South Asians, predominantly Indians, have a long history in Kenya and East Africa as a whole. They first migrated to east Africa in the 1890s for the building of the Ugandan railway, and then began to concentrate themselves in trade and professional occupations, such as doctors and bankers, thus meaning they were, and somewhat still are, integral to the socio-economic condition of Kenya. Historically however, race relations between black Kenyans and Asians have been acrimonious. The reasons for this are subject to debate. In general, Kenyans felt that they were marginalised by the domination of trade by Indians, leading to a relationship of envy between the two ethnicities. Furthermore, there was a popular view that the Asians were …show more content…
Instead, Asians were on the whole willing to work much longer hours and operated more efficiently than African traders were ever able to6, meaning that the Asian dominance of trade was unavoidable. Therefore, although a main cause of the hostile race relations was the monopoly over trade that Asians held, this was not a deliberate act to undermine Africans. While the domination of trade created a general feeling of envy towards the South Asians, it was the illicit and corrupt actions of a few that led to the creation of an Asian stereotype, which contributed greatly to the acrimonious race relations throughout the period. When these incidences occurred, stories of them were spread around and embellished through word of mouth, the media, and the African government, which caused a general distrust of Asians amongst the indigenous population. This is illustrated by the scandal concerning the Mahindra and Mahindra company in the 1990s. This involved the selling of defective jeeps to the police force at levels far above the usual market price.7 As this hit the headlines of a number of newspapers8, it spread around the idea that Indians were the exploiters of Africans and should not be
Throughout history in America there has always been the idea of racism. When Americans think of racism, they usually think of slavery and that racism is no longer a problem in America. However, this is not the case. Racism is still very apparent in America. It is true that since the end of slavery, the U.S. has made great strides towards becoming a less racist country. In reality, racism will never be extinct. In today’s society, all American citizens of all races have the same rights as one another, yet there is still racism. Racism can be linked directly to stereotypical mindsets of certain groups of people. It is human nature to make conclusions about other people, this is what leads to racism. Today’s racism is not limited to whites
The overarching theme of critical race theory is centered on race and racism, however in higher education, critical race scholars recognize that racial identity and this form of oppression (racism) intersects with other subordinated identities (such as gender, class, religion, ability/disability, sexual orientation, etc.) and forms of oppression (sexism, homophobia, ableism, etc.) to influence People of Color’s lived experiences (Bartlett & Brayboy, 2005; Brayboy 2005; Kumasi, 2011; Lynn & Adams, 2002; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001). This means that in higher education, critical race theory challenges the dominate discourse on race and racism as it relates to educational theory, policy and practice (Solórzano, 1998).
Upon entering the class I was anxious, curious, and also oblivious to the ideas I would be encountering. Like other students who had not previously spent time discussing topics of race and ethnicity, I myself had nervous tendencies in assuming that such a class may not strengthen my understanding of ethnic and race relations. I realized I knew little about race or ethnicity, and even the possible similarities or differences. However, I welcomed the opportunity to further discover the possibilities of the class. My understanding of race was concentrated in a definition that could be understood as different skin colors. My limited conception of ethnicity applied to people’s origin or where they lived. It seemed as though my lack of
Anthropologists have always had their discrepancies with the word culture and its background significance. There have been numerous definitions that have filtered through the field, yet not one that everyone can accept or agree with. Franz Boas, an anthropologist in the early 20th Century, and his students, had a difficult time figuring out the objective of what culture is. Culture is about learning and shared ideas about behaviour. Although Boas and his students had a slightly different idea in mind. They ultimately reached a conclusion, a definition of culture in their view that is a contradiction in terms. Boas sates that, “ culture was expressed through the medium of language but was not reducible to it;
Race is a social-constructed terminology where it categorizes people into groups that share certain distinctive physical characteristics such as skin color. However, race and racial identity is unstable, unfixed and constantly shifting, as race, typically, is a signifier of prevalent social conflict and interest. Although, many, particularly anthropologists and sociologists, argue in the aforementioned point of view, some – mainly white population -- believe that racial characteristics are biologically inherited.
When the first Irish immigrants landed on the eastern shores of America in the 18th century, they were met by intolerance from the Native whites who saw them as a threat to the American way of life. The Dangers of Foreign Immigration, an article written by Samuel Morse in 1835, exposits much of the anti-immigrant sentiment prevalent in the 19th century. To the natives, the Irish were simply "niggers turned inside out" (Anonymous Satirism), who came to America as refugees from Ireland to deprive them of their wealth and prosperity. Thus, the immigrants of Erin were forced to join the ranks of the slave, the German, and the free Negro laborer at the very bottom of the American diaspora. But instead of accepting the hand which they were
European Imperialism in Africa had one real driving force behind it, racism. After 300 years of Europeans cashing in on Africa’s coasts, the explorers finally ventured inward, wreaking havoc on the continent’s environment and inhabitants, not giving a second thought to the people whose lives they ruined. This is made clear though the British’s new industry they built their and the economy formed atop it poorly affected the people they took advantage of and the moral obligations they had but did not follow.
Question one is what is the African diaspora? (Who should be considered in the African diaspora? How is this like the black Atlantic and how is it different?). Students should use the Colin Palmer piece to answer this question.
My names are Shadrack Maritim. I am a Kenyan born but currently USA military member. I graduated from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with BS in Biology Pre-Med in 2011. I have been an active duty army since then due reasons too much to be narrated in this forum. I am a family man as of now with two beautiful kids, boy and girl and a lovely wife. I am taking this class for the reason that it is a requirement towards my major and the fact that it is a very important skill to master towards my career. I have a tone of hobbies but, three are the most interesting to me; sports, travelling and most of them all, watching theoretical physics documentary. I glad to be a member of this class and looking forward to an educative session. Good
In simple terms, the Diaspora as a concept, describes groups of people who currently live or reside outside the original homelands. We will approach the Diaspora from the lenses of migration; that the migration of people through out of the African continent has different points of origin, different patterns and results in different identity formations. Yet, all of these patterns of dispersion and germination/ assimilation represent formations of the Diaspora. My paper will focus on the complexities of the question of whether or not Africans in the Diaspora should return to Africa. This will be focused through the lenses of the different phases in the Diaspora.
Omi and Winant’s discussion from “Racial Formations” are generally about race being a social construct and is also demonstrated in the viewing of Race - The power of an illusion. Omi and Winant have both agreed that race is socially constructed in society. Ultimately this means that race is seen differently in different societies and different cultures. Media, politics, school, economy and family helps alter society’s structure of race. In the viewing , also media as well as history seemed to create race by showing how social norms have evolved in different racial groups.
I took the time today to read the article titled “What is Race” by Victor M. Fernandez, RN, BSN and found myself agreeably intrigued and in admiration of his thoughts regarding race. Victor touched on an extremely insightful and significant topic; one that most people have sturdy opinions about. Race – what is it? What does this mean to you? What does it mean to our upcoming careers in the nursing field? I trust that how we characterize and assess our awareness of race is due exclusively to how we were raised. I do not mean merely what we were taught from our family or culture about race, but to a certain extent how we have lived it, and how it has lived around us. “Race is a modern idea. Ancient societies, like the Greeks, did not divide
Ladies my mistrust of Kenyan men stems from those I have interacted with. So blame them, not me. It is like; you are not a true Kenyan man if you have not passed the true test since time immemorial- lying to a woman.
1, To say that race and gender are socially constructs means that while both race and gender help shape the world in which we live, society can alter their meaning and significance. They have power because we give them power. Race is a social construct because, by definition, society can and does arbitrarily define it. For example, when American society forbidden interracial marriage (Conley 331), and determined an individual's race using the “one drop rule,” where someone is considered black if even their most distant ancestor was black. This is an example of how race can be imposed upon someone without his or her own individual endorsement. Race is not even biologically sound. Wayne Joseph was a man who was born and raised black, yet from
One example of ethnic cleavage which can be traced directly to colonial foundations is that of the African/Asian(Indian) divide in Kenya and Uganda. Paul Vandenberg explains the racial privileges which the Asians enjoyed under British rule, leading to their concentration as a relatively successful ethnic group. As migrants flowed within the British empire, Asians who arrived in Kenya were given greater access to social, educational and capitalist opportunities by the colonials, as a result of higher 'racial' status(also Bennell 1982, p131). This expanding community naturally reinforced itself, in part due to the issues of trust and networking, in the absence of openly available commercial institutions(Vandenberg 2003, p450).