Two Cultures Become One - By Chuka and Robyn Ikokwu

We are Chuka and Robyn Ikokwu and are delighted to share about our lives and our backgrounds in this very special Black History-themed newsletter.

Chuka was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, in the 80s, to a very traditional and disciplined Igbo family. He went through the very memorable and future-defining experience of boarding school in Benin City for his middle school and high school studies before moving to Columbus, OH in 2000. Having now lived in the U.S. for 24 years, in Columbus, Maryland, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Stanford, San Francisco, and now Los Angeles, his life has been influenced by the U.S. as much as it was by Nigeria. Also a British citizen (his mom was born in London), the three citizenships constantly vie for his cultural attention, but without a doubt, the Nigerian influence is the strongest one, due to his close ties with his extended family, heritage, and traditions. It was a huge shock to Chuka when he experienced his first racial discrimination incident in America. An all-white company that Chuka worked at decided that because he was the only non-white person, his performance would be judged on a different scale, which ultimately resulted in his being laid off. This incident back in 2006, the first of many, would be the catalyst for his current diversity-and-inclusion-advocacy profession of helping to get more minorities into the tech industry. Chuka currently operates 3 companies, Divercity.io (http://Divercity.io), a diversity recruitment platform, Pure Match, a dating and connection app for disciples, and DoughRise, a personal finance management app. Most importantly, Chuka became a disciple of Christ in 2002 in Columbus, OH. Having been raised in a Christian household, it was tough to admit that all his life he hadn’t been a Christian; the power of the word softened his heart and helped him accept Christ as Lord and savior and since then he has been a member of the ICOC.

Robyn was born in the ’80s in Los Angeles. She was raised in a household in which Black excellence and Black culture were emphasized and at the forefront of her upbringing both at home and in elementary school. Her junior high & high school experience was pivotal moment in her life. Robyn attended a predominantly white, all-girls private high school in Los Angeles. It was in this setting that she became increasingly aware of institutional racism, microaggressions, and the racial & cultural biases that exist. It was an extremely challenging and enlightening experience that extended to college life and various work settings. These experiences made Robyn question her worthiness at various times throughout her life and at other times they created learning opportunities for her to celebrate and cherish her culture while also educating others. Ultimately Robyn’s faith in God and her firm belief that her worthiness is rooted in Him is what has allowed her to ultimately prevail.

Chuka and Robyn were married in April 2022 and it was a memorable experience because it saw two cultures, Nigerian and African-American, coming together in an epic way. Since we’ve been married, we have had our fair share of challenges in trying to become one in thought, culture, values, and deed, which goes to show how different individuals who have the same race and heritage in common can be. Black History month means a lot to us because the Lord we serve is one of justice and equity, and Blacks situated in the western hemisphere, unfortunately, have been denied these two virtues for many centuries, and as such, Black History month is an opportunity to celebrate the excellence that is the diversity within the Black Community.