A Conversation with Professor Olakunle George
Ayodeji George ’22
Spring 2021
When asked “Do you see yourself as an American?”, Professor Olakunle George responded unequivocally, “Yes, I think of myself as an American. An American who was born and raised in Nigeria.” This pointblank answer is a testament to the nature of the life that George has built in his thirty-three years in the U.S.
Professor Olakunle George is an American citizen who was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1962. He first came to the United States at the age of 25 in order to attend graduate school at Cornell University. He credits this path to the United States for allowing him to enter into a friendly college town environment and for providing the route to immigration as an academic and university teacher. George has gone on to spend time at Northwestern University and the University of Oregon before finding a professional home at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Having lived in different regions and settings throughout the continental United States, George commented on the “Americanizing” effect this has had on him. “Little things such as, I like to drink coffee without milk or sugar very early in the morning. In Nigeria that is considered an ‘American’ thing”. This relatively minuscule aspect of George’s daily routine is indicative of a larger integration that has taken place. This is not solely represented in the quotidian, but also in his perception of the true complexity of the United States. “When we were in school, we would watch Hollywood movies and get a kind of rosy image of America. But the economic disparities and inequalities, you don’t get to see or have access to until you come here”.
Despite his acculturation into American society, George maintains strong ties with family members in Nigeria. He discusses spending a great deal of money on phone calls while in school and in fact, he says that the distance forces one to value familial relationships even more. Equally important, George has found ways to keep his children connected to Nigerian culture while growing up as Americans. “You probably know more about contemporary Nigerian music than I do” he said to me (I should mention that I, the interviewer, am also Professor George’s son). He also described the importance of continuing to speak the language, Yoruba, and allowing his children to develop an ear for it.
Professor George has spent the past thirty years building a life for himself and his family in the United States. He recognizes that in this way, many would see him as a representation of the beloved “American Dream”. And yet, he is careful to point out that as an immigrant, he is privileged as a university professor with an advanced degree. As he stated at the end of our conversation, “there’s a fair amount of diversity in why individuals become immigrants in the United States and how that has an impact on their experiences within the society”. George recognized throughout the conversation that while the United States is an immigrant society, there are many socio-economic obstacles and challenges that affect people to varying degrees. He has similar advice for immigrants as well as birthright citizens: to take time to learn, both about the diversity of countries of origin like Nigeria, and the diversity of immigrant stories in the United States.
Q: If you had one piece of advice for someone who has recently immigrated to the United States, what would you tell them?
Read as much as you can about the history of America. The different groups, different ethnicities…. that’s one recommendation I would have because it will give that person what I consider to be a proper orientation to the society as an immigrant society.