Dear Ms.Adichi
My name is Pamela Delauz. I attend BMCC and I am taking a class on Literacy in American Society, where I had the pleasure to watch your TedTalk on the dangers of a single story. I myself come from a Hispanic background where I found myself relating to your synopsis of what a single story really. You discussed your upbringing in Nigeria and how early in life you were able to get your hands on books and start writing stories of your own. Your characters consisted of blue-eyed and blonde haired characters that derived from the British stories you were used to reading, and I myself am guilty of having done the same. In school, I would often draw characters who were blued eyed and blonde haired. Once I even drew my mom with blue eyes just because in my child-like mind, I associated lighter eyes with pretty and wanted to draw my mother in a pretty way. Your discovery of African books and seeing how in the literature world, there are so many ways a character can be presented and look differently was something I also discovered myself. Your first example of a ‘Single Story’ where you talked about your experience with the house boy, Fide, really helped me understand where you were coming from. The only thing you knew about Fide was that he was poor and in turn, you weren’t able to assume anything else like how hard-working his family really was. This single story of Fide is specific, just like we probably have hundreds of single stories from people we know or people we meet in our everyday lives. We might assume one person is a bad person from what we hear from another person because we don’t have the complete story. The generalized single story is much worse, though, with stereotypes lurking around just like you said. The fact that your roommate assumed you didn’t know how to turn on a stove and was baffled at how well you knew English made me laugh but it also made me realize how disconnected American society is from other societies in the world. We read an article in class titled, “African-Born Immigrants in US Schools:An intercultural Perspective On Schooling and Diversity” by Immaculee Harushimana and Janet Awokoya and I remembered one specific claim by them. They stated, “A curriculum that is oblivious to the histories of some immigrant societies, while exalting others, may create a sense of social exclusion and intellectual intimidation.”. Your roommate had a single story of Africa, and she might have even had good intentions when she told you to play some of your ‘tribal music’, but it might just have fallen on the curriculum that is institutionalized here in the United States. A curriculum that is oblivious to other cultures and societies that in turn make Americans perceive other people a certain way or, in your words, with a single story. You also mentioned how you were victim to the question of a single story, which I could personally appreciate you mentioning this due to my background. Your experience with the Mexican people and how you were shocked to see everyone in Mexico having a good time because of the immigration conflict in the US and hearing all these stories about Mexicans is not surprising. Although you felt shame, I do understand why you and others would feel that way. I am not Mexican, but I am Colombian, and there have been so many instances where I have been generalized as Mexican just because I am Hispanic. People often have a single story about anyone from South America and it’s that we are just like the Mexican people, we are an ‘immigration problem’. We frequently get labeled as Mexican and stereotyped and I was happy to hear you shine light on this topic. People do not get both sides of the story, just like you said, they get an incomplete story. I am also guilty of the single story question in a subconscious way, there is so much being thrown to us in the media that without a full story, I sometimes find myself seeing different people/cultures/societies in a certain way. Like you mentioned, Stereotypes are not untrue but they are incomplete and I will keep this quote in mind the next time I find myself feeding into these stereotypes. Ms.Adichi, you are truly inspiring. The fact that you started a non-profit shows you put your words into action. You truly want to make a difference! Thank you for sharing your insights and wisdom with us. I look forward to reading more about you and hearing more about what you have to say.
Best Regards,
Pamela Delauz