#33: Christina Akintoye - Are Africa’s Problems Humanity’s Problems?
Have you ever gone through a difficult moment in your life? Depression, abuse, loss — these are awful and unfortunate things some of us have to deal with. In these cases, it’s not easy to know what to do to regain control of our emotions and reactions. Remember that you’re not alone on this journey. Know that things can and will get better.
In this episode, Christina Akintoye shares her struggles with being a black British citizen and tells us what has led to SARS tragedy in Nigeria. She explains how even though she was born and bred in the U.K. she has constantly had to deal with prejudices due to her Nigerian heritage. This all came to a head in her latest job in London and she ultimately took the decision to move to Nigeria to pursue her dreams in the knowledge that she would finally be fully accepted and feel as though she belongs.
Tune in to this episode to learn how you can appreciate different cultures no matter where you live, understand how our words/actions can have huge ramifications in making people feel as though they belong and how racism continues to rear its ugly head in society today.
Here are 3 reasons why you should listen to the full episode:
Do we still care about BLM when it pertains to black lives in Africa?
Learn how we can appreciate and learn from foreign cultures in all manner of ways from eating their food, listening to their music, learning about their history to reading their literature.
Understand we can become more accepting and each fight to remove racism from society.
5 Powerful Quotes from This Episode
“Being black is an experience and always has been since the time of colonisation.”
“I don’t think that simply posting [on social media] fixes the matter, we need to really tackle it and hit the nail on the head.”
“The African narrative has been downplayed and has made people feel pity for Africa.”
“I was told by my teacher that my English was exceptional because she didn’t think it was my first language despite being born and raised in London.”
“People think that black people fall short because they are not white”.
Episode Highlights
Christina’s Personal Experience
● Growing up in the U.K. Christina suffered from racism which ultimately culminated in Christina taking the decision to move to Nigeria to pursue her dreams in peace.
● Christina tells us of the tragic SARS protests which lead to innocent peaceful protestors losing their lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
Christina’s Account of the Racial Abuse
● Being told that she spoke good English despite being born and raised in the U.K. her whole life.
● Feeling the pressure to achieve excellence in any given field because anything else would buy into negative racial stereotypes.
● Being withheld from promotions and kept in the probation period for longer than allowed despite meeting her targets.
● Feeling as though African diasporans are sometimes reticent/ashamed to talk about their cultural heritage due to negative connotations still held about Africa.
Tackling Racism
● Whilst ignorance can be the cause it is not an excuse. We need to actively learn about different cultures so we can appreciate and celebrate them not shun and abuse them.
● Christina tells us how we can learn about different cultures via travelling, theatre, cuisine, history, literature or multicultural friendships.
● Questioning your preconceived notions about a certain country/demographic and asking why you feel that way.
● Overcome any prejudices by exposure can help you realise that your fears were misplaced and you have more in common than you may think.
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To removing stigma,
Jim and Seb
