Customer Reviews

UnAfrican Americans: Nineteenth-Century Black Nationalists and the Civilizing Mission

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To Mr. Adeleke black nationalists in the nineteenth century were the mirror image of colonialist racist whites. I would agree with him here to some extent, in that they were certainly not perfect. But what is mind boggling is his portrail of W.E.B DuBois as THE model Black Naionalist. This is view of someone who obviosly knows nothing about DuBois and his collaberation with American imperialists, such as Firestone Company. Nor does he seem to be aware of DuBois integrationist stance with the NAACP, or his insistance that blacks in the West do not want to migrate to Liberia because the climate is "too hot"(which is equally damaging as saying that Africa is a "Dark Contintent"). But even more mind boggling is Adeleke's view that unlike other white imperialists, American intervention "saved" liberia! I would also like to point out too that he is equally ignorant of the Afrocentic discourse and its interpretation of black culture. Mr. Adeleke thesis is obviously weak. The "genuine" Pan-Africanists he presents in his book were equally "Eurocentric" in their outlook, i.e. they were Marxtists and can be seen as agents of Soviet imperialism. When Adeleke claims that black nationalists in the diaspora "collaberated" with white imperialists in thier colonising efforts in Africa, the sublte message here is that not only are blacks to be blamed for slavery (which some people believe), but European colonialism as well!! Mr. Adeleke confesses in his book that it is a difficult thesis to advance. Therefore let me be the first to say that he has failed miserably.