Equality

Something I noticed while reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was the inability of Americans to please Ifemelu in how they act toward her. It is a fact that is a different color from white Americans and she believes it is absurd to try to say that one is blind to color yet bluntly recognizing the difference in skin tone and accent and asking about where she is from seems to offend her as well. She is strongly against pretending racial discrimination doesn’t exist as she says “Because if course we are all prejudiced, 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 American communities” (p.405). She does not believe in all the stereotypes that exist about black people and the expectation that they are supposed to take that sort of treatment laying down. She sarcastically says in one of her blog posts, “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, don’t be angry. Black people are not supposed to be angry about racism. Otherwise you get no sympathy” (p. 275).

                At the same time as she doesn’t want black people to be treated negatively because of their race, she doesn’t want them to be treated too positively because of their race either. When people overcompensate in trying not to be racist that tend to treat black as a lower class in need of their help. This can clearly be seen in the character of Kimberly whose children Ifemelu babysits for. Kimberly’s wealthy friends who are all heavily invested in African charity come over for a cocktail party. While what they are doing is good, it is clear they see themselves as a class above the people they are helping. Ifemelu says they make her feel like she “wanted, suddenly and desperately, to be from the country of people who gave and not those who received, to be one of those who had and could therefore bask in the grace of having given, to be among those who could afford copious pity and empathy” (p. 209). It seems like Ifemelu feels the best way to go about treating each other is completely equal. She says if one doesn’t know how to do this, they should ask questions, but it is clear when and effort is being made.