My name is Jasmine O'Connell Amadou. I'm a six-foot-tall, light-skinned young Black woman living in the town of Randolph, Massachusetts. My father Richard Jones is originally from the town of Montego Bay in the island of Jamaica and my mother Crystal O'Connell is a Boston-based Irishwoman. I've lived in the City of Randolph, Massachusetts, my whole life. I graduated from R.H.S. in the summer of 2003, and later earned my Associate's degree in Criminal Justice at Massasoit Community College in the nearby City of Brockton. Later, I earned my Bachelor's degree in Criminology at Bridgewater State College, and my Law degree at Northeastern University. I'm a New England woman through and true. And I feel fortunate to be living in interesting times. The recession still grips the State of Massachusetts at the start of 2012 but I feel confident that Deval Patrick, our first African-American Governor, will lead us back to prosperity.
The face of Massachusetts is changing, folks. And not everyone is welcoming it. The media reports on the scores of Chinese and Mexican families coming to the State of Massachusetts. As usual, they've overlooked something. Lately, we've been getting a lot of African immigrants in the environs of the City of Boston. These African immigrants from places like Ghana, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal, the Republic of South Africa and Somaliland are as different from us regular African-Americans as night is different from day. Still, they're our brothers and sisters so I for one feel friendly toward them. It's time to reconnect, people. Some African-Americans who've been in the United States of America since its foundation turn a cold shoulder to recent immigrants from Continental Africa. I find that really unfortunate. If a White guy from Boston, Massachusetts, went to live in Europe, he'd be welcome among them. Why should a Black guy from Central Africa feel unwelcome among African-Americans in New England? Unity is strength, as my Haitian friends say.
Speaking of reconnecting, right now I'm dating this really hot Senegalese brother named Madiop Amadou. He's six feet five inches tall and dark-skinned, with curly Black hair and shiny White teeth. Madiop moved into the Bridle Path Circle neighborhood of Randolph, which is where I live. He's a newcomer to the U.S. but he used to live in the Ontario region of Canada before. Apparently, his parents are diplomats with the Senegalese Embassy. Madiop is a highly educated brother with ambition to spare. He holds a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Carleton University in the City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario. He also has a Master's degree from the Telfer School of Business at the University of Ottawa. One thing I like about many young African men is that they're really motivated to get their college and university degrees, unlike so many of the lazy Black guys we have here in the United States of America. Madiop Amadou fascinated me. He speaks French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili and Japanese. He's lived all over the world. How cool is that? I'm ashamed to say that I only speak English and profane but I've never left the continental U.S. The furthest I've gone was the City of Toronto in Canada, and I was there for only six days.