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{{short description|Sociological phenomenon}}
[[File:Blaxit-logo.png|thumb|Unofficial logo of Blaxit movement]]
'''Blaxit''' is a social movement that promotes the repatriation of [[African Americans|Black/African Americans]] from the [[United States]] and [[Europe]] to [[Africa]].
'''Blaxit''' is a social movement that promotes the expatriation of Black/African-African Americans from the U.S. to destinations abroad. The term Blaxit was coined in the wake of Brexit by academic, journalist, and human rights consultant Dr. Ulysses Burley III. The term combines Black and Exit to form Blaxit in the same manner that Brexit describes the British Exit from the European Union. <ref>{{Cite web|title=About|url=http://www.ubthecure.com/about/|access-date=2021-06-14|website=Ulysses Burley III|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Disheartened By Racial Violence In U.S., Inspired By Brexit, He Pondered A 'Blaxit'|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/07/17/486359426/disheartened-by-racial-violence-in-u-s-inspired-by-brexit-he-pondered-a-blaxit|access-date=2020-10-29|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Hjeld|first=Kim|title='I'm leaving, and I'm just not coming back': Fed up with racism, Black people head overseas|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/06/26/blaxit-black-people-leave-uk-escape-racism-build-lives-abroad/3234129001/|access-date=2020-10-29|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Sewing|first=Joy|date=2020-10-23|title=Joy Sewing: Black Americans, fed up with racism, move abroad as 'Blaxit' trends|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/Black-Americans-fed-up-with-racism-move-abroad-15669032.php|access-date=2020-10-29|website=HoustonChronicle.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Savali|first=Kristen West|date=26 January 2020|title=Is Moving To Another Country The Answer?|url=https://www.essence.com/news/is-blaxit-for-you/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Essence|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Oshindoro|first=Michael|date=2019-02-22|title=Blaxit and the Romanticization of Africa|url=https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bic/2019/005/7|journal=Black Issues Conference}}</ref>▼
The term now includes all people of African heritage who desire to move to Africa for many reasons, including new economic growth opportunities and cultural reasons.
Combined with African countries which are now seeking to gain skilled and educated migrants, a growing movement has been formed, with the Ghanaian president [[Nana Akufo-Addo]] declared that 2019 was the "[[Year of Return, Ghana 2019|Year of Return]]" and in accordance with his declaration, he made [[immigration]] to Ghana easier for members of [[African diaspora]] communities.<ref name=":1" />
With more African countries now granting citizenship to people of African descent who want to claim nationality, including [[Sierra Leone]], [[Rwanda]], [[Benin]] and [[Zambia]]. Benin are moving to grant citizenship to anyone who can prove their ancestry to Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mangin |first1=Paul-Emile |last2=Luhan |first2=Wolfgang |date=2024-03-11 |title=Non-willigness to lead and social preference |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/rct.13041 |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=AEA Randomized Controlled Trials|doi=10.1257/rct.13041 }}</ref> With new economic growth of the region, African countries are now activity working to gain investment and skilled labour from people of African heritage and emigrated Africans.
▲
== History ==
The
In the early 1900s, many Black
During [[World War I]], when
After [[World War II]], when [[Ghana]] became the first [[Sub-Saharan Africa|sub-Saharan]]
[[File:Flag of the UNIA.svg|thumb|Pan-African Flag]]
[[Pan-Africanism]] movement, starting in 1897, grew in the 1950's postcolonial world as a movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of [[solidarity]] between the diasporas of [[Africa|African]] [[ancestry]]. Pan-African thought influenced the establishment of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (now the [[African Union]]) in 1963. One of the biggest goals that the [[African Union]] has set for the continent in the 21st century is improving long-term economic growth. Major steps have been taken to address this issue particularly with the creation of the [[African Continental Free Trade Agreement]] (AfCFTA).
In 2019, the Ghanaian president [[Nana Akufo-Addo]] declared
[[Sierra Leone]] has established a path to citizenship for members of African diaspora communities. With the aid of DNA tests, this path to citizenship allows people with African heritage to relocate to Africa.
[[Benin]] lawmakers are evaluating a proposal to grant citizenship by descent to descendants of Africans across the globe. To obtain Beninese citizenship, applicants would be required to provide evidence of their Afro-descendant heritage by official documents, verified testimonies, or DNA testing. Qualified individuals would be issued a three-year Beninese passport as the initial step in the recognition process, granting visa-free access to 63 destinations worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ikani |first=John |date=2024-05-20 |title=Benin Considers Citizenship For Descendants Of Enslaved Africans |url=https://www.theheritagetimes.com/benin-considers-citizenship-for-descendants-of-enslaved-africans/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Heritage Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
▲In 2019 Ghanaian president [[Nana Akufo-Addo]] declared the year the "Year of Return" and made immigration easier for [[African diaspora]].<ref name=":1" /> In June 2020, Ghana Minister of Tourism [[Barbara Oteng Gyasi]] encouraged Black Americans to emigrate, saying "Africa is waiting for you".<ref name=":1" />
== Reasons ==
''[[USA Today]]'' said "Black Americans, like expatriates of all races and ethnicities, leave the USA temporarily or permanently for different reasons: in search of a better quality of life, for work opportunities, to marry or retire abroad, for tax reasons, for adventure."<ref name=":0" /> Kristen West Savali, writing for [[Essence (magazine)|''Essence'']] in January
Academic Okunini Ọbádélé Kambon moved to Ghana after
Tiffanie Drayton, whose family moved
[[Agenda 2063]] is a set of initiatives proposed and currently under implementation by the [[African Union]]. The stated goals of the Agenda are economic development (including the [[Poverty reduction|eradication of poverty]] within one generation), political integration (in particular through the establishment of a federal or confederate United Africa), improvements in democracy and justice, establishment of security and peace on the entire African continent, strengthening of [[cultural identity]] through an "African renaissance" and pan-African ideals, [[gender equality]], and political independence from foreign powers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Goals & Priority Areas of Agenda 2063 |url=https://au.int/agenda2063/goals}}</ref>
=== Economic growth of Africa ===
GDP growth for Africa is expected to average 3.8% and 4.2% in 2024 and 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, April 2024 {{!}} A Tepid and Pricey Recovery |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2024/04/19/regional-economic-outlook-for-sub-saharan-africa-april-2024 |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=IMF |language=en}}</ref> This is higher than projected global averages of 2.9% and 3.2%<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 February 2024 |title=Africa dominates list of the world's 20 fastest-growing economies in 2024—African Development Bank says in macroeconomic report |url=https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/africa-dominates-list-worlds-20-fastest-growing-economies-2024-african-development-bank-says-macroeconomic-report-68751 }}</ref> Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, burgeoning cities, and bold innovations in everything from fintech to clean energy. With its population expected to nearly double to 2.5 billion people by 2050, the continent presents opportunities for robust growth that harness its rich natural resources and abundant human potential.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reimagining Africa's economic growth {{!}} McKinsey |url=https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/reimagining-economic-growth-in-africa-turning-diversity-into-opportunity |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=www.mckinsey.com}}</ref> With the new economic growth of Africa there is now a movement for both people of African heritage and emigrated Africans to return to Africa to take advance of the opportunity.
The [[African Continental Free Trade Area|'''African Continental Free Trade Area''' ('''AfCFTA''')]] is a [[free trade area]] encompassing most of [[Africa]]. It was established in 2018 by the '''African Continental Free Trade Agreement''', which has 43 parties and another 11 signatories, making it the largest [[free-trade area]] by number of member states, after the [[World Trade Organization]], and the largest in population and geographic size, spanning 1.3 billion people across the world's second largest continent.
New regional projects are being set up to make investment easier such as the Botswana One Stop Service Centre,<ref>{{Cite web |title=BITC - Welcome |url=http://www.bitc.co.bw/ |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=BITC Website}}</ref> designed to provide modern prompt, efficient, and transparent services to investors. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia are collaborating on battery production, simplifying bureaucratic procedures and harmonizing mining regulations across borders for a stable, predictable investment environment. Strengthening the Africa Mining Vision, launched in 2009 by the African Union, could serve as a key framework for these regional efforts. With Sub-Saharan Africa, home to 30 percent of the world’s critical minerals,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Wenjie |last2=Laws |first2=Athene |last3=Valckx |first3=Nico |title=Harnessing Sub-Saharan Africa’s Critical Mineral Wealth |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/04/29/cf-harnessing-sub-saharan-africas-critical-mineral-wealth |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=IMF |language=en}}</ref>revenues from the extraction of just four key minerals—copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium—are estimated to total $16 trillion over the next 25 years, in 2023-dollar terms.
==== New Africa Tourism and VISA Free Travel for Africans ====
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in intra-African tourism, as countries on the continent seek to promote travel and exploration within their borders. This trend presents a myriad of opportunities for both tourists and the local economies, creating an integrated tourism market for all Africans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ATTA |title=Creating an Intra-African Tourism Map is Essential for Sustainable Economic Development |url=https://atta.travel/resource/creating-an-intra-african-tourism-map-is-essential-for-sustainable-economic-development.html |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=atta.travel}}</ref>
In December 2023, Kenya made history by announcing that it would be the first African country to be visa-free for all travellers. “It shall no longer be necessary for any person from any corner of the globe to carry the burden of applying for a visa to come to Kenya,” Kenyan President William Ruto announced at an event on 12 December 2023, Kenya’s independence day. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Rwanda and Kenya introduce visa-free travel for all Africans |url=https://www.weforum.org/videos/rwanda-kenya-visa-free-travel-africans/}}</ref>
Several countries including Ghana and South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda introduced bilateral visa-waiver deals. While Angola introduced visa-free entry for 98 countries, including 14 African nations.
Four countries - Benin, Rwanda, Seychelles and The Gambia - are now visa-free for African nationals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-30 |title=Kenya's visa-free dream proves tricky for some |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68093488 |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
== See also ==
▲Academic Okunini Ọbádélé Kambon moved to Ghana after an arrest in Chicago.<ref name=":0" /> He is involved in a Ghanaian program that encourages descendants of Africans to emigrate.<ref name=":0" /> Businesswoman Lakeshia Ford moved to Ghana after a yearlong study abroad there; she says in Ghana "I don't have to think of myself as a Black woman...here I am just a woman."<ref name=":0" />
* [[African-American history]]
▲Tiffanie Drayton, whose family moved to the US from [[Trinidad and Tobago]] when she was four, in 2013 moved back and is writing a book, ''Black American Refugee'', on the subject of Blaxit.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Drayton said driving her children around the block to get them to sleep in Trinidad and Togabo differed significantly from the same experience in the United States: "In America, your hands are shaking. You're worried about what to say. You're worried about whether you have the right ID. You're just so worried all the time."<ref name=":0" /> Rapper [[Mos Def]] moved to South Africa in 2013 to escape racism,<ref name=":0" /> although in January 2016, he was ordered to leave having stayed in the country illegally on an expired tourist visa granted in May 2013,<ref>{{cite news|title=Rapper Mos Def ordered to leave South Africa in passport row|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35330365|access-date=January 16, 2016|work=BBC News|date=January 16, 2016}}</ref> and finally allowed to leave later that year, barred from ever returning.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-mosdef/rapper-mos-def-allowed-to-leave-south-africa-after-apology-idUSKBN13H131|title=Rapper Mos Def allowed to leave South Africa after apology|date=November 22, 2016|website=[[Reuters]]|access-date=December 23, 2019}}</ref>
* [[Perpetual foreigner]]
* [[Racism against African Americans]]
* [[Afrocentrism]]
* [[Afrophobia]]
* [[Negrophobia]]
* [[American Colonization Society]]
* [[Back-to-Africa movement]]
* [[Exodusters]]
* [[Marcus Garvey]]
* [[Great Migration (African American)]]
* [[Pan-Africanism]]
* [[Black Lives Matter]]
* [[Black nationalism]]
* [[Black separatism]]
* [[Black supremacy]]
* [[Year of Return, Ghana 2019]]
* [[African Americans in Africa]]
== References ==
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