Before Prince came up we were having an interesting conversation about the different racial categorizations that are on different forms of documentation in the U.S. and in Brazil, because Marcos is from Brazil. Eura then told me she was wondering about my mindset on the subject of my time here in Senegal, because I was the only African-American in the program, and I told her essentially the same thing that I told Brittany; I wanted a break from the stress as well as the pace of life at Columbia and there was an aspect of my identity that necessitated setting foot on the continent of Africa and experiencing the people and culture here. While my motivation for coming here was getting to know and learn about the Senegalese, I find it interesting how I spend 9am-6pm Monday-Friday in classes and at the WARC with American students. In the classroom we are learning about Senegalese society, culture and economy but at the same time I feel like there is a preservation of Americanism. We also are often together on the weekends except in those instances we’re exploring places around the city. I don’t find this element of my experience problematic because spending time with the other participants in the program is inevitable as I am here because of an American program so it makes sense that I am sharing my experiences with Americans. However, I sometimes feel as though I am in a bubble of American in Senegal. This is why I appreciate Prince and Yousou so much because they are willing to hang around just Americans in their home country and it is in those moments where I feel like I am getting an authentic experience in this country. Additionally when we are around them we speak French because English is their 3rd language, so it is an opportunity to practice our French while learning about the Senegalese culture. Although I have these sentiments about hanging out with students from the program, I do understand that the complete immersion, without any interaction with Americans, will come during the internship portion of the program when all of the students will be working in different parts of the country.
Someone then jokingly mentioned that I was the “token” of the program, a term with which I was all too familiar, although which Prince had never heard of it as he has spent his entire life around all Africans. He did explain to us that his experiences with diversity were in his classes at the University with people from the various West African countries, although in these situations the distinctions between people were more of a matter of cultural difference rather than a noticeable difference in skin color. I thought about how just our knowledge of this term "token" explained a great deal about the differences in our experiences. My life has been full of circumstances in which I was the “token”, however in no way am I ashamed of those experiences or do I consider myself a victim of them. I love my life and everything that has contributed to it as well as who I am, but in those experiences there I felt a certain element of visual isolation which I found impossible to ignore. Some may say that the visual isolation was self imposed and that if I did not want to care about the visual I did not have to, but for me the visual is always somewhat on my conscience. It did not govern my decisions and it didn't ever prevent me from pursuing anything, but it was always at the back of my mind. Unless I was in a Black Students Organization meeting, a cultural heritage celebration or an event that led to black people coming together in one space, I knew, even if I wanted to, I could never just blend in because I was darker than most people. Brittany who was present said that she had never thought about that aspect of being able to blend in or even the significance of it and I was glad that I was able to open her eyes to it. I pointed out that was a privilege that was not directly her fault or mine, but it is something I thought we should both be aware because it directly affects the way we experience life.
I asked Prince next about the perceptions that Senegalese people have of African-Americans. My reason for this question was that I wanted to know if there were preconceptions that Senegalese had of me as someone of African descent who grew up and was raised in an entirely different place with an dramatically different moral code. I wanted know what I was "working against" essentially, because I am used to understanding fully and being cognizant of stereotypes so that I can know what preconceived notions people I meet may have of me. His initial response to my question was, “They are good guys”, but he then explained that he couldn't provide me with anymore of an answer than that because he could never generalize a whole community of people or ascribe the characteristics of one person to many people. I appreciated his comment as I didn't expect it at all. I thought his response would surely reflect somewhat of an observance of the portrayal of African-Americans in the media or on television and an acceptance of that portray as somewhat valid, which is the case in America. I told him my reasoning for asking the question was the fact that our experiences were entirely different as I grew up in the country of the colonizer around the descendants of the colonizer, while Prince grew up in the place of origin of his descendants. Although there are many aspects of Prince's experiences which likely reflect the impact of the French colonization of Senegal and much of West Africa (such as the fact that we were communicating in French) there was no hyphen at the end of his racial identity.
I then asked him if he could tell that I wasn't Senegalese from sight if I wasn't surrounded by a whole bunch of Americans and a Brazilian and he said yes. He explained that I looked American in my dress and in my demeanor, but that I could also have possibly been a Senegalese person who had gone to America for school and returned to Senegal. His comment reminded of what Yousou said at the club in terms of how Senegalese women could tell I was American just by the way I was dancing because it was an aspect of myself that was inescapably American. My demeanor and the way I dance are two things which I do not consciously think about, yet they serve as markers of my Americanism. I then asked Prince about what Yousou told me in regards to Senegalese women not trusting African-American men because they think that they will have a baby with them and take the baby back to America. Prince explained that I will hear many things from people during my time here and I must take everything with a grain of salt, which I thought was helpful advice as well. Overall I found my conversation with Prince that night very helpful and enlightening. I realized that it was the hope for conversations such as these and moments of self-actualization which brought me here to Senegal.
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