On racism
#Racism and the racism narrative have never been more talked about in the United States than they are now. To be honest, racism has always been there and has been very embedded, it is only now that people are talking about it.
Well....how do I know given that I studied and lived in Europe and Africa mostly? While I was at business school, I got the opportunity to go on an exchange programme for two months to one of the American Ivy League Business Schools. I jumped at the idea in order to have a taster of US education.
When I got there, I expected the school system to be much like I saw on TV. Hip and Inclusive. I got a rude shock on arrival. People were friendly and warm, no doubt, but it was interesting to see how, outside of class and group activities, the African-Americans hung out in their own group, so did the Koreans, so did the Chinese, so did the Africans and perhaps the Caucasians from their different countries.
It wasn't diverse at all. This is not to say that there isn't any diversity in the United States but my experience at this school was the complete opposite of #INSEAD, where in one class you have colleagues from 100+ countries and you get to spend 365 days with them (slugging it out, working, playing and bonding day and night). We had little or no filters where race and ethnicity were concerned. I now have friends or colleagues I can reach out to, in every single country I can think of.
It is really sad to see all this happening in the US with the Charlottesville protests and all but like 'Diddy' said in his Instagram post this morning, "Don't be shocked, wake up!"
#AllLivesMatter #BeautifulInEveryShade #WhiteTeeth #WeAllHaveThem #GlobalCitizen #CitizenOfTheWorld #Charlottesville
Aramide Abe (Nigerian blogger)