Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the story of a Nigerian girl named Ifemelu. The book traces her life in both Nigeria and America. In doing so it touches on a large assortment of crucial topics governing human life, including race, immigrant experiences in the U.S, existentialism, and love.
Here are 10 Americanah Quotes that talk about Racism in America
Americanah Quotes that talk about Racism in America:―
1.
Dear Non-American Black, when you make the choice to come to America, you become BLACK. Stop arguing. Stop saying I’m Jamaican or I’m Ghanaian. America doesn’t care.
2.
If you’re telling a non-black person about something racist that happened to you, make sure you are not bitter. Don’t complain. Be forgiving. If possible, make it funny. Most of all, do not be angry. Black people are not supposed to be angry about racism. Otherwise, you get no sympathy. This applies only for white liberals, by the way. Don’t even bother telling a white conservative about anything racist that happened to you because the conservative will tell you that YOU are the real racist and your mouth will hang open in confusion.
3.
Racism should never have happened and so you don’t get a cookie for reducing it.
4.
Maybe it’s time to just scrap the word “racist.” Find something new. Like RACIAL DISORDER SYNDROME. And we could have different categories for sufferers of this syndrome: mild, medium, and acute.
5.
Race doesn’t really exist for you because it has never been a barrier. Black folks don’t have that choice.
6.
The point of diversity workshops, or multicultural talks, was not to inspire any real change but to leave people feeling good about themselves. They did not want the content of her ideas; they merely wanted the gesture of her presence. They had not read her blog but they had heard that she was a “LEADING BLOGGER” about race.
7.
Finally, don’t put on a Let’s Be Fair tone and say “But black people are racist too.” Because of course, we’re all prejudiced (I can’t even stand some of my blood relatives, grasping, selfish folks), but racism is about the power of a group and in America, it’s white folks who have that power. How? Well, white folks don’t get treated like shit in upper-class African-American communities and white folks don’t get denied bank loans or mortgages precisely because they are white and black juries don’t give white criminals worse sentences than black criminals for the same crime and black police officers don’t stop white folk for driving while white and black companies don’t choose not to hire somebody because their name sounds white and black teachers don’t tell white kids that they’re not smart enough to be doctors and black politicians don’t try some tricks to reduce the voting power of white folks through gerrymandering and advertising agencies don’t say they can’t use white models to advertise glamorous products because they are not considered “aspirational” by the “mainstream.”
8.
You see, in American pop culture, beautiful dark women are invisible. (The other group just as invisible is Asian men. But at least they get to be super smart.) In movies, dark black women get to be the fat nice mammy or the strong, sassy, somewhat scary sidekick standing by supportively. They get to dish out wisdom and attitude while the white woman finds love. But they never get to be the hot woman, beautiful and desired and all.
Grab your copy Here ― Amazon IN | Amazon US
Also Read: 25 Americanah Quotes about Love, Life, and the Space in Between
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That’s all we have for today. Thanks a lot for tuning in to HappinessDhaba. Do let me know your views on these in the comment section.
Signing off with my favorite words.
Zindagi Zindabad!
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