My Turn

Anti-black racism in Malawi

 

I have travelled throughout the Middle East, North America, Asia, Latin America and Europe where I have had amazing experiences and met incredible people.

Nonetheless, across the globe, my experiences were informed by the colour of my skin. In Beijing, Chinese citizens asked to take pictures with me because I am the first black person they have met. In Izmir, some Turkish men walked behind me at night yelling “Africa.” In Madrid, a Spanish immigration official made me supply more documents than my white American travel companions.

Despite my blue passport, the world has made sure that I never forget that I am black.

When I was awarded a fellowship to come to Malawi, I was ecstatic.  I had never been to Africa before and was excited to learn about the homeland of my enslaved ancestors.

Growing up as an African-American male in the US, I was excited to get a break from the daily racism of my country.

In Malawi, I would not be a racial minority. I would not racially profiled when I went shopping. I would not have to fear being pulled over or shot by the police. No one would think I am unintelligent or lower income just because I am black.

In many ways Malawi has provided this racial relief.

Yet, through my inclusion within the expatriate community, I have still had my fare share of anti-black racism.

A white expat questioned my economic status by expressing surprise that I could afford to eat at Latitude 13. Another white expat questioned my intellectual capability by asking if I was really a lawyer.  I have had similar experiences in the US and they would not occur if I had white skin.

Malawians, upon hearing my accent, automatically know I am from the US and yet white ex-pats routinely ask me my nationality.

The fact that an African-American can obtain a passport and travel abroad still seems like a confusing proposition for them.  Yet one of the most egregious forms of this anti-black bias is manifested in the self-segregation of the expatriate community.

Recently I was eating at a restaurant and a Malawian came up to me and struck up a conversation. He said that he had seen me around town and “was confused because you sound like you are from the US, but you hang out mostly with Malawians and expats don’t do that.”

I cheerfully replied: “I didn’t come all the way to Africa just to hang out with white people.”

His comment confirmed to me that the deeply entrenched segregation between the black Malawian community and the mostly white expatriate community is not just in my head.

I have broached the topic with some of my expat friends and some say socio-economic differences between the two communities make integration difficult. However, there are educated and wealthy Malawians, so that cannot be the case. Many expat women I talk to justify the segregation because Malawian men make romantic advances when they socialise with them. However, these same women face similar advances by Western men in their home countries and still socialize.

Occam’s Razor is a philosophical principle that states that the answer to a problem is often the simplest.

In the West, we are all infected with anti-black racism stemming from histories of slavery and colonialism that we bring to places like Malawi.

As a socio-economically privileged African-American, I can feel the effects of these histories in the expatriate community. I can only imagine what the black Malawian feels while interfacing with these communities.

As expatriates in Malawi lets use this opportunity to make meaningful relationships with Malawians so that when we go back to our countries we can promote systems that tackle inequality, not just at a policy level, but a personal level.

In the US, integration was key to moving the country towards more just outcomes. The same will hold true in Ma

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