The Postcolonial African Migration to the West as a Desire for Liberation

Slavery was the negation of African humanity. Black Africans were denied their liberty. In this chapter, I argue that the postcolonial African migration to the West is a liberation process from the legacies of slavery and colonialism. This liberty is hoped to be achieved not through detachment from but through imitation of and coexistence with the former slaveholders and colonizers. Paradoxically, the desired liberation leads to different forms of African imitation of the former slaveholders and colonizers. However, this is a denied or suppressed desire to be recognized and to be, as will be discussed in chapter seven. In this chapter, I argue that the postcolonial African migration to the West is a hidden or denied desire for liberation, recognition, and being.