A Nigerian-American Reflects on Thanksgiving
A Nigerian-American woman recalls how Thanksgiving has changed in her family over the years, and how her male and female relatives have gradually changed with it.
JOHN YDSTIE, Host:
Thankfully, commentator Chinyere Osuji has seen some divisions within her Nigerian American family shrink over the years.
CHINYERE OSUJI: I have changed too. Now I willingly wander into the kitchen to see what makes my mom's jollof rice tastes so good. I laugh with my aunt. If my mom's legs are tired, I take over at the stove, adding saffron or stirring the stew for her. The men still stay out of the kitchen. But last Thanksgiving, I had a conversation with my uncle. For the first time I could recall, he listened to me intently like what I said actually mattered.
YDSTIE: Commentator Chinyere Osuji is a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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