Throughout this course I have learned so many new things. Initially, when we started this course, I was very intrigued but at the same time I found lots of things confusing and just overall hard to follow. There are so many things that falls into the underdevelopment of Africa because the process went on for so many years. 2020 is the 400-year mark of African slaves in the United states. By the 1800s we can look back and see the steps that were being taken to start the end of slavery. Although one of the several colonizing countries, infamously known as, Britain abolished slavery in 1807, it wasn’t up until about the 1840s that their gesture of convincing other European powers to give up slavery as well was successful. Something that really hit me was although slavery in certain nations were abolished, some places had this inhumane phenomenon of owning people still going. I mean, once it was globally evident how disturbing and cruel it was to treat people as property, also being that there was the comprehension that you can use machines instead of people, you would think the rest of these cruel nations would abolish slavery shortly after others did, right? WRONG! Slavery in West Africa didn’t stop until the 1930s just because it was still profitable for them. One thing that was intriguing to me was seeing the perception of the colonizers during this time. This was done in the novel “Wretched of the Earth” by Frantz Fannon.
This was my favorite novel that we read this semester. Something that Fannon said that has seemed to really stick with me ever since, was in the opening of the book. Before anything else he makes sure that readers understand that no matter what colonizers might try and deem colonization as; Whether they say they had noble intentions or wanted to help the place they were colonizing, never forget that colonization is always a violent process. Don’t let them off the hook when they are the ones who started the mess. I mean, what actual noble GROUP of people uses human beings as property and equates them to modern day cars that you can use and sell at an auction? Fannon imbedded in me that there’s no other way to go about it other than to use some sort of force. Whether the force is used physically, mentally, spiritually or all three, it was still in a very evidently savage way. Without him saying the words exactly I feel as if he was telling his readers not to let them pull one over on you. It was kind of like he was saying ‘let’s get something straight here…’ it felt so personal. It felt as if he was talking directly to me and wanted me to change my ways of thinking. Overall, I loved the approach he took with it. And honestly, whether or not their intentions were in the right place the phenomenon still doesn’t go unnoticed, there are still generations being affected by it all. There are still communities of people that have an unshakeable stigma attached to them all because of the selfishness of the colonizer, and that’s something they can’t take back.
Lastly, it was very liberating learning that there is still hope and opportunity for Africa and its people in today’s global society. It’s just something that they really have to work for as a unit. I truly believe that if corporate America wasn’t so overtly rooted in the racism against Native Africans and African Americans, this country could help Africa stand back up on their own. But realistically speaking, that’s not going to happen anytime soon. So, until then I will continue to root for my mother land.
Joka Oyefeso 