I remember one morning when I was in the third grade, my mom sent me to school with a Ghanaian staple dish called "fufu."
我记得当我三年级的时候，有一天早上，我妈妈让我带着一种加纳的主食叫做“富富”去上学。
Fufu is this white ball of starch made of cassava, and it's served with light soup,
富富是一种白色淀粉球，由树薯粉做成，通常会搭配轻淡的汤，
which is a dark orange color, and contains chicken and/or beef.
这种汤是暗橘色的，内有鸡肉和/或牛肉。
It's a savory, flavorful dish that my mom thought would keep me warm on a cold day
它是种美味可口的菜肴，那天很寒冷，我妈妈认为富富能让我保持温暖。
When I got to lunch and I opened my thermos, releasing these new smells into the air, my friends did not react favorably.
要吃午餐时，我打开了保温盒，释放出了一种新的气味到空气中，我朋友们的反应并不很友善。
"What's that?" one of them asked.
其中一个人问：“那是什么？”
"It's fufu," I responded.
我回答：“那是富富。”
"Ew, that smells funny. What's a fufu?" they asked.
他们问：“额，它闻起来好怪。富富是什么？”
Their reaction made me lose my appetite. I begged my mother to never send me to school with fufu again.
他们的反应让我也失去了胃口。我求我妈妈再也不要让我带富富去上学。
I asked her to make me sandwiches or chicken noodle soup or any of the other foods that my friends were eating.
我请她为我做三明治或鸡肉汤面，或我的朋友会吃的任何其他食物。
And this is one of the first times I began to notice the distinction between what was unique to my family and what was common for everyone else,
这是我最早开始注意到我家跟别人家有显著的不同，甚么对别人来说才是“正常的”，
what was Ghanaian and what was African and what was American.
也开始会注意什么是加纳的，什么是非洲的，什么是美国的。
I'm a first-generation American. Both of my parents are immigrants.
我是第一代美国人。我的父母都是移民。
In fact, my father, Gabriel, came to the US almost 50 years ago.
事实上，我爸爸，加布里埃尔，在近五十年前来到美国。
He arrived in New York from a city called Kumasi in a northern region of Ghana, in West Africa.
他抵达纽约，来自西非加纳北部的一个城市，叫库马西。
He came for school, earning his bachelor's degree in accounting and eventually became an accountant.
他来读书，取得会计学士学位，最终成为会计师。
My mother, Georgina, joined him years later.
我妈妈，乔吉娜，几年后也加入他的行列。
She had a love of fashion and worked in a sewing factory in lower Manhattan,
她热爱时尚，在曼哈顿下城的一间缝制工厂，
until she saved up enough to open her own women's clothing store.
直到她存够了钱，开了她自己的女性服饰店。
I consider myself an American and an African and a Ghanaian.
我把我自己视为是美国人，以及非洲人，以及加纳人。
And there's millions of people around the world who are juggling these different classifications.
全世界有数百万人都属于这些不同的分类。
They might be Jamaican-Canadians or Korean-Americans or Nigerian-Brits.
可能有牙买加裔加拿大人、韩裔美国人或尼日利亚裔英国人。
But what makes our stories and experiences different is that we were born and raised in a country different than our parents,
但我们的故事和经验之所以和别人不同，是因为我们和我们的父母是在不同的国家出生和长大的，
and this can cause us to be misunderstood when being viewed through a narrow lens.
当别人用比较偏颇的眼光在看这个状况时，可能会产生误解。
I grew up in New York, which is home to the largest number of immigrants anywhere in the United States.
我在纽约长大，这是美国最多移民居住的地方。
And you would think growing up in a place like New York, it would be easy for a first-generation person to find their place.
你们可能会认为，在像纽约这样的地方长大，对于第一代美国人来说，可以很容易找到自己的定位。
But all throughout my childhood, there were these moments that formed my understanding of the different worlds I belonged to.
但在我的整个童年，有许多时刻，渐渐让我了解到我属于不同的世界。
When I was in the fifth grade, a student asked me if my family was refugees.
当我五年级时，有一个学生问我，我的家人是不是难民。
I didn't know what that word meant.
我不知道“难民”是什么意思。
He explained to me that his parents told him that refugees are people from Africa who come to the US to escape death, starvation and disease.
他向我解释，他的父母告诉他，难民就是为了脱离死亡、饥饿以及疾病，而从非洲逃到美国来的人。
So I asked my parents, and they laughed a bit, not because it was funny but because it was a generalization.
所以，我去问我父母，他们笑了一下，不是因为这件事好笑，而是因为这就是种一般化。
And they assured me that they had enough to eat in Ghana and came to the US willingly.
他们向我保证，他们在加纳时食物很充足，且是出于自愿来美国的。
These questions became more complex as I got older.
随着我长大，这些问题变得更复杂。
Junior high school was the first time I went to school with a large number of black American students,
初中是我第一次到一所有大量黑人学生的学校，
and many of them couldn't understand why I sounded differently than they did or why my parents seemed different than theirs.
许多黑人学生不了解为什么我听起来和他们不一样，或是为什么我的父母和他们的父母似乎不同。
"Are you even black?" a student asked. I mean, I thought I was black.
一个学生问：“你真的是黑人吗？”我以为我是黑人。

I thought my skin complexion settled that.
我以为我的皮肤颜色就能澄清这一点。
I asked my father about it, and he shared his own confusion over the significance of that when he first came to the US.
我拿这件事去问我爸爸，他分享他的困惑经验，他说初到美国时也对这意义感到困惑。
He explained to me that, when he was in Ghana, everyone was black, so he never thought about it.
他向我解释，当他在加纳时，人人都是黑人，所以他从来不会想这件事。
But in the US, it's a thing.
但到美国，就有区别了。
But he would say, "But you're African. Remember that."
但他会说：“但是你是非洲人。记住这点。”
And he would emphasize this, even though many Africans in the continent would only consider me to be just an American.
他会强调这点，即使在非洲大陆上的许多人只会把我视为一个美国人。
These misconceptions and complex cultural issues are not just the inquiries of children.
这些错误观念以及复杂的文化议题，并不只是孩子的好奇询问。
Adults don't know who immigrants are.
成人不知道移民是什么人。
If we look at current trends, if I asked you:
如果我们看看目前的趋势，如果我问你们：
What's the fastest-growing immigrant demographic in the United States, who would you think it was?
美国成长最快速的移民是哪一种？你们认为呢？
Nine out of 10 people tell me it's Latinos, but it's actually African immigrants.
十个人当中有九个人会说是拉丁裔，但其实是非裔移民。
How about in academics? What's the most educated immigrant demographic?
那么学历呢？教育程度最高的移民是哪一种？
A lot of people presume it to be Asians, but it's actually African immigrants.
许多人会假设是亚裔，但其实是非裔移民。
Even in matters of policy, did you know that three out of the eight countries in the so-called "travel ban" are African countries?
甚至在政策方面，你们是否知道，有所谓“旅行禁令”的国家中，八个有三个是非洲国家？
A lot of people assume those targeted Muslims only live in the Middle East, but a lot of those banned people are Africans.
许多人假设旅行禁令只是针对住在中东的穆斯林，但许多被禁的人都是非洲人。
So on these issues of education and policy and religion, a lot of things we presume about immigrants are incorrect.
所以，在这些教育、政策以及宗教的议题方面，我们有许多关于移民的假设不正确。
Even if we look at something like workplace diversity and inclusion,
即使我们看看像是工作场所多样性和包容这类事情，
if I asked you what gender-ethnicity combination is least likely to be promoted to senior managerial positions,
如果我问你们，哪种“性别—人种”的组合最不可能被提拔升职到资深经理职位，
who would you think it was? The answer is not Africans this time.
你们觉得是哪一样呢？这次答案并不是非洲人。
And it's not black women or men, and it's not Latin women or men.
不是黑人女性或男性，不是拉丁裔女性或男性。是
It's Asian women who are least likely to be promoted.
亚洲女性最不可能升职。
Capturing these stories and issues is part of my work as a digital storyteller
捕捉这些故事和议题，是我工作的一部分，我是个数字小说作家，
that uses tech to make it easier for people to find these stories.
我用科技让大家更容易找到这些故事。
This year, I launched an online gallery of portraits and firsthand accounts for a project called Enodi.
今年，我推出了一个在线画廊，里面有画像以及第一手数据，这个项目计划叫做“Enodi”。
The goal of Enodi is to highlight first-generation immigrants just like me who carry this kinship for the countries we grew up in,
Enodi的目标是要强调出像我一样的第一代移民，我们这类移民和我们长大的国家
for the countries of origin and for this concept called "blackness."
以及原生国家都有着亲密的关系存在，我们也带着这个所谓“黑”的概念。
I created this space to be a cyberhome for many of us who are misunderstood in our different home countries.
我创造的这个空间是个网络之家，提供给许多像我们这种在不同祖国中被误解的人。
There are millions of Enodis who use hyphens to connect their countries of origin with their various homes in the US or Canada or Britain or Germany.
有数百万的Enodi人用连字符把他们的原生国家和他们在美国、加拿大、英国或德国的各种家园连结起来。
In fact, many people you might know are Enodi. Actors Issa Rae and Idris Elba are Enodi.
事实上，许多你认识的人都是Enodi人。演员伊萨·雷和伊德瑞斯·艾尔巴都是Enodi人。
Colin Powell, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former President of the United States, Barack Obama,
科林·鲍威尔、前任司法部部长埃里克·霍尔德、前美国总统贝拉克·奥巴马，
are all the children of African or Caribbean immigrants. But how much do you know about us?
都是非洲的孩子或是加勒比移民。但你们对我们的了解有多少？
This complicated navigation is not just the experience of first-generation folks.
这种复杂的系统指引不仅仅是第一代族群的经验。
We're so intertwined in the lives and culture of people in North America and Europe,
我们和北美及欧洲人的生活与文化密切交织，
that you might be surprised how critical we are to your histories and future.
我们对于你们的历史与未来的关键程度会让你大吃一惊。
So, engage us in conversation; discover who immigrants actually are,
所以，让我们参与谈话；去发掘移民到底是什么样的人，
and see us apart from characterizations or limited media narratives or even who we might appear to be.
不要用特性描述、受限的媒体叙述，或甚至我们的外表，来判断我们是怎样的人。
We're walking melting pots of culture, and if something in that pot smells new or different to you,
我们是活生生的文化融炉，如果融炉中有什么让你觉得很新颖或很不同，
don't turn up your nose. Ask us to share. Thank you.
别瞧不起。而要请我们分享。谢谢。