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.We notice each other, and I greet the black encounter 61her: As-salaamu alaykum, Assetou.How are you, çava? Smiling, she returns thegreeting, and I walk over to purchase a drink. What have you been doing these days? I ask.Her smile drops slightly as she attempts to follow my words. Oh, she says,and pauses briefly. I m fine, everything good.And you? Al-hamdu lillah [Praise Allah], I m good, I say, and her smile widens whenshe realizes she has answered correctly.While Assetou was intimately familiar with the Islamic greeting and comfort-able returning it, she was more hesitant when the conversation switched to Englishbecause of her poor command of the language.Black residents often read this reluc-tance or hesitance to respond, not to mention other avoidance strategies such asAfricans averting their eyes when passing Blacks on the street, as not only rude butalso demeaning.The avoidance strategy of Africans and the Black response signifyone in a series of cultural miscues, or what I call cultural misfires, occurring betweenthem.Assetou and I have developed a certain level of trust over the years.She knowsI m not going to rush her or think less of her if her English isn t perfect.Althoughthey often speak four or five languages, many Africans believe their lack of Englishfluency exposes them to Black ridicule.This is a major source of conflict.Imam Konate and I walk to the corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard,turn right, and continue down 116th.Our conversation is frequently inter-rupted by greetings to and from African men, women, and children moving inboth directions.One could attribute their openness to the imam s presence, butI ve had similar experiences when walking along the same street alone.TheIslamic greeting As-salaamu alaykum reorients the social compass as peoplemove through congested urban space.This simple exchange not only estab-lishes a quick and immediate symbolic connection, but it also communicatesfeelings of respect, safety, and memories of home. Africans used to get beat up all the time, Imam Konate says, shaking his headin pity. Beat up? I say. Why? Yeah, somebody would ask them the time, and if they didn t know what hewas talking about they couldn t understand him the guy would say, DamnAfrican! And pop him.Bam! He slams his right fist into the other. Did that happen to you? I ask. Nooo! Why not? Because I know how to protect myself.I would look at them and say, Look!I m a nigga like you, and you messin with the wrong person.Plus, I would have mythree fifty-seven [gun] on my hip, and they wouldn t mess with me.But it used to19be baaad.Real baaad. 62 black meccaDuring the early days, African Muslims in Harlem felt extremely vulner-able.If assaulted on the street, they were either undocumented and could notreport their attackers to the authorities, or they were legal immigrants but didnot possess the language skills to explain the situation.Finding a professionalinterpreter would have been another solution, but that is costly.And more oftenthan not, family or friends with better capabilities could not afford to leave theirjobs to translate, especially if they, too, were working illegally or afraid of losingtheir jobs.African Muslims in Harlem have often avoided African Americansbecause of this early conflict, while some have tried disguising their Africanidentity by acting Black.20 Obviously, a misreading of this behavior bylong-standing residents frustrates relations between them and their Africanneighbors.On another occasion, while leaving Baobab Restaurant on 116th near MasjidMalcolm Shabazz, I run into Aminata, a thirty-year-old Sudanese woman and anactivist in the African community.She has been living in or around Harlem sincethe early 1990s. How s your research going? she asks. Do you know what s a major con-cern? she continues before I can respond. Relations between Africans andAfrican Americans. I see a cultural gap, I say. Sometimes Africans might avoid talking to BlackAmericans because their English isn t very good.They don t even look at Blackswhen they pass them on the street or even nod. Well, Aminata gripes, I don t think it s that. Oh, really? I say. What do you think? Sometimes they might not nod because, if they do, there is an obligationto stop and hold a conversation with that person.In African culture, you don tjust speak and keep walking.That s rude! You have to ask about their familyand everything.Sometimes I m conducting a case study, and before I can getinto the case, I have to spend fifteen minutes just in introduction.I have to askabout her children, family, her health, et cetera, before we can talk about why Icame. Do you speak their languages? I ask, attempting to understand the diversityof her clients. No, she replies [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]
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.We notice each other, and I greet the black encounter 61her: As-salaamu alaykum, Assetou.How are you, çava? Smiling, she returns thegreeting, and I walk over to purchase a drink. What have you been doing these days? I ask.Her smile drops slightly as she attempts to follow my words. Oh, she says,and pauses briefly. I m fine, everything good.And you? Al-hamdu lillah [Praise Allah], I m good, I say, and her smile widens whenshe realizes she has answered correctly.While Assetou was intimately familiar with the Islamic greeting and comfort-able returning it, she was more hesitant when the conversation switched to Englishbecause of her poor command of the language.Black residents often read this reluc-tance or hesitance to respond, not to mention other avoidance strategies such asAfricans averting their eyes when passing Blacks on the street, as not only rude butalso demeaning.The avoidance strategy of Africans and the Black response signifyone in a series of cultural miscues, or what I call cultural misfires, occurring betweenthem.Assetou and I have developed a certain level of trust over the years.She knowsI m not going to rush her or think less of her if her English isn t perfect.Althoughthey often speak four or five languages, many Africans believe their lack of Englishfluency exposes them to Black ridicule.This is a major source of conflict.Imam Konate and I walk to the corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard,turn right, and continue down 116th.Our conversation is frequently inter-rupted by greetings to and from African men, women, and children moving inboth directions.One could attribute their openness to the imam s presence, butI ve had similar experiences when walking along the same street alone.TheIslamic greeting As-salaamu alaykum reorients the social compass as peoplemove through congested urban space.This simple exchange not only estab-lishes a quick and immediate symbolic connection, but it also communicatesfeelings of respect, safety, and memories of home. Africans used to get beat up all the time, Imam Konate says, shaking his headin pity. Beat up? I say. Why? Yeah, somebody would ask them the time, and if they didn t know what hewas talking about they couldn t understand him the guy would say, DamnAfrican! And pop him.Bam! He slams his right fist into the other. Did that happen to you? I ask. Nooo! Why not? Because I know how to protect myself.I would look at them and say, Look!I m a nigga like you, and you messin with the wrong person.Plus, I would have mythree fifty-seven [gun] on my hip, and they wouldn t mess with me.But it used to19be baaad.Real baaad. 62 black meccaDuring the early days, African Muslims in Harlem felt extremely vulner-able.If assaulted on the street, they were either undocumented and could notreport their attackers to the authorities, or they were legal immigrants but didnot possess the language skills to explain the situation.Finding a professionalinterpreter would have been another solution, but that is costly.And more oftenthan not, family or friends with better capabilities could not afford to leave theirjobs to translate, especially if they, too, were working illegally or afraid of losingtheir jobs.African Muslims in Harlem have often avoided African Americansbecause of this early conflict, while some have tried disguising their Africanidentity by acting Black.20 Obviously, a misreading of this behavior bylong-standing residents frustrates relations between them and their Africanneighbors.On another occasion, while leaving Baobab Restaurant on 116th near MasjidMalcolm Shabazz, I run into Aminata, a thirty-year-old Sudanese woman and anactivist in the African community.She has been living in or around Harlem sincethe early 1990s. How s your research going? she asks. Do you know what s a major con-cern? she continues before I can respond. Relations between Africans andAfrican Americans. I see a cultural gap, I say. Sometimes Africans might avoid talking to BlackAmericans because their English isn t very good.They don t even look at Blackswhen they pass them on the street or even nod. Well, Aminata gripes, I don t think it s that. Oh, really? I say. What do you think? Sometimes they might not nod because, if they do, there is an obligationto stop and hold a conversation with that person.In African culture, you don tjust speak and keep walking.That s rude! You have to ask about their familyand everything.Sometimes I m conducting a case study, and before I can getinto the case, I have to spend fifteen minutes just in introduction.I have to askabout her children, family, her health, et cetera, before we can talk about why Icame. Do you speak their languages? I ask, attempting to understand the diversityof her clients. No, she replies [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]