African History

African History : United States and Freedom From European Colonialism

Introduction

In many ways , Southern Africa 's unique historical and cultural contexts as well as its recent colonial and post-colonial political and economic activities have coalesced to transform the sub-region from Africa 's most conflict-ridden and troubled area before the 1990s to one of the continent 's most stable and prosperous sub-regions along with North Africa . Attracted by the resources of the subregions as well as more congenial European friendly climatic conditions , Southern Africa was completely colonized by European states before the

beginning of the twentieth century - thus culminating a process that began during the fifteenth century (Leonard , 2004

.1456 . European colonial rule , based on overwhelming military power , established common patterns of control Resistance to authority was harshly suppressed , and equal rights and opportunities were withheld from the African majority (Grenville , 2005 br

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British , Belgian , French and Portuguese colonial government each had its distinctive features and the European nations hoped that these would form the basis of government in independent Africa (Grenville , 2005 br

.738 . The resultant white minority rule , which followed or coupled European colonialism , shaped not only the political and cultural experiences of much of the subregion but also the nature and development of its economies (Leonard , 2004

.1456 . On the other hand , the other primary site for official U .S anxieties about color and subversion during the Cold War , besides the American South , was Africa . The swift retreat of European colonialism from the Middle East and most of Asia after 1945 left Africa as the center of colonial contention (Borstelmann , 2001

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Discussion

By the middle of the twentieth century , European presence and rule had created severely segmented societies in much of Southern Africa in which whites were given special privileges and rights . By contrast , Africans were explicitly denied extensive array of rights - including that of citizenship in extreme cases (Leonard , 2004

.1456 . The national Association for the Advancement of Colored People 's (NAACP ) three official consultants , along with Walter White and Mary McLeod Bethune monitors the colonial administrations in to ensure that colonial subjects received democratic rights and to compel metropolitan powers to prepare their colonies for national independence expeditiously (Douglas et al , 2006

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African American efforts to influence U .S foreign relations go back to the 19th century . During the first decades of the twentieth century , a number of black American political activists developed a particular interest in European colonialism in Asia and Africa African Americans worldview was profoundly shaped by their experience at home with segregation and decriminalization , and they emphatized deeply with colonized Africans and other peoples of color . African American opinion leaders , such as Du Bois and Logan saw the plight of blacks in the United States as being connected to that of colonized peoples of color around the world . Du bois had popularized the concept that the Talented Tenth of African Americans was elite with a special duty to serve the interests of less...