Abstract
Africans coming to the United States of America to go to school traditionally have the ultimate goal of getting the best education and going back to their respective countries. That was my goal when I left Nigeria many decades ago! However, considering the socio-economic and political upheavals in African nations, one is forced to rethink the goal, especially when your family arrives at the same uneasy and difficult conclusion. Leaving family members is bad enough, and not going back after one’s education is even worse. These are the psychological battles that most Africans endure when they decide to finally settle to work in the United States. Then, when one combines these family worries with searching for jobs; locating jobs; enduring departmental, College/School, and university politics; and marrying and raising families; the problems become unbearable and frequently insurmountable. The consequences are grave and require well-planned survival skills that are unimaginable. This is my story and the essence of this article.
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Article Note
Portions of this article appeared as a chapter in Obiakor’s 2020 book, Valuing Other Voices: Discourses that Matter in Education, Social Justice, and Multiculturalism published by Information Age, Charlotte, North Carolina.
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial Comment
- Founding and executive editors’ comments: reducing racism and xenophobia in colleges/schools of education
- Research Articles
- Valuing African voices in Colleges/Schools of Education: introducing the Special Issue
- Education and employment in America: my quest for self-actualization as a person with hearing loss
- Maneuvering through the treacherous terrains of America’s Colleges/Schools of Education
- From graduate school to a successful employment in America: my story
- My lived reality and CSOE values of diversity, equity, and inclusion: interrogating the disconnect
- Educating and hiring an “African” in America’s Colleges/Schools of Education: my voice
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial Comment
- Founding and executive editors’ comments: reducing racism and xenophobia in colleges/schools of education
- Research Articles
- Valuing African voices in Colleges/Schools of Education: introducing the Special Issue
- Education and employment in America: my quest for self-actualization as a person with hearing loss
- Maneuvering through the treacherous terrains of America’s Colleges/Schools of Education
- From graduate school to a successful employment in America: my story
- My lived reality and CSOE values of diversity, equity, and inclusion: interrogating the disconnect
- Educating and hiring an “African” in America’s Colleges/Schools of Education: my voice