Whenever the story of my migration to the United States comes up, the most common question that I get asked is "How did you cope with the culture shock" and my reply always revolves around the same narrative; I never realized I was black until I got to the United States.
I went to a government highschool boarding house in Lagos, Nigeria so I knew all about being different, not being Miss popular, being the tomboy, and trying to get good grades in a class of over 100 students but even in the midst of all this, I was still seen as an individual, a unique entity, a being with a name.
All of this was lost in the US, I no longer represented myself rather I now represented a race and an entire continent. My actions and achievements were seen only from the lens of my skin color first and then my continent, sometimes my country but never as myself.
This realization, although harsh at first never less became my daily reality and to date, I am still astounded by the segregation that something as simple as my skin color can cause. Astounded, yes but not shocked. Segregation no matter how we try to refurbish and make it look new has always been alive ever since the days of old. The Jews in the biblical days segregated themselves from the Gentiles just because they were not circumcised and when Christ declared that He had come for the Jews and Gentiles alike, it shocked many Jewish leaders that they said within themselves "This guy must not be the real deal". Moving forward in time and to my country, segregation is not based on your skin color but based on all other things like your finances, or even your religion.
Since segregation seems to be as old as time, does this mean it is right and can never be eradicated? It might seem so with the way a lot of us push the "We against them narrative" but a thing to note is that segregation is not a natural occurrence, rather it is a man-made influence, one that comes to life the moment we say " They are different from us and should therefore not enjoy what we have access to"
What can I do you ask, I am just one Man/Woman/Child? Well, I do not expect you to march on the Capitol as it so happened on the 6th of January rather I want you to recognize that it begins with your heart, it begins once you see all as worthy of your love ❤️ and once you choose to no longer be afraid. Behind every story of segregation is not power but rather fear. So what are you afraid of?
I know this might seem I am just trying to be ignorant of the suffering that segregation causes on those determined to be the minority but I am not. There are several days that I fear for the life of my unborn black kids. I know that freedom is a war that must be fought for but I also realize that we choose how that war will be fought, do we fight it with the same fear that began it all, or do we fight it with love? Love teaches us that "Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly" -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Love teaches us acceptance.
In this year 2021, Let us try to step out in love for all especially for those we regard as different. When the bible said "Love thy neighbor as yourself" it did not specify who your neighbor was. They could be the enemy, yet it calls us to love them.
In the famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"Darkness CANNOT drive out darkness; only light can do that
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that ".
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