IANA Blog- October 2024
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Happy October,
For this month, I wanted to get something off my chest and talk about it, because it seems that every year I see it. I also kind of talked about it in my second August blog.
I want to talk about the online Diaspora Wars.
For my IANA people who don’t know what it is , I’ll tell you. Diaspora wars are conflicts involving the African diaspora over petty and trivial things. I see them online on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, mostly Twitter, and let me tell you, the stuff that the diaspora argues or goes into conflicts over is so stupid.
For example, when the olympics were happening, you had Africans on Twitter cheering for the countries that they’re from that were being represented (like South Africans, Ghanaians, Nigerians, etc.), you had Caribbeans cheering for the countries that they’re from being represented (like Jamaicans, St. Lucians, etc.) and you had Black Americans rooting for the Black American athletes being represented in the olympics like Simone Biles and Sha’Carri Richardson. Not all were biased, there were people online who were cheering for everybody Black, but there were also people like I said cheering for either Black American athletes, African athletes or Caribbean athletes and it did not go well.
Instead of respecting each athlete participating in the Olympics, it turned into petty arguments, stupid insults and straight up anti-Black rhetoric. Seeing the comments from the diaspora were damn embarrassing. I saw Caribbeans or Africans making fun of Black Americans and calling them “dumb” and “illiterate.” I saw Black Americans making fun of Africans and Caribbeans and their “s**thole” countries. That was basically happening all throughout the Olympics.
Unfortunately, it’s not just the Olympics when these stupid Diaspora wars start. It can start over food, music, culture, anything. I saw Black Americans make online videos eating African food and talking about how nasty it is. I see Black Americans arguing over Black British actors/actresses or African actors/actresses portraying legendary Black American figures in movies like when British Ugandan actor Daniel Kaluyya portrayed Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah,” or when British Nigerian actress Cynthia Erivo portraying legendary abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the Harriet biopic, Speaking of which, I see Africans (including Erivo herself) mocking the way Black Americans talk or dress. I see Caribbeans and Africans claim that Black Americans have no culture. I see Black Americans trying to discredit Caribbeans and Afro Latinos contributions to hip hop music, even when others bring up the fact that some of the founding fathers of hip hop were Caribbean, like DJ Kool Herc, who was a Jamaican from The Bronx in New York, or the Rocksteady Crew, the legendary breakdancing and hip hop group that had members that were also Afro-Latino. Just recently, I see other Black people mocking Haitians because of Trump’s stupid lie about them “eating cats.” The worst part of seeing this online is when I see any of these people defend their stupid statements.
So, I mentioned Black Americans vs. Africans and/or Caribbeans, but there are definitely conflicts between Africans and Caribbeans, or Caribbeans vs. other Caribbeans and of course Africans vs. other Africans. Like I mentioned in the second August blog, I saw Nigerians and Jamaicans going at each other over Buju Banton’s criticism of Afrobeats music, from each mocking one another for Nigeria’s and Jamaica’s social problems to mocking each country’s music. I see South Africans get on Twitter and be afrophobic and xenophobic towards other Africans, especially other Africans moving to their country, especially Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Nigerians. I see plenty of Nigerians get online and have stupid things to say about other Black people, I see Diaspora wars over which African country makes the best Jollof rice. Whether it be Nigerian jollof, Ghanaian jollof, Liberian jollof, Cameroonian jollof, Sierra Leonean jollof or Senegalese jollof (which is where jollof rice originated from), I just see a bunch of African talking s**t towards each other. Don’t even get me started on what they have to say about Nigerian jollof. Go ahead, call me biased, but if you think Nigerian jollof is the worst…you’re an idiot…but honestly, these damn jollof rice diaspora wars go too far. They claim the rivalry is friendly…I say “bulls**t.”
All Diaspora wars I see are ignorant, anti-Black, xenophobic, afrophobic and so damn stupid. Every time I see one, I wanna punch my screen. Honestly, in my opinion, the worst diaspora wars or most of the diaspora wars I see are started by groups known as FBA/ADOS (Foundational Black Americans/American Descendants of Slavery), basically Black Americans/African Americans who reject their African lineage. I will probably save them for next month’s blog, because I got something to say about FBA, ADOS and anyone else that’s part of that psyop of a dips**t movement. Anyway, back to FBA. I definitely feel like they are starting the Diaspora wars online. They claim to be fighting for reparations for Black Americans, but they spend time on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or anywhere else on Social Media talking s**t about Africans and Caribbeans. I see they especially have something stupid to say about Nigerians. They blame all of Black America’s problems on them and other immigrants, get on the internet to argue with other Black people about who gets to be Black or not, or try to misinform and miseducate others about the history of Black people in America…and they love to call Africans, Caribbeans, Black people who weren’t born and raised in America, or Black people who disagree with them “Tethers.” A stupid insult…I know right.
Then you’ll have some Black Americans say that they don’t start any of the diaspora wars (which is a lie), I see some say that Caribbeans start it, I see some say that Africans start it, especially Nigerians (which I do see), either way, it is stupid, anti-Black, and it is definitely rooted in White supremacy. I’m not innocent either. I remember growing up, I would say things about Black Americans, which I got from the media and realized how we’re all affected by the same problem, it doesn’t matter which part of the diaspora.
I think it’s also right to bring up that these diaspora wars are definitely “psy-op” and how some of the Black people starting diaspora wars online are actually non-Black people in “digital blackface” trying to spread misinformation and keep the diaspora from uniting. Typical divide-and-conquer tactic, keep Black people fighting instead of uniting. I think it is incredibly necessary to avoid Diaspora wars at all cost. As an advocate for Pan-Africanism, unity is the key for success. That’s why you’ll never see me getting involved in some Diaspora war over Black Americans, the most copied people on the planet, a lot of our clothes, style, music and culture in the world is because of Black Americans. You’ll never see me involved in a Diaspora war over Caribbeans, the ones who taught the diaspora how to rebel (Haitian Revolution, Queen Nanny, Marcus Garvey, etc.), the ones who gave us Reggae music, the ones who kept African culture alive in different ways (although many Black Americans have as well). You will never see me involved in a Diaspora war over Afro Latinos, who were also influential for the culture and music as well, plus Afro Brazilians gave us Capoeira…nuff said. You’ll never see me involved in Diaspora wars involving Black people raised in certain parts of the world, whether it be Europe (UK, France, Germany, etc.), Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, etc.), Canada, Australia and you’ll never see me involved in any Diaspora war over Africans, simply for one main reason…
…I’m an African…
…As an African, it would be wrong for me to insult and mock other Africans online…unless you’re acting anti-Black…or acting like a “coon”...or you’re talking bad about Nigerian jollof…yeah, Ghanaians, I’m looking at you…
…Like I said, the only time you’ll see me talk bad about any Black person, is if that Black person is being anti-Black or being a “coon.” I think that is the only time that any Black person should be judged. But overall, I’m down for unity with my Black people, unity within the African diaspora. Luckily, these diaspora wars are only online and mostly Black people are not like this all the time in real life. Even with our differences, we’re all the same. It’s been said before but the only difference between a Dominican, a Puerto Rican, a Cuban, a Jamaican, a Bahamian, an African and an African American is a boat stop.
Link to “I Love My Black People” by Pan-African Lifestyle
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