Africans In China

“I don’t have a problem with black people,” a Chinese student recently stated in one of my classes. “It’s just that I don’t understand their language or their culture very well.” We were talking about the U.S. Democratic nominee Barack Obama who could become America’s first African American president in September if he can defeat the Republican nominee John McCain. Many of my students have followed the U.S. primaries, taking special interest in the recent battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. But now that Mr. Obama has finally clinched the nomination, some of my students have been candidly sharing their opinions about African Americans and blacks in general.

Most Chinese people with whom I speak on the issue of race say that they ”have nothing against black people.” But many of my friends and students do seem to ’buy in’ to some of the stereotypes of black people that have always existed. For example, a student recently told me that she “is a little scared of black people” because they are big and strong. Others have said that their black English teachers teachers were always kind but they often smelled bad. Still other students have said they have never really met a black person so they have no opinion of them. A few have even asked me about whether or not there are more black people involved in crime in the U.S. than white people. Some of the ideas behind this stereotype may stem from a recent shooting in my city in which a South African man was murdered because he owed the local ‘mafia’ money. Mostly though, my students tell me that they view ‘black culture’ as strange and a little mysterious.

As a teacher, I always try to help my Chinese students to understand that such stereotypes are unfair and can be perceived as racist. I explain to my students that there are many African Americans who have achieved great success in the United States. I talk to them about people such as Condoleezza Rice,:Michael Jackson, and actors such as Denzel Washington. But yet, when we talk about Barak Obama, some of my students seem to display incredulity at the possibility that the United States could very soon be presided over by a black man. It is not that they are against the idea; it is simply difficult for them to imagine such a scenario.

Why is it so difficult for them to conceive of a black man in charge of America? The answer is quite simple. When Chinese people think of America, they think of the color white. Chinese women use umbrellas in the sun to keep their pale skin while both Chinese men and women try to change their hair color to blond or at least something lighter. Chinese people know all about Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys but not so much about Bill Cosby, Martin Luther King, and Oprah Winfrey. The fact that someone other than a white man could be sitting in the Oval Office come January seems to come as a surprise to many here

The belief that racism is still very prevalent in China is another reason why some Chinese people have been ‘caught off guard’ by Obama’s success in the U.S. A young Chinese lady who was engaged to a foreigner told me recently that her parents were worried about her future in America because they had heard that “Chinese people’ and other minorities were treated as “third class citizens.” Whether or not such beliefs are true, many Chinese people are amazed that a minority person would ever have a chance at achieving the world’s most powerful position.

Some in China are willing to say of Obama words that few Americans would dare to utter in public. On Monday, an editorial in the the People’s Daily Online in China proclaimed that “one of the causes for the Western media to lavish overpraises onto Obama is owed to his (skin) color, and the other cause is the change that he may bring to American society.” This online newspaper, which speaks for the government, seems also to speak for the Chinese people. After all, the presidential election in the U.S. is a hot topic in China these days amongst the old and new generations. But it is not about Republicans versus Democrats. In fact, few Chinese people I talk to have any idea that there is even a man named John McCain who is also running for office. The discussion here is all about Barack Obama, the man who will be the first black president of the United States.

By Robert Vance,

This entry was posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 11:01 am and is filed under Africa-China, Don't miss it., For Students. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.