Summary

In Chapter 7, Shiri discusses the relationship between Africans in Africa and black Americans. While black Americans may have more luxuries than Africans, Shiri says that Africans have reason for pride because of their connection to the soil. She admits that she once had a very condescending attitude to African Americans, who she viewed as “big movie stars, pop singers, and tall, muscular athletes” (93).

However, Shiri changed her mind when she met Mary William Smith, otherwise known as Sister Africa. They met when Sister Africa invited Shiri’s husband to speak at a black university in the U.S. Charming, fresh, and dressed in Ghanaian clothes, Sister Africa was captivating. Shiri mentions that Sister Africa has fought for the resistance in Mozambique and been jailed in South Africa five times. She was born to an American mother and a Nigerian father, who left to fight...