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Issue of Identity for Black Americans

. Thus, as stated before, a compromise, a combination, is necessary to give blacks the best image of themselves.

In comparing blacks and whites, one may notice that heritage, or lack of it, contributes to the white sense of superiority over blacks. Europeans are given credit for much of the world's success. In school American students are exposed to the great European contributions such as the philosophies of ancient Greece and Rome, the religious devotion of Catholic monks, and the art of the Renaissance (Buckler, 1987). This provides pride for all of those nationalities represented, but what of the black students? Oftentimes, blacks are only represented as savages or slaves. Thus, when compared to whites, how can blacks stand up? If their ancestors made no contributions, then perhaps they should not be expected to, either.

In the words of Ivan Van Sertima, author of Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern,

In the new vision of the ancestor, African-Americans need to turn their eyes away from the periphery of the primitive to the more dynamic sources of genius in the heartland of the African world (Van Sertima dedication).

As Van Sertima asserts, African-Americans must disregard the old images of Africans (i.e., cannibals and savages) and recognize that their ancestors were intelligent and powerful. This idea is the basis for identifying with Africa and realizing their African heritage. Van Sertima presents various examples of the discoveries made by ancient Africans. These include long-distance communication centuries before the existence of telegraphic morse code or the radio. Through the use of "drum-scripts so ingenious they came close to a rhythmic mimicking of the human voice," ancient Africans were able to instantly send messages several miles (Van Sertima 7). In another example, Van Sertima asserts that a team of American scientists testify that,

This evidence attests to the complexity of prehi...

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Issue of Identity for Black Americans. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:17, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1680493.html