Caught In-between Two Worlds : Ubuntu Identity and the African Diaspora

Abstract

Ubuntu is an African ethic which emphasises the goodness and value of humanity. Its philosophy is based 
on African cultures, and it stresses that one’s destiny is twined both as a collective as well as an individual.  In this case, individual actions must be taken cognisant of their implications for the collective. It is anchored on the belief that ‘one is’ because ‘we are’. It has been expected that the ethic would have a universal appeal beyond Africa and African communities. However, outside of Africa and African communities, the utility of Ubuntu remains questionable. This paper, therefore, seeks to find out the challenges that Africans in the diaspora face as they try to maintain this collective identity in communities that are largely individualistic. Questions that arise are: How do Africans in the diaspora maintain their Ubuntu identity in alien contexts? To what extent are non-African communities in the diaspora ready to tolerate the ethics of Ubuntu that are exhibited by Africans in the diaspora? How do Africans in the diaspora navigate the need to remain African while at the same time being accommodative of those cultures that are largely foreign to them? Does the question of a crisis of identity arise in such situations? Theoretically, the paper is informed by the theory of Ubuntu. Narratives from Africans in the Diaspora through informal interviews and discussions provided data for the paper. Secondary sources were utilised to support primary data.