The Rape of Africa
The reading provides an extensive background of the historical rise and fall of the African nations. Before the emergence of slavery, Africa was just as developed as Europe, which is evident from the involvement of many black people in European politics (Dubois, 1946). This reading demonstrates the remarkable development of the African region, which many people today find impossible due to slavery.
The Dawn of Freedom
The reading gives a detailed account of the Civil War and the color line within its context. Dubois (2020) argues that although slavery was a significant part of the war, it was widely unacknowledged. What I find interesting in this text is how the separation of people by their race was such a controversial issue that even in a directly related conflict, people denied its importance.
Introduction: Re-Grounding the Intellectual-Activist Model of Walter Rodney
The introduction to Rodney’s Groundings is a detailed explanation of why the book is written and in what context it should be studied. The most remarkable detail about this introduction is the modern examples of racism: a denial to host black visitors in the Hilton hotel and dominance of white participants in beauty contests (Davies, 2019). The evidence of de-facto segregation provides a stable ground for many arguments that the author presents in the book, proving that the color line still exists.
Hate Makes a Comeback
The article argues that newly created hate groups create racial tension by their violent attacks on the immigrant population. The reading proves that although the historically capitalistic need for discrimination of people of color has ceased, cultural and ideological segregation still prevails (Avila et al, 2009). As evident from the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, the color line is still deeply rooted in American society.
Georgia Restaurants Report Labor Shortages After Passage of Anti-Illegal Immigration Law
The article voices many concerns of Georgia’s businesses in regards to the new anti-migration law. According to Redmon (2011), the recent policy resulted in many restaurants and farms facing shortages of workers. This example demonstrates the importance of widely oppressed immigrants for American businesses. It also shows that similar to the enslavement of blacks, people of color are still needed by the modern capitalist world system to sustain the economies.
References
Avila, J., Tribolet, E., & Francescni, C. (2009) Hate makes a comeback: Groups like the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis target Mexican immigrants. ABC News.
Davies, C. B. (2019). Introduction: Re-grounding the intellectual-activist model of Walter Rodney. In W. Rodney (Ed.), Groundings with my brothers (pp. 2-6). Verso Books.
Dubois, W. E. B. (1946). The world and Africa. International.
Dubois, W. E. B. (2020). The dawn of freedom. In J. Benjamin (Ed.), Race and ethnicity: difference and decolonization (pp. 55-65). Kendall Hunt Publishing.
Redmon, J. (2011). Georgia restaurants report labor shortages after passage of anti-illegal immigration law. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Web.