Questions
Academic year
Discuss the efforts and challenges made by people of African descent to reconnect with Africa since the start of the 19th century
The emancipation of Africans in 1865 was a great historical period for African Americans in the United States. The African Americans contemplated on what to do with their newly acquired freedom and started reconstructing their lives. Certain black intellectuals at the time such as Rev. Blyden suggested that they leave America since white Americans were still hostile towards African Americans, and violence against them was common. Others like Martin Delany, who was an African American graduate of Harvard, stressed that Africans still needed the American industry. In the 19th century, many African Americans boarded ships back to Africa, even though they had to settle in different parts of Africa from their original land. Many more remained in America due to financial constraints.
Many African Americans believe that the slave trade took from them their African culture and identities. During the slave trade, Africans from various parts of Africa got mixed, and as a result, their culture got mixed, and their individual cultures became lost to them. Many attempts have been made to re-establish the connection between African-Americans and their African culture. African Americans made efforts to find pride in their existence in America. This plan encountered problems since they had no recollection of their ancestral land in Africa, and their conditions in the United States are also not looking up for most African Americans. Racial discrimination has continued to dominate in the United States. Still, this has not deterred them from their goal.
One attempt by Africans Americans to reconnect with Africa was headed by one of the most remarkable African American leaders in the 19th century. Du Bois became the leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People/ NAACP. The group focused on blackness and changing the perception of African Americans, so that they could perceive Africa as a source of history and pride. The conditions that the African Americans were subjected to was proof that the message of the group was far from the truth. Blacks had no freedom of expression, and white Americans still looked down upon African Americans.
Another source of motivation for African Americans to return to their source of origin in Africa rose from the ideology that Africa was the source of all life, which gained popularity in the nineteenth century. Marcus Garvey bought a ship which he used to ship African Americans back to Africa. The Republic of Liberia was formed by Africans who had repatriated from America. Marcus achieved this through parades and crusades which featured African Americans dressed in ceremonial clothing. He demonstrated to his fellow African Americans what Africa could mean to them emotionally and visually. His dream and that of many other African-Americans who believed in repatriation was brought to a halt by his mismanagement of funds. Travelling back to Africa was not a cheap endeavor. Without funding, some willing African Americans were forced to remain in the United States. Generation after generation, the hope of getting reunited with their ancestral land has continued to diminish for most African Americans.
Explain the origins and spread of Islam within the Atlantic African Diaspora
Both the Islamic religion and Christianity reached Africa through missionaries. The Islamic religion continued to gain popularity in West Africa, while Christianity became dominant in other parts of Africa. The Atlantic trade is responsible for the origin of Islam in the African Atlantic Diaspora and the involvement of African Muslims with the slave trade. The Portuguese crossed paths with the African Muslims trying to gain access to the gold which was of high value to the Europeans. The confrontation of the Islamic religion and Christianity led to the growth of the Atlantic trade.
The origin of Islam in the African Atlantic Diaspora is believed to have originated in Mali. During the era of slave trade, the Europeans were interested in a region known as Senegambia. Certain regions of the region had gold which interested the Europeans. The Islamic religion was dominant in the region. The Muslims were enslaved by the Europeans and forced to work in their sugarcane plantations. These colonists were Christians, which resulted to a rivalry between the two religions. As a way to defend themselves from their Christians colonizers, militant Islam first developed in Senegambia in the 17th century. The demand for cheap labor in America was on the rise, and soon African Muslims were being imported into America.
The spread of the Islam religion to the Atlantic African Diaspora soon followed. Islam was dominant in western Africa, and 50 percent of slaves who were transported to North America were Muslims. The Spanish military outpost comprised of a large number of African Muslims. France also imported African Muslims from West Africa. The African Muslims from the tribe of Mandingo were preferred by many planters in North America. This increased the number of African Muslims who were imported into North America. Most runaway were African Muslims. This raised the rank of African Muslims among their fellow slaves. African Muslims, who were mostly men, always stood out among their fellow slaves. Other slaves who were not Muslims often got assimilated into Christianity and lost touch with the African Traditional Religion. A few African Muslims also converted into Christianity, but most of them chose to remain faithful to their traditions.
African Muslims brought more focus on themselves due to their tremendous efforts to hold on to their religion. African Muslims had a regularized daily prayer and passed on Muslim names to their children born in slavery. Recitation of Quran and the use of mats and their prayer beads was also common. Evidence also proves that prominent African Americans are likely to have been African Muslims. A good example is Frederick Douglass whose family name Bailey is believed to be a variant of the Muslim name Bilal. Religious brotherhoods were common among slaves in slavery. These groups were common in Islamic lands as well as in the Islamic diaspora community. The Jihad movement was common during slave trade and spread fast across African slaves. African Muslims were responsible for a lot of trouble which North America was forced to endure. They never stopped holding on to their identity, and always took the opportunity to escape whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Explain if and why you support or do not support reparations to African Americans for the crime of the enslavement of their ancestors
Reparation is an idea that has been exchanged back and forth by policy makers over the years. Following the end of slave trade in 1865, African American slaves were granted freedom in America. The condition of African Americans is, however, far from getting better. African Americans are forced to endure a poor social economic status, and racism is still prevalent in America. Reparation hopes to compensate African Americans for the damages incurred to them during the slave trade. The first push for a reparation was in South Carolina where General Sherman ordered each former slavery family to be given a mule and a 40-acre piece of land. This order was never carried out. A reparation was a more realistic then than it is now.
There are many reasons why a reparation is not practical. Slave trade ended over 160 years ago and there are no black slaves still in existence. Slave trade ended after the civil war which saw both American and African lives lost in the war. The taxpayers who are expected to pay for reparation should the bill go through, are immigrants from many parts of the world who are not responsible for the slave trade. The social systems in the society have continued to hinder their progress. The cost of a reparation program would be too expensive for the country, and it will not solve the problems facing African Americans indefinitely.
Bibliography
Books
Lovejoy, Paul E. Transformations in Slavery. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Manning, Patrick. The African Diaspora. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.
Par, Granstedt. African Challenges and Europe’s Responsibility, 2015.
Articles
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Costly, Andrew. "Reparations for Slavery Reading - Constitutional Rights Foundation". Crf- Usa.Org. Last modified 2016. Accessed August 2, 2016. http://www.crf-usa.org/brown- v-board-50th-anniversary/reparations-for-slavery-reading.html.
Harris, Trudier. "The Image of Africa in the Literature of the Harlem Renaissance, Freedom's Story, Teacherserve®, National Humanities Center". Nationalhumanitiescenter.Org. Last modified 2010. Accessed August 2, 2016. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1917beyond/essays/harlem.htm.
Julia, Craven. "We Absolutely Could Give Reparations To Black People. Here's How.". The Huffington Post. Last modified 2016. Accessed August 2, 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/reparations-black-americans- slavery_us_56c4dfa9e4b08ffac1276bd7.
Kristin Mann, "Shifting Paradigms in The Study of the African Diaspora and of Atlantic History and Culture.", last modified 2001, accessed August 2, 2016, http://Shifting Paradigms in the Study of the African Diaspora and of Atlantic History and Culture.
Mathieu, Sarah-Jane. "Struggles, Strategies, And Successes In Global Perspective". Exhibitions.Nypl.Org. Last modified 2011. Accessed August 2, 2016. http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-internationalism.html.
Young, Jason. "African Religions in the Early South". Journal of Southern Religion 14 (2012). Accessed August 2, 2016. http://jsr.fsu.edu/issues/vol14/young.html.
