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The topic of the assimilation and/or alienation of non-white minorities in white majority societies has been given much coverage. But less explored is the experience of a non-white (or at least non-European) minority in an environment where the majority consists of other non-whites.

Here we take a look at a few books, both fiction and non-fiction, that involve the stories of non-Europeans as sojourners and/or minorities in a non-Western culture different from their own.

	India in Africa, Africa in India: Indian Ocean Cosmopolitanisms A book covers the long history of migrations and exchanges between Africa and India. It delves into the history of East Africans of South Asian descent living in Africa and the history of Indians of African descent living in Asia.
	How I Became a Black Man And Other Metamorphoses This partially-autobiographical collection of eight short stories by Irvin Tang explores the negotiation of social identity by a native-born Texan who also happens to be Chinese American. A minority even among other minorities, Tang grew up in close proximity to Latino culture. He had his share of childhood experiences with racism, though his general experience with blacks kids was apparently more positive than his experiences with white kids. (Source: interview with San Antonio Current) For more on Irvin Tang and his work, see: Skip the Fortune Cookies, Please - Interview with SACurrent Interview with UCLA Asia Institute Austin CC bio
	The New Silk Road: How a Rising Arab World is Turning Away from the West and Rediscovering China During the era of the Tang and the Abbasids, Chinese and Arab civilizations were the world superpowers of their time. The two large empires had extensive trading links as well as cultural, scientific and military exchanges. This once-thriving relationship between East Asia and West Asia had declined over a millenium but now modern Arab countries are following the footsteps of their medieval predecessors who once went in large numbers to China to trade.
	Zulu Heart Steven Barne's alternate history novels Lion's Blood and Zulu Heart describe a North America that had been colonized by Muslims from black Africa. Aztecs rule in the south and the Vikings in the north. Carthage, Egypt, Abyssynia and the Zulu Empire are foreign superpowers vying for power and influence in the New World. In Zulu Heart, Kai, a Muslim lordling of African descent, becomes a senator in the 1860 New World colony of New Djibouti. Already married to an Abyssinian noblewoman, he enters a second political union with a Zulu princess. Can Kai and his two foreign wives negotiate the treacherous waters of New Djibouti internal politics while protecting New Djibouti against the imperialist ambitions of Egypt and Abyssinia?
	African Perspectives on China in Africa China's trade links with Africa go back to at least the 14th century, but as China expands its influence in Africa through commerce, aid, development and political intervention in the 20th century onward, African scholars express a variety of views on the pros and cons of Chinese involvement. Symbiosis or exploitation? Hear it not from the mouth of Western commentators but from Africans themselves.
	Colonial Visions, Postcolonial Revisions: Images of the Indian Diaspora in Malaysia A history of the Indian presence in Malaysia, from the accounts of early pioneer Indian immigrants who came to work in Malaya, to the story of contemporary Malaysian Indians who negotiate their own identity in a modern multiracial Southeast Asian nation.
	When Invisible Children Sing In this autobiographical account, Asian American medical student Chi Cheng Huang went to Bolivia in 1997 to work with children in orphanages. His ministry eventually extended to night time care for street children in the city of La Paz, thrusting Huang into a world of crime, drug addiction and violence that he could not imagine when he signed up for this one year "service trip." "When Invisible Children Sing" is not just the story of an American outsider in Bolivia; it is also the story of the individual children - Gabriel, Mercedes, Vicki, Daniela, and Rosa - who fight to survive on the dangerous streets. Dr Chi Huang graduated cum laude in 1998 from Harvard Medical School and went on to found the Bolivian Street Children Project in 2002.
	Nairobi To Shenzhen In this semi-autobiographical novel by Mark Obama Ndesandjo, a man of Kenyan birth moves through 3 continents from boyhood to manhood - a childhood in Kenya, a young adulthood in the U.S., and a midlife transition to new adventures in China. Like Mark Ndesandjo, protagonist David is of Kenyan and American Jewish descent. The Ivy League-educated professional lost his job after 9/11, after which he relocated to China for some soul searching. Initially motivated by the desire for a change of scene and the challenge of learning a new language, David later finds himself developing a deeper connection to this new land through his bond with Zhen Rui, a young orphan, and his growing love for a Chinese woman. Read more about Ndesandjo at Obama's half-brother speaks of their abusive father (The Telegraph, Nov 14 2009) and Mark Obama Ndesandjo's 'Help the Kids'.

The listing above is a limited selection and is not intended to represent the diversity of interactions between non-whites. Feel free to send us more book recommendations.

Disclaimer: This site does not endorse any of the books and authors listed above, nor do we make warranties as to the quality and accuracy of any of the aforementioned works of literature.

Back to Pet Sins July 2010