Similarities Between Shadows Of Your Black Memory And Between Tides

As the ships of European countries sailed into the coasts of Sub-Saharan Africa the inhabitants did not know that within a few hundred years their ways of living would be changed forever due to imperialism and the combining of cultures. For a period of time Europe believed Africa was backward in a sense of the way the country was being ran could never be successful. “Evidence from Social Darwinism proved that only the most able would survive so they believed using the ideas of “white superiority” and “civilizing missions” would only further develop Africa” (Falola). “Civilizing missions was the idea that the superior race had the right to

The story that surrounds the transatlantic slave trade is notoriously known, by both young and old, across the nation. This story has not only survived, but thrived as “truth” through generations for several centuries; Although, it is much closer to a mystical tale than reality. In Reversing Sail, Michael Gomez lays the myths affiliated with African Diaspora to rest. Gomez shows the path of the amalgamation of the African people along with their resources into Europe. A path that leads to the New World, that would potentially become the Americas, would ultimately result in more than just the exploitation of Africans as slaves. Compacted into an eight-chapter undergrad textbook, Gomez uses Reversing Sail to unground the history, complexity, and instrumentality of the African Diaspora. He does such in a

For many Africans, dreaming is a way of life. In Fatou Diome’s novel “The Belly of the Atlantic” she delivers a clear message that things aren’t always what you expect them to be, proving that people's dreams could easily turn into their nightmares. ‘Diome points out the flaws in both France and Senegal, but her main concern is with the people of her home-country, both their false expectations regarding France and Europe as lands of easy opportunity as well as their domestic failures’. This novel is persuasive and successful at bringing awareness to its readers because of the real life examples regarding racism, discrimination, and immigration. This piece will discuss the efforts of African immigrants as well as the similarities and differences between Fatou Diome’s “The Belly of the Atlantic” and Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” characters.

Amidst the thriving chaos of the Industrial Revolution and subsequent to the politically volatile French Revolution, Europe in the 1800s was an ever-changing realm of new systems, machines, methods of transportation, ideas, and leaders. Those leaders faced a plethora of challenges both internally and externally, as both their subjects and other countries were angry with them for various reasons. One of the problems these rulers faced was the matter of imperial power on other continents. So, the more relevant European leaders met at the Berlin Conference to decide what each country was allowed to colonize. In doing so, the rulers they legalized the Scramble for Africa, therefore allowing colonization

European’s have had a dismissive attitude towards African’s accomplishments and activities. They 1) generally refused to allow the study of any knowledge that they do not control (Asante). 2) A number of white scholars tend to be limited in their interest to subjects that are valuable to the European project of self-glorification and triumphalism (Asante). Finally, to view Africa as a subject in history or as the starting place for an examination of anything is anathema to those who have always ignored the role of Africa (Asante). The Afrocentric school of thought has fought to combat these boundaries by giving the permission to investigate all aspects of Africa’s presence and involvement in the world.

Africa, being the second largest continent on earth, has always enticed foreigners to exploit their land and way of life. The biggest offender of trying to diminish their way of life is the western presence, always attempting to alter their normality into their own because they see it as the best way to live, which is not always the case. Throughout history, Africa has been under the impression of the white man and their customs, which can be demonstrated in the novels The Posionwood Bible, by Barbra Kingsolver, and The Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad. Both Conrad and Kingsolver display the futile efforts of the western presence to “civilize” Africans with their numerous points of view, clever symbolism, and conveying diction.

During the Berlin Conference, the nations of Europe divided up Africa as though no on lived on the continent and the land was free to take. Also, Europeans lived at the expense of the Africans, who received little or no pay for the labor they have to put up with. The Africans were tormented in so many ways and their deprived souls.

Thesis: Throughout “Heritage” by Countee Cullen, the narrator demonstrates the conflict of being detached from his African culture and identifying as part of American culture, which he ultimately is unable to resolve.

outlines the return to Africa as a natural and rational reaction to the oppression African

For 300 years, roughly 1500 and 1800, European nations had an unquestionable presence on the west coast of Africa with the main focus on trade, specifically for slaves, gold, and ivory. However, their explorations were limited. This quickly changed as the 1800's came into full swing. European explorers quickly took advantage of the situation, and made their way into the interiors of western and central Africa. By the 1880's Europeans were in a struggle with neighboring countries for control of the continent. This problem was deemed one that needed a solution, and one quickly arose. The solution came in the form of the Berlin Conference. The Berlin Conference was a conference held in Berlin to divide up Africa in a peaceful manner, in order

The years following the Berlin Conference were marked by the Europeans’ race to occupy and colonize land in Africa. A time of growth for Europe resulted in a decline in Africa’s ability to rule their own land. Africa’s fate was being decided for it by the European invaders. However, many Africans refused to give in to the fate being handed to them by the Europeans. Various actions and reactions marked the Scramble for Africa from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Africans chose to deal with the Europeans in many different fashions, from giving in peacefully to fighting back with everything they had.

The prioritization of the three Cs (Christianity, Commerce and Civilization) reveal about the people who engaged in the early repatriation movement of African descendants from the Americas that they were looking for the “Black Nationality” by establishing an American colony in Africa. DuBois’ notion of double consciousness shed light on their dilemma in relation to Africa and Africans. The notion presents how the African Americans are perceived by the white Americans in the American society where the majority are whites. The difficulties experienced by returnees from the West regarding reintegration into African societies were the different culture between America and Africa. The different culture caused a clash of civilizations that made

It is this dignity that many African people's all but lost in the colonial period...The writer's duty is to help them regain it by showing them in human terms what happened to them, what they lost." (Achebe/Killam Eds. Pg. 159.)

In Cry, the beloved country, Alan Paton tells the story of his journey across Africa, his experiences with the colonized Africa, and the destruction of the beautiful, pre-colonialism native land of Africa. Heart of Darkness also tells the story of a man and his experiences with colonialism, but a man who comes from a different time period and a very different background than Alan Paton’s Stephen Kumalo. Although, both Joseph Conrad and Alan Paton portray the colonized areas as very negative, death filled, and sinful places, it is when one analyzes the descriptions of the native lands of Africa that the authors reasons for their disapproval of colonialism are truly revealed. When comparing the writing styles of Alan Paton and Joseph Conrad,

Africa is home to countless cultures that all have their own unique ideas and customs. During the past couple of centuries, these cultures were threatened to the point where they almost ceased to exist. The Berlin Conference was a very important occurrence in Africa and Europe's history. It legitimized what the European powers, mainly France and Britain, had been doing for the past hundred years, without the approval of any African country. During the late nineteenth century, France and Britain began imperialistic ventures into Africa, which eventually led Leopold II to conquer the Congo. It was Leopold's II presence in Africa that to led the Berlin Conference.