March 2008
Cabbies in Chicago: A Cultural Crossroads
In the first of an occasional series, the Chicago Dispatcher examines the various cultures that comprise Chicago’s cab industry
By: Matthew Kordonowy
Taxi drivers in Chicago belong to one of the most diverse industries in the country. Behind the bonds they share as cabbies lay many social differences stemming from a cultural incongruence. In this respect, the cab industry can be seen as a microcosm of America as the great melting pot.
In an effort to promote understanding and improve relationships in the taxi community, the Chicago Dispatcher will attempt to shed light on the prominent cultures that comprise this industry. As the first installment in our series, we focus on Ghana. Also known as the Gold Coast, the West-African nation of 23 million was the first in the sub-Sahara to achieve independence in 1957. Located just above the equator on the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana continues to play an important peacekeeping role in the area while boasting one of the strongest political and economic systems in Africa.
We asked Ghanaian immigrant John Henry Assabill to illustrate Ghanaian heritage and to give a personal account as an immigrant taxi driver. Assabill is president of the Chicago-based Ghanaian National Council and is the founder and partner of Gold Coast Taxi Association - Chicago's only driver-owned affiliation. He has been a committed community leader for Ghanaians, Africans and the cab industry. In 2004, he received a medallion as the winner of the Cabdriver Recognition Award from the Department of Consumer Services as “Master Chauffeur.”
Chicago Dispatcher: I wanted to start off by asking you when did you immigrate to Chicago?
John Henry Assabill: “I think in October 1981.”
CD: Why did you choose Chicago?
JA: “I have a lot of college friends here and my wife has a lot of family friends here in Chicago. And so, when I finished college in Ghana, I said I wanted to come to Chicago. They said no you cannot come and I said, 'Yeah, sure, I can come. Watch me…' I had a scholarship in England to audit for a company, so on return to Ghana I said, 'OK, let me just go to the embassy and try to see if I can get a VISA to surprise these people in Chicago.' I went to the embassy and I got a VISA.”
CD: What were some difficulties you had when you came here from Ghana?
JA: “It wasn't difficult at all…The only difficulty in the transition is American terminology. Something like, we say quarter [pronounced with an emphasis on the 't'] and you say 'quarda.' We say water and you say 'wada.' With the transition, all you have to do is learn how Americans pronounce things. And sometimes there are certain things when we use the Queen's language to describe and you say, 'No, I don't understand.'”
CD: What about any cultural differences?
JA: “Cultural differences mostly have to do with the African mentality with women. Over here, we have…a lot of tolerance to the women. Whereas over, it's like…'I am the man, I am the boss.' But, when we come here, it is very good for s to learn that part of life - to respect our women. Primarily we Ghanaians adapt very quickly. We can adjust ourselves quickly. You catch up and move on.”
CD: What do you miss about Ghana?
JA: “Freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom. You see, freedom in the sense that, over in Ghana, we don't pay too many bills. But over here, you pay bills to the teeth - and that's the only thing.”
CD: I know there are different types of tribes in Ghana - six sects - how does that translate when you come here? Now that there aren't those differences, do you feel more connected with every Ghanaian?
JA: “In Ghana, we tolerate each other. That is why we don't have any civil wars in Ghana. Of course, it doesn't mean we don't have confusion. We have confusion but we settle it, because we have a lot of respect for the elder.
CD: So when you come here do the tribal differences disappear?
JA: “Oh, they disappear.”
CD: How important is the Ghanaian community in terms of the African community? Do you feel it as a Ghanaian culture or do you feel like it's an African culture?
JA: “Primarily, we think of the African culture. Because, wherever we go…our identity in America - they don't separate it. Number one, they say, 'You are black,' and number two, 'You are African, based on his accent.' [Americans] don't qualify that he is a Ghanaian. When I am driving a cab, people say, 'Oh, your accent, where are you from?' 'I am from Ghana.' 'Africa?' 'Yeah.'”
CD: Do you still belong to a Ghanaian community, or is it more broad now?
JA: “I am deeply a committed community person. Currently, I am the president of the Ghana National Council (GNC), for Ghanaians in Illinois and Chicago particularly. So I am deeply a community oriented person.”
CD: Can you talk about your experiences with that a little bit?
JA: “It is huge. Huge in the sense that you see people's character; you see people with the good side, the bad side; you see everything. But then, with the level I am at now, nothing surprises me - it makes me mature. Because, when I was in Ghana, I was just by myself and my narrow friends and my family. Then you expand it further, you go into the tribe where you come from, and then if you stretch it further, it goes to the neighborhood where you live. But when you come here, some of the people you have not met from other tribes, they come to close proximity. So you see them and how they behave, think and talk and you have to adjust to tolerate them. Then they have to understand you. Then you move on. That is the only thing about the narrowness of the whole community when you come over here. That I see all the time. With my position also, it keeps me very much closer to the solutions of the problems and the root causes of the problems.”
CD: What exactly does the GNC do?
JA: “We are the ones that coordinate and correlate everything about the Ghanaian movement here in Chicago.
CD: So that includes helping immigrants become situated? You deal with the embassy, correct?
JA: “We deal with the embassy all the time. The lucky part of us Ghanaians is, most part of us comes here with some sort of legalization, so we don't have that prevalent immigration crisis that other people have. Before you leave the shores of Ghana you are going to go through Europe. You transition through Europe, transition through this and that. So with that, if you don't have the right papers or the VISA, you can't come in.”
CD: What sort of activities does the GNC put on?
JA: “We do also organize the GhanaFest. [The festival was started 18 years ago and is held annually in Washington Park around the end of July. It is a free festival with roughly 20,000 attendees in 2007.] As we proceed to next month, I am hosting the Independence Dance. That's Ghana's 51st Independence Dance…and then I will invite you to be there and see for yourself - it is big. We are the only world-recognized organization body who does this in the world. - all over the world. So it is big, and that is when you see the real, true Ghanaian and African culture.”
CD: When did you start Gold Coast Taxi?
JA: “I became a cabdriver. I had my chauffeur's license in 1996 and I drove with Yellow Cab Company. From Yellow Cab then I integrated into the Ghanaian Cab Drivers Association. From there, we formed this Gold Coast.”
CD: How do you recognize a fellow Ghanaian cabdriver? What are some characteristics?
JA: “Courteous, they are very courteous. And respectful.”
“The other thing about the Ghanaian cabdriver is they don't hang on the street for long. They do not. They come on the street, you can see them between 7:00 in the morning to 8:00. After 7 or 8 p.m., then they go home. Holidays you don't see anyone working; Sundays they all go to church. Only a few come on after. On Saturdays, most of them are community leaders and do some form of community work. Saturday they go out and do their community service.”
CD: Are there any flags displayed in the window, or clothing articles?
JA: Right here on this street [Wilson Avenue], if you go a little bit before you get to Sheridan…you see a lot of the Ghanaian people braiding hair, barbers cutting hair; there are Ghanaian food shelves and Ghanaian artifacts and everything. Then, a little north of here past Wilson here in Broadway [4600 block of N. Broadway], there too you see some of them. We have two Ghanaian restaurants, one restaurant we have is on Broadway and Montrose, on the northeast corner. And then you come here, on Wilson and Magnolia, and there is another Ghanaian restaurant called Palace Gate.”
CD: So typical Ghanaian food…is that usually soups?
JA: “We drink a lot of soups. We drink different kinds of soups. We drink tomato soup, peanut soup, palm nut. You know palm nut? Oh, that's good. Palm nut is always very good for the skin - you get good vitamin C for the skin. [After the interview, I went to Palace Gate and sampled a dish recommended by Assabill - beef and bean soup with a side of fried plantains - delicious!]
CD: I wanted to touch a bit on religion - religion and language. Does that divide many Ghanaians?
JA: “No. In fact, this is one of the things I wrote about in the Ghana's Independence dance that I wanted to give the Chicago Dispatcher to publish. We, like I said, Ghanaians are very tolerant of each other. We have Muslims to the north and then Christians to the south. There are some who are atheist. Only a few percentages are atheist. Believe me, we all integrate very nicely. We don't fight among each other. We keep each other, because Ghanaians are always scared of trouble. We don't want to do anything to throw his brother in jail, or bring pain to him.”
CD: Are there any misconceptions about Ghanaians?
JA: “We always do not loose consciousness of the fact that we are a minority. Even when we are competing for jobs in the market, when it trickles down it comes to African-Americans, then it comes to Africans. We are the bottom, because of your accent, which is why most of the people that cannot tolerate it are driving taxis. Because when you are driving a cab you feel comfortable that you are your own. When you are in a cab, you are OK. You know very well, 'I am my own self.'
