Dehumanization As A Tool For Colonization Essay

During the Transatlantic Slave Trade, whites established slavery for power and wealth (Aworawo 2001). Through their establishment, whites dehumanized people of color and made them believe that Black people are inferior to Caucasians. Amid the Slave Trade, their belief system spread from Europe to Africa and then to the Americas. In modern times, in the United States, this belief system continues to be prevalent but has evolved into new forms of racial oppression. Today, in society, the idea is represented in several ways, including through micro-aggressive statements, whites stealing intellectual property from Black people, gentrification, police brutality, etc. Minorities have also fallen prey to this repressive mentality. Because of the aftermath and repercussions of slavery, some minorities prefer to be white, and others mistreat their people because they want them to be in worse positions than themselves. The aftermath of slavery has caused both invisible and visible divisions within our society that will take many more years to

During the period of Colonialism, the English settlers arrived in America from Europe looking for religious freedom, land and the opportunity for wealth. While the Spanish Settlers arrived at Hispaniola unexpectedly, like the English; however, the Spanish did not leave Europe because of religion persecution; rather, they wanted to expand their religious belief to the New Word. While in both the English and the Spanish colonization, the Indigenous people were oppressed and enslaved but the English took a different approach. Thereby, although both the English and the European colonized in order to obtain gold and silver to help their countries wealth, the Spanish explorers took a more forceful method of gaining land.

The Kenyan feminist and environmental activist, Wangari Maathai, explores the legacy of colonialism and oppression in her native country through her moving 2006 memoir, Unbowed. Maathai explains that over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Africa experienced a massive influx of white settlers. In an effort to solidify control over recently acquired colonies, many European powers had encouraged large numbers of their ethnically white citizens to make a new home on the African continent. As a result, thousands of native Africans were displaced. Maathai’s ancestors, the Kikuyu and Maasai peoples were among them. The majority of these forced dislocations took

The Condemnation of Blackness by Kahlil Gibran Muhammad outlines the struggles and tribulations that African Americans had to face after the American Civil War. The book gives specific accounts as to why African Americans were deemed “The New Problem” and how that changed, highlighting discrimination of African Americans as the real problem. Muhammad also focuses of on the work done by social scientist, criminologist, libertarians, activist of both black and white races and how their work affected the African American people and their place in society as a whole. Muhammad also explains how the labeling of blacks as criminals has had an influence on our society today.

Why do we hate? Why do we lie? Why do we forget? Three questions provide a strong explanation of how African Americans were treated, whether it was the use of verbal or physical abuse. These questions also describes how African Americans were implied into education. Authors wrote many issues regarding the ignorance and abolishment of slavery in more of a “Whites” perspective to teach the American society what they want to hear and not what actually happened. And further more, forgotten sources. Some want to forget was has happened over the course of our time, some want to hide the truth of how this has affected society and the race around us. Three documents were discussed with hidden facts and deep recognition of what is the truth behind

The arrival of African slaves, sold in the plantations of colonial America, definitely triggered a superior-inferior relationship and mentality between “the whites” and “the blacks”. This present-day culture, resulting from a society of masters and slaves, has struggled against central concepts deeply rooted in the nations past .With strong cultural values on racial discrimination, the path towards the concept of racism in America was a vital moment in the course of the nation’s history. Social concepts and attitudes could not be altered overnight, but it can be altered. Indeed, in the quest for social progress, the struggle for equality has gone a long way, with black Americans now holding high-ranking

Today racial inequality is ongoing whether you are aware of it or not. We have come a long way from segregated seats to public transportation. The issue of race and race relations has really scarred the history of this nation and has been a constant reminder of the horrors people endured as a result of race relations in this country. The ideas from both of the readings explain how black Americans faced hatred and violence because they were viewed as less then. The writings also include how each leader is trying to change the world’s view of

Discrimination has afflicted the American society since its inception in 1776. The inferiority of the African American race – a notion embedded within the mindset of the white populace has difficult to eradicate – despite the efforts of civil rights activists and lawmakers alike. Many individuals are of the opinion that discrimination and racism no longer exist and that these issues have long since been resolved during the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. However such is not the case. Discrimination is a complex issue – one that encompasses many aspects of society. The impact of discrimination of the African American race is addressed from two diverse perspectives in the essays: “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King .

The methods of dehumanization has been making its way into lives since colonial times. When slavery entered the United State 's, dehumanization occurred everyday. A slave master would think of their workers as subhuman, even as animals. This brought psychological as well as physical trauma into their lives according to Nell Painter with Oxford University press. Some of this physical trauma included beating as well as other punishments given by slave owners. This further dehumanizes the slaves in an animalistic way; making them feel subhuman. They were also traumatized by the heavy loads they were forced to carry seen as young children, studied by skeletons found in an African burial ground in lower Manhattan. The lack of clothing, shoes, and food contributed to the death rate of fifty percent of slaves dying before the age of twelve. Psychological trauma included PTSD and emotional trauma due to the beatings and rapes (Painter). The slave owners would strip whites of their identity and traditions, humiliating where they came from and trying to conform the slaves to European traditions (Amedekah). The dehumanization of slaves has led to centuries of humiliation and hatred toward African Americans and still affects certain situations in today’s society.

For centuries, the English and European colonizers wanted a piece of the new world. Many of these colonists were very curious of what was at this new world and wanted to create opportunities for themselves by extracting resources through the labor of the indigenous people and imported slaves.

Despite changes in the landscape for treatment of ethnic minorities in the United States over the past 200 years, issues with racism has never stopped being an issue and continues to tarnish and tatter the very fabric of our nation. There has been a history of violence against Black people that dates back 400 years, to a time when the first slave was forcefully brought here to the USA (Rogers, 2015). From that time on, people of African descent have been dehumanized and treated as second-class citizens and this has become an ongoing community issue (Diversi, 2016). Racial classification was created as a way to condone slavery and maintain the primacy of the white race (Tolliver, Hadden, Snowden, & Manning, 2016). Aymer (2016) explains that the Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides a way to understand that the violence that Blacks face in America originates from the societal belief in White superiority and, when trying to understand the Black reality, centuries of racial oppression must be discussed (Aymer, 2016). CRT acknowledges that racism is primarily a problem in America and has contributed to the social disparities in the U.S. In addition, it notes other forms of oppression that are important to discuss and work through. CRT does not believe in the legal rhetoric that there is an impartial, equal way of dealing with individuals in the community that has nothing to do with color and everything to do with achievement and hard work. It also takes on an interdisciplinary

Many cultures have had “dark” pasts and histories. Some have had terrible wars, while others have had mass killings. Other cultures have had problems with discrimination towards diverse or dissimilar cultures and races. There are many reasons for this discrimination, but in the majority of cases, the most common reason is simply because of a difference between them. These differences can vary from physical appearances to cultural, traditional, or religious beliefs. Differences can lead to a culture’s social status of privilege for one race or group over another. One culture, or country, where this was apparent, was in the United States, specifically in the South. Slavery can be seen as one of the United State’s negative times in history.

What is dehumanization? Dehumanization is the psychological process of demonizing the enemy, making them seem less than human and hence not worthy of humane treatment. This can lead to increased violence, human rights violations, war crimes, and genocide. How does this happen? Ever been  called selfish?

Although slavery and segregation laws are obsolete, racial inequality remains visible within our society. Throughout the course readings, one thing is for sure: the slave trade is the primary cause of racial inequality from 1500 to the present. Those sold into slavery become the property and a product of violence. Moreover, throughout the 15th to mid-18th centuries, slavery caused people to despise those who looked different from them, based on skin color. Slavery has caused numerous gaps among the privileged white community and minorities who have a history of slavery. This created a divided society based on skin color, with effects that continue to be a small part of our contemporary world.

     In one of his most famous poems, Rudyard Kipling said, "Take up the white man's burden!" (146). He was only one of many who believed in the virtues of imperialism in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. During that period, imperialism was on the rise, and Africa was being swallowed up by competing European nations. The imperialists had many arguments supporting imperialism. They said it was beneficial and, in some cases, essential. Their arguments did not satisfy everyone, but that did not bother them. The justifications ranged from economics to social services, while touching on everything else in between (Hayes 222-3).