Full Description
In July 1961, five months after Patrice Lumumba's assassination, 14-year-old Brenda F. Berrian's consciousness was raised by her family's move to the turbulent Republic of the Congo. Race, Identity, and Privilege from the US to the Congo traces Berrian's experiences of subsequently traveling the United States, Canada, France, and three other African countries against the backdrop of emerging African independence and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Detailing the complexities she faced in her global identity as a Black woman, Berrian explores how the love and support of her parents and her developing racial, feminist, and political consciousness--strengthened by her embrace of literature and music of the African diaspora--prepared her to deal with adversity, stereotypes, and grief along the way.
Contents
Chapter 1: Expatriates in Léo
Chapter 2: At the Roadblock
Chapter 3: Les Coiffures
Chapter 4: The Proposal
Chapter 5: The Robbery
Chapter 6: Familial Connections
Chapter 7: A Southerner at the Door
Chapter 8: The Return Home
Chapter 9: History and Négritude in the Flesh
Chapter 10: Canadian Fixation
Chapter 11: A Bump in the Road
Chapter 12: Crossing the Ocean à Paris
Chapter 13: The Street Sweepers
Chapter 14: I Am Not My Hair
Chapter 15: A Future Decision
Chapter 16: In Search of Sister-Brotherhood
Chapter 17: Gender Politics
Chapter 18: Residues of Apartheid
Chapter 19: Going to Fort Hare
Chapter 20: Redemption and the TRC
Chapter 21: Ubuntu in Alice
Chapter 22: Teraanga in Senegal
Chapter 23: Childhood Sweethearts and Colorism
Chapter 24: A Tribute to Ma Berrian
Chapter 25: From Whence I Came
