It’s honestly very difficult being a person of color in the United States. Not just a person of color, but a nonblack person of color because the United States is always caught up in the black versus white fight. I’m not trying to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement at all, that’s not my goal, I just want to shed some light on the injustices done to us that are often overlooked because we’re the “smart” or the “timid” group of people. I am Indian but what does that really mean? If you don’t know me then for all you know, I could be a Native. The Natives are referred to as “Indians” or “American Indians” or some variation of that and it’s so disturbing to me because apparently they’ve also accepted the label that was assigned to them by the white people. Again, I am Indian, from the country in Asia, but what does that mean? Every single city or village is different in India, there are over 2,ooo different languages spoken in India, most of them aren’t even accounted for, people are separated by caste, religion, customs, language, holidays, and so many other things. My father’s side of the family has close to nothing in common with my mother’s side of the family but we are still seen as just one thing, “Indian” and not just that but I am forced to clarify, “I’m Indian, like, from Asia.”
Not going to lie, Ifemelu’s going to have a very difficult time adjusting herself to Nigeria. She’s been conditioned to live like an “American” which includes embracing the inevitable social hierarchy. White people are subconsciously conditioned to believe that they are better than others (of course, this can change with the upbringing but our society is inevitably going to favor white people). Ifemelu’s going to believe she is superior to her fellow Nigerians because of her social upbringing and it’s going to be hard for her to fit back into Nigerian society.
Teri Deewani 