I believe that Chimamanda
Adichie provides us with a stunning speech of wisdom as she describes her experiences
of what she calls “the danger of the single story.” Adichie’s childhood stories
lead her into adulthood where she is still followed by stereotypical views and
ideas of who she is and where she comes from. While she does express a bit of
frustration on the ways her and her culture are sometimes perceived, I thought
it was great that Adichie admitted that she too has had moments where she has made
the same mistakes with individuals she has also come across, in believing into
the single story of their culture or social status, for instance her house boy,
Fide in Africa or the Mexican people she discusses on her visit to Guadalajara.
I thoroughly enjoyed Adichie’s storytelling as I connected with her on the same
level as I am sure many other individuals have.
My stereotypical experience has
occurred throughout my life as well, however I will zone in on one particular
moment which opened my eyes in a way I never thought possible. After completion
of my final Embry-Riddle class I went to a get together to go celebrate with a
few of my friends. The party was being thrown in a house full of students who
had just completed their degrees and were kicking back to congratulate each
other, talk about our futures and say any necessary goodbyes. Most people who
were there knew each other while others had never met before. While in
discussion with one of my friends a girl about the same age as myself entered a
discussion next to me with another young lady and started to speak Spanish. Due
to the pronunciation of her words I guessed she was, like myself, of Puerto Rican
decent. As we were all in conversation I asked where she was from and she named
a city in Puerto Rico. “Oh cool” I answered back I am Puerto Rican as well.
The girl’s eyes instantly lit
up and she started to speak to me in Spanish asking me a number of questions,
most of which I understood, but was unable to reiterate back to her in Spanish,
as I am not fluent in the language. “I’m sorry I don’t speak Spanish,” I stated.
From one minute to the next the girl looked at me and her whole face changed.
Her smiling eyes, became a frown and she looked me right in the eyes and said
with what seemed to be disgust, “Oh, you’re one of those.” She immediately stopped
the conversation she was having with me and walked away, rolling her eyes. I
was shocked and immediately agitated and ticked off.
According to her, I was “one of
those?” What did that even mean? I couldn’t comprehend the ignorance of her
statement. While growing up in New York City, I always received pity eyes and
the comments of being called a “blanquita” (white girl) as they would call me
because I was not fluent in my language of decent. I had even almost gotten used
to the constant teasing people would give me because of my lack of knowledge of
the language or the incorrect pronunciation or phrasing I would use when trying
to speak it, but this comment completely crossed the line and honestly
embarrassed me in a way I had never felt before.
When I got home that night, the
comment she had made was still bothering me and made me think. What did she
mean? Because I was not fluent in the Spanish language, did that automatically
not make me Puerto Rican? More than that, who was she, or anybody else to make
such a call on my heritage and decent? My mother was born and raised in the
city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, while my father grew up in San Tulce. On top of
that my father’s fourteen brothers and sisters all were born there as well and
had lived there for some time before moving to New York to start a life. I grew
up listening to the best of the best salseros in my household and could dance
salsa, merengue, and bachata as quickly as I could walk. I ate authentic Puerto
Rican food, and could sing and read the language by listening to my family
members who were always speaking around me. I could understand simple
conversations or phrases and could speak back on occasion but always had
difficulty with the placement of the wording in the Spanish language.
While I look of Spanish decent,
and feel like a proud Latina woman, there were many individuals around me
growing up and still till this day who challenge my Latina “authenticity.” Even
now I continue to ask myself what it is that these individuals feel a true
Puerto Rican is. Just because you were born somewhere or speak the language does
that automatically make you authentic? Is it eating the food, dancing to the
music, wearing the cultural clothes, giving back to the community you or your
family grew up in? What makes someone culturally authentic and who makes that
decision? To me, my experience mirrored the experience of Adichie when her
professor claimed that her novel was not “authentically African.” This one example
opened a number of doors of the many single stories’ I have come across in my
lifetime that I had never seen or recognized until now.
Adichie’s speech made it
apparent to me that it is possible that everyone has been on one side or
another of the single story. Like Adichie, I must admit that I too have fallen
victim to believing the single story of a certain culture group of individuals,
however I truly believe that I do my best to keep an open mind to all cultures,
all people, and all social statuses, as I believe that everyone comes from all
walks of life. There are so many things we all may not know about each other,
and I think it is a beautiful thing to always try and educate yourself on not
just a specific culture, but the individuals who represent that culture. I have
always said that everyone can learn something from everybody. If we all take a
chance to open our minds and our hearts, we will offer ourselves so much of an
opportunity to learn, to educate and to grow. Adichie’s speech has definitely re
opened my eyes to the dangers of the single story and my personal contribution
to ensure that I keep assist in keeping it to a minimum.
Cassandra R.
