Read Article Yes, our ancestors suffered many indignities and prejudices when we emigrated from Quebec to make a better life for ourselves. (David Vermette, who Landry quotes, also likens our experience to that of today’s Somali immigrants.) And indeed, many of us overcame adversity to improve our lives and become leaders in our society. There is one glaring difference between the experience of the Franco, Mexican, Somali, and other immigrant groups and those of African Americans. We all came here voluntarily to escape whatever conditions we were leaving behind. The members of the African community who were ripped from their homes and brought to this continent did not.