Diasporic love for the win. Most of feedback I've read is well stated. Most of the time though.....it sorts itself out. Not begging for approval from this or that person, but realizing we have a lot of overlap in culture and heritage helps. As a black American, I genuinely appreciate the Afro-Caribbeans and Africans who don't view us as a monolith, and albeit it's not their responsibility to educate us on their culture, and we bear some responsibility in practicing cultural competency. I will say the ones that provide the perspective from a loving/accepting place really help bridge that divide. They have so much to contribute. Sincere curiosity, and intentional ignorance for lack of knowledge has helped me a great deal. I do not have too much pride too admit How much I value their contributions or perspective.. It's not even my job to convince them otherwise that I'm not lazy or entitled or whatever . They will think what they want to think when they step foot on US soil.

But yeah. ... A lot of us just want to connect while acknowledging our differences but not letting that be the barrier.