Taiye Selasi, author of “Ghana Must Go,” joined NOW with Alex Wagner Monday to discuss the struggle faced by many immigrants in America and the prejudices they often endure. Selasi says she wrote about a family that she believes represents all immigrants in this country, who “be they from Burma, Ghana, Nigeria, China, Mexico—for the most part, are here to do well.”
At its core, the book is a love story between a man from Ghana and a woman from Nigeria who meet in Pennsylvania. It traces their marriage, the birth of their four children, and their ultimate estrangement following a series of tragic events.
But the novel is also a window into the experience of assimilation, feeling like the other, and the stereotypes that come with one’s native heritage. Selasi, whose parents are from Ghana and Nigeria, talked about sacrifice, saying, “These are people who want nothing more than to succeed, and they have given their very selves, their very identities, their blood, sweat and their tears to the project of simply being successful. And they lose a lot in the process.”
Watch the full discussion above with Alex Wagner, Taiye Selasi, and the NOW panel.
Joshua Chaffee