Mzungu or no Mzungu??? (Blog #3)

This trip to the Congo marks my 3^rd visit to Africa.  I first came in 2007 on a mission’s trip to Ghana with my church and in 2009 I was in Tanzania for 6 months for my masters program.  Each time I come to Africa I seem to feel this need to reconnect (well actually connect) with my roots so to speak.  I do not know where in Africa my family’s roots can be traced back to but that is something that I would like to know one day.  I recently met a man in a village who was a pastor that reminded me of my grandfather so maybe I am from the Vilo community here in eastern Congo.

Me and a pastor from Vilo that reminds me of my grandfather!

Every time I come to Africa I am called a “mzungu” which basically means white person.  I find myself constantly trying to convince people that I meet that call me “mzungu” that I am not a “mzungu” because to me that takes away the connection that I have to Africa through my ancestors.  However, when people see my light skin they automatically put me into the category of “mzungu”.  Granted I may act like a “mzungu” because the experience of a black American and  white American coming to Africa for the first time are probably more similar than not, but there is a part of me that wants the people I meet to know that I do have some connection to them.  Maybe this is for selfish reasons, I do not know, but I do want to have this connection. 

When I was in Ghana, no matter how much I persisted that I was not white, the local people kept calling me white.  In Tanzania, I did eventually get some acknowledgment that I was at least part black, as people started calling me “half-caste”, the term for biracial people (my mom is actually German and my dad is black American).  I remember being excited to have this acknowledgement where people recognized that I was at least part black.  In Congo, I have yet to establish such an acknowledgement despite the fact that I have seen other mixed people in the town where we are living.  It took a lot of convincing for our host Kalongo to believe that my dad was black like him.  I was able to show his wife, Akiki, some pictures and I think she now somewhat believes me.  The other day we met a guy who is a mechanic friend of our host family and he finally confirmed that I am not mzungu!  He said, “Look at her, she is black!!!”  I was like “Yes! Finally!”  He, himself was biracial, having an Italian father and a Congolese mother.  We also met a biracial Minister of Parliament that works in Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, who “looked” more “mzungu” than I do and he was also biracial (half Congolese and half something else, not really sure what). 

All of the “mzungu” talk has also made me think about connection or more of the disconnection between Africans and African-Americans.  I mean the whole purpose of the push to call ourselves African-Americans was to make this connection back to Africa but it seems that we are actually more disconnected that ever.  Don’t get me wrong, I know there are many African-Americans that are deeply connected to their roots and are very knowledgeable about Africa and their ancestors, but I feel that the many are disconnected, myself included.  In the US there is a big disconnect between African and African-Americans because in actuality the cultures are very different despite the roots of the cultures.  We have different experiences that have shaped our lives and our history although that history begins in Africa.  It may be hard for Africans coming to the US to understand the plight of African-Americans through slavery and segregation and it may be hard for African-Americans to grasp the history and culture of Africans coming to American because they have never experienced this culture first hand.  Many Africans that I have spoken to in the US often say that they experience more prejudice from African-Americans that Caucasian Americans.  I know it will take a lot of work to try to bridge this gap and education plays a key role in this along with the willingness to explore and learn about new cultures.  I hope that my blog can shed some light on this topic and elicit some conversation in regards to this matter as well.