Ogueshe Adekoye
BLST 10100
October 16, 2016
Blog Post #1
The idea of race is understood by many as the
difference in the color of one’s skin. In most parts of the world it is
perceived that the “white race” is pure and the “black race” is stained. In
America as discussed in class, race was not naturally occurring and the idea of
race came to be through the process of racialization. This post will focus on
the birth of racialization in America, and its effect on West Africa
(Nigeria)and the next generation. Racialization in America started during the
slave trade mainly because European Christians wanted to manipulate, or
sabotage the capabilities of another ethnic group (Africans) they felt as
though they were superior to others based on their skin color, way of life and
religion.
As described in the book (UTS, p86)
“Christian Europeans tended to see political and religious, not physical
differences as the key division among mankind”. The idea of race was created
for status mechanism; it was set up by self-gratifying Europeans Christians and
farm owners to separate humans in a hierarchy simply by the color of their skin
during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (The
Creation Of Whiteness) . Africans on the other hand have not really seen
themselves as one united group. Instead the powerful empires fought to gain
power over the next. This denial and division made it easier for Europeans to
easily convince African Kings and elders to sell enslaved Africans. Reflecting
on the lectures and reading in class, will it be fair to conclude that racism
won’t exist if the Europeans and African leaders never traded slaves for
provisions? I beg to differ.
We were born into a world that believes
that race exists, they are structured in a hierarchy and that some races are
far better than the other. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, even though I was not
thought to understand race, I just believed without clarification that being
white meant that you are better off in life. Now I know better, but how about
the millions of people just like me that still isn't educated on this topic?
According to Robert Wald Sussman, “Racism is part of our everyday lives, it’s embedded
in our culture and has been an integral part of our worldview for so long that
many of us assume that it just might be true”. Newsweek Article
on Race (Robert Wald S., p. 2).
Unfortunately, the idea of race has lived on
to my generation and without a doubt would live on to the next generation
because it is now embedded in our culture. In conclusion, its keen to
understand that The idea of Race has affected West Africa in the most
devastating way possible. Today in West Africa, it seems as though we are
continuing the idea of race, an average African sees himself as inferior to a
“white male” based on skin color and what the media shows. They are perceived
to be better off because they assume they are perfect and of no blemish and in
America today we see people being judged based on religion and skin color. As
seen on television, Africa is too often painted negatively. Racism is an ever
revolving door with contributors all over the world.
I
chose this picture because it displays the after effect of the creation of race.
Created
by: Khalil Bendib
Date:
July 4, 2011
Link:
Picture
Work cited
Sussman, Robert W. "Myth of
Human Racism." Introduction. The Myth of Race: The Troubling
Persistence of an Unscientific Idea. page 2.
Scott, William R., and William G.
Shade. "Africans in Eighteenth Century North America." Upon These
Shores: Themes in the African American Experience, 1600 to the Present. New
York: Routledge, 2000. N. page 86.
[Samoa M]. (Dec 5, 2014). The Creation of Whiteness: How race was used to hides class. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Sc_zyXOkqw&feature=youtu.be
No comments:
Post a Comment