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To our African children, what I tell my children
is, it is a good thing to be able to understand
and live in different cultures. And, you know,
you consider yourself as a culturally diverse person.
And that's the richness of being raised
in an African immigrant family, while we live in the U.S., you know, receiving education
from institutions here- school, media, and government.
You are a rich child, very rich culturally!
And this is something that you can be proud of.
You know, many people, many adults
go through cultural competence training or diversity training
to learn about different cultures.
So if you already have it at home,
you are rich, you are culturally rich.
And you can be proud of yourself.
But it takes a lot of work, I understand.
And again, if you are able to do it, you are strong! You are strong!
And if you see it that way, you will not deny
where you come from or where your parents came from.
You will value that; you will respect that
If you don't do that, you will do that later.
And sometimes, some children regret
Because you will go to an organization,
where you realize that the organizations are working hard
to acknowledge other cultures, including your culture.
So if you grow up in that culture
and you are not being aware of, or not embracing that culture,
and then you have to learn it again,
so you have wasted your time, and you will regret.
So it's better to be open to your parents,
communicate well to your parents in a respectful way,
letting them know what you are going through
And, you know, don't be discouraged if you've tried the first time
and it didn't work. Continue doing it and it will work,
because parents are also going through their struggle.
And maybe one day, something will help them
or someone will help them
to be open to you as a child and you will communicate better,
and you know, you will build your cultural strength and
keep some of your cultural integrity.
And you will be different.
You will be strong, you are rich, you are culturally rich!