The Ne African Diaspora [Paperback]

The New York Times reports that since 1990 more Africans have voluntarily relocated to the United States and Canada than had been forcibly brought here before the slave trade ended in 1807. The key reason for these migrations has been the collapse of social, political, economic, and educational structures in their home countries, which has driven Africans to seek security and self-realization in the West. This lively and timely collection of essays takes a look at the new immigrant experience. It traces the immigrants' progress from expatriation to arrival and covers the successes as well as problems they have encountered as they establish their lives in a new country. The contributors, most immigrants themselves, use their firsthand experiences to add clarity, honesty, and sensitivity to their discussions of the new African diaspora.

[The] authors provide a window onto the challenges these new immigrants face in leaving their homes and adapting to their new host environments, as well as the contributions they have made, particularly in the arts.23.3 2010. . . engaging, thought-provoking, and wide-ranging . . . Highly recommended.July 2010The New African Diaspora captures one of the intellectual passions of a scholar with wide knowledge and expertise in African oral literatures who has maintained a consistent appreciation for and understanding of the aesthetic and material production of African peoples in the African Diaspora: this has to be acknowledged, recognized, and applauded.

Preface and Acknowledgments

Part 1. Overviews

1. Introduction: Can We Go Home Again ?
Isidore Okpewho

2. Diaspora Dialogues: Engagements Between Africa and Its Diasporas
Paul Tiyambe Zeleza

Part 2. Leaving Home

3. Togo on My Mind
Adzele K. Jones

4. I, Too, Want to Be a Big Man : The Making of a Haitian Boat People
Georges E. Fouron

5. Africa's Migration Brain Drain: Factors Contributing to the Mass Emigration of Africa's ElÃç