Brothers and sisters of Africa and the Diaspora, I write to you with a fire in my heart, a fire born of love, urgency, and see-you-in-the-mirror reality. Too long have we allowed division to reign among us: between Africans on the continent and Black Americans. Yet in that very division, other races,
those who would see us as powerless, scattered, and easy to exploit, rejoice. Because when we are split, we are weak. But when we unite, we become unstoppable.
There is a growing tension, an undercurrent in conversations, in social media, in our homes between Africans (especially those from the continent) and Black Americans. It shows up as: “They don’t understand our culture,” “They don’t appreciate what we went through,” “We didn’t build this from scratch,” or “They don’t grasp the continental hustle.” On the flip side: “You’re arrogant,” “You don’t know oppression like we do,” “You don’t have our history of civil rights struggle,” or “You didn’t cross the ocean on a slave ship so hush.”
These grievances are real. They are understandable. But left unchecked, they become weapons used against us. They become wedges that others use to keep us distracted while they profit, while they dictate narratives, while they keep us thinking small.
Here’s the truth: in the end, we are all black. Whether you were born in Accra, Lagos, Nairobi, or Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, your skin is melanin-rich. Your ancestors have known pain and triumph. Your future stands on the same horizon. The enemy of our progress would have us forget that simple fact. But we cannot.
If we allow this rift to widen, we invite other races to sit back and watch. Because there is profit in our disunity, not just economic, but psychological, narrative-control, generational. Others benefit when we quarrel. They lose when we unite.
I also want to talk about a deeper root of our problem: the slave mentality. By that, I don’t mean the historical fact of slavery which is real and must be honoured, but the mental leftovers from that era: the sense of being lesser, of waiting for someone else to make us whole, of believing that we’re powerless unless “they” acknowledge us, of thinking that our value must be assigned to us rather than recognized by us.
Brothers, sisters, it’s time to let that go. You are powerful beyond measure. You are the architect of your destiny. When a Black person from Ghana walks into a room, when a Black American stands in business or ministry or culture, there is creative force there, generational wisdom, ancestral strength. Let us stop acting like we need external approval to know that.
We must know within ourselves that we are the builders. We are not waiting for a seat at the table. We are the table. We are making the table. We are pulling the chairs. We are raising the roof. When we operate from that mindset …unstoppable.
Let us acknowledge: The world watches our internal battle. If they see division, they will exploit it. If they see unity, they will respect it, and adjust accordingly. It is in our unity that our power becomes visible. For us, for our children, for Africa’s future and for the Diaspora’s renaissance.
What’s At Stake?
- Our legacy: The next decades will be defined by how we moved. Did we remain fragmented, or did we come together as a people?
- Our economy: When Africans and Black Americans collaborate, business, culture, tech, arts , we create a marketplace of our own with our rules and our values.
- Our narrative: When we speak together, the world listens. When we are splintered, our stories get hijacked by others.
- Our identity: The reconnection between the continent and the Diaspora is not optional. It is integral. We are one bloodline; we are one people. Recognising that does not erase our distinctions, it enhances them.
I invite you — yes YOU — to join a significant livestream conversation I’m having alongside my colleague and friend from the Diaspora, Theo E.J. Wilson, a Black American who is happily married to a Ghanaian woman and deeply engaged in bridging this gulf.
We’ll be talking live about this topic: the Africa vs Black American tension, how it hurts us, and how it can heal — from two perspectives: one African (myself) and one Black American (Theo). We’ll dig into mindset, culture, business, identity, and practical steps toward unity.
➡️ Please tune in to this livestream — bring your questions, your experiences, your hopes. Come ready to be challenged and inspired.
In closing: let us stop fighting one another. Let us stop carrying wounds from years ago and projecting them onto each other. Let us build bridges. Let us recognise the beauty in our differences and the power in our oneness.
Africa, to the Diaspora: we see you.
Diaspora, to Africa: we hear you.
Together: we rise.
Let us rise from the ashes of division. Let us shake off the chains of that old mentality. Let us claim our birthright, to be free, powerful, and united.
The world is watching. We won’t disappoint.
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