Different But Equal Basil Davidson Analysis

In Chapter 1 and 2 of “Creating Black Americans,” author Nell Irvin Painter addresses an imperative issue in which African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed (2) and continue to be perceived in a negative light (1). This book gives the author the chance to revive the history of Africa, being this a sacred place to provide readers with a “history of their own.” (Painter 4) The issue that Africans were depicted in a negative light impacted various artworks and educational settings in the 19th and early 20th century. For instance, in educational settings, many students were exposed to the Eurocentric Western learning which its depiction of Africa were not only biased, but racist as well.

The negative perceptions about Africa continued to persist in the 20th century and in the 1960’s Trevor Roper, an Oxford Professor cited that there was nothing worth of any value to be termed as African History. He further stated that what existed was only, “the history of the Europeans in

In the essay, “A Genealogy of Modern Racism”, the author Dr. Cornel West discusses racism in depth, while conveying why whites feel this sense of superiority. We learn through his discussion that whites have been forced to treat black harshly due to the knowledge that was given to them about the aesthetics of beauty and civility. This knowledge that was bestowed on the whites in the modern West, taught them that they were superior to all races tat did not emulate the norms of whites. According to Dr. West the very idea that blacks were even human beings is a concept that was a “relatively new discovery of the modern West”, and that equality of beauty, culture, and intellect in blacks remains problematic and controversial in intellectual circles

In the race of European imperialism, European countries dominated innocent African colonies. The driving force behind this? Africa’s bountiful resources. Before Africa’s colonization, the European presence in Africa was extremely limited, mainly due to lack of exploration and diseases (Background Essay). However, this changed as European prominence became largely influential through the discovery of Africa’s resource rich lands.

In a solution stated at the end of his book requesting Parliament to rid of slavery, Equiano suggests giving the Africans a chance to “catch-up” to the white man (Equiano, 199). As if no longer considering himself a native is not a big enough statement, he also considers the Africans less than the white men and himself. This is an enormous insult to the

If this is the case, why is it fair to remove Africans from their homes only to compare them to a society started by Europeans? Not only is this an obvious bias, this statement demonstrates the idea of the white standard. Since black people in the United States were not granted emancipation for almost a century following the publication of this writing, these arguments from a well- respected leader were accepted at face

Towards the close of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth century, European imperialist governments in their quest to expand their territories for various reasons aggressively scrambled and invaded the African continent. Initially, the gullible African societies, most of which were decentralized, welcomed the foreigners but after realizing the stakes some mounted resistance (Johnston,43). As expected, the more sophisticated imperialist governments prevailed in most of the colonies and subdued the natives. The effects of the foreign presence were monumental, and it would take more than half a century for these colonies to free themselves from the oppressive rule and become independent governments. Until the late 1800’s,

Racism exists today but is not nearly as bad as it was during Fredrick Douglass’ time period More related today what

European contact with sub-Saharan Africa around the 1500’s was not mutually beneficial because they had different needs. The economic exchanges and political relationships were based off of European’s relations with the Upper class of Africa, however not the majority of Africa. Due to the massive expansion of Europe, they wanted to continue to grow, and the only way to do that was to open trading ports all around the world. In the end, Europe benefited from trading with Africa and they are the ones who ended up

And the novel repeatedly tells us that these crimes--not the casual brutalization of black men and women, not the denial of political and economic rights to the overwhelming majority of the population-are the big problems in South Africa” (AUTHOR NAME AND PAGE NUMBER?). This shows that Europeans are titling blacks as thieves, prostitutes, and murders. They are pretty much titling them as their downfall to society. They are blaming all of the bad stuff that happens in there everyday life on the Blacks of South Africa. They are not seeing the big picture which is that the white forced themselves into their land and caused them to become poor and are forcing them to scramble for money.

This sense of racial dominance offers insight into the Western justification of their brutal treatment of natives –ruling through violence and intimidation rather than diplomacy. Moreover, as native Africans are degraded in the background, the wicked imperialistic operations of European companies lowered the moral standards for arbitrating the evil and madness of their

Moreover, Western civilization became the ideal civilization, and became way superior to African “civilization.” As a consequence, African tradition became perceived as primitive, outmoded, and sadly not welcomed by the rest of the world. Unfortunately, a lot of Africans experienced a trend of a dying out culture. (2) It can be implied that even the Africans’ self-perception dropped because the only lifestyle they knew was suddenly taken away from them and they were taught that it was substandard. Therefore, the indigenous inhabitants of the colonies, the Africans, had to adapt to a new, “superlative” culture and view it as more sophisticated than theirs.

Lawrence (2004) describes racism as the normalization of dynamics—cultural, historical or interpersonal—that accords privilege and preferential treatment to white individuals, at the expense of people of color. This essay will analyse the role of imperialism and colonisation on racism and race relations, some of the theories relevant to racism

which led to our being branded as irresponsible and lacking in self-confidence” (Document 6). Even in their own lands, lower-class Africans did not have the opportunity to display their capabilities in the government and other careers. Instead, they were given low-paying jobs that did not require skill, such as on plantations and in factories (Spielvogel and McTighe 235-236). A West African Verse expresses an African native’s sorrow over how white men destroyed his family, taking away their pride and strength, and reduced him to an undignified servant (Document 5). Although many natives were intelligent, the Europeans

As stated in the DBQ “That the African Negro is destined to occupy this condition of servitude is not less clear. It is marked on the face, stamped on the skin, and shown by the inferiority of this race.