bygINCpresents, Black Boy The New Immigrant

[vincyqueenez]

As an immigrant from St Vincent living in Canada,my story is similar to yours and you tell it so well. I applaud your work and appreciate your message. I type this message with tears streaming down my face as I know only too well how difficult integrating can be. It is a process that no matter your age, race, or sex each immigrant face barriers in many shape and forms. I will be following your work and definitely will have my friends and family follow your links. Thanks for the great memories...

[cdjej]

il luv this vid man.....i'm frum st.vincent and the american life seem to us as the sweet life were things jut fall into place as they should.....we suffer the hardships and the trials in svg but we are some of the realest ppl out there....this is caused by us living the in the reality of life..

[DASD30]

my daddies from SVG too

[bygINCpresents]

where is he from? you ever been to svg?

[kingtut1998]

sad

[Yahwehservant]

I would buy this in the store. Did you make it up? Sounds real. Very good story. I like material like this and it should be in the schools. Do documentaries. You're good! Fantasic story by the way.

[bygINCpresents]

thanks. not make belief. just my life as i lived it. watch the rest of my story. do you see how you grew up in my words? connections?

[niceg45]

We have to grow and find our self and hope to learn from our mistakes and understand that time wait for no one and you have to help those who help you be a leader not a follower from strait up i never been to new jersy i been througu passing by keep ya head up!

[bygINCpresents]

my head is up. been up for years now. keep watching the other videos on the playlist, "17 to life". they continue my story age 9-14 years old.

[hollyhollyrose]

This story reminds me of my older male cousin who spent his first ten years of life in the West Indies. And then spent the rest of his childhood in Canada where most of his friends and teachers were white... He still does not seem to have gained a prideful sense of his nationality.

[bygINCpresents]

first, thanks for taking the time to go thru all the videos. on what island did your cousin live for 10 years? you have west indian roots? i grew up in brooklyn, ny, three blocks from the west indian labor day parade but never went to it until a few years ago. the self-hate takes time to get over. it takes time to forgive ourselves for not knowing or caring enough to act. talk to your cousin. have him look at this and talk about the process he went thru. have the family look at this and talk.

[hollyhollyrose]

I just sent this video to him. We are not as close as we should be but I hope it (the video) helps him... Yes, he lived with his grandfather for ten years. My family is from Granada.

[bygINCpresents]

we're island neighbors. st vincent and grenada are right next door.

[hollyhollyrose]

LOL You're right about that.

[31sliverscound]

thank you soooo much for these vids brother.plez keep them coming! i can relate to all that you are saying.....much love from a sister.

[bygINCpresents]

thank you, sista. the truth always touches places it needs to.

[AfroPlato]

You speak the account of Sidney Poitier and many Caribbean immigrants upon arriving here and the alarming contrast between there and here. Thank you.

[bygINCpresents]

we need to talk about this immigrant reality in our community. i intend to do this for the foreseeable future. if you know other caribbean folks who may relate, let them know where this is... and please don't stop at this video. follow my journey into america told on the playlist "my story of becoming a man in america" on my page. feedback sought.

[Nissannx2000svg]

This video i could definately relate to,Coming from SVG soo many years ago and not understanding why things here in america or the soo called "Culture shock".

[WindyMelly]

Great video! I can so relate. My parents are immigrants from the Dominican Republic, and for most of my life I had to deal with conflicts of ethnic identity/preservation and passing as white. It's great for people to come together and share their experiences living as a person of color in America...you don't have to feel alone!

[bygINCpresents]

i'm glad you can relate.more stories like ours need to be told. my mision is to get mine across. and don't worry, i've gotten over these early thoughts and become the meaning of america. like langston hughes, "i too live america." i took an opportunity and made the most of it. click on the playlist "my story of becoming a man in america" to hear the rest of the story from 4th-8th grade. would love your responses as an immigrant.

[Mrmoc7]

Thank you.

[bygINCpresents]

you're welcome. what in the vdieo affected you to give thanks?

[Mrmoc7]

The part about self-hate. I came to this country from Nigeria, and I suddenly found myself overwhelming attracted to White chicks & Asian chicks. I looked down on Black girls and thought it was just a matter of "preference," but It would take me some time to finally realize what I was doing to myself. I'm now in the "process" of asking out a Nigerian chick. :)

[bygINCpresents]

keep looking at the other videos in the series. you'll see more of yourself in my story than you realize. i think that will be the case with most young, immigrant, black boys.

[bahabdoulaye]

I can relate with wat u said man! am another bro from Guinea. i wasnt attracted to white chicks until i went to an all white college.

[bygINCpresents]

it wasn't about the white chicks, per se --although black women may disagree. it's the american ideal immigrants seek those initial months here. soon we see it's more a front. even white folks are fooled here. the dream is alive but it's a tough road. you going to college. you're on that road. keep going. educ. is the real ideal. the "keep going" part is america. most of the world is w/o resources to allow for that journey. walk along. dream big. live well... i'm trying.

[Firelogger]

VERY GOOD

[bygINCpresents]

'ppreciate it. spread the word. tell others. watch the other videos in this series. they're all about the process of becoming an american, learning to define your human-ness here. pass them along as well.

[belizebound]

Thanks for illuminating what many young Black youths feel everyday. The ambivalence that is growing up in American and being Black. Your videos are going a long way toward showing them we understand, and that we can not allow ourselves to be imprisoned by our own hate. Understanding this is key to our freedom.

[bygINCpresents]

thanks for coming by. send this link to others you think may share the same feelings. and keep following the other videos chronicling my life n America 4th-8thg grade. bless.

[everlynsampi]

i can so relate!!! being an immigrant from australia.. im a native australian..

[bygINCpresents]

at what age did you come to the US? where did you move to? city? suburbs?

[kryminalll]

Well put together...I can relate

[bygINCpresents]

take a look at the others in this series "boy becoming a man in a america". so far i'm up to middle school. much more to come.

[Natashalulu]

I love this story. Thanks for sharing. Very well told. I also like how at times you united your struggle with the struggle of black people living in the West. Well done!

[bygINCpresents]

thank you. see if you like the others vids in my coming of age story.

[bossthing1]

These videos are the truth i didnt get a chance to watch all of them but from what i have seen so far are great you should be rewarded for work like this (coming from a 17 year old vincy now living in Canada)thanks for the videos great work

[bygINCpresents]

keep watching. would be something to see if your canadian experience mirrors mine in america.

[kenyandamu]

This is a good video. Am 100% KENYAN. I came to America on a Student Visa for my Master's about four years ago because thats the only way the White people at the US Embassies will ever allow a Black man into America. I already had an older brother in San Diego and that was my destination but when i got to my port of entry i.e. Seattle. I was so scared because i could not see a black person at all until i got into the plane and saw four black hostesses ... Imagine how relieved i was ...

[kenyandamu]

Already at the back of my mind i knew that the US was 12% black, but when i eventually landed at the LAX airport i was amazed at all the black people i saw and i said thank God am in California because Seattle was a shocker. Anyway i got to San Diego, got to School, noticed how rigid the laws are for black people, noticed how the black male gets treated with suspicion all the time and i promised myself that i will make it through this system. Am a Civil Engineer in San Diego. Thats my journey.

[bygINCpresents]

i'm curious about your american entre via california. there's a strong latino population out your way. how did that shape your vision of america? did it make you cling to "blackness" that stronger? when two underclass groups are battling for the same resources, they self-segregate. do you think you've had an "american" experience living here thus far?

[kenyandamu]

Imagine i thought that America had only Blacks and whites until i met the latino's in California. The Latino's are very friendly people except the one's in Los Angeles. I noticed how they hated the whites and also how the blacks hated the whites because of the social injustices. Latinos and blacks also hate each other and me being a black from Africa its like am caught in between but i always go to my black brother's side. Thats how life is .... you like what looks like you and thats black pple

[kenyandamu]

The blacks and latino's never mix at all in california especially the latino's born in America but the struggling latino who just crossed the border the other day is quite a friendly latino and they never discriminate. All they want is a job and i like them.

[bygINCpresents]

you were raised in kenya. you brought kenya with you and could oppose america based on what you knew growing up. you came here as a man. i was born on an island but, for the most part, raised in america. i grew up as an american and all that means. i've seen white, black, asian, latino. it's all been part of my life. i accept all the combinations and deal with them. none of this is a shock to me.

[kenyandamu]

Yep, i guess that where the difference is because in Kenya the whites are only 1 million, the indiands are only 300,000 and the native Kenyans are 36 Million and so when we see our black brothers treated badly on the other side of the ocean, its like we release our anger on the other races and that kind of made me tough because we only let the white people be the farmers and the indians be businessmen. All the good things go to the natives and so i came to the US expecting the worst ...

[bahabdoulaye]

i can relate to you man. am another brother from Guinea

OBAMA 08'

[bygINCpresents]

is this a second person? making sure.

[kenyandamu]

Am always happy when i come across my African Brothers in America, and yep OBAMA 08 is the way to go ... Can't wait for these 78 days to fly by before elections ...

[kenyandamu]

I can see that you are doing a research about Black Immigrants in America. Why dont you add the African Immigrants in your research because i believe that there are about 8-10 million Africans in America. For instance, we Kenyans started coming to America in the 1950's for further studies and majority never went back to Africa and after that we are always streaming into America daily though in a very quiet manner ... thanks to the student Visa's and poaching by the US Embassy officials ...

[bygINCpresents]

i'm not doing research, just telling my story. starts out with the familiar tales of adjustment and then later goes into the psychology of what it means to understand who you are in america and what is there for you as a black man, as a human being. if no one has, you have got to write the kenyan story. i can truthfully speak only about my own journey. at base, your journey and mine will hold more similarities than differences, but you must tell your tale. that's writing. that's truth.

[kenyandamu]

This hits home so hard. Imagine an AFRICAN dreaming about coming to AMERICA to live the American dream. In KENYA-EAST AFRICA, we didn't know about black people in America until we watched the 1984 Olympic Games on TV and saw people who look like us representing the US. Thats when our interest about America started because everything in KENYA is BRITISH and we used to think that they were the most sophisticated people in the World until we saw AMERICA on TV and how better it looked than the UK.

[bygINCpresents]

st. vincent was part of the british commonwealth too. we held everything british to the same high regard. i don't think we were that naive about the existence of black folks in america. we're geographically closer to america than kenya, so i knew folks who would go back and forth or leave and stay there. america felt accessible to me ever since i could recall. i always wanted to live there.

[BobDerounian]

A brilliant essay which held my attention for the duration. One negative comment however. You lead in with rap. I consider rap nothing more than noise pollution. The "black man" has brought such rich music to the world in jazz and gospel. Dignify your eloquence with the real music you brought to us. God Bless you.

[bygINCpresents]

like everything in life, there is good and bad in any subject, book, in this case, music. you can't discount the totality of anything. that's unreasonable, bordering on ignorance. you can't listen to common, mos def, talib kweli and tell me they are not an extension of black music's tradition of speaking the truth about an experience in america, the experience of oppressed people the world over. these guys search for truth and originality the same way coltrane or miles bopped. wake up. listen.

[bygINCpresents]

why not start a video about a journey thru life in america, a journey to understanding the God's world... why not start that journey with a song that states, "the world is yours"? i'm talking about coming from one world to another but it's all the same world. God's world, right? lyrically, that makes sense to me. it has to make sense to you on some level, bob. i'm not about to start an argument here on rap. you don't like it that's you. glad you found this vid engaging. watch the rest. bless.

[bygINCpresents]

another thing."we" didn't bring the music to "you". "you" are not the object of the music. the music IS the music. jazz and gospel were not brought to "you". i recognize this it's verbal semantics in this case, but truth can be translated in words. like your putting quotes around "black man". what am i to make of that, my "christian" brother? God bless you... again, i'm not trying to spark and argument. we agree on amazing grace. it exists i'm chronicling my search for "how sweet the sound".

[bygINCpresents]

(i should move on but)... i can see why you put quotes around "black man". you think this video is about "radical" blackness. that's like saying the bible is about white people or the koran is about arabs. my story is about a boy becoming a man, understanding the realities of this world dealing with them honestly. i just happen to be black. please watch the other videos knowing it's about a boy learning what humanity means and searching for righteousness. that's a universal want, right? bless.

[bygINCpresents]

thanks for taking the time to do that. email me what you think, especially where you think the boy in the story is going. i wonder about other's perspective sometimes. already knowing what i've become, where could i have gone knowing only what the stories reveal?

[bygINCpresents]

you're really going thru these... appreciate the feedback. if you know folks, especially young people who may find value in the stories, pass the link along.

[PrestonPowell]

Watching your videos make me proud to be black. :)

Such beautiful work. I'm actually a film student and I like the way you edit your pieces together using voice over. You got mad chops, man. Keep up the good work.

[bygINCpresents]

would love to keep hearing your take on the film-worthiness of the productions. i'm just a amateur looking for ideas. any success getting youtube videos for your projects? i want to use film but don't know how to download.

[PrestonPowell]

I've made a few short films while in school but don't feel they are of great quality to share with others. I'm an amateur as well, though I've always been a film buff and student of film theory. Do you have any training in productions or you're self-taught? If it's the latter then your work is even more impressive!

[bygINCpresents]

no training. just try to find images that support the words... do you use moving images in your productions at home? incorporate videos from the web? how?

[PrestonPowell]

I tend to use moving images a lot when creating montages (I'm a big fan of montage masters such as Jean-Luc Godard and Sergei Eisenstein). When editing I try to piece together as many ideas as possible through images -- sometimes my videos are vague since I often work in shorthand. Watching many silent movies helped a lot, too. Oh, and the software I use is Final Cut Pro. But you seem to have the basics down.

[neeeeeeeeeyah]

omg woooooow i love this...

im gonna watch every video right now.

[bygINCpresents]

do you remember your early days here... or were you born in the US? i can't remember.

[nfrankson]

You should send this stuff to Antoinette. She's exactly who needs to see stuff like this. Unfortunately, at 31 years old, I'm afraid the clay is dry.

[bygINCpresents]

that girl still on your head. what is it about her that keeps poppin' up for you?

[sloopy312]

The honesty of your heart, as evidenced by your comments, will allow you to see the beauty. No one can control your attitude except you. I am white and my story is too long for here, but you will make a difference. blaine

[Nuru305]

I really enjoyed that are you going to write a book?

[bygINCpresents]

i'm thinking about it. publishing's a tough game to get into if you're an unknown quantity with no audience following. if you know anyone who knows anyone who know's anyone, let me know.

[Lethesunshine]

Wow...This was awesome! Thank you for letting me into your world. You have such a beautiful soul. I'm so glad that you are letting us see that your spirit is still shining.

Praying For Peace...

It's beginning with me!

~Mimi~

[quietstorm9421]

Wow this was just brilliant. I can understand your culture shock. If it's hard for adults it can only be harder for a child to deal with. I love the way you told the story.

[Nicegirl74]

I love that your recollection of childhood feelings of confused rage is so complete. I have never heard someone describe so eloquently the realisation that they were different. I know someone who works with troubled kids who could use your vids, I'll email you.

[bygINCpresents]

yes. yes. give. give. someone needs to receive even if they don't know it yet... nothing can ever be complete, but time and energy spent studying anything yields insight. we have to study our lives today. our lives have to become our most important subjects.

[Timeout123]

You have a gift my brotha, keep using it to convey your massage.

[bygINCpresents]

you've watched a couple here. thanks for taking the time. pass the vids on. i'm tired of sitting on these stories, sitting on this "talent". know anybody who needs someone to talk to them, let me know.

[Steadno]

Beautiful

[bygINCpresents]

thanks. i'm still learning. maybe visual beauty will come in time.

[SR7futbollegend]

wow. these videos are life changing.

[bygINCpresents]

are you looking to change your life? keep watching. there's so much that happened to me from age 9-18. i want to share all of it with those going through those days now.

[forwardunity]

this is profound!!

[bygINCpresents]

just the truth as i've seen it.

[forwardunity]

too humble

[yuhhustla]

it's weird enough moving from one world to another. people talk different, look different, & act different. all the new things u see here can make u feel inferior to those around u & they don't make feel any better treating u like some weirdo just b/c you're different. big up to the Caribbean massive.

[bygINCpresents]

big up to all the caribbean, 'pecially my vincentian folk.

[VINCYPOWA]

GREAT VIDEO...I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND where you're COMING from.

[oandjshow]

Excellent video

[ivibeblk]

This is a great video.

[bygINCpresents]

are you an immigrant? what got you in this piece? i'm learning. this was one of my first ones.

[ivibeblk]

no, I'm not an immigrant. I just thought this was a very well done video.

[satobess]

I appreciate your comments as well. Someone asked me today if I knew how many visitors I get; I had no idea?

I did see the one for James Baldwin. I gave that one a rating of awesome! Really cool.

[geoffreyphilp]

Very interesting. I like the blend of words and video and the clear distinction you make between life in St. Vincent and America and the trauma of the diaspora.

Peace,

Geoffrey

[satobess]

This was terrific! I was attentive to the end. I enjoyed it. I loved the photographs because they all seemed to be on point with the dialogue. It was just great. Thanks for this.

[bygINCpresents]

i've been reading morphological confetti ever since i began blogging. TPW linked me to it. i respect what you have to say. thanks for the kind words. have you seen "me and james: down on the cross?" i really like that one.

[sweetluv72]

That happened to me When I immigrated to Germany.

Something what I'll remmember for all my days life.

[bygINCpresents]

where did you immigrate from?