culture & style
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
MY EXPERIENCE AS A
BLACK IMMIGRANT By Kershia Johnson, CIPD, CEO & Founder of Knelli Knows
A
re you a Black foreign national in the midst of moving to the USA? Yes? It’s no surprise! The USA has been the number one destination for expats and immigrants the last couple of years, followed by Germany and Saudi Arabia.*
But what is it like being a Black expat or immigrant in the USA? While it’s no surprise that the experience is different for each person, I am here to share my personal experience with you. First, I’d like to address my use of expat vs. immigrant. An expat is someone who lives and works outside of their home country, with their intentions being to return home at some point, whether that is two months or 20 years from the time of their move. An immigrant lives and works outside of their home country with no intentions of returning to their place of birth.* As you may have read in my previous column, I moved from the UK to Chicago, USA, and have lived here for three years. Before my move, I found myself not only researching if I would have to start my HR career from scratch, but I also tried to find individuals like me who had immigrated to the USA. You may question why this information was essential to me? Simply put, I wanted to know if I would be welcomed or rejected by my brothers and sisters from across the pond. Unfortunately, throughout my intensive research via blogs, YouTube, news articles, and other social media channels, my only findings were from Caucasian expats (really immigrants). So far, my encounters have been both favorable and unfavorable. Most of my experiences have been positive, but those that weren’t, I believe, were mainly due to my accent. With being British, there is this association with the accent being posh, fancy, and privileged; or in other terms, “bougie.” Until people can experience me personally, unfortunately, one is stereotyped as being bougie. I have accepted this, As my accent is a part of me. I am unable to change. Recently during the Covid-19 pandemic, like many of you who were stuck indoors, I found myself exploring new ways to communicate with people outside of my home. One of these ways was via Clubhouse (a social media platform). It surprised me that a small fraction of African Americans despised black expats or immigrants living in the USA. Some conversations I came across
24 | BLACK IN HR
refused to address us as Black due to not living the African American racial inequality experience. Others in the group blamed us for African Americans being excluded from job opportunities. Both ideologies were a shock to me. It was something new. While I cannot say whether I agree or disagree, I will say that no matter where melanated people are from in the world, we still face the same racism in the workplace, healthcare system, and living situations. Every day is a new experience, and I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to live in another country where I can call home. While I am currently unsure if my status will continue to be that of an expat, right now, I am enjoying the journey. u References: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/ data-hub/charts/top-25-destinationsinternational-migrants https://citizenpath.com/countries-with-themost-immigrants/\ https://www.expatica.com/moving/ about/difference-between-expats-andimmigrants-109235/
WWW.THEBLACKINHR.COM
