Different But Equal Basil Davidson Analysis

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

Imagine walking down the middle of 5th Avenue, always having to worry about getting discriminated against, pushed into the street, or even shot. That’s exactly what John Howard Griffin had to worry about as a recently converted black man in the South. I chose the ‘Post-Colonial’ lens because ‘Black Like Me’ is about the black culture being kept down by other races in America, which accurately describes this lens. In the book ‘Black Like Me’, it shows precisely just how the black culture is oppressed in society and as author John Howard Griffin goes deeper into Southern black culture, he soon finds out just how unjust and biased white culture used to be.

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.

You cannot condemn people for preferring to be lied to. The truth at times can be an assortment of explicit despair and ferocity. Before I was enlightened about the glorious antiquity of my African people White supremacy dullard me with historical erasure. I was under the illusion that our past began with the dreadful system of slavery, share cropping and the Jim Crow era. Not once did I ever stop to think of a black civilization prior to being plucked out the arms of mother Africa.

Roots, Rhythm, and Rocks I like the essay, “Roots, Rhythm, and Rocks” written by Joseph C. Phillips. Initially, I felt like Phillips, incited by the negative characteristics of his roots—Africa. Granting that the essay was consumed with the deceitful, provoking and infuriating—dissimilar—perceptions between the Africans and black Americans, I was; however, impressed and captivated by his perception on how well-off American life compared to African. This essay enlightened my certainty and conviction on how we—American born—devalued the American achievements and privileges.

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,

Chimamanda Adichie’s TED talk on “The Danger of a Single Story” argues that Western culture creates a mythology surrounding Africa as a starkly different place than Western culture, an idea which Chinua Achebe echoes in his essay, “An Image of Africa,” in order to endorse the need for multiple stories to combat stereotypes. For example, Adichie mentions how her American roommate in college was astonished to learn that Adichie spoke English very well and that she knew how to operate a stove. In pointing this out, Adichie reveals the construction of the narrative of certain expectations of what it means to be African, which the roommate implies to mean a lack of knowledge of operating a stove and to not be able to speak English. The roommate

The assumptions concerning the aspects of race in the United States affect the foreign and domestic policy between 1492 and 1877 in various ways. The American population during this period was comprised of different races that has impacted on the way policies were formulated both foreign and local. Foreign policies were created not just for security purposes but to manage America’s relations with other countries. Color was a prominent assumption which affected the foreign and domestic policy during the time period between 1492 and 1877. Many would associate the color black with darkness and evil.

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

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

In the New World of freshly established British colonies in America, European settlers felt they could justify enslaving Africans because of their dark skin and different culture. The ignorant colonists told themselves it was acceptable to treat Africans as animals of a different species and to dismiss their sense of humanity by putting themselves above the Africans in their minds and in the social hierarchy of colonial America. From 1619 to 1750 when the American colonies were in need of a larger labor force, it was easier for the colonists to enslave Africans because they viewed the darker-skinned race as being inferior and uncivilized. Europeans ignorantly turned their heads away from the similarities between African and colonial societies

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

Race and gender provided the foundation for the colonization and enslavement of Native American and Africans, and class worked in consequence of these constructs. Through American colonization, our understanding and adoption of these social constructs altered completely. Before, neither Native American, Africans, or Europeans truly identified with ‘race’; emphasis was mainly put on gender and class. After colonization, the intersection of race, class, and wealth becomes truly apparent through the enslavement and maltreatment of African women. The subordination of African women supplied the British with the “legal foundation for slavery and the future definitions of racial difference.”

This paper examines the difference between racism witnessed by Du Bois hundred years ago and racism seen today.

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