Homenews

Nigerian girl talks about the challenges of being black abroad

A Nigerian girl named Toluse Akinlabi (pictured above) recently talked about her experience living as the only black person in her commu...

Hardworking "Akara' Seller shares inspiring story of how she built a house and bakery from the business (photos)
Man Forges His Wife’s Landed Documents, Sells Her 2-Storey Building In Lagos
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg shares interesting story to mark 5th wedding anniversary today

A Nigerian girl named Toluse Akinlabi (pictured above) recently talked about her experience living as the only black person in her community in Ireland.Some people who had the misconception that Africans live on trees were often shocked to find out she could speak English fluently.

Hi there! My name is Toluse, and I’m 22 years old. I was born in Nigeria and lived there till the age of six. We then moved to Lesotho, then moved on to Cavan, Ireland, where I’ve been since the age of nine—that makes it 13 years that I’ve called the Emerald Isle home.
Despite this fact, though, it can still feel like I’m a stranger here.

When I first moved here in 2003, I couldn’t understand why people kept being surprised that I spoke English fluently, that my parents both worked in the medical sector, and that I loved Kylie Minogue as much as the next person. The fact that we were middle-class Africans, and not refugees or asylum seekers, seemed like a shock to the system for many of the people in the small town we lived in.

To their merit, some people did try to make a conscious effort to be sensitive and normalise the fact that my siblings and I were the first and only black people in our school. I remember doing some colouring with classmates in my first month at school. Amanda said “pass me the skin colour” (what I would call peach), and Gillian replied, “you can’t say skin colour, because that’s not everyone’s skin colour.” Gillian will never understand how touched I was by her defence of my reality.
I can’t say I’ve ever encountered aggressive racism, but I’ve certainly experienced a number of microaggressions because of my skin colour. From guys asking if I taste like chocolate and declaring that they can “handle” me, to people asking where I’m REALLY from after I state that I’m from County Cavan. It’s like they don't understand how it cuts at a person when you question their identity with no other basis except for the fact that their skin has got more melanin in it.
I am Nigerian and I’m Irish; I can’t twerk, but I love Nicki Minaj; I braid my hair and I play field hockey; I speak Irish, Mandarin, and Yoruba. I am not just “that black girl”; I’m Toluse Akinlabi—phenomenal woman, that’s me.
//
Name

2face idibia 2kriss 50 cent 7th richest man AKA Amber Rose Angelina joilie Ariana Grande Article Basketball Beyonce Brymo Cait Chelsea Chris Brown Christiana Milian Ciara comedy skit Comic series Cristiano ronaldo Cynthia Morgan D'Banj Danity Kane Davido Dj spinall Doy Drake Emma Nyra ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS Femi Branch Flavour Floyd mayweather FOOTBALL Gist guest post health tips iyanya Janet Jackson Jaywon Jhybo Juliet Kanu Kanye West Karrueche Tran Kate Hudson Kay switch Kendall Lady Gaga Lil kesh Mariah carey Mark Zuckerberg Mc Galaxy Mercy Johnson Messi Mikel obi Miley cyrus Mr 2kay Much potential Music news NHL Nicki Minaj Nollywood Omotola OTHERS P-square Patorankng Praiz Psquare Qdot Reekado banks Reminisce Rex Rhamzan Rita Dominic Rugby Sean Tizzle Selebobo Selena gomez Serena Williams Seyi shay Shatta Wale Shoutoutz SHOWBIZ sina rambo Skales Skuki Small Doctor Sossick sponsored posts Sport SPORTS StoneBwoy TENNIS The kardashians Tilla Man Tiwa savage Toke Makinwa Toyin Aimakhu Victoria Kimani Video Waje Wande Coal Wiz Khalifa Wizkid Ycee
false
ltr
item
POSH RANKING: Nigerian girl talks about the challenges of being black abroad
Nigerian girl talks about the challenges of being black abroad
http://ift.tt/2efwPcO
POSH RANKING
https://poshranking.blogspot.com/2016/10/nigerian-girl-talks-about-challenges-of.html
https://poshranking.blogspot.com/
http://poshranking.blogspot.com/
http://poshranking.blogspot.com/2016/10/nigerian-girl-talks-about-challenges-of.html
true
3304062897266938604
UTF-8
Not found any posts VIEW ALL Readmore Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS CONTENT IS PREMIUM Please share to unlock Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy