In the late 1990s my father migrated to the United States from Conakry, Guinea. He came to America with the hopes of improving him and his family’s lives. When he migrated to America, he went to live in New York City. Although he was new to the country, many people he knew who lived back home also migrated. When my father came to America, he brought something that was very special to him, his African clothes, specifically bazins. Bazins are very popular among the African community. When my dad first moved to Harlem, he told me how he and his roommates would get harassed by immigrant agents all the time. They would come to their apartment all the time, whether it was during the daytime or nighttime, and they would harass my dad and his roommates. Many times they would come looking for someone and often come to the wrong apartment. Although my dad lived in New York City, he always wore a part of him that reminded him of home, his African clothes. However, after constantly being harassed by immigrant agents, he stopped wearing his African clothes and only wore American clothes. This story is very important to me because it shows how the harassment my dad faced caused him to not be comfortable with his identity. This piece of clothing, bazin, is very important to me because it represents a huge part of my African identity.

– Aissata D.

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant