Whoa! So much to absorb.
Let me start my addressing some posts by
@pahoben
Firstly, let me congratulate you for rising above your childhood environment; you are not alone in this accomplishment yet it is still impressive. Did your parents decide to join a back to the land movement, build a rural home, or was this just how things stood in your part of the US? I faced adversities of a different sort growing up and it mostly boiled down to being poor- not that I knew it in my early childhood, LOL. You mentioned the possibility of reparations for your early living conditions - was this caused by government policy or design? If so, I think you've a good case for legally requesting them.
Based on your experiences living in Africa during a work contract, it's seems some of your experiences and observations are atypical.
I know people in the expat communities of Nigeria and Qatar. Specifically, for Africa, most lament their inability to converse on an equal basis with natives of the country, in Abuja and Lagos. They live in company compounds, shop in markets accompanied by the cook/nanny, and are generally driven back and forth by security and/or driver. They accept that their relationships are generally limited to that of employers and employees and when they wish to expand their interaction in the country participate in various charity projects which still does not afford true equality. This is not the basis for an unvarnished look at the country or it's inhabitants and they know it. Their observations mirrors my visits to Doha where the house staff is not native but mostly composed of Southeastern Asians.
Most everyone would love to move to a 1st world country, to improve their educational and/or socioeconomic standing. Those that can either because they have the funds or the proper visas, do. Certainly that is why all my biological grandparents emigrated here having been emancipated a good 25 to 35 years before the US slaves.
As for white privilege, which was mentioned by more than one poster, the thinking behind the term dates back to the late 16th/early 17th century when various social and spiritual advocates noted the hypocrisy and immorality of slavery.
Slavery was known and practiced on the continent of Africa before the European traders arrived however the form of servitude was much different. By sheer volume the Portuguese enslaved via trading most but it was the Brits who imported more to the New World. Many of the first slaves in North America had the same status as the European indentured servants however in time this became a lifelong servitude through the generations. The New World natives also suffered the vicissitudes of slavery under the Portuguese and Spanish; don't think any were allowed the status of indentured servants.