Afrikanet.info
They range from surgeons and scholars to illiterate refugees from some of the world’s worst hellholes - a dizzyingly varied stream of African immigrants to the United States. More than 1 million strong and growing, they are enlivening America’s cities and altering how the nation confronts its racial identity.

Some nurture dreams of returning to Africa for good one day. But many are casting their lot permanently in America, trying to assimilate even as they and their children struggle to learn where they fit in a country where black-white relations are a perpetual work-in-progress.

“The conditions at home often make it difficult to go back,” said Nigerian native Ike Udogu, a professor at Appalachian State University who came to North Carolina 36 years ago.

“Here, there are great facilities,” he said. “You simply want to do your work in a society where your life is not in danger.”   Read full story