What is the African Diaspora?

Generally, a diaspora involves the movement of a particular group of people to several areas at once or over a period of time.  Members of a particular diaspora share a historical link of ancestry.  This link includes the emotional connection of a shared ancestral land and a shared treatment of oppression or hardships in the countries they each live in now.  Such groups of a specific diaspora have distinctive differences and identities as citizens of their countries of resident.  The also have significant differences in a unique cultural background that were formed by experience.  However, these groups of people in a shared diaspora maintain a common sense of identity that goes beyond borders and countries.  Referencing diaspora help us to identify a group of people who share early mankind ancestors. 

For the discussion of this book, we are looking at the African Diaspora.  The African Diaspora includes millions of people from African descent living in various places in the world including Brazil Colombia, America, Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Caribbean.  These people are united in the unfortunate oppression discrimination and past effects of slavery. 

Countries throughout the world and most notably the United States have horrific accounts of the slavery and mistreatment of people from the African diaspora.  Many of those groups who were displaced from Africa have assimilated and intermingled in the culture of their present residence.  Some individuals identify by various ethnic groups of their birth country.  Some identify simply by their resident country but also acknowledge themselves as being a member of the African Diaspora.  For example, many of the African Diaspora living in the U.S. may identify as African American, Black American, or American of African descent.  Such references will be found throughout this book.