My paper deals with the narration of Africa and its diasporas in the novel

Americanah with particular emphasis on racism and white fragility. Ifemelu,

the protagonist of the novel in one of her lectures at a session attended only
by whites says Racism should never have happened or you dont get a cookie for
reducing it. [222]This statement invites a lot of contempt from the whites
and it makes one of them desperate enough to send her an email stating
that she is a racist. So if you are wondering what White fragility is, these
words are a potent reminder of the hostility of the whites towards the blacks
because when a black woman and that too an immigrant and one who is at
the bottom of the race ladder in the diaspora talks without any inhibitions of
how race and racism as a socio cultural condition has always disadvantaged
the blacks over the whites and has made their lives of marginalization
normative in the eyes of the whites and yet dysfunctional for them, the
whites feel racial discomfort. As Robin DiAngelo states : White Fragility is a
state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable,
triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward
display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as
argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These
behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium. Racial stress
results from an interruption to what is racially familiar. [1] This is why
Ifemelu writes a post on her blog that black people should never complain
that they have faced racism. Even if they have it must not sound
contemptuous or a complaint, it must be made to sound funny.
When we think of what is racially familiar it is important to mention that a
white man had once told Ifemelu that race is overhyped these days, what
exists is class. Yet he contradicts his statement by saying that nobody
wants black babies in America, not even black families. His opinion on race
being overhyped is negated by Ifemelus experiences because she struggles
for months to get a job and yet she does not succeed. A coach tells her that
the office position is already filled and he physically exploits her as a deal in
return of money that shows how the whites have the agency to exploit
blacks and make their position helpless. This is not a personal attitude but it
reflects a cultural attitude where the whites as masters had once the right to
ill-treat their slaves who were blacks. Similarly Ifemelus roommate in
America Elena assumes that Ifemlus dislike of dogs is a cultural thing.
As we move further it becomes very interesting to find how white fragility
works because Robin DiAngelo believes that in a white dominant
environment and I quote her whites are often at a loss for how to respond in
constructive ways. Whites have not had to build the cognitive or affective
skills or develop the stamina that would allow for constructive engagement
across racial divides. [4]Ifemelu is employed by Kimberley as a nanny for
her children. Kimberley is very cordial towards Ifemelu and in her cordiality
there is an anxiety that works because she does not want to make Ifemelu
feel culturally and racially appropriated. So she compliments her name
expressing that she loves multicultural names because they have such
wonderful meanings, from wonderful rich cultures. Kimberly was smiling the
kindly smile of people who thought culture the unfamiliar colorful reserve
of colorful people, a word that always had to be qualified with rich. She
would not think Norway had a rich culture. [111] Kimberly would come
across a black model and draw Ifemelus attention to the models photo,
complimenting her on her beauty. Ifemelu corrects her by saying she is not
and all black women are not beautiful and it is not necessary for her to say
that all black women are beautiful. Ifemelu is taking hostage of Kimberlys
anxiety that stems from her status of white privilege and in her endeavour
to confer on Ifemelu a special status that does not guarantee any equity as a
race the author shows how the existence of racism becomes more
pronounced. Kimberleys sister Laura also feels racially challenged in
Ifemelus presence and she is defensive about it. She is very curious about
Nigeria and always tells Ifemelu about 419 scams and how Nigerians are the
most educated immigrant group in America and hence they are privileged.
Such a view about a black ethnic minority shows that white fragility can
really bring about a distortion of truth because in reality Nigerians like
Ifemelu faces harassment while looking for jobs. Nigerians like Aunty Uju
despite being a doctor are not treated with respect. Nigerians like Dike
experience discrimination in school because his teachers single him out as
aggressive whereas the other white children are no less aggressive. Dike
wanted to apply sunscreen on his face during a camp but the white girl told
him that he does not need one. Dike was forced to attempt suicide because
he always faced discrimination from his white skinned peers and being a
teenager and not an adult, he was going through a difficult time because he
could not assimilate in the culture of the diaspora the way a black is
expected to be, which is to take discrimination in their stride as part of the
culture where they live. In this context it is important to talk about how
Nigerians and Nigerian blacks especially while trying to assimilate in the
diaspora and come face to face with the realization that they are black and it
is the color of their skin that constitutes their only identity experience
depression, a clinical condition that they did not experience back home. It is
like an extra organ that they cannot separate from themselves nor can they
separate the fact that they are black and it reflects how the host or white
privilege has taken hostage of the immigrant. Ginika , Ifemelus friend had
told her that a bi racial person will not be as marginalized as a black and
thus Ifemelu had once written on her blog Raceteenth, addressed to her
fellow blacks that their identity is that they are blacks and not a Caribbean
black or a Nigerian black or a black from Trinidad. Often the whites in their
homeland cannot make out the difference and distinction of facial features
of a black from his or her fellow black, the reason why Ifemelu in America
and Obinze in London can work under different names and under different
identities as Ngogi Okankwa and Vincent and no one suspects them until
somebody calls the company for whom Obinze is working and informs them
that he is not the person under whose identity and using whose NI number
he is working. Thus all blacks irrespective of their ethnicities and
backgrounds have a homogenized experience of racism. This is why on
another blog post Ifemelu wrote that in America race is class. It makes no
difference to a carpet cleaner how much money a Nigerian is making as long
as she is the help in the house where he has come to work. He is happy
knowing that she is not the owner of the house. Otherwise the normative
order of race will be challenged. Hence Ifemelus travelling on first class
invites repulsion from the whites.
We will understand more on white fragility when I talk about Ifemelus
relationship with Curt, a wealthy white man in America. Curt is very
protective of Ifemelu and sees that she is not inconvenienced in any way. In
Ifemelu and Curts relationship we find how a man uses his agency of white
privilege to keep racism as far away from the woman he loves. When one
salon refuses to wax Ifemelus brows in a curly fashion, Ifemlu calls Curt and
he is furious and threatens to sue the place if they do not wax her brows. On
another occasion, we find how at a party people think that Curt a handsome
white man dating a black is transgressive and it is a waste because Curt
being an exquisitely handsome person cannot date a black and it registers
to Ifemelu that the whites view it as a great tribal loss. We find how even
in a romantic cross cultural relationship race is not avoidable and it is
negotiated in ways that are not surprising or unpredictable. Curt once points
to a magazine and expresses very mildly that it is surprising that only black
women are featured. Thus we realise that he probably feels that there is an
underrepresentation of white women and bi racial women. It also reflects
how he feels probably threatened assuming that black women are a
dominant majority but the author like any good craftsperson invites the
reader to read between the lines and what struck me was the fact that it did
not for once occur to Curt that the black women featured on the magazine
are not black women but possessing their own identity and coming from
different ethnic backgrounds. It makes the problem of racism and racial
discomfort very prominent. Ifemelu told him that in other American
magazines hardly any black woman model is represented. Besides the hair
products and the skin care products advertised suit only the whites. Thus the
blacks are made to look as a non-existent category and this cultural
perception is what determines our understanding of racism and white
fragility.
What is really interesting is how Ifemelu assimilates herself in the diaspora
not in a normative fashion where she understands and restricts herself
within the cultural barriers. Instead she transgresses in a number of ways.
She finds Curt chatting on email to a white woman and realises that Curt is
in some way cheating on her. He tells her that it is the woman who is after
him and has refused to let go of him the reason why he is forced to talk to
her. But he promises that he will never keep in touch with her again. Now at
this point it is important to mention that Curt was in love with Ifemelu but
his love was more of a curiosity and a desire to satiate the curiosity of being
with a black woman who represents perhaps in my perception an exotic
human being because he constantly refers to her physicality. Instead Ifemelu
jilts Curt for a white man in their housing thus subverting Curts white
privilege over her. It surprises Curt that she had made out with a white man
and not a black man.
Ifemelus transgressive assimilation within the diaspora should also be
understood in terms of Afro hair. African women have their own braiding
salons in the diaspora because their hair is genetically different from white
women. She tries to get rid of her kinky styled Afro hair by using relaxers to
apply for a job and she nails the job because of her professional look that
has come with relaxing her hair. But the quality of her hair deteriorates and
this reflects how black women while making efforts to assimilate themselves
in the diaspora try to get rid of their original hair and end up as victims.
Ifemelus counterculture revolution starts when she joins a virtual
community called HappilyKinkyNappy.com where the African women give
each other suggestions to wear their hair natural and to use products that
suit their hair. Interestingly, the hair products are organic in nature and
made exclusively for hair of Afro origin that reinstate their status as distinct
women within the diaspora.
It is also important to talk about how the desire to be Americanized exist
amongst the Nigerian adolescent and youths like Obinze and Kayode Da
Silva and Emenike. They are frustrated with problems at home and so
America shines as a promising future as much as London but it is in America
and in London that they discover race. And it is in the diaspora where they
experience the death of their identities and suddenly become black, the only
signifier of their identity. The diaspora becomes very subversive to the
dreams the immigrants had dreamt. Ojiugo and Nicholas were radicals in
Nigeria. Ojiugos non-conformist way of dressing up and smoking openly in
public and openly making out with her boyfriend used to invite a lot of
repulsion because she was not a girl who had a white parent or who had
returned from America or London that people in Nigeria will forgive her for
her culturally subversive attitudes. However she became subdued and sober
in the diaspora because she had to think about her children and her husband
did not have a permanent job, and race hovered over them. So they
assimilated themselves within the racist culture of London that expected
them to behave like immigrant Nigerians and not like radicals.
So we realise what we expect from the novel Americanah and how much of
that expectation is met and what is unmet. Being Americanized for Ifemelu
does not mean speaking in a foreign accent and assimilating herself in the
American culture in a way that she forgets her origins. That would have
meant that she had accepted the normative functioning of race. Being an
Americanah meant even though it was cutting off contact with the boyfriend
back home it meant to stop faking an American accent even if that meant
not being accommodated in the society. She felt original.
In this context it is important to talk of how women in Nigeria wanted to
climb the ladder of social mobility and hence they started searching
desperately for a suitable husband and rejecting love to gain wealth. And
Ifemelu writes about the cultural symptoms of their ass -licking economy
that had been stranded in Nigeria for the past fifteen years because her
Aunty Uju had been the mistress of the General who was totally unsuitable
for her and yet he fulfilled her with wealth. She did not have any money of
her own at that time. After 15 years, her friend Ranyinudo is dating a man
who is married and she lives a luxurious life that she cannot afford. Being an
Americanah meant that she could not allow her boyfriend Obinze to settle
her down with his contacts. Being an Americanah meant that she could not
work in a magazine house that talked of petty things. Even though she had
returned to Lagos and stopped being black yet she is able to identify the
cultural problems of her race, of how casteism exists and how a man like
Obinze is not content with his life and his wife and he divorces her to be with
Ifemelu. This shows how they both have broken the normative way life works
in Lagos where a girl does not marry the man she loves but the man who
can maintain her. There are hardly very few men who have married the
women they loved but to leave the wife for the lover is crazy. And it is in
their act of transgression that makes both Ifemelu and Obinze a hybrid
identity. Though they both have returned to the homeland and can identify
with the diaspora in some ways and not in all ways.
WORKS CITED
DiAngelo Robin. White Fragility. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy,
Volume 3, 2011, .web
PRIMARY TEXT
Adichie, Ngozi Chimamanda. Americanah, New York Toronto, Alfred A.Knopf,
2013 .web

Swastisha Mukherjee
PG 2
Roll 12