Kids across the country face bullying for various reasons, from clothing choices to speech impediments. While bullying is always harmful, its impact varies. For African kids, school can become a battleground against xenophobia. As an African kid, experiences like hearing nonsensical tongue clicks imitating African speech, questions about mothers living in huts, and the insult "African booty scratcher" are unfortunately common. Often, this bullying comes from other Black kids.
Some African kids are more fortunate and don't exhibit typical physical attributes associated with Africans, allowing them to avoid some targeting. However, many African kids don't have this privilege, making them targets from the start.
Power Dynamics and Privilege
The bullying of African kids due to their African identity is particularly severe because it stems from power dynamics. This mirrors the deeper ramifications of bullying based on race, ability, or sexual orientation. When American-born kids with American-born parents bully African kids for their differences, it transcends simple bullying and becomes xenophobia.
Xenophobic Kids Become Xenophobic Adults
Dismissing the bullying of African kids as mere childhood immaturity is a mistake. While some learn from their mistakes, many never address them, leading to xenophobic kids becoming xenophobic adults, albeit with altered language. These adults may avoid overtly offensive terms like "African booty scratcher," but their xenophobia manifests in subtle ways.
For example, they might associate African features or names with ugliness, harbor wariness towards Africans due to stereotypes about diseases, or mimic a generic "African accent." They may not explicitly tell an African to "go back where they came from," but they might believe Africans are hindering their progress.
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They may even admire African culture without genuinely respecting African people. This is how xenophobia evolves from blatant aggression to something subtle and easily concealed.
Colorism: The Offspring of Xenophobia
Colorism is often described as a byproduct of racism, but racism and colorism are both rooted in xenophobia. Centuries ago, when people primarily lived among those who looked like them, xenophobia was the primary prejudice.
The historical context of Liberia, founded by freed Black people from the United States, illustrates this point. A caste system emerged, placing African natives (mostly darker-skinned) at the bottom and Black American settlers (mostly lighter-skinned) at the top. This division suggests that enslaved people directly from Africa were likely treated differently than those born on American soil in the United States.
Because being African is still often associated with dark skin, many people who aren't even first or second generation Africans have gotten caught in the crossfire of people's xenophobia through colorism. Many dark skinned African Americans were called the same names as African kids growing up, all because of this idea that being dark meant that they were somehow "other" and therefore inferior, just the way that African kids were.
Therefore, the bullying of African children is more than just kids being kids; it has lasting effects on how African people and darker-skinned Black people are treated within the Black community.
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Xenophobia and colorism should not be dismissed as childish behavior. Kids should be held accountable and corrected when they say or do problematic things.
Elevator - Racism. It Stops With Me
The Divide: "African Booty Scratcher" vs. "Akata"
The term "African Booty Scratcher" may seem insignificant to many, but it carries deep meaning for young African immigrants in cities like New York, reflecting the discrimination they face from African-American counterparts. Conversely, Africans often use the term "Akata" to refer to African-Americans, loosely translating from Yoruba as "a wandering cat without a home."
These terms deeply affect young people as they navigate living together in the same communities, attending the same schools, and facing similar prejudices. It's not uncommon for young Africans to be called an "African Booty Scratcher," a term popularized by the film "The Gods Must Be Crazy."
In areas with high African populations, like the Bronx and Staten Island, tensions between the two communities can hinder development and assimilation. Despite different cultural identities and practices, both groups face similar struggles for economic independence and social mobility.
Common Struggles, Divided Communities
Nesbit Njubi highlights that both African immigrants and African Americans face the same stereotypes. The shooting of Amadou Diallo, a Guinean immigrant, in 1999 exemplifies this. Diallo was mistaken for a rape suspect and killed by police officers, highlighting the indiscriminate nature of prejudice.
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While the shooting briefly united both communities in protest, tensions soon resurfaced. A 2009 New York Times article noted that the post-9/11 environment was particularly hostile to African immigrants, especially those from Islamic countries.
Zain Abdullah attributes this tension to the deep-seated psychological effects of slavery and the separation of African-Americans from their homeland. He suggests that many African-Americans feel that the influx of Africans represents a kind of invasion. Culturally, African-Americans have always imagined themselves as Africans, or at least of African descent, but they might have never encountered Africans from the continent.
Can these two groups learn to appreciate their differences, and learn from each other, while building each other up on things that they do have in common? African and African Americans come from different experiences. Their historical trajectories are not similar, yet, they can find commonalities in fighting for both economic and social mobility in their communities.
| Term | Origin | Meaning/Implication |
|---|---|---|
| African Booty Scratcher | Popularized by the film "The Gods Must Be Crazy" | Derogatory term used to insult African immigrants, reflecting discrimination and xenophobia. |
| Akata | Yoruba origin | Term used by Africans to refer to African-Americans, loosely translating to "a wandering cat without a home," indicating a sense of displacement or lack of rootedness. |
