3 - Being a Sub-Saharan African Immigrant in the United States: Speaking From the Heart in a Foreign Language

Summary

After the Eg yptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second sight in this American world, a world, which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

—W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk

Among the many challenges sub-Saharan African immigrants face is the issue of being viewed as different yet expected to assimilate and behave as an American. To delve deeper into the identity crises that many African immigrants are experiencing, the authors use this chapter to discuss the issues related to the inner struggles that sub-Saharan African immigrants experience as they navigate between two worlds. The authors also explore how their resilience wanes and how their values and expectations evolve and change over time as a result of the pressures to adjust and assimilate. This chapter also explores the issues of trying to assimilate and fit in the American culture, negotiating race, class and gender biases, and other plurilingual challenges.

We start with language as a dimension for identification that is used more often due to the difference in accent when African immigrants speak in the United States. Then we progress to the definition of selfhood as a navigational tool towards assimilation and immersion into the United States culture. In this chapter, we also explore communication as a general tool for adaptation, assimilation, education and economic pursuits, productivity and being in a world where a slight detection of a different accent other than American English can cause one to be not only viewed, but also evaluated as being incompetent.

Research indicates that there is a relationship between identity and a sense of belonging, motivation, achievement, persistence, eventual success and general well-being.