Category: To Stay or Leave–Emigration in the Era of Trump

Then conquer we must when our cause it is just/And this be our motto: “In God is our Trust.”/And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave/O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

–Francis Scott Key

As per the nation’s national anthem, the United States is lauded as the “land of the free and the home of the brave;” a country filled with hope and opportunity for all. However, in its living reality the United States still stands as a land of discrimination and segregation against people of color, particularly those of African descent. On the hand of segregation, it comes as no surprise that, as per the 2010 census, the average African American in a metropolitan area lived in a neighborhood that was 35 percent white—the same figure as in the 1950 Census—whereas the average white American still lived in a neighborhood that was more than 75 percent white. This pattern of residential segregations results not from private choices or from mere economics, but instead from a long history of pervasive, intentionally discriminatory government actions, such as the enforcement of Black Belt regions, that have continued well past the Fair Housing Act. Further, in focusing on the perpetuation of discrimination and mistreatment of African bodies, it is crucial to note that, on the extreme end of the spectrum, Black men aged 15-34 are between nine and sixteen times more likely to be killed by police than other people, while on the other hand of the spectrum, Black females are still discriminated against in work settings for the seemingly ‘unprofessional’ texture and look of their natural  hair.

Thus, in observing the culture of the United States and the mistreatment of Blacks, it comes as no surprise that like Martin Delany and Caribbean migrants in the interwar years, many people of color today face the question of whether to stay or leave the United States. While I support the choices made by every individual, and deeply understand the desire to go and find a ‘home,’ I would argue against a contemporary emigration scheme to Africa for those of African descent.

In inspecting the history of Black (e)migration, a key figure to keep in mind is Martin Delany, the father of Black nationalism. During his time Delany fought for the migration of the highest forms of Blacks back to Africa. From his point of view these individuals, the morally exempt and highly intelligent, could bring up the standing of Africa and populate it with the highest forms of human kind. However, those that supported his logic failed to notice its many downfalls. First and foremost, in including only the highest elites, Delany failed to create a version of Pan-Africanism that welcomes and includes all. Much like the rest of the American government at the time, Delany’s plans still left behind those who most desperately needed the help and the opportunity to find a place they could call home. Further, in assuming that American Black elites could populate Africa, and make it a land worthy of its new inhabitants, Delany failed to consider the wishes and perspectives of the individuals who already populated the African countries he hoped to better.

As we fast forward to the present and the future, any (e)migration scheme would make the same mistakes that Delany’s vision would have encountered. While those of African descent should choose what is best for them, be it migrating to Africa or staying put, a large migration scheme that does not address the racial and socioeconomic inequalities existent within the current population, and or the wishes and perspectives of those living in the mother land fails to fully understand the larger picture. Thus, instead of migrating away from the United States, I advocate for Blacks to remain within this country and continue making an impact and changing the country to fit their needs. Most importantly, since they do not have the long standing power and respect given to Whites, the biggest change must come from allies within the United States who are willing to stand up for people of color and speak up when their own and those who they barely know are discriminating or segregating individuals whose home is, and will always be, the United States of America.

I would preface this op-ed with the fact that I am Asian-American and therefore have an innate inability to relate to and completely understand the experiences – good or bad – unique to people of African descent in the United States. That said, based on conjecture, the readings we’ve done so far in class, and present-day circumstances alone, I would advocate against any present-day emigration scheme to Africa on the grounds that a black or African diasporic consciousness cannot be assumed of all people of African descent, and that black nationalism is so inextricably linked to Western capitalism that even a physical displacement would not free black peoples from the shackles and pressures of the capitalist structure. Alternatively, I would advocate for the creation of black solidarity within the United States among the people in power (who are largely rich white men) through economic progress within the structure of capitalism.

Throughout the history of the nation, there have been several back to Africa emigration efforts. Most notably, the American Colonization Society, Marcus Garvey and the Black Star Line, and Martin R. Delany all led efforts to reverse the effects of the African diaspora and emigrate back to the homeland their ancestors had been dispersed from. Martin Delany and his ideologies especially stand out to me because of the fact that he was considered, by some, to be the father of black nationalism. Black nationalism and the idea of a color consciousness were the central foundations upon which many of the emigration movements were built. Thus, to people like Delany, African regeneration was only possible through the creation of a homogeneous and self-sufficient nation of morally exemplary (or Christian) and intelligent black people. This was problematic because of two reasons: one, the rhetoric of an African regeneration implies that the Africans weren’t self-sufficient in the first place and two, just as when the emigration debates were occurring in the late 1800s, black nationalism and a diasporic consciousness cannot be easily defined today. As Tiffany Ruby Patterson and Robin D.G. Kelley write in their work, “Unfinished Migrations: Reflections on the African Diaspora and the Making of the Modern World,” diaspora doesn’t just exist and is continuously reconstituted and recreated. In that sense, for many people of African descent, it appears to be a personal journey in which they develop or reject pan-Africanism or a black consciousness either on the realization that black people share the same timeless cultural values or that these values have manifested over time from life under racism and imperialism. Thus, any back to Africa movement would be in danger of suffering the two fates Delany fell into: either assuming the superiority of black Americans (or the inferiority of Africans) or simply failing to properly define and muster enough support for a black consciousness.

In addition to the reality that a black-conscious back to Africa movement is highly unlikely and perhaps dangerous due to the factors mentioned above, black nationalism is so inextricably linked to Western capitalism that even the physical displacement of an emigration movement would not free black peoples from the capitalist structure that is the basis of and the platform for a majority of their suffering both historically and today. In her work, “Nothing Matters but Color: Transnational Circuits, the Interwar Caribbean, and the Black International” in “From Toussaint to Tupac: The Black International Since the Age of Revolution,” Lara Putnam introduces the concept of ‘Africanization’ as a source of scapegoating people of African descent for a faltering economy in Haiti upon the revolution. This is a common practice, still manifesting in many ways today. Economic progress and everything it implies (literacy, moral standing, etc.), even for black American individuals, is tied to whiteness. Economic stagnation and everything associated with it is ‘Africanized’ and is used to scapegoat black people. This rhetoric was present with the mulattoes in Haiti desiring the privileges enjoyed by white people, it was present with Delany’s rhetoric, and it persists with the desire today to participate in “whitening” in both a cultural and economic sense, not only in black communities but in many other communities of color as well. Thus, because the entire basis of any sort of economic success is rooted in and heavily favors whiteness, even physical displacement would not impact an international reliance on the Western capitalist structure. Thus, I would advocate for a movement dedicated to building up black solidarity and a black consciousness within the capitalist structure. Put simply, play the white man’s game to build up power for black peoples until it is time to break free of the structure.

Home

Where do I ground my roots?

Where can I plant my feet?

Where shall I rest my head?

A soul untethered, free?

-Alia Wood

The African continent drawn as the head of a Black woman.

From a young age, I’ve always had a contentious relationship with the racial identifier “African-American”. I never understood how that term reflected my identity. I would tell my mother, “Ma, but we’re not African, we’re only American.” I’d hoped that I’d eventually “outgrow” my discomfort with the word, but my relationship with “African-American” only grew to be more tenuous. By birth, I am a Black American, but as I’ve grown I’ve felt as though the America that I live in does not love me enough to make me want to stay. I think of a place in which I will be wholly accepted as a Black woman, a place where the color of my skin does not limit me to a constrictive set of oppressive possibilities, a place where my blackness can be celebrated. Especially after Trump’s election I understood that America was no longer mine, that the majority of people in this country, rather, the dominant forces in this country have made their voices clear they do not want me here. So why should I stay? It is clear that my life does not matter here, so what more to America do I owe? This America Is one that intends to be made white (in domination) again, blatantly oppressive again, openly discriminatory again. This place is not my home and it’s been made clear to me that it never has been.

In 2016, Dr. Ulysses Burley III coined the term “Blaxit”- a mass exodus of Black Americans moving to Africa- taking after Britain’s decision to leave The European Union. He wondered if an entire nation can leave an established union. why can’t blacks leave the U.S. and what would happen if we did. Since the 1800s there have been groups that have advocated for a “back-to-Africa” exodus for Black Americans. One of the most prominent leaders of the “back-to-Africa” movement was Marcus Garvey. Garvey, a Jamaican born leader of the Pan-African movement and black nationalist, was a civil rights activist who advocated for an establishment of independent Black states in Africa, particularly on the west coast of the continent and in Liberia. Garvey once asked: “Where is the Black man’s government? Where is his King and his kingdom? Where is his President, his ambassador, his country, his men of big affairs? I could not find them. And then I declared, ‘I will help to make them.’” Garvey understood that success for the Black race could only come when they were able to positively self-identify as who they wanted to be outside of the realm and constraints of white supremacist structures.

Garvey founded the UNIA, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, in 1914 and it was originally established to provide racial uplift in the form of imparting economic knowledge and education for the Black race. At one point, the UNIA had over 8 million members spanning across the globe. In our contemporary moment, understanding the problems that black diasporic peoples face every day such as poverty; racial discrimination; social, political, and economic exploitation; and perpetual conflict between dominant structures in place and those who are subjugated by those forces, it would be prudent to actively consider the teachings of Marcus Garvey.

Though much progress has been made through the Civil Rights Movement and by civil rights activists, Black people continue to be subjugated by an oppressive white supremacist system that has institutionalized and socialized racism so to limit opportunities and possibilities for the true liberation of Black people. We are not free as we are subject to our identities being formed by a white hegemonic narrative and social structure. We are powerless as we see that the white supremacist structures in place are so invasive that blacks cannot even have power over their own communities- think of redlining, the War on Drugs, and gentrification. Think of police brutality, incarceration statistics, Black unemployment, and poverty. Think of white savior films, cultural appropriation, and erasure and/or silencing of Black narratives. Think about all of these things that are woven into the fabric of America’s identity.

The privileged, dominant class that thrives on these white supremacist ideologies, institutions, and interrelations regardless of our pleas and our protests continue to perpetuate this type of oppressive behavior because they are aware that they have stolen all and any power from us and hoarded it for themselves keeping them as the dominant entity in this country. Let us not repeat history, but rather learn from it and do something to change our destiny. Let us unite and grant ourselves the self-help that Marcus Garvey taught. Where do we belong? We belong somewhere where we are welcome. Africa is the motherland and it is where we belong.

Like Martin Delany and Caribbean migrants in the interwar years, many people of color today again find they face the question of whether to stay or leave. Countless factors shape such decisions—the threat of violence at home, the lure of economic opportunities if one leaves—and nearly everyone faces some kind of barrier, some more than others, along the way. Drawing on your knowledge of the history of black (e)migration and taking into account present-day circumstances, write an op-ed on a contemporary emigration scheme to Africa. You may advocate for or against emigration, or somewhere in between. Your op-ed should be between 700-900 words and are due by the end of the day on Wednesday, March 6^th, and should be submitted to the class website.