is there a difference?

in my 4 years at university in CAnada, i have been actively participating in my campus' Black Student's Association, at one point, I was even Vice President.
My campus does not have anything remotely close to an equitable representation of Black's but WE are on campus and I have realised that people know that WE are on campus...and as such, often our actions are scrutinized, mimicked or even taken to be the perfect representation of 'all things black'.
There are many Africans and Caribbeans on campus who are not 'black' but were participant in the events that we put on as a club. there were also many 'black' Africans/ Caribbeans, Afro-Canadians, Afro-Americans etc...who chose not to participate in or associate with those who were involved in such groups.
The one thing that taught me is that there is a choice, and that choice is something that goes past your skin, your ethnicity or nationality...it is a choice that only an individual can make based on their own personal identity and life experience.

i had alluded to in a previous post....there may be a difference being Black of North American descent, of Caribbean descent, or of African descent. In the social hierarchy that is subtly reinforced in an increasingly globalized world, it appears as tho some feel that the African is at the bottom kabisaaa.
Ive had to think about this long and hard on several occassions, and after reading this article, I find myself thinking about it again.

How similar am I as an African to an akata? Are my mannerisms different? Was my upbringing anything similar to theirs, such that it shaped me into a person who can relate in some way, to their experiences?
or are there only IMAGINED and ASSIMILATED similarities??

our histories, which at one point in time were one and the same, followed different paths, yet both were filled with hardships and strengths and amazing achievements and reasons to be proud of who we are. I acknowledge those similarities.
I also acknowledge that to the world, it often does not matter, whether I am Kenyan, Jamaican or an African American. The color of my skin is the same. The prejudices and racist comments are the same. When he sneered at us and called us 'dirty ni&%^rs, it didnt matter that I was African and he was Afro-Canadian.

I wish that what would matter, is that we would all look at each other as human beings, worthy of respect, fair treatment and some digninty. Maybe once we can look past color and ethnicity and embrace the cultures and traditions that have shaped us into the human beings we have become, then maybe the world would be a better place.

...........a tad idealistic i know....im in one of those 'hopeful' moods.