But Africans sold black people into slavery! Werent *they* racist, too? The short answer is no. Heres why. Before American slavery, there existed no concept of black and white people--humanity divided itself in many ways, according to lines of class, religion, ancestry, but global division along color lines simply did not exist until American slavery. We invented that. That means, during the slave trade, the folks in Africa had zero concept of themselves as a monolithic community of black people. Africa is huge and very diverse. Think of slave-trade era Africa as less like a large community of black folks together and more like the many divided lands of Westeros in Game of Thrones. Although an outsider might look at the continent and see sameness, Africans regarded themselves as divided upon many community and kingdom lines. Remember, the was no concept of black people and white people yet--that formed in America. So when Africans sold other Africans into slavery, they were not selling their black brothers to white men--think of it more as a Lanister selling a Stark to a foreign invader into Westeros. Historical context: very necessary. #nolongerteachingcollege #teachingonFBinstead
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 11:58:42 +0000
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