By Bethel Tsegaye
The Ethiopian American
John F. Kennedy once said, “The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly.” What then can we say about the Ethiopian-American by nature?
American politics does not seem to be on the frontline for many Ethiopians living in the United States. That is relatively understandable since after all America is not our country, so why should we get involved? Or is it? To many 1st generation Ethiopians, America is our home just as Ethiopia is, allowing us the freedom to be not only Ethiopian, or American, rather Ethiopian American. Why then don’t we see a higher participation from the Ethiopian-American community in American politics? And how important is it that the Ethiopian American community be active in American politics?
Growing up in a new country, a new land, a new life style, a new generation of Ethiopian Americans, have endured similar obstacles. They have been caught somewhere in between the paranoid, overprotective pessimistic parents and the world of their free, liberal, optimistic American peers, a chemistry that creates the unique character of the Ethiopian American identity. Ethiopian Americans such as Mike Endale, or Million Fikre, or simply the general Diaspora who are in the spotlight, because they choose to represent who they are and who can decipher their lifestyles. They choose to become part of something big, or even start something small that makes a difference… continue reading here