Africa and Black Americans

Uprami Patel
Feb 3, 2016
3 min read

The chapter explains how African Americans’ thinking about Africa has evolved over the period of 400 years. The ideas of their ancestry and origins vary from person to person, as their perception of themselves, their identity and Africa have changed. Back then Africa was portrayed as a “dark continent full of ugly people who offered nothing positive to the history”. In the seventeenth century, the black people who were enslaved and brought to America had African parents or were born there. By the nineteenth century, most African Americans were born in the states and often distant themselves from Africa because they thought it was embarrassing to be connected to a place that lacked civilization, power, and wealth. These stereotypes started changing when African Americans started exploring and discussing their own history. They started combining civilizations and this way of thinking was known as “Ethiopianism”. The text describes language as the “potent engine of culture” and that it shapes thoughts. But language barriers now divide descendants whose African Ancestors may have been family. These are the consequences of distance in time and space. In the late nineteenth century, the literacy rate started increasing among the Black people and started constructing their own history. George Washington Williams, an American lawyer, the journalist also a pioneering historian of African-American history. He published two Volumes: History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880 (1882) and a civil war history, History of the Negro Troops in the war of the Rebellion (1887). His work inspired people like Arthur Alfonso Schomburg to launch clubs like the Negro Society for Historical Research and American Negro Academy. This organization included Black scholar-activists like W.E.B Du Bois and Alexander Crummel. In the 1920s blacks started embracing their Blackness and acknowledged Africa as their past. The two movements were huge turning points for African Americans, Marcus Garvey's (Father of Black Nationalism) Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and The New Negro movement or the Harlem Renaissance, an explosion of African art, culture and music.

I learned new terms like African Diaspora refers to communities throughout the world that are

descended from Africa. And how language and Religion are important aspects of culture that differentiate diverse people of African Diaspora. I learned that Ethiopianism is a fusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Cush, Africa and their descendants which had an impressive past which people like Frederick Douglass preferred to link his people to rather than a low-respected black Americans of his time. After reading this chapter, it is very clear that misconceptions of people that said Africa had no history or culture worth learning were proved wrong. In fact, they have a unique style of the art form and engaging music.

I was able to make few connections with the African History. The way the European and American countries looted the wealth from Africa, enslaved them and treated miserably was something I can relate to colonialism in India and the stories of their struggle and freedom.

Memorable Quotations:

“As the potent engine of culture, languages influences thought, psychology, and education” (pg. 5).
A quote from Schomberg’s essay, ‘The Negro Digs Up His Past’ says, “The American Negro must remake his past in order to make his future…. History must restore what slavery took away” (pg. 12).
“Nearly forgotten is as unfree–indentured–laborers. Only the tiniest number of immigrant America ancestors of any race or ethnicity descended from warriors and aristocrats whose exploits appeared in history books” (pg. 16).

I chose the first quote because it shows the importance of language and it is interesting because Africa has 1500-2000 estimated no. of languages. The second quote is inspiring and encouraging African Americans to move forward towards a brighter future. The third one gives facts about everyone’s ancestors being vulnerable and forced to this land, something to keep in mind before showing a finger to a particular race for not having a “true identity”.