The Struggle

Several months ago, during the height of the Ferguson fiasco (the first time), I stumbled across this piece on “the struggle”. For those too lazy to go read it yourself, a quick summary: American black family moves to Amsterdam, moher is now worried that their young son will not grow up “black”. To solve this challenge, she was actually wondering if she should move back to America so that her son could understand "the struggle", an idea that I just couldn't wrap my head around. Parents usually want the best for the kids, so why would she want to purposely impair her son?

We all know the stats, indeed that’s the whole basis of the #blacklivesmatter movement to begin with. Why would a parent want to put her son in an environment where his chances of mobility in life will be seriously impaired? What kind of parent wants their child to be in a society where they’re likely to get hassled for being in the "wrong neighborhood", for biking, for listening to music, for "resisting arrest", or for any other number of minor "offenses" just so that they know "the struggle" being referred to by others?

Additionally, this brings up another age-old question: what exactly does it mean to be “black”? As a black man, I personally happen to have a lot of experience with being “not black” thus far in my life. The term “Oreo” was frequently used in the same sentence as references to me by both non-blacks but especially blacks (and most pointedly as I attended a HBCU) since I skateboard, wakeboard, snowboard, bike, read books, listen to rock/metal music, and participate in other “non-black” activities, all the while NOT playing much basketball or football. Being that her son will likely speak Dutch and participate at least in some parts of Dutch culture, he already won't exactly fall fully into the "black" segment of American society by anyone's standards.

She mentions that she wants him to have a "black American" experience, but why set her target so low? If she’s already wanting to move from her current location to get the "black" experience, why not just go to Africa? It stands to reason that there is not a more “authentically black” experience than one would experience in the ancestral homeland of almost all blacks. From its royalty, bustling cities, and shiny new trains to its slums, child warfare, and AIDS, he can experience Africa and Africans in a vivid reality that most American blacks can only dream of having. Additionally, if it’s injustice at the hand of whites that she is searching for, South Africa offers the legacy of apartheid with the added bonus of a language that is based on Dutch, the language her son is likely learning.

Of course, she herself admits in the article that she's not exactly sold on the idea yet, likely for some of the reasons mentioned here and probably more too. Hopefully, she continues to rethink her position. Certainly, it isn't all doom and gloom here in the States for members of the black community. However, there are arguably few things to be gained by leaving a country that rates higher than the United States on numerous rankings, from health to education to happiness to transportation. In the modern era, culture can be gleaned from a practically limitless amount of sources online and travel is within reach of the average person. Take advantage of those opportunities.