I am not the same person, not even a little bit and I mourn for that person that I lost; but they’re gone now
– Jon Dujon
This is not a podcast episode entirely about Beyonce, although if given the choice it would’ve been. One thing I love about Jon is that he does not shy away from a difficult conversation. Rehashing these experiences – those few months in a new country; the undertone of racism; all the difficult bits of being a Black immigrant that nobody really wants to talk about – can be difficult and this was by no means an easy chat.
Jon is an academic at heart, an analyst by training, and a strategist by trade. He is the archetypical elder millennial: he has too many degrees, is constantly on the verge of existential crisis, and spends all his free time thinking about moving to Italy.
We chat about:
- our Caribbean-ness
- when he first realized he is Black
- storytelling
- hyper-classism
- the effects of immigration
- “lighter skinned” Black privilege
- gaslighting racism
- culture shock
- mental health
- being in the middle
…and so much more – and this is just part one!
He talks about the barriers – real or imagined – to creating community as a Black immigrant and why he’s given up on trying. Run, don’t walk, to listen to this episode, share it with a friend, and leave a comment and rating wherever you listen to podcasts.
I didn’t outline a “skip ahead” section for this episode because it should be enjoyed in its entirety. This conversation was not meant to be divided but to be consumed as a whole.
Being Black here feels like double displacement. Being that St. Lucia – my home country – is not really my home country because we were all just put there and put there in the most violent way possible… and so I don’t have an enduring connection to anywhere. But then here I am told constantly that I am on someone else’s land as well; and so I am a stateless person, in a stolen state
– Jon Dujon
Terms to take a closer look at:
- Seasonal Affective Disorder
- Nano-agressions
Podcast Episode:
- Episode 52: When did you realize you’re Black with Deborah Buchanan-Walford