little choice: their exile was not fight or flight but flight or be incinerated. Black Americans will only re victimize themselves if they become yet another movement towards repatriating to a 'milder' climate. They fought for their freedom and their rights as Americans and should stand their ground.
4
Katie 1,
We are making progress in America when it comes to interacting with each other, and regardless of our origins, religion, culture and heritage, it it time to stop pushing people around. As an American born in New York, it was a rich experience to see how well Africa and Asia communicated at an international workshop for children, where we don't give a button about the color of our complexion.
We are making progress in America when it comes to interacting with each other, and regardless of our origins, religion, culture and heritage, it it time to stop pushing people around. As an American born in New York, it was a rich experience to see how well Africa and Asia communicated at an international workshop for children, where we don't give a button about the color of our complexion.
Mr. Williams' essay does address the possibilities of immigration for educated black Americans, but he does not address the fact that even with an education, it may not be so easy to get a job in France, with its high unemployment rate, or anywhere else. Also, France may be a good idea for certain black American expatriates, but were there a max exodus of black Americans to France or any country in Europe, those immigrants might very well face some of the same challenges and hostilities that other immigrant groups, white, brown and black, already face.
As another poster suggested, what about Africa? Doesn't Ghana extend citizenship to African Americans? Educated African Americans who were willing and eager to move to the motherland, and integrate into the society there, might just find a more welcoming home. There are already sizable numbers of African Americans in South Africa, for example, which began after the fall of the monstrous apartheid system. There's Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania. What about parts of Latin America, like Brazil? Or Colombia? Or Dominican Republic, which received African Americans in the 1820s? Or Haiti, which also received African American immigrants in the 19th century? There are many options. Europe is only one, and it's no paradise, though it might work for people on an individual basis.
As another poster suggested, what about Africa? Doesn't Ghana extend citizenship to African Americans? Educated African Americans who were willing and eager to move to the motherland, and integrate into the society there, might just find a more welcoming home. There are already sizable numbers of African Americans in South Africa, for example, which began after the fall of the monstrous apartheid system. There's Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania. What about parts of Latin America, like Brazil? Or Colombia? Or Dominican Republic, which received African Americans in the 1820s? Or Haiti, which also received African American immigrants in the 19th century? There are many options. Europe is only one, and it's no paradise, though it might work for people on an individual basis.
10
Persons immigrating to France or another country belonging to the EU and seeking work there are expected to be more qualified than citiziens of the 27 other EU countries. Thus, a citizen of Malta will be given preference over an otherwise equally qualified American immigrant.
Obviously there are significant differences between living abroad as a foreign resident and as a citizen. Long-term or permanent residence outside the US even in Canada, the UK, or Australia -- countries quite similar to the US -- is not the picnic a tourist may have experienced.
Obviously there are significant differences between living abroad as a foreign resident and as a citizen. Long-term or permanent residence outside the US even in Canada, the UK, or Australia -- countries quite similar to the US -- is not the picnic a tourist may have experienced.
3
Wow, you sure have a long list of countries there, Sleater. How many American blacks would feel at home in any of these African countries, or Latin America with all their problems? Just how is the 'sizeable' US black group doing in South Africa these days?
Just sending black people abroad to any place with dark skinned people is crazy. "Motherland"? How is it a motherland? That was hundreds of years ago. Nothing in common. How many of us could go back to the lands of our ancestors? Let's focus on America's biases, and live up to and enforce our laws and American ideals.
Just sending black people abroad to any place with dark skinned people is crazy. "Motherland"? How is it a motherland? That was hundreds of years ago. Nothing in common. How many of us could go back to the lands of our ancestors? Let's focus on America's biases, and live up to and enforce our laws and American ideals.
2
There is some disagreement among the African-Americans who've posted here about the benefit of living abroad. but I still find it interesting that in regard to the author and others who say they do prefer it, how many posters are telling them that they are mistaken - it's actually better here.
You'd think they would know what they preferred. I don't know what it's like there and I'm white, but it seems to me that even if there is some prejudice there that it might be refreshing just to experience some flavor of prejudice that's different than it is here. I'm not the target of it, but even I am tired of it.
I traveled to Europe about 11 years with my youngest son. I enjoyed it all and there were places I really loved - Tuscany stands out. But, the place that draws me more than any other is Nuremberg. It's a pretty city, but that's not why. It's the palpable history embodied in the Zeppelin field and 'the courtoom' and some other places. It's sobering. It feels like reality. I can't explain why that draws me and I'm sure that doesn't make much sense.
Beyond that, I've always thought that if I could go back in time to any place it would be Paris after WW II. And my second choice would be Paris after WW I. Probably a romantic fantasy and I'm sure the reality wouldn't meet my expectations, but it's an enjoyable fantasy. In the unlikely event that there is another world war before I die, I promise that I'm going to Paris after it's over.
You'd think they would know what they preferred. I don't know what it's like there and I'm white, but it seems to me that even if there is some prejudice there that it might be refreshing just to experience some flavor of prejudice that's different than it is here. I'm not the target of it, but even I am tired of it.
I traveled to Europe about 11 years with my youngest son. I enjoyed it all and there were places I really loved - Tuscany stands out. But, the place that draws me more than any other is Nuremberg. It's a pretty city, but that's not why. It's the palpable history embodied in the Zeppelin field and 'the courtoom' and some other places. It's sobering. It feels like reality. I can't explain why that draws me and I'm sure that doesn't make much sense.
Beyond that, I've always thought that if I could go back in time to any place it would be Paris after WW II. And my second choice would be Paris after WW I. Probably a romantic fantasy and I'm sure the reality wouldn't meet my expectations, but it's an enjoyable fantasy. In the unlikely event that there is another world war before I die, I promise that I'm going to Paris after it's over.
10
Marine Le Pen, a strong contender to be France's next president & lover of all humanity, would no doubt warmly welcome such a migration to France with open arms.
24
Marine le Pen? Have you seen her policy on immigration in which blacks and Arabs are singled out?
1
There are two passages in this piece that I would like to comment on. The first:
“A realistic program of black expatriation today would start with appreciating the huge potential of cheap flights and Internet hyperconnectivity[, and would focus] on the strength and adaptability of individuals and the social networks they can create by integrating into societies that allow black expats the status . . . of being treated first and foremost as Americans and not as blacks.”
The second is the author’s conclusion:
“A powerful way to sidestep America’s reluctance to become postracial would be for more black Americans to become postnational.”
The author argues that because of new opportunities for mobility, black Americans who are dissatisfied with being American can immigrate to other countries. But this is not so that they can become postnational as the author concludes. Rather, it is so they can be someplace where they can really be treated as American. And more often than not in the world we live in today, being American means being privileged. For example, compare the author’s glib assertion of increased mobility because of cheap flights with the current reality of the dangerous journey from Africa to Europe of black immigrants from Africa. The ease of mobility is not at all symmetrical. Being privileged is not the same as being postnational. The vast majority of postnational people in the world today are stateless and desperate.
“A realistic program of black expatriation today would start with appreciating the huge potential of cheap flights and Internet hyperconnectivity[, and would focus] on the strength and adaptability of individuals and the social networks they can create by integrating into societies that allow black expats the status . . . of being treated first and foremost as Americans and not as blacks.”
The second is the author’s conclusion:
“A powerful way to sidestep America’s reluctance to become postracial would be for more black Americans to become postnational.”
The author argues that because of new opportunities for mobility, black Americans who are dissatisfied with being American can immigrate to other countries. But this is not so that they can become postnational as the author concludes. Rather, it is so they can be someplace where they can really be treated as American. And more often than not in the world we live in today, being American means being privileged. For example, compare the author’s glib assertion of increased mobility because of cheap flights with the current reality of the dangerous journey from Africa to Europe of black immigrants from Africa. The ease of mobility is not at all symmetrical. Being privileged is not the same as being postnational. The vast majority of postnational people in the world today are stateless and desperate.
28
If black Americans perceive white racism as the problem, wouldn't sub-Sahara Africa be the logical destination.
3
I think that millions of todays Americans would surely emigrate, only if they were allowed through visas and work opportunities. The sad truth is that no matter black or white, we can't flee the U.S. and establish ourselves much of anywhere in a legal fashion without a lot of money.
52
I have been a property owner in France since about 1998 and can stay there as long as I want yet becoming a citizen is a long and laborious process.
4
Or by the article dancing around the fact that nearly one in three African American males aged 20–29 are under some form of criminal justice supervision whether imprisoned, jailed, on parole or probation.
That makes it a challenge to get a Visa - let alone the idea that skilled trades are typically the first choice for immigration to any country.
That makes it a challenge to get a Visa - let alone the idea that skilled trades are typically the first choice for immigration to any country.
3
Williams' view of the feeling of freedom available to black Americans in France sounds idealistic and ahistorical to this black American who has lived in Europe for several years and spent a lot of time in France.
He himself recently wrote a quite different essay in which he notes France's "racist, violent, and unexorcised past" and rightfully laments the French word for "ghostwriter" (négre), as well as the "Sambo-like" dolls—presumably, the decorative objects known as blackamoor figures—on display in French rooms.
France's colonial history and history of slavery is no less burdensome than that of the US. That is, at least, what Williams himself would seem to suggest elsewhere. Certainly French Guyana-born minister of justice Christiane Taubira hasn't exactly been embraced for her race by France's far-right Front National. And if Americans of African descent are regarded so differently from other people of African descent in France... well how quickly does the freedom bestowed there become fetishism?
Personally, I enjoy my time in France but have found nothing especially liberating about being a black American woman there.
He himself recently wrote a quite different essay in which he notes France's "racist, violent, and unexorcised past" and rightfully laments the French word for "ghostwriter" (négre), as well as the "Sambo-like" dolls—presumably, the decorative objects known as blackamoor figures—on display in French rooms.
France's colonial history and history of slavery is no less burdensome than that of the US. That is, at least, what Williams himself would seem to suggest elsewhere. Certainly French Guyana-born minister of justice Christiane Taubira hasn't exactly been embraced for her race by France's far-right Front National. And if Americans of African descent are regarded so differently from other people of African descent in France... well how quickly does the freedom bestowed there become fetishism?
Personally, I enjoy my time in France but have found nothing especially liberating about being a black American woman there.
57
Whoa! Eye-opening rebuttal
2
Honest and true, and it may be in our younger European generation that we will find a far broader outlook and future as to how we can live as one people, while appreciating and learning from our different cultures. A fine way to begin is to start looking at each other in the eye.
The teaser on this story asks, "Why don’t more black Americans move abroad?".
It seems to me that the space could better have been used to explore the causes and nourishment of continued bigotry in the United States. Or, having broken ground on this subject, the next article might be: "Why don’t more bigots move abroad?"
It seems to me that the space could better have been used to explore the causes and nourishment of continued bigotry in the United States. Or, having broken ground on this subject, the next article might be: "Why don’t more bigots move abroad?"
19
Williams' view of France as a place where black Americans can finally be free seems idealistic and ahistorical to this black American who has lived in Europe for several years and has spent a lot of time in France. The view also contradicts one suggested in Williams' own essay "Equal in Paris: On Baldwin and Charlie Hebdo" (published elsewhere and easily found in an online search). Given its colonial history, race is no less a burden in France than it is in the US.
Williams himself writes in "Equal in Paris":
"In the five years that I have lived in France, I have more than once been welcomed into well-furnished rooms where I have been left to silently puzzle over colonial detritus—Sambo-like dolls and figurines, thick-lipped, bug-eyed, disembodied brown porcelain heads—cavalierly displayed on illuminated shelves and marble tabletops [...] I would be lying if I denied that there is some small part of my consciousness still tender with ancestral ache, which cannot ever allow me to lose sight of these outlandish trophies and souvenirs [...] France has a violent, racist, and unexorcised past. There is no self-respecting way for me to identify with these objects that I sometimes see, just as there is no self-respecting way for me to hear the still-in-use French word for ghostwriter—nègre (literally an unacknowledged, unpaid laborer [...])—without flinching..."
Williams himself writes in "Equal in Paris":
"In the five years that I have lived in France, I have more than once been welcomed into well-furnished rooms where I have been left to silently puzzle over colonial detritus—Sambo-like dolls and figurines, thick-lipped, bug-eyed, disembodied brown porcelain heads—cavalierly displayed on illuminated shelves and marble tabletops [...] I would be lying if I denied that there is some small part of my consciousness still tender with ancestral ache, which cannot ever allow me to lose sight of these outlandish trophies and souvenirs [...] France has a violent, racist, and unexorcised past. There is no self-respecting way for me to identify with these objects that I sometimes see, just as there is no self-respecting way for me to hear the still-in-use French word for ghostwriter—nègre (literally an unacknowledged, unpaid laborer [...])—without flinching..."
21
Thanks for the clarification.
1
Blacks who want to go to college can also join the military. In my state you can take college classes in high school. So you could have a plan like this: In high school at 16 take two years of college classes. Join the military (I would say Coast Guard, Air Force, or Navy) for four years. Finish up your last two years of college. You'll be 24 when you finish. The military will pay for your tuition and you should have some money saved up. You can then do a master's degree in Europe and work there.
21
Sounds like sage advice for anyone.
2
"Join the military (I would say Coast Guard, Air Force, or Navy) for four years."
The Air Force probably has the best living conditions of all the services. It also has many bases in Europe which gives you a chance of being stationed there. You can also take college courses while in the military.
The Air Force probably has the best living conditions of all the services. It also has many bases in Europe which gives you a chance of being stationed there. You can also take college courses while in the military.
2
What if you're a pacifist? What if you have a problem with the possibility of one day being asked to kill people who are no different from you aside from having been born in a different country? What if you don't want to risk getting PTSD or losing a limb? What if you worry about the military beating all creativity and sensitivity out of you, and replacing it with conformity and obedience? Joining the military is a very high price to pay for a college education. Taking on a huge financial debt seems a significantly better deal in comparison.
Do you also recommend the military to young white people? Or is it only black people whose lives matter so little as to be risked in this way?
Do you also recommend the military to young white people? Or is it only black people whose lives matter so little as to be risked in this way?
1
A confluence of factors and forces drove the first Great Migration: racial terror wrought by a resurgent Ku Klux Klan; the abuses of the share cropping and convict/leased labor systems; capricious "vagrancy" laws used to jail hitchhikers and hoboes; and ever-present "Jim Crow" laws.
Attractive forces were also pulling African-Americans northward and westward toward vaguely articulated distant cities and dreams, where they might hope to find better work and better lives for themselves and their families in places where industry had developed earlier or more rapidly.
Even so, Isabel Wilkerson (THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS) has suggested that the choices of participants in this momentous sociological phenomenon were individual ones. Many would not recognize the size and reach of what had taken place until some time after the fact.
It would not, then, seem to have been a deliberate, organized movement in the sense of the founding of Liberia and "Back to Africa." Rather, it seems a massive mosaic of myriad individual decisions by people who'd seen 'the writing on the wall' of the Old South and -- somewhat by coincidence, somewhat by happenstance -- ended up in the same or similar destinations and circumstances.
Thus, I'm mildly skeptical of any attempt to predict another such mass exodus and its timing. But this is a fascinating period in African-American, U.S., and World history. So, I found Mr. Williams's 'homage' a fitting way to mark the end of Black History Month.
Attractive forces were also pulling African-Americans northward and westward toward vaguely articulated distant cities and dreams, where they might hope to find better work and better lives for themselves and their families in places where industry had developed earlier or more rapidly.
Even so, Isabel Wilkerson (THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS) has suggested that the choices of participants in this momentous sociological phenomenon were individual ones. Many would not recognize the size and reach of what had taken place until some time after the fact.
It would not, then, seem to have been a deliberate, organized movement in the sense of the founding of Liberia and "Back to Africa." Rather, it seems a massive mosaic of myriad individual decisions by people who'd seen 'the writing on the wall' of the Old South and -- somewhat by coincidence, somewhat by happenstance -- ended up in the same or similar destinations and circumstances.
Thus, I'm mildly skeptical of any attempt to predict another such mass exodus and its timing. But this is a fascinating period in African-American, U.S., and World history. So, I found Mr. Williams's 'homage' a fitting way to mark the end of Black History Month.
7
Just a hunch, but if Kanye West was a North African Muslim, the French wouldn't be as accepting.
27
Kanye is a multi-millionaire superstar. At that level, skin pigmentation is utterly irrelevant. He might as well be purple.
3
Why France? Why not Nigeria? Why not Niger? The tragedy is that American blacks have done so little to improve leadership and government in Africa. It proves that culture is stronger than skin color. American blacks, as seen by Africans, are basically rich American whites.....no matter how modest their means. And in the US a few bigots might focus on skin color but more significantly it is money and class that separates. Wealthy black men have no trouble catching white trophy wives.....Kanye included. "Gold Digga" is a universal song. It is not skin color.....it is money and class.
31
'It is not skin color.....it is money and class.' You got that right.
1
Well, in Kanye's case, it's money (class?). The guy is a barely coherent boob. His wife is a bona fide dummy. I watched an episode of "Khloe and Lamar," and they are so inarticulate that sub-titles were provided (I was in the ER zonked on morphine, which made Khloe's plea to Lamar to skip an offer to play B-ball in Turkey "Because they did something bad to Armenians (her uncle so told the klueless Khloe). Priceless.
4
Interesting observation. There is a history of American Blacks emigrating to Liberia in the 19th and 20th century. And ... they essentially created an economic model much like that of the pre-civil war American SOuth. They became the aristocracy and began treating their "fellow" blacks like .. slaves.
5
Poor Americans live better in America than anywhere else in the world.
8
You have never been to Europe.
26
You must be joking. Have you ever been in a European, Scandanavian or Oceanic country? Free health care, support for housing, free pre-natal care, schools that care about all students, job training. This comment seems like it's straight from FOX News.
9
I am not exactly sure of how poor Americans live, but I can tell you that Europe is getting quite miserable.
4
I have decided this OpEd suffers - to begin with - from the standard flaws in virtually all NYT OpEds in which the key word "Blacks"/black appears. As one reader already notes we have in America (authentic) African Americans but we also have many others who at least in US Census Bureau thinking belong to something called the "black race".
If you mean only authentic African Americans, say so. I have friends in Vermont and Minnesota who emigrated to America so clearly you do not have them in mind - or do you?
Odd, you do not mention Liberia.
I write as an American with extensive many-year experience working with Sub-Saharan refugees at the Red Cross in Linköping, Sweden. Since Sweden has a far more generous policy concerning these people, who you, apparently, would call "black" it is hard for me to see that Sweden would be a particularly good place for your "blacks" to emigrate to.
They certainly might want to look into possibilities at Swedish universities and medical schools, but as one commenter already notes, blacks with the right qualifications for those tracks are probably already sought by American universities and maybe medical schools.
I am quite skeptical about your proposal. I am sure that a small number of African-Americans might find places at Swedish universities and in other northern European countries, but that is all.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
If you mean only authentic African Americans, say so. I have friends in Vermont and Minnesota who emigrated to America so clearly you do not have them in mind - or do you?
Odd, you do not mention Liberia.
I write as an American with extensive many-year experience working with Sub-Saharan refugees at the Red Cross in Linköping, Sweden. Since Sweden has a far more generous policy concerning these people, who you, apparently, would call "black" it is hard for me to see that Sweden would be a particularly good place for your "blacks" to emigrate to.
They certainly might want to look into possibilities at Swedish universities and medical schools, but as one commenter already notes, blacks with the right qualifications for those tracks are probably already sought by American universities and maybe medical schools.
I am quite skeptical about your proposal. I am sure that a small number of African-Americans might find places at Swedish universities and in other northern European countries, but that is all.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
10
An African friend and I were enjoying our conversation the other day about a multitude of topics, including her many years spent working in the Sudan. She drew herself up when it came to an article in the Times where it was suggested that marriage for poor people of Sub-Saharan regions of Africa rarely worked. Her large family, her parents married for over five decades, the Sub-Saharan country where she was born, and we decided that I would visit 'Black Africa' one of these days. We had a good laugh.
I live in Stockholm, where there are quite a few educated African Americans. The total number of Americans is fairly small, but it does seem that African Americans are statistically over-represented, or at least not under-represented to the degree seen elsewhere. I find that quite interesting, given that the cultural ties between Sweden and black America are not as deep as, say, France.
3
Larry Lundgren,
You are correct to be skeptical, and if things are slow to progress among our Cultures here in America, it is taking far longer to assimilate these in Europe. An African friend who is working in the international community and has a grown family of children who were born here, mentioned in a phone call 'you remember Anne Thomas, the black woman', causing me to smile because I reminded her that I was the only albino among our thirty staff members.
While we were both brought up in different French-speaking countries, neither of us are planning to move to Paris. She may decide to return to her country of birth on retirement, and then I shall look forward to visiting her 'Land of Hospitality', while she continues to give me some lessons on protocol, and the customs of her Country.
You are correct to be skeptical, and if things are slow to progress among our Cultures here in America, it is taking far longer to assimilate these in Europe. An African friend who is working in the international community and has a grown family of children who were born here, mentioned in a phone call 'you remember Anne Thomas, the black woman', causing me to smile because I reminded her that I was the only albino among our thirty staff members.
While we were both brought up in different French-speaking countries, neither of us are planning to move to Paris. She may decide to return to her country of birth on retirement, and then I shall look forward to visiting her 'Land of Hospitality', while she continues to give me some lessons on protocol, and the customs of her Country.
1
Having first arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619, black Americans have been in this country longer than 90% of white Americans. Moreover, 5,000 or more fought in George Washington’s army and in every war since. Should persons with such a long presence have to leave the country for fair treatment and peace of mind?
20
Thank you! Finally! My people have been here for hundreds of years and literally built this country. I enjoy my travels abroad and wouldn't mind a living abroad for a couple of years--but because I want to. I shall not let some folks who have barely been here a century (I'm looking at you, Giuliani) run me off of what my ancestors built for me and mine.
5
"Tenuous" is a good word to describe any progress in America today, and I can assure you that Whites and Blacks both are being deprived. You note the tragic events in Ferguson and with good cause, but I posit that Whites are suffering equal wrongs at the hands of Congress. Both Blacks and Whites are watching our country torn apart by the sin of do-nothingness.
It is not my intention to belittle your assertions, Mr. Williams, but we are all suffering.
It is not my intention to belittle your assertions, Mr. Williams, but we are all suffering.
16
Like a couple of million blacks returning to their roots would be great for America and other western countries would surely try to encourage their black folks to return?
3
By far the best strategy for African Americans is to follow the Mormon path: they control Utah. Blacks could first migrate to Mississippi. A million more blacks in Mississippi would transform the state politically. Then Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina would be the next candidates. Eventually with 8 senators and four governors blacks would for then experience true power to transform how they are treated in America.
20
So basically: the Great Migration -- in the long run -- made things much worse, and just staying put would have (in time) given blacks the power and security they deserved.
Interesting idea: but black Americans could have power NOW without migration if they simply voted consistently at the local and national level. Republicans know this, which is why we have all these voter-ID laws.
3
This is the most brilliant comment I have ever read posted on the NYT.
1. The situation in Paris for African Americans is great now b/c: a. the number is very small b. self-selection makes an African American in Paris likely to be much more law-abiding, educated, and worldly than African Americans in the U.S. As soon as any community in Europe has significant numbers of African Americans, you will see the same attitude, if not worse, that is displayed towards the Roma, Arabs, etc. that Mr. Williams mentions.
2. Mr. Williams doesn't mention the negative impact of substantial emigration of middle to upper-class African Americans: fewer role models, fewer potential community leaders and advocates, and an African American population that, on average is even more likely to be involved in crime which will only fuel racism and existing problems among African Americans in the U.S.
3. And like hundreds of posters after I submit this will point out, his stats are hyperbole, law-abiding upper-middle class Africans understand that they are not Michael Brown or Eric Garner, etc.
2. Mr. Williams doesn't mention the negative impact of substantial emigration of middle to upper-class African Americans: fewer role models, fewer potential community leaders and advocates, and an African American population that, on average is even more likely to be involved in crime which will only fuel racism and existing problems among African Americans in the U.S.
3. And like hundreds of posters after I submit this will point out, his stats are hyperbole, law-abiding upper-middle class Africans understand that they are not Michael Brown or Eric Garner, etc.
41
Interesting obsession about "law abiding" African Americans that conveniently ignores disproportionate law enforcement in poor Africa American communities. Does #1 mean that once the French have large numbers of African Americans in France, they will (as you imply) justifiably discriminate against them? Does #3 mean that Michael Brown and Eric Garner deserved their fates, whereas the (implicit in your statement) "good" upper-middle class Africans (I think you mean African Americans) don't? Are you seriously defending what was done to Michael Brown and Eric Garner. If so, I would suggest you need to reflect on your attitudes.
3
I suggest that Mr. Williams don the attire of an African street vendor (sans the sack of trinkets) and see how he is greeted by the proprietors of his usual haunts.
America has no monopoly on racism, something Mr. Williams would learn if only he broadened his horizons.
America has no monopoly on racism, something Mr. Williams would learn if only he broadened his horizons.
36
Fpor example, ask the West African street vendors in front of the Museum of Mankind on the Trocadero how accepted they feel.
3
Alas, if a substantial number of African Americans left for other shores, and who could blame them, America would be a much lesser place. America's strength is in its diversity.
6
When I was growing up in the 60s, America was the "melting pot." At some point, the mantra became "diversity," an unmitigated good.
I submit that diversity on a world wide scale is interesting and why I travel one-half of the year (after learning the languages), but the atomizing of people into a variety of distinct groups (often claiming victimhood) has been an unmitigated disaster.
It has been persuasively postulated by historians of modern Europe after WW2 was due in significant part to the homogeneity of the populations with the respective nation-states (after WW1 and the dissolution of the German, Austria-Hungary, and Russian Empires and the re-drawing of new national borders left 30 million people outside of their respective nations, one of the ingredients for WW2).
The lack of solidarity among the working people in this country is palpable and in fact promoted by the ruling class and their paid flunkies in Congress), as a classic "divide and conquer."
I submit that diversity on a world wide scale is interesting and why I travel one-half of the year (after learning the languages), but the atomizing of people into a variety of distinct groups (often claiming victimhood) has been an unmitigated disaster.
It has been persuasively postulated by historians of modern Europe after WW2 was due in significant part to the homogeneity of the populations with the respective nation-states (after WW1 and the dissolution of the German, Austria-Hungary, and Russian Empires and the re-drawing of new national borders left 30 million people outside of their respective nations, one of the ingredients for WW2).
The lack of solidarity among the working people in this country is palpable and in fact promoted by the ruling class and their paid flunkies in Congress), as a classic "divide and conquer."
2
When Africans were on their continent, they were not fleeing to America or coming with an intent to colonize it. They were kidnapped for slave labor and there will never be an accurate record of how many died in the merchant ships. The greatest obstacle the World may be facing is 'Overpopulation' and France is having a time of it with many Africans coming to live there in search of a better quality-of-life.
Our black Americans are tired of being pushed around, and while they enjoy a visit to Paris alone, or with their family on occasion, they are happy to come home and live in their country of birth. America. Perhaps we should all go back to our homeland, our origins, legacy and heritage and pitch up our tent wherever we feel best. This Irish-French born American is debating the issue now, and at last hearing, she has new family relatives bearing her maiden name in Ireland. They are from Nigeria and other African countries, and she looks forward to an introduction.
Paris is a beautiful City, cold under a hot sun, and just as J.G. Farrell, a British author was to find his new 'Blighty' (home in Hindu), he wavered between an apartment in Paris in the 70s and finally was a happy young camper in the elbow of Bantry in Co. Cork in an old farm by the sea.
Leave it to our American blacks to tend to their own garden here, while many white Americans are taking off to live in Europe, as they did before in the mid 1950s.
Our black Americans are tired of being pushed around, and while they enjoy a visit to Paris alone, or with their family on occasion, they are happy to come home and live in their country of birth. America. Perhaps we should all go back to our homeland, our origins, legacy and heritage and pitch up our tent wherever we feel best. This Irish-French born American is debating the issue now, and at last hearing, she has new family relatives bearing her maiden name in Ireland. They are from Nigeria and other African countries, and she looks forward to an introduction.
Paris is a beautiful City, cold under a hot sun, and just as J.G. Farrell, a British author was to find his new 'Blighty' (home in Hindu), he wavered between an apartment in Paris in the 70s and finally was a happy young camper in the elbow of Bantry in Co. Cork in an old farm by the sea.
Leave it to our American blacks to tend to their own garden here, while many white Americans are taking off to live in Europe, as they did before in the mid 1950s.
Migration and dream that everything is better abroad, it's just a dream. We need to break stereotypes, work hard for achieving our goals. But if we chose the way of be a victim the price will be too high. I live the same in this city, discrimination. I am a new Canadian, Colombian expat, I know what is when the locals have four or five more opportunities than you have, just because they are from here. But I know, as well, that my origins give me the possibility to stay and go ahead.
5
Taken at the 50,000 foot level this is, potentially, another example of what seems to be large social trends occurring across the globe today. Willaims' call, the call for Jews to return to Israel, even the Jihadists' pleas for their brothers and sisters to join them against the western world all are instances of peoples sharing a commonality trying to band together. At the same time, countries are erecting barriers for movement into and out of their borders. Forces driving these movements are varied, although in the US, the increasing wealth divide, failings of our government to govern and even the weaponization of our citizenry can all be blamed.
2
I actually plan to leave the united states for a myriad of reasons this year. i will be travelling and living in Germany. Through my research i have found it more appealing than the US in many ways. Every single time i speak to a fellow African-American they also share my idea of leaving the country but have no idea where to go, or they have a mentality of "this is the only thing i know" America has made them fear other countries as if this is the only place where they will be treated like human beings but in reality many other places are better now.
8
While many of Mr. Williams' points are valid, I think he should take a tour of the major Soccer venues in Europe before judging it as even a temporary promised land.
16
Thr soccer venues in Europe where blacks are discouraged from entering trains and where bananas are waved at black soccer players on the fields while the white fans shout racial epithets?
4
I am reminded of my own progress from India first as a student for higher education and then as an immigrant to these USA. Migration for better opportunities is a multigenerational phenomenon for millennia since man left his first habitats in Africa.
Go. In all directions young man!
Go. In all directions young man!
5
It's not only the blacks (assuming they are educated and ambitious) who should leave United States, but most of the middle class (same requirements). Growing old with dignity for the middle class in this country is not going to happen.
10
Grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. I'm from Northern Europe and I think the U.S. is the best place for an educated person. This is a great country. (I'm not black though.)
2
Paul Robeson, one of the greatest and most talented Americans of the twentieth century, was vilified and persecuted for years by the FBI and racists in this country. He spent his happiest years in London in the 1930s, giving memorable performances in theatrical productions ranging from Othello to Showboat. Yet he never gave up on the United States, and fought for civil rights and equality here for the rest of his life.
9
The why did he appear as The Emperor Jones.
It's genuinely thrilling to learn that African-Americans who expatriate to Paris feel unburdened, free to be themselves.
I'm gay - what country can I go to for that feeling? In what place would I not, as Shakespeare said, be required to "stand in the plague of custom and permit the curiosity of nations to deprive me"?
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
I'm gay - what country can I go to for that feeling? In what place would I not, as Shakespeare said, be required to "stand in the plague of custom and permit the curiosity of nations to deprive me"?
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
4
Thailand.
As an African-American, I'd love to move abroad. However, 6-figure student loans combined with an income-based repayment plan for employees of American nonprofits or government entities keeps me stateside. Any advice for those in this situation?
7
@lunsnoire:
My advice? Default on the loans, move wherever you want. Life is short. Don't let student loans determine you whole life.
And in most of Europe, a Europe that believes that education is a human right, there is no need for student loans. Higher education is either free or highly affordable.
Many will disagree with my post but these are people who use punitive Victorian morality and Puritan Christian values to shame debtors……so that they'll pay back the debt. And they have the all the institutions of government on their side…. on the side of banisters. But these debts are usurious and morally untenable.
Default on move on with your life.
My advice? Default on the loans, move wherever you want. Life is short. Don't let student loans determine you whole life.
And in most of Europe, a Europe that believes that education is a human right, there is no need for student loans. Higher education is either free or highly affordable.
Many will disagree with my post but these are people who use punitive Victorian morality and Puritan Christian values to shame debtors……so that they'll pay back the debt. And they have the all the institutions of government on their side…. on the side of banisters. But these debts are usurious and morally untenable.
Default on move on with your life.
State Department employment. Or look into American organizations abroad. There is a list of organizations recognized by the Dept of State. You should be able to find it online. The organizations are listed in the Fed Code of Regulations (sorry, I don't have the cite handy). American universities abroad.
1
What an odd article. No serious mention is made for blacks to expatriate back to native Africa. How can the most natural, understandable destination for blacks be overlooked? Instead, Western Countries (Caucasian cultures) are mentioned as desirable. One would think blacks would be naturally inclined to return to their people, to live among their own. As such, racial discrimination becomes a non- issue..
15
There are many Africans who do not like American blacks and often tell them.
1
Who are their "people". Black Americans are a Western people and a very New World people. Many black Americans have French, British, and Spanish ancestors and are a mixture of both Europeans and a variety of different African enthnicities. There are other options beside Europe and you find immigrant communities in unlikely places. While a mass migration of black Americans abroad is not realistic or even necessary, but if someone feels that they can be happier elsewhere in the world, they should take that chance. It did happen within this country when enough blacks were fed up with their treatment in the south( the Great Migration) so anything is possible. What would be interesting is if anyone claims political asylum based on police harassment or restriction of voting rights.
2
I may be wrong, but the blacks who are likely to thrive in London or Paris are likely to do fine here also. It's the poor and jobless, the ones imprisoned for minor drug offenses and taken out of society then returned w/o any rehabilitation, that are the ones who suffer the most from our systematic racism and have the least means to relocate even to another state, let alone country.
I appreciate what you are saying. For some bright students this may be a great solution. But it leaves plenty still in a very rough place.
I appreciate what you are saying. For some bright students this may be a great solution. But it leaves plenty still in a very rough place.
17
Well, the better-educated feel more entitled -- and have a broader perspective on the world's options -- and thus are more disenchanted living here in USA. Also, especially in the hyper-segregated North, you're often more amenable to whites if you conform to their dyed-in-the-wool ghetto stereotypes of blacks. Isn't that, after all, why hip hop artists are more visible and privileged, esp. among millennials, than traditional black middle-class achievers?
4
Richard Wright, whom you quote as saying that one square block of Paris has more freedom for black Americans than all of America, also said that America "created the Negro." A mixed race, African Americans have deep roots in America; and they have among the broadest ancestral connections here to a majority of other Americans. Perhaps that explains the ubiquitous presence of African Americans in government and the media, their visibility in the centers of power (however politically embattled some are, like President Obama, First Lady Michelle, Attorney General Holder, Homeland Security Chief Jeh, National Security Adviser Rice, and other heads of government agencies, universities, and multinational corporations). For one see nothing like the numbers, much less the high profile, of prominent blacks in the foreign countries promoting themselves officially as multi-racial, particularly in Europe (Britain, France, etc.) Canada or Australia. For all its lingering racial problems, which the present generation is rapidly solving (much to the chagrin of some immigrants and poor native whites deprived of past racist advantages), by most objective comparisons, America means the home of African Americans.
8
Sure, in Italy there is Cécile Kyenge and in France there is Rama Yade and Christine Taubira ... and ... and ... ask Kyenge about the time the Italian legislators waved banana skins at her.
1
What a strange, narcistic piece. Get some treatment. Somewhat boorish.
12
I agree. You describe it better than I can. I simply thought the emigrating idea weird but the search for cheaper education, that's notable.
I understand the frustration that fuels the writer's question, but that doesn't make the question any less naive. There are so many perfectly legitimate responses to the writer's question, but I will just offer one here. The writer experiences a certain degree of acceptance in a foreign land precisely because so many other African Americans choose not to take a similar route. African American expats are highly educated, highly talented, and cosmopolitan. They are rare birds often to be admired and coo-ed over. But, the tune would become decidedly dissonant if there was to be another "Great Migration" to France (or anywhere - even Ghana where there is an African American expat community). African Americans would be treated like other blacks in Europe - abysmally, for the most part.
20
The cost of higher education in America strikes all students, black and whiter and other. Of course, one does not need to go to Harvard, Yale or Princeton (and even Georgetown) to find an educational opportunity in America. There are community colleges where one can find some indication of what they would like to do-without spending a fortune. Expatriation may offer some advantages to some American black persons but it would not work for all. Living in a strange culture produces some stresses of it's own, ie language and lack of close friends. I champion any black person who does venture to be educated abroad or to seek a new home in another country. There are some caveats, however, that need to be understood before one goes to live abroad.
3
The Black African American unique experience in humanity denying slavery and equality blocking Jim Crow along with everything before and after was nothing like a great migration. It was racially colored based socioeconomic political educational white supremacist enslavement and exploitation.
Blacks pursued twin complementary strategies for their liberation. Integration demanding that America practice what it proclaims to be it's values. Nationalism making their own institutions work for them in their interests.
After the expense of paying so much blood, sweat, tears, treasure and time in the land that Blacks built with out fair compensation after a forced migration this seems like belated folly and surrender. There is a half Nilotic Kenyan in the White House with his Bantu wife and kids.
Going to the European continent of their slave trading, masters and owners seems delusional. While the Africa that Blacks involuntarily left no longer exists and they are not the Blacks who left Africa.
Why not have more European Americans going back where they came from in an act of massive self-deportation?
Why not keep fighting to make America practice more and more of what it proclaims in it's rhetoric about liberty, equality, freedom and certain unalienable rights?
"We ain't what we ought to be and we ain't what we want to be. But thank God, we ain't what we was." unknown, quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
"Nobody's free until everybody is free." Fannie Lou Hamer
Blacks pursued twin complementary strategies for their liberation. Integration demanding that America practice what it proclaims to be it's values. Nationalism making their own institutions work for them in their interests.
After the expense of paying so much blood, sweat, tears, treasure and time in the land that Blacks built with out fair compensation after a forced migration this seems like belated folly and surrender. There is a half Nilotic Kenyan in the White House with his Bantu wife and kids.
Going to the European continent of their slave trading, masters and owners seems delusional. While the Africa that Blacks involuntarily left no longer exists and they are not the Blacks who left Africa.
Why not have more European Americans going back where they came from in an act of massive self-deportation?
Why not keep fighting to make America practice more and more of what it proclaims in it's rhetoric about liberty, equality, freedom and certain unalienable rights?
"We ain't what we ought to be and we ain't what we want to be. But thank God, we ain't what we was." unknown, quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
"Nobody's free until everybody is free." Fannie Lou Hamer
2
The Black African American unique experience in humanity denying slavery and equality blocking Jim Crow along with everything before and after was nothing like a great migration. It was racially colored based socioeconomic political educational white supremacist enslavement and exploitation.
Blacks pursued twin complementary strategies for their liberation. Integration demanding that America practice what it proclaims to be it's values. Nationalism making their own institutions work for them in their interests.
After the expense of paying so much blood, sweat, tears, treasure and time in the land that Blacks built with out fair compensation after a forced migration this seems like belated folly and surrender. There is a half Nilotic Kenyan in the White House with his Bantu wife and kids.
Going to the European continent of their slave trading, masters and owners seems delusional. While the Africa that Blacks involuntarily left no longer exists and they are not the Blacks who left Africa.
Why not have more European Americans going back where they came from in an act of massive self-deportation?
Why not keep fighting to make America practice more and more of what it proclaims in it's rhetoric about liberty, equality, freedom and certain unalienable rights?
"We ain't what we ought to be and we ain't what we want to be. But thank God, we ain't what we was." unknown, quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
"Nobody's free until everybody is free." Fannie Lou Hamer
Blacks pursued twin complementary strategies for their liberation. Integration demanding that America practice what it proclaims to be it's values. Nationalism making their own institutions work for them in their interests.
After the expense of paying so much blood, sweat, tears, treasure and time in the land that Blacks built with out fair compensation after a forced migration this seems like belated folly and surrender. There is a half Nilotic Kenyan in the White House with his Bantu wife and kids.
Going to the European continent of their slave trading, masters and owners seems delusional. While the Africa that Blacks involuntarily left no longer exists and they are not the Blacks who left Africa.
Why not have more European Americans going back where they came from in an act of massive self-deportation?
Why not keep fighting to make America practice more and more of what it proclaims in it's rhetoric about liberty, equality, freedom and certain unalienable rights?
"We ain't what we ought to be and we ain't what we want to be. But thank God, we ain't what we was." unknown, quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
"Nobody's free until everybody is free." Fannie Lou Hamer
4
As a white (ethnic Swede ((and social progressive, Obama lover)) living in Baltimore, trust me the idea of moving to Europe to escape the crime and overt and often violent racism so prevalent in the "African American Community" has been an often revisited idea. However, as others have pointed out, just like we have strict immigration laws here, so do European countries.
Also, your argument against the author's idea falls a little flat. Yes, Africa is not the Africa of 200 years ago, but why is Europe necessarily the same Europe as the "continent of slave traders, masters, and owners?"
Also, your argument against the author's idea falls a little flat. Yes, Africa is not the Africa of 200 years ago, but why is Europe necessarily the same Europe as the "continent of slave traders, masters, and owners?"
9
Europe is the land of two World Wars and collapsed colonial empires with aging and shrinking populations hunkering down in fear from an ethnic sectarian invasion from their former colonies and conquered lands. The most populous socioeconomic Western European power is Germany. Europe has it's own internal ethnic sectarian problems.
My Native American ancestors arrived in America 12, 000 years ago.
My earliest known European ancestor was in the Virginia colony in 1640.
My free person of color Black South Carolina ancestors were in America from the birth of the nation. While my slave Georgia ancestors were in America at least since the early 1800's.
Any way you cut it my family belongs in America.
My Native American ancestors arrived in America 12, 000 years ago.
My earliest known European ancestor was in the Virginia colony in 1640.
My free person of color Black South Carolina ancestors were in America from the birth of the nation. While my slave Georgia ancestors were in America at least since the early 1800's.
Any way you cut it my family belongs in America.
8
blackmamba,
Thank you for saying it so well.
Thank you for saying it so well.
Even simpler than moving abroad, they might considering moving within the US to regions that are more affordable while also being away from the ghetto.
Racism against black skin exists everywhere, particularly in the unreconstructed non-white countries. A white friend who was teaching English in China when Obama was elected in 2008 had to field questions from his students who just could not understand his joy at the event. Only an anecdote, I know, but telling nonetheless.
For all its flaws, living abroad will have the opposite effect to the one promised by this article: greater appreciation of the clean air and water, abundant water, cheap food (albeit not always healthy), beautiful roads and highways, access to nature, etc. The millions flocking to the US, regardless of their skin color, are not fools.
Racism against black skin exists everywhere, particularly in the unreconstructed non-white countries. A white friend who was teaching English in China when Obama was elected in 2008 had to field questions from his students who just could not understand his joy at the event. Only an anecdote, I know, but telling nonetheless.
For all its flaws, living abroad will have the opposite effect to the one promised by this article: greater appreciation of the clean air and water, abundant water, cheap food (albeit not always healthy), beautiful roads and highways, access to nature, etc. The millions flocking to the US, regardless of their skin color, are not fools.
8
That is actually happening. A considerable number of blacks are moving from northern cities to the South. The most popular destination is Atlanta.
6
Beautiful roads and highways? Have you traveled abroad recently? The relative state of our infrastructure is shameful. In other industrialized countries like Canada, Switzerland and Japan, you don't see moving walkways at airports that are cordoned off because they're broken; you don't see toilet stalls that are out of order; you don't find so many potholes in the streets. What you do find is perfectly maintained roads and reliable public transportation systems. Alas, in the U.S., we've proven time and again that we'd rather put up with dysfunctional amenities and allow our roads and bridges to fall apart than pay a little more in taxes.
4
@na, here....er, where? ...Excuse me na, but could you rewrite for clarity? Where are the the beautiful roads and highways, etc? Here or abroad? Surely not here, with our notorious inferior road upkeep. But then why say the millions flocking to the US are not fools? Meaning....?
1
Studying abroad IS expensive. Out of country tuition in Ireland or UK incredibly so. Travel, housing etc as well not to mention just picking up another language such as French is far from evident. It does not surprise me this is an activity of the well to do. And in the US poverty is still correlated with the color of skin. So the limited number of African Americans studying in Europe should not surprise anyone. Young black males are more likely to be in prison than enrolled in an American college. That should be the real topic of debate.
17
"Dizzying spate of unpunished extrajudicial police killings of black men and women across America ... " I mean, what? THis author is sounding as if these incidents are a daily occurrence. I can think of 3 in the last few years ... and the Michael Brown case has been thoroughly investigated. The evidence is clear that he robbed a convenience store and assaulted a police officer. Draw your own conclusions on this "evidence".
Black people are also being assaulted at a "dizzying spate" by gangs and thugs as well as poverty and racism. In some instances we read of over a 100 murders a month in certain black neighborhoods. Are some police racist and too quick to shoot? Sure. But let's please get some perspective that most police are decent and honorable servants trying to make communities safe by going after bad people.
Black people are also being assaulted at a "dizzying spate" by gangs and thugs as well as poverty and racism. In some instances we read of over a 100 murders a month in certain black neighborhoods. Are some police racist and too quick to shoot? Sure. But let's please get some perspective that most police are decent and honorable servants trying to make communities safe by going after bad people.
43
This speaks to your ignorance, not to the facts. As I recall, at the time of the Michael Brown shooting, three or four other unarmed African American men had been shot by the police in the US in the previous month and that number (3-4) was the monthly average for those kind of shootings for the year. The Michael Brown case just attracted a lot of attention; the astonishing thing was that it was not out of the ordinary. So, yes, there is and has been a "spate" of shootings of African Americans by the police going back years. It is a regular occurrence and a deeply, deeply disturbing comment on life as a black person in the US.
2
Another anti-America rant. Seriously, look at the problems France and England have in their immigrant ghettoes. How could anyone have missed that tragedy. Is the president of France of African descent?
46
"A couple of years ago, leaving a restaurant near the Louvre, I...."
The author definitely does not live in immigrant ghettoes. Apparently, he has a nice place to live and is able to go out to fancy restaurants.
The author definitely does not live in immigrant ghettoes. Apparently, he has a nice place to live and is able to go out to fancy restaurants.
8
Dear Jim from Phoenix, you unfairly dismiss this as a rant. It's not. I'm white but travel back and forth between the United States and Europe all the time. Life in most European cities always seems like a breath of fresh air. I encouraged my son to go to college in the UK, where his tuition is a third of the comparable price tag here. Many of his high school buddies are spending time abroad and it is a wonderful thing. I hope they bring back what they learn and help this isolated nation of ours join the advanced nations of the 21st century. Only 3% of Americans travel abroad every year and we continue to be the country that dominates a world we hardly ever experience and appreciate their advances. French and British ghettos do not hold a candle to the miserable poverty that pervades both American cities the rural towns that have been gutted by faltering economies.
4
I'll note the author did not mention a single African country (or caribean one) as a destination. Nor did the author mention a single Asian country. It seems the author would like for Black Americans (descended mostly from West Africans) to exchange one set of European descended persons for another set.
I think the psychological implications of such commentary are quite astounding.
I think the psychological implications of such commentary are quite astounding.
84
First, despite all the credit always going to European immigrant labor, this country's industrial wealth (from clearing forests to providing raw materials such as cotton for textiles and wood for saw mills) was produced by generations of African Americans. Why should they/we be the ones to leave? Second, many African Americans have ancestry going back well into the colonial period, earlier than most European Americans; so again, why should they/we be the ones to leave? Third, a growing number of Americans define themselves as "mixed race" or "black and white." So who exactly would go in this exodus? We-they?
11
Mr. Williams, I appreciate your perspective. Thank you for submitting a thought-provoking essay on one of the most charged topics imaginable. I am not sure virtually any white person, particularly a male, has any standing to tell you that your musings and ideas are wayward, problematic and, yes, echo those behind the disastrous failure of the Black Star Line 90+ years ago. Not that some won't, of course. Life is indeed very short, particularly so for some, in no small part due to the color of their skin. The claim that cheap flights and Internet hyperconnectivity would make black expatriation more realistic and more likely to succeed than ever before is not one we can easily dismiss. In sum, it is the same as it ever was: white people, from bottom to (especially) top, have failed African-Americans on race in ways we cannot even really understand, in no small part because we do not see/choose not to see what life as a black person is like in the US. We'll elect a black president, but we won't allow him to actually pass legislation and take steps to really assist blacks and other minorities. We're too proud of ourselves for ending slavery and de jure racism, even if our reluctance is a matter of record as we were severely pushed and prodded to dismantle both programs of control, when in reality elements of the original sin survive in our criminal justice and penal systems and de facto racism continues to poison our national character in ways small and large.
18
I've always thought that President Obama was an anomaly, and not typical of the African-American or even typical "American" of any color experience. His father was Kenyan, mother Caucasian, he lived in Hawaii, with white grandparents and also in Indonesia for a couple of formative years (I've not read his books but voted for him twice, the 1st time passionately supportive).
There is an old saying, which I apply to myself, who moved a lot when young, went to one year of University in Rome and traveled overland from Cairo to Mumbai over several grueling months exclusively on public transportation: "He was at Harvard [fill in] but not of Harvard."
There is both a certain rootlessness in this existence but also the opportunity to develop resourcefulness and toughness.
In any event, Mr. Obama's experience is far from typical.
There is an old saying, which I apply to myself, who moved a lot when young, went to one year of University in Rome and traveled overland from Cairo to Mumbai over several grueling months exclusively on public transportation: "He was at Harvard [fill in] but not of Harvard."
There is both a certain rootlessness in this existence but also the opportunity to develop resourcefulness and toughness.
In any event, Mr. Obama's experience is far from typical.
1
Another asset that African-Americans must develop to succeed as expatriates is to develop fluency in foreign languages. While it is increasingly common for many Europeans to speak fluent English, that occurs primarily only in larger urban areas.
While in 1969, I reluctantly went off to the war in Vietnam, my cousin, who spoke fluent French and refused to take part in that imperial adventure, emigrated to Montreal, where his facility with the language enabled him to embark on an advertising career, unavailable to other expatriates unable to speak the language well. He is now comfortably retired, a grandfather and patriarch of a Canadian family, due to his fluency in French.
While in 1969, I reluctantly went off to the war in Vietnam, my cousin, who spoke fluent French and refused to take part in that imperial adventure, emigrated to Montreal, where his facility with the language enabled him to embark on an advertising career, unavailable to other expatriates unable to speak the language well. He is now comfortably retired, a grandfather and patriarch of a Canadian family, due to his fluency in French.
54
There is an amazing freedom an African-American experiences in Paris and France in general. I remember the first time I traveled to Paris alone (1993) and road the metro, at a stop the door opened and white French woman sat down next to me. She was not clutching her bag, nor was her body language hinting at dread, her decision to sit was not made out of exhaustion, she was simply riding the metro and there was an open seat. I remember thinking that this had never happened in my native Philadelphia or in the City.
Memories of standing on some of France's greatest vineyards, with superb winemakers as we discussed soil composition are contrasted by trips to California wine regions where my anticipated appearance was often met with surprise and at least once questioning.
I agree with Mr. Williams every black American should experience this freedom to be who you are without the baggage of stereotypes and fear. I never considered moving to France-I think like most black Americans we love America and believe our defacto equality will someday attain the level of equality under the law. However, I will recommend to my kids to consider living in France or anywhere else that provides them the full freedom of not having to worry about the economic and societal consequences of living while black.
Memories of standing on some of France's greatest vineyards, with superb winemakers as we discussed soil composition are contrasted by trips to California wine regions where my anticipated appearance was often met with surprise and at least once questioning.
I agree with Mr. Williams every black American should experience this freedom to be who you are without the baggage of stereotypes and fear. I never considered moving to France-I think like most black Americans we love America and believe our defacto equality will someday attain the level of equality under the law. However, I will recommend to my kids to consider living in France or anywhere else that provides them the full freedom of not having to worry about the economic and societal consequences of living while black.
49
I hope it is still as comfortable for an African-American in France. We haven't been there for years, but I've had the impression that the influx of so many foreigners desperate for work has put a dent in acceptance of 'others'. The color-blindness of bygone decades was refreshing. Perhaps the new prejudices are equally so, aimed instead at people looking like they need jobs, and/or who act like they belong though speaking other languages.
Tourists, whether liked or detested, are probably as welcome as ever.
But before encouraging young black adults to go settle in France, encourage them to know what it is like 2+ decades one's own last visit.
Tourists, whether liked or detested, are probably as welcome as ever.
But before encouraging young black adults to go settle in France, encourage them to know what it is like 2+ decades one's own last visit.
4
Individuals may do as what seems best for them but leaving because of lingering racism or perception of it should not be a motivation. Even if the conditions in which people live improves greatly if it does not meet their expectations, they will be disappointed and may even feel outraged about the unsatisfactory circumstances which remain. Their ancestors arrived on this continent long before most of the ancestors of the rest of today's Americans. Given all that African Americans have endured and how much their cultural identity is uniquely American, living any where else would not be home, ever. They should not have to worry about leaving this country to be free and to be themselves. The end of racial bigotry and inequalities derived from racism is necessary.
The concerns about mistreatment of African Americans by government and law enforcement is founded upon a long history but these incidents with Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown were suspiciously alike in one way. Both of these adolescents had become big enough to physically over power the adults involved in their final confrontations, both had played football and had been in fights before, and it seems likely that neither had learned how dangerous fighting with strangers could turn out to be. They were immature. In Michael Brown's case, he exhibited an unusually belligerency shortly before the incident. These things only made determining what actually happened too uncertain to tell.
The concerns about mistreatment of African Americans by government and law enforcement is founded upon a long history but these incidents with Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown were suspiciously alike in one way. Both of these adolescents had become big enough to physically over power the adults involved in their final confrontations, both had played football and had been in fights before, and it seems likely that neither had learned how dangerous fighting with strangers could turn out to be. They were immature. In Michael Brown's case, he exhibited an unusually belligerency shortly before the incident. These things only made determining what actually happened too uncertain to tell.
4
A USA Today study conducted after the Michael Brown shooting revealed that on average police officers each year kill about 400 people, including about 96 African Americans. Interracial murders are relatively rare, but the data shows blacks are much quicker on the interracial trigger finger than whites. The FBI Uniform Crime Report (Expanded Homicide Data Table 6) shows that 409 blacks murdered whites while 189 whites (including Hispanics) murdered blacks in 2013. However, blacks committed 5,531 murders, and all but about 400 of the victims were black. African Americans might be well advised to escape black gunmen by moving overseas, as long as they don't move to one of the African countries, which have a much higher murder rate than the United States.
23
Not sure why I bother, but...
Blacks are more likely to kill blacks because of continued segregation, just as whites are more likely to murder whites. Blacks are more likely to commit murder because of continued poverty. If you actually read all those statistics, you know that poverty is a much more significant corollary to violent crime than race is.
But most telling is your claim about interracial murders. Regardless of who is pulling the trigger, if someone shoots randomly into a crowd or people who closely match the demographics of the United States, they have about a 12 percent chance of hitting an African American. But your statistics show that blacks are the target of about 31 percent of interracial murders whereas whites are the target of about 69 percent of those. You're conflating raw numbers with percentages. The percentages show that white people are actually much more likely to murder someone of another race than black people are.
And I wish I could say that I don't understand why someone (often multiple people) are going to bring up these same statistics every time any article even vaguely related to Africa-Americans is posted on the NY Times.
Unfortunately, I completely understand why.
Blacks are more likely to kill blacks because of continued segregation, just as whites are more likely to murder whites. Blacks are more likely to commit murder because of continued poverty. If you actually read all those statistics, you know that poverty is a much more significant corollary to violent crime than race is.
But most telling is your claim about interracial murders. Regardless of who is pulling the trigger, if someone shoots randomly into a crowd or people who closely match the demographics of the United States, they have about a 12 percent chance of hitting an African American. But your statistics show that blacks are the target of about 31 percent of interracial murders whereas whites are the target of about 69 percent of those. You're conflating raw numbers with percentages. The percentages show that white people are actually much more likely to murder someone of another race than black people are.
And I wish I could say that I don't understand why someone (often multiple people) are going to bring up these same statistics every time any article even vaguely related to Africa-Americans is posted on the NY Times.
Unfortunately, I completely understand why.
16
@Rich in Atlanta....please do keep bothering....we need the stats and common sense you are able to cite to bring some reality to the usual comments re black crime.
And a big factor is our absurdly permissive gun laws, which wouldn't be tolerated in any other advanced nation, making killing by any person, no matter skin color, more easy and common. Plus our TV news and other shows are swamped with violent crime news all the time. It all works together to create automatic responses that fit in with hostile prejudice.
And a big factor is our absurdly permissive gun laws, which wouldn't be tolerated in any other advanced nation, making killing by any person, no matter skin color, more easy and common. Plus our TV news and other shows are swamped with violent crime news all the time. It all works together to create automatic responses that fit in with hostile prejudice.
1
Rich in Atlanta,
Sadly the state of analysis in the US has reached such a low point where I fully expect to read an article in the NYTimes very soon explaining how African Americans are disproportionally the "targets" of interracial crime and how this is another example of "White Privilege". I then expect the article to go on to explain that if (poor) White Americans are genuine about rejecting their "White Privilege" then they must change their behaviours so that out of 598 interracial murders, no more than 72 of the "targets" of White (including Hispanic or Asian) interracial murderers can be Black victims but more than 526 of the "targets" of Black interracial murderers must be White (including Hispanic or Asian) victims. Numbers quoted are based on 12% of US population being black given by yourself and 598 (189 +409) interracial murders given by William.
Sadly the state of analysis in the US has reached such a low point where I fully expect to read an article in the NYTimes very soon explaining how African Americans are disproportionally the "targets" of interracial crime and how this is another example of "White Privilege". I then expect the article to go on to explain that if (poor) White Americans are genuine about rejecting their "White Privilege" then they must change their behaviours so that out of 598 interracial murders, no more than 72 of the "targets" of White (including Hispanic or Asian) interracial murderers can be Black victims but more than 526 of the "targets" of Black interracial murderers must be White (including Hispanic or Asian) victims. Numbers quoted are based on 12% of US population being black given by yourself and 598 (189 +409) interracial murders given by William.
1
Williams did not indicate if he is planning to take his own advice and become "postnational."
5
His byline reads "Paris". He lives in France.
8
As an African American Woman and self proclaimed "Globalist" who has been living a global lifestyle for more than 20 years, including earning an international MBA (Thunderbird School of Global Management), managing a global business in over 70 countries, working overseas as a banker and trainer (London and Shanghai), and traveling the world, I have always met like wise engaged African Americans. There are many of us very happily working and living as expatriates, having left the U.S. for a myriad of reasons. The issue is not lack of our presence, but lack of attention to our stories and experiences.
41
Ask any black person outside the US which country they would choose to settle in if given a 'magic visa'? I'd bet my left kidney it would be the USA.
Thomas Chatterton Williams, you don't know how good you've got it here in the USA. It is not perfect; but please travel the world, and see how chaotic and lousy the rest of the world is. I bet you'll disown this essay.
Thomas Chatterton Williams, you don't know how good you've got it here in the USA. It is not perfect; but please travel the world, and see how chaotic and lousy the rest of the world is. I bet you'll disown this essay.
24
This comment ignores certain nuances. People in developed nations do not like their local black people, and prefer the more foreign back people. This means that black immigrants to the USA from elsewhere are viewed more favorably than African-Americans who have been here for generations. Similarly, American black people who move to places like France are viewed more favorably than French people whose ancestors came from African and Carribbean francophone countries.
3
Mr. Thompson: the author does not live in the United States. He probably knows just how good he's got it right there in France.
4
You are absolutely wrong.
3
I'd love to live in Paris, but when I vacationed there, last spring, it cost me about $15 to wash and dry one small load of clothes.
I looked for a house to buy in the paris suburbs and found prices rivaling Manhattan (where I can also not afford to live in the style I'm accustomed to).
I'm still investigating the possibility, but I think I'll feel more welcome once I learn French. The neighborhood shop keepers seemed to take great pleasure in telling me they didn't speak English (either with a smile or a scowl), one doing so in perfect English.
I don't think Paris today is the same Paris of Josephine Baker, Richard Wright or Baldwin and the other ex-pats of decades past. And I ain't Kanye, for whom I'm sure Paris is quite welcoming.
I looked for a house to buy in the paris suburbs and found prices rivaling Manhattan (where I can also not afford to live in the style I'm accustomed to).
I'm still investigating the possibility, but I think I'll feel more welcome once I learn French. The neighborhood shop keepers seemed to take great pleasure in telling me they didn't speak English (either with a smile or a scowl), one doing so in perfect English.
I don't think Paris today is the same Paris of Josephine Baker, Richard Wright or Baldwin and the other ex-pats of decades past. And I ain't Kanye, for whom I'm sure Paris is quite welcoming.
89
Brian A. Kirkland,
When my elderly French parent died in Paris not so long ago, her son born in America, while on a visit, was asked by an acquaintance whether he would like to live in The City of Lights, to which my sibling responded a fine idea if only the French didn't live there.
Paris is no longer the Paris of Hemingway, Gertrude Stein or Man Ray and the ex-pats of decades past, and joining you in saying that no matter how well one learns to speak French, the neighborhood shop keepers will grin, or frown and persist in telling us that they do not speak English, in their otherwise heavy accented English. Here's a secret for you - I find that with some practice, I can overtake Parisians speedily in French when there is a hint of discord in the air, and this involves the shrugging of a shoulder, and 'I couldn't give a flip' attitude.
When my elderly French parent died in Paris not so long ago, her son born in America, while on a visit, was asked by an acquaintance whether he would like to live in The City of Lights, to which my sibling responded a fine idea if only the French didn't live there.
Paris is no longer the Paris of Hemingway, Gertrude Stein or Man Ray and the ex-pats of decades past, and joining you in saying that no matter how well one learns to speak French, the neighborhood shop keepers will grin, or frown and persist in telling us that they do not speak English, in their otherwise heavy accented English. Here's a secret for you - I find that with some practice, I can overtake Parisians speedily in French when there is a hint of discord in the air, and this involves the shrugging of a shoulder, and 'I couldn't give a flip' attitude.
8
A USA Today study conducted after the Michael Brown shooting revealed that on average police officers each year kill about 400 people, including about 96 African Americans per year. In 2013, blacks murdered 2,245 other black. It's not police that African American need to get away from. The FBI Uniform Crime Report (Table 44 Law Enforcement Officers Feloniously Killed) shows that 243 blacks murdered at least 43 percent of the 565 police officers who were murdered in the line of duty from 2004 through 2013. (The race of the offender is unknown in 17 of the murders.)
The FBI data shows that blacks are much quicker on the interracial trigger finger than white. The FBI Uniform Crime Report (Expanded Homicide Data Table 6) shows that 409 blacks murdered whites while 189 whites (including Hispanics) murdered blacks in 2013. Whites reacted to black-on-white murders by migrating to the suburbs. African Americans who follow whites to the suburbs will be much safer than they were in black neighborhoods.
The FBI data shows that blacks are much quicker on the interracial trigger finger than white. The FBI Uniform Crime Report (Expanded Homicide Data Table 6) shows that 409 blacks murdered whites while 189 whites (including Hispanics) murdered blacks in 2013. Whites reacted to black-on-white murders by migrating to the suburbs. African Americans who follow whites to the suburbs will be much safer than they were in black neighborhoods.
14
America is far from perfect but it's still the best place to be for blacks outside Africa.
Just look how local blacks are discriminated in South America, the Caribbean islands or Europe. Those place have never experienced a Civil Rights Movement equivalent, so open discrimination is still prevalent there.
Just look how local blacks are discriminated in South America, the Caribbean islands or Europe. Those place have never experienced a Civil Rights Movement equivalent, so open discrimination is still prevalent there.
13
Chris, I gather South America had a long tradition of autocracy, exploitation and racial castes from the Spanish conquests.
US Blacks have for generations found less bias in various EU countries. Not perfect, but better. Europe did have colonialism in their empire , but they didn't have millions of enslaved blacks living among them for centuries, owned by white supremacists. We had a civil war after conflict with the founding ideals of a new nation, and the reverberations are still playing out now.
There's even a book called The Black Russian, about a 19th C American black who emigrated to Russia and got rich owning nightclubs and other businesses. Stranger than fiction. He was much more accepted during under the Tsars!
US Blacks have for generations found less bias in various EU countries. Not perfect, but better. Europe did have colonialism in their empire , but they didn't have millions of enslaved blacks living among them for centuries, owned by white supremacists. We had a civil war after conflict with the founding ideals of a new nation, and the reverberations are still playing out now.
There's even a book called The Black Russian, about a 19th C American black who emigrated to Russia and got rich owning nightclubs and other businesses. Stranger than fiction. He was much more accepted during under the Tsars!
I left the U.S. four years ago because of the opportunities to teach abroad and because of the increasing political divide in the country. There are many opportunities abroad for those who want to put aside the mundane (or perhaps racially painful) in the U.S. and become something different. Multinational corporations have no compunctions about moving their resources from country to country, absolutely no loyalty to the U.S. The world is a greater sphere of culture and challenges than I have ever known, but it is still what I prefer to a country where politics have become the exclusive preserve of the true believers.
27
So how is politics in Thailand? If I'm not mistaken, it's not exactly milk and honey over there, either.
2
You can have anything you want in Thailand as long as you ask properly and pay the required amount.
2
For those willing to compromise, there are many good opportunities abroad for any American with a college degree, teaching for example, no experience necessary. But I became an expat out of economic necessity, and discovered that there are many career and study possibilities in any field abroad, especially for Americans, black or white. With the internet, the earth has become one country.
11
As an expat (white) US citizen, I second the motion. A lot of things are better in a lot of way outside the US (taxation matters excepted).
15
The author adds to our current bizarre meditations on race by repeating a demonstrable falsehood (the narrative of blacks as victims of excessive police actions) and creating a new one: life is better "over there." In this case over there is Paris. Of course, such tolerance was what attracted Jews, who,are now fleeing by the thousands in the face of Islamic bigotry.
Perhaps the author believes that simply by repeating something over and over it can come true. If so, one suspects there are other farie tales to promote
Perhaps the author believes that simply by repeating something over and over it can come true. If so, one suspects there are other farie tales to promote
22
I must laugh at your Mayflower "Twig" remark. The Mayflower was but one of many early settler ships. My southern white family's roots trace back to Connecticut and NY in the early 1600s, and to England in 1500 before that. Many others are just like me. Rather than the "occasional Mayflower-descended twig", we and countless other English colonists along with us, formed the basis for so much that came later, both north and south. Your comment is as ignorant as it is insulting.
18
razorbacker1,
Joining you in saying that my southern white family's roots trace back to Maryland in the 1700s to the Governor of Virginia, then to Baltimore where resided Charles Carroll and his family, and to England and Ireland in 1500 before then.
Today French relatives from Paris visit the Carrolls of Baltimore, and I am pleased to report that they are well received. At some point, I am going to have to pop up with historical documents of interest to this ancestral family of mine, but I have often wondered why my ancestors came to America in the first place and didn't go home.
Joining you in saying that my southern white family's roots trace back to Maryland in the 1700s to the Governor of Virginia, then to Baltimore where resided Charles Carroll and his family, and to England and Ireland in 1500 before then.
Today French relatives from Paris visit the Carrolls of Baltimore, and I am pleased to report that they are well received. At some point, I am going to have to pop up with historical documents of interest to this ancestral family of mine, but I have often wondered why my ancestors came to America in the first place and didn't go home.
2
A thought provoking commentary--yet without nuance about the vast variation in ways Black Americans are treated, depending on the particular country. Racism is unfortunately not just an American phenomenon.
There is a lot of well-founded concern, moreover, that first-generation college students of low means (among whom African Americans are over-represented) have a tough time adjusting to college environments even in the U.S. By all means, however, for those who have the means and the desire to study, work, and live abroad, it should be an equally available and valid opportunity.
There is a lot of well-founded concern, moreover, that first-generation college students of low means (among whom African Americans are over-represented) have a tough time adjusting to college environments even in the U.S. By all means, however, for those who have the means and the desire to study, work, and live abroad, it should be an equally available and valid opportunity.
12
step outside the US, and you may well find that the world is yours. lots of different lifestyles to sample from, lots of trees to sit under, rivers to ride, or even businesses to start up.
even with all the different faces in the US, the homogeneity of the social landscape is remarkable.
black or white or dotted, get a passport and go.
even with all the different faces in the US, the homogeneity of the social landscape is remarkable.
black or white or dotted, get a passport and go.
13
More to the point of your quandary is that it's just not that simple for Americans to emigrate abroad. Your friend went to London for a job, and that is the only route anyone without relatives or money can take to enjoy the sort of expatriation you yearn for elsewhere in the article.
Liberia, founded by freed American slaves, is the closest we have to a "Black Zion," and indeed, one must be black by law in order to become a citizen there. But you must also renounce your native citizenship, and I suspect that, coupled with internal strife within the nation, explains its lack of magnetism.
To achieve for blacks a parity with the Jewish international experience alluded to, you will have to make the case that African-Americans would qualify as refugees. That will be a very tough sell abroad. Bottom line is that for most Americans, the rest of the world will welcome us only if we spend money freely and go home quickly.
Liberia, founded by freed American slaves, is the closest we have to a "Black Zion," and indeed, one must be black by law in order to become a citizen there. But you must also renounce your native citizenship, and I suspect that, coupled with internal strife within the nation, explains its lack of magnetism.
To achieve for blacks a parity with the Jewish international experience alluded to, you will have to make the case that African-Americans would qualify as refugees. That will be a very tough sell abroad. Bottom line is that for most Americans, the rest of the world will welcome us only if we spend money freely and go home quickly.
44
I lived in Paris in '76 and '77. It was a mecca for American non-conformists, Black, White, and especially, gay. But if you wanted to have a job that payed real money, you had to get it prior leaving the US of A. We weren't in the European Union, which is still the case.
24
Were there a place in which Black Americans could get a fair shake I (a white American) might be tempted to go there as well.
20
I've got news for you: millions of white Americans would emigrate, too, if it were allowed through visas and work opportunities. But it isn't. So Kanye can hang out in Paris and JayZ and Beyonce can yacht on the Mediterranean and John Malkovitch can hang out wherever his pocketbook allows him, as can Johnny Depp. As for the rest of us, black or white, we are chattel of our nations. They can export our jobs to third world nations, but we can't flee the U.S. and establish ourselves much of anywhere in a legal fashion without a lot of money. You might have thought this through in terms of statutes and finances, don't you think? This is rather like a tone deaf wealthy person asking why more people in America don't eat caviar, given its nutritional value.
134
Right on, right on!
Common folk find it hard to escape, and you can never really break free anyway. The U.S. will relentlessly track you down, no matter, and their memory is infinite. Keep that in mind when you're planning your exit strategy.
Common folk find it hard to escape, and you can never really break free anyway. The U.S. will relentlessly track you down, no matter, and their memory is infinite. Keep that in mind when you're planning your exit strategy.
2
Indeed. During the Bush administration, I looked into expatriation. The foreign country where I had lived happily as a graduate student was off-limits unless I had a guaranteed job or a spouse from that country. The European countries of my ancestors were all one generation too far removed to allow an ancestry visa. And good luck emigrating anywhere but a few Third World retirement destinations unless you're under 40 and have in-demand job skills.
That being said, I would urge any young college graduate who is adaptable and open-minded and who feels stymied by student loans and poor job prospects to emigrate. I had three opportunities to do so when I was under 40, and I could kick myself twice around the world for not taking them.
That being said, I would urge any young college graduate who is adaptable and open-minded and who feels stymied by student loans and poor job prospects to emigrate. I had three opportunities to do so when I was under 40, and I could kick myself twice around the world for not taking them.
2
I get your point that this is an option available to the educated and middle class, but for a black person, maybe it will be good to be just another ex pat professional abroad without all the baggage of people questioning why you are in a certain neighborhood or why you got that particular job, or getting shot by police for getting out your drivers license. Maybe you want to enjoy your privilege and just be a normal person. Here in the USA you are sometime treated like an outsider in your own country so why not be an actual outsider somewhere more enjoyable.
"the dizzying spate of unpunished extrajudicial police killings of black men and women across America"
I do not know of such a spate, but do know of the spate of publicity about three killings, the publicity presumably a good thing for focusing attention on these tragedies that may lead to change. But, the tightly written advocacy reads as if an Argentina secret vigilante disappearance campaign or a Rio favela secret killing campaign were underway. Untrue but nicely done. So I googled.
As the source of the 21 times reveals, the statistics aren't kept to exactly know the numbers.
The BJS 2011 report on arrest related deaths, for 2003-2009, lists 4,831 arrest related deaths, 61% homicide by officers, 11 % suicides, 6% accidental, 5% natural causes. Deaths 42% white, 32 % black, 20% Hispanic.
The numbers can't be relied on. Nor can Thomas Chatteron Williams advocacy. Googling led to another untrustworthy advocate, the National Review. In 2013 blacks were 42 percent of cop killers. About 6,000 killings were black on black. 431 blacks killed whites, defined to include Hispanics, and 193 whites killed blacks. African Americans are under 13 percent of the population.
Per the DOJ 52 % of homicides over 28 years were by black offenders, 93% black victims, black offenders.
A more nuanced narrative would appear necessary for the non advocates who want to end end racial injustice. But for the second amendment, all the numbers would be at least a magnitude lower.
I do not know of such a spate, but do know of the spate of publicity about three killings, the publicity presumably a good thing for focusing attention on these tragedies that may lead to change. But, the tightly written advocacy reads as if an Argentina secret vigilante disappearance campaign or a Rio favela secret killing campaign were underway. Untrue but nicely done. So I googled.
As the source of the 21 times reveals, the statistics aren't kept to exactly know the numbers.
The BJS 2011 report on arrest related deaths, for 2003-2009, lists 4,831 arrest related deaths, 61% homicide by officers, 11 % suicides, 6% accidental, 5% natural causes. Deaths 42% white, 32 % black, 20% Hispanic.
The numbers can't be relied on. Nor can Thomas Chatteron Williams advocacy. Googling led to another untrustworthy advocate, the National Review. In 2013 blacks were 42 percent of cop killers. About 6,000 killings were black on black. 431 blacks killed whites, defined to include Hispanics, and 193 whites killed blacks. African Americans are under 13 percent of the population.
Per the DOJ 52 % of homicides over 28 years were by black offenders, 93% black victims, black offenders.
A more nuanced narrative would appear necessary for the non advocates who want to end end racial injustice. But for the second amendment, all the numbers would be at least a magnitude lower.
66
Thank you! I do not understand why more people do not raise their voice as you have in contrast to the endless distortions and ranting of what amounts to the misinformed statistics and half truths of half wits like Mr. Williams. The media seems to feed off the distortion of black oppression and injustice and makes it sound like our most serious national problem. This in a country that elected a black president twice.
The disproportionate numbers of blacks incarcerated is constantly used as proof of an unequal justice system. Willfully ignoring factors that any one intelligently assessing why would have to consider. There is a completely unwarranted assumption in this that whites and blacks commit an equal number of crimes. I recall when 'Reverend' Sharpton was lambasting the New York City police for the disproportionate number of backs stopped and questioned in criminal investigations. The police dept replied with statistics showing the disproportionate number of perpetrators described as black. Who would declare that all subcultures in our diverse city are identical? How is it that their obvious distinctive characters might not lend one group to produce more doctors and lawyers and one group to produce more criminals? Everyone knows this is the case and yet no one will say it. Why is black subculture not even considered as a factor?
The disproportionate numbers of blacks incarcerated is constantly used as proof of an unequal justice system. Willfully ignoring factors that any one intelligently assessing why would have to consider. There is a completely unwarranted assumption in this that whites and blacks commit an equal number of crimes. I recall when 'Reverend' Sharpton was lambasting the New York City police for the disproportionate number of backs stopped and questioned in criminal investigations. The police dept replied with statistics showing the disproportionate number of perpetrators described as black. Who would declare that all subcultures in our diverse city are identical? How is it that their obvious distinctive characters might not lend one group to produce more doctors and lawyers and one group to produce more criminals? Everyone knows this is the case and yet no one will say it. Why is black subculture not even considered as a factor?
2
You don't count very well During the "spate" of 3 killings, there were about one every week. You noticed the ones that got the most press. Another number was one black killed by cop every 28 days.
They continue to be killed and maimed, along, you may have noticed, with Latino and even East Indian victims of this police state. What do all those victims have in common? Black or brown skin.
I'm pretty sure most Caucasians are killed by Caucasian, too. Most people are killed by people they know.
And then we have the issue of the Homan Avenue "black site", in Chicago, where "confessions" were tortured from mostly African-American prisoners. See, we can't rely on many statistics when we know that cops are, in every city in America, coercing confessions as if they worked for the CIA.
Since, though, the statistics, by your own admission, "aren't kept to exactly know the numbers" why, pray, do you use them for your argument and disavow them for Mr. Williams'? Me thinks you are a dissembler, sir.
They continue to be killed and maimed, along, you may have noticed, with Latino and even East Indian victims of this police state. What do all those victims have in common? Black or brown skin.
I'm pretty sure most Caucasians are killed by Caucasian, too. Most people are killed by people they know.
And then we have the issue of the Homan Avenue "black site", in Chicago, where "confessions" were tortured from mostly African-American prisoners. See, we can't rely on many statistics when we know that cops are, in every city in America, coercing confessions as if they worked for the CIA.
Since, though, the statistics, by your own admission, "aren't kept to exactly know the numbers" why, pray, do you use them for your argument and disavow them for Mr. Williams'? Me thinks you are a dissembler, sir.
7
So is your "nuanced" point that your numbers should be believed but not the author's, the National Review? Why, exactly? The article is about using the option to live a global existence outside the very sort of definitions you seem to take as gospel. You seem to be wandering in the weeds of your statistics.
2
African Americans are the most "American" of Americans. Compared to the average black American, and despite the occasional Mayflower-descended twig, nearly everyone else has a family tree full of more recent immigrants.
That may change over a generation or so, now that so many new Americans hail from African countries and the Caribbean.
That may change over a generation or so, now that so many new Americans hail from African countries and the Caribbean.
26
I'd say Native Americans are the most "American". Everyone else can take a number.
23
You would probably get an argument from Native Americans, but the ancestors of most African Americans arrived in the 1600s and 1700s while the ancestors of most white Americans came during the mass immigration years of the 1800s and 1900s. The ancestors of African Americans arrived before the U.S. banned the Atlantic Slave trade in 1807.
7
@Another voice. I assume that for you and me and many blacks who have written excellent replies to me in the Times, African American means descended from a probably West African slave. By this measure Barack Obama is not African American but Michelle Obama is.
You make an excellent point that no Times "race" columnist will touch - I've been pleading with Charles Blow for two years. None of these columnists ever mentions people like my Somali Bantu friends in Burlington VT or my Somali friend in Minnesota. Even more significant, Amy DuBois Barnett, former Ebony editor wrote in Brown Alumni News that when she arrived at Brown a few years ago, African American students looked down on real Africans. Hope that has changed.
When I note this I always recommend Chimamanda Ngotzi Adichie's fine "Americanah" since in the bold face paragraphs she treats this subject directly.
Nice to know there is one Times reader who knows that not every "black" in the USA - my USA - is African American.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com where at least a few of my Somali Bantu friends appear
You make an excellent point that no Times "race" columnist will touch - I've been pleading with Charles Blow for two years. None of these columnists ever mentions people like my Somali Bantu friends in Burlington VT or my Somali friend in Minnesota. Even more significant, Amy DuBois Barnett, former Ebony editor wrote in Brown Alumni News that when she arrived at Brown a few years ago, African American students looked down on real Africans. Hope that has changed.
When I note this I always recommend Chimamanda Ngotzi Adichie's fine "Americanah" since in the bold face paragraphs she treats this subject directly.
Nice to know there is one Times reader who knows that not every "black" in the USA - my USA - is African American.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com where at least a few of my Somali Bantu friends appear
2
Could it be that the Americans that have the means to move don't see the United States the media portrays?
69
The front porch incident to which the author refers involved a tenured Harvard professor!!! with plenty of means.... Henry Gates Jr.
5
Some of us with the means to move live the America the media portrays. I stay in part because leaving means giving up. I owe it to my parents, particularly my father who served in a segregated military in WWII fighting for the life I lead, not to give up. Still, I do enjoy travel abroad.
11
Tom's point is well taken. Poor folks can't afford to
just pick up from the U.S. and move to another country in Europe. This article seems naive and frivolous. The privileged status assumed in the suggestions in this article is staggering as is often the case on these pages.
just pick up from the U.S. and move to another country in Europe. This article seems naive and frivolous. The privileged status assumed in the suggestions in this article is staggering as is often the case on these pages.
9