Being Black in China
posted by Dominque Elliott | September 18, 2019 | In News, OpinionThe erratic pulse of music blasted in the club as hip hop and EDM played over the speakers. Without missing a beat, the words spewed throughout the room. No one in the crowd missed the lyrics in the next verse, one shouted word in particular: “n*gga.”
It made me feel uncomfortable.
Why? Because I was one of the few Black people in a club in Shanghai, China. I was an African American woman in China, and I realized that this was a totally different experience than being in the United States.
“I think it would be a great experience to study abroad,” CJ Harris, a visual art major, commented. “It’ll lead to opening up your mind.”
The first thing I realized about China were the stares. Shanghainese citizens were used to international students, but the tourists from rural areas weren’t. People would turn a whole 360 degrees to look at me, my friends, and our bodies.
It was just one of the things I had to get used to while studying abroad in China. I would be videotaped while walking, their cameras held up to capture the essence of my sweat in the blazing heat. At a museum, a Swedish peer pointed out that a woman touched my braids without me noticing. While pre-gaming for a club where my friends and I could party free on my 21st birthday, the promoter said we had to change plans because the club didn’t accept Black people because a Black man got caught selling drugs. When we were outside a club trying to help a drunk man, a group of six taxis drivers came up and just started touching my braids while talking.
In China, I also had to learn to explain my Blackness: “I didn’t cut my hair. I just took my braids out”; “That random guy held up his fist because we’re both Black”; “I guess it makes sense they don’t teach about Jim Crow in Africa”; “Yes, my great-grandparents are from the U.S., too!”
On the other hand, China strangely made me feel closer to my Black identity. On the first day, all the Black international students decided to group together and watch out for one another. We all bonded, partied, and played card games together like it was a cookout. They were my home away from home. And even if I was alone, I wasn’t alone.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience of China. I enjoyed the people, culture, and food, even if I was a bit uncomfortable at times. I grew from the experience and loved all of it.
A study abroad friend, Leila Kennedy summarized it well: “Being Black in China is a mix of being somewhat of a spectacle and also feeling like you don’t belong. It was an incredible learning experiences about a culture so different from my own that it made me evaluate, appreciate, and recognize differences, privileges, and biases.”
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