Aging & Social Change: Fourteenth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Inspired by the “Blaxit Movement,” a term coined by Dr. Ulysses Burley III in 2016 to explain the exodus of Black Americans from the United States, this inquiry examines the self-rated benefits of Black American Transnational Migration. In applying a critical race theory lens to understand the experience of Black American transnational migrants, this inquiry provides insight into the social and political environment of the United States that fosters systemic racism and the impact of abstraction from such environment on the mental health and physical well-being of Black Americans. In-depth interviews with Black American transnational migrants reveal this unknowing “smog of Black Oppression” (SOBO) Black Americans experience living in the United States. The symptoms of SOBO often present as early-onset dementia, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, migraines, body aches and pains, and anxiety. However, once away from the United States, the SOBO begins to lift, and Black Americans’ mental health and physical well-being improve. This study concludes that transnational migration could positively affect African Americans’ aging, health, and wellness.