[mc32]

It's the social graph. If the mainstream does not notice, do what countless immigrant groups have done in countries the world over, group together form your own interest group and serve your group. You also see this behavior with industry groups, or worker groups. Content producers group, telecoms group, so they can advance themselves and self interest.

Why do Nigerians do relatively well, they'll find other Nigerians, help each other and steadily climb. Or Russians or Chinese immigrants, etc. Help from the mainstream helps, and it'd be good to get even footing, but lacking that, create a self interest group. It's not as though there are no rich people who are minorities who are also interested in investing in startups. Pursue the issue in a multi pronged fashion. Don't count on anyone in particular.

[tryitnow]

That will work with Africans and other groups who have a strong sense of ongoing ethnic identity. American blacks descended from slaves have a lot of problems doing that for all sorts of reasons.

My guess is that a lot of African immigrants have raised money, just not via traditional routes, hence they don't show up in the numbers.

The important thing to recognize is that you can't easily analogize the experience of people who were enslaved 150 years ago and then faced systematic oppression after that for at least another 100 years to the experience of immigrants migrating to make a new start.

My bet is that we will see a lot more success from African immigrants before we see success from American slave-descended blacks.

Indeed, it's unsurprising the first black president is the son of an immigrant and not descended from slaves.

[IndianAstronaut]

Nigerians and American blacks are worlds apart in terms of emphasis on education and work ethic. I say this as someone who has lived in Nigeria as well as in predominantly black neighborhoods in the US.

[jacobush]

I don't disagree with you at all. Just a side note - don't you find it intriguing that Barack Obama is "black" and not "white"? Thinking about "one drop of blood" and all that. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-drop_rule )