June 11, 2025
Morayo Afolabi-Brown acknowledged that immigrants benefited from Black American labor and battle.
A candid revelation by Nigerian media host Morayo Afolabi-Brown has dropped at gentle a hardly ever mentioned, but seemingly frequent, piece of recommendation many Nigerian dad and mom impart to their youngsters earlier than they journey to the US: a cautionary instruction to keep away from African Individuals and as a substitute “stick with the white individuals.”
Afolabi-Brown shared this “pep speak” on an episode of her TVC program, Your View, exposing a generational worry rooted in stereotypes that creates a wedge between African immigrants and Black Individuals.
She described this widespread counsel as being pushed by worry and preconceived notions, noting the way it inadvertently fosters judgment and distance. This recommendation, she highlighted, persists regardless of the profound historic sacrifices made by Black Individuals that essentially paved the way in which for African immigrants and their descendants to obtain success and alternative overseas. Whereas maybe meant as a type of safety, the sentiment inadvertently reinforces dangerous divides inside the broader Black diaspora.
“I can’t categorically say each Nigerian received this speak, however–-a lot of Nigerians who journey overseas–-got this speak from their households,” Afolabi-Brown started. “The place they might sit you down and let you know, ‘You’re going over there.’”
“Don’t go speaking to these Black Individuals, oh..You will get pregnant. You will get into medication…They offer you that speak, ‘Simply go to the white group and discover a good place.’ So while you enter America, you have already got a notion of African Individuals. You decide them, and naturally, they’ll see that judgment. They usually see the way you, ‘Sure Massa,’ to the oyinbos (whites).”
The savvy media persona candidly expressed how she might see why Black Individuals have been defensive when it got here to Nigerians overtly shunning them. Afolabi-Brown additionally acknowledged that immigrants benefited from Black American labor and battle.
It’s Onsite Africa’s Instagram web page, the place the video was posted, and the feedback part went up for the troublesome open admission.
“It’s at all times been fascinating to look at Africans, particularly Nigerians, cosplay Black Americaness when it’s handy for them,” one particular person wrote.
Social media persona King Keraun chimed in, “We lowkey knew this.”
A Nigerian within the feedback part seconded Afolabi-Brown’s cost.
“I’ve to confess I’m 🇳🇬 and received that very same pep speak. Guess who received humbled actual fast by them white individuals in nursing faculty? Me, they noticed me as a risk and hated my soul, so yeah, racism nonetheless exists. Whereas I’m proud to be a Nigerian, I received to tip my hats off to the black Individuals that sacrificed their lives only for all of us coloured individuals to be on this nation. I realized my lesson the laborious method.”
“From the way in which we’re handled, we already knew about ‘the speak’”. 😂”
The phenomenon Afolabi-Brown described illustrates a posh interaction of identification, notion, and historic understanding amongst totally different Black communities in the US. Many African immigrants arrive with a definite cultural background, generally carrying stereotypes about Black Individuals absorbed from varied sources, together with media and anecdotal tales.
Conversely, Black Individuals, having endured centuries of systemic racism and battle, typically view such a separation as a betrayal of shared racial identification and a dismissal of the sacrifices made to create a extra equitable society.
Afolabi-Brown’s willingness to handle this delicate matter publicly is an important opening for introspection and dialogue. It highlights the urgent have to dismantle inner biases inside the world Black group, encouraging understanding and real solidarity over outdated divisions.
Afolabi-Brown, born in Nigeria and educated in the US, is a communications government and tv persona with a media profession spanning 17 years. She has labored with notable media organizations, together with CMC Join, Cue Media, and HiTV, and at present serves because the Chief Media Guide of Kabiti Media Home Restricted. Her first ebook, Changing into the Queen of Discuss TV, additional solidifies her voice within the media panorama.
The dialog invitations each African immigrants and Black Individuals to acknowledge their interconnected histories and shared struggles, finally fostering unity relatively than permitting systemic prejudice to take advantage of current rifts.
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