The Atlantic Slave Trade and Identity Crisis in Africa: An Evaluation

Iteshi Charles Kelechi & Prof. Ifechukwu Ndianefoo

Abstract


A common tendency among a majority of Africans is the wish to be like the Whites. This wish is expressed, sometimes unconsciously, in the way some Africans talk, dress, and eat. Some even go as far as doing bizarre things like changing their skin and hair colour. All these result from the chronic identity crisis that has perplexed Africa following the era of slave trade and colonialism. What is the cause of this self-denigrating behavior among some Africans? Are the slave trade and colonialism in Africa the only cause? Or, is there something more to this? The method of philosophical analysis is used in interrogating this problem. The article finds out that although the image of the African was denigrated in the era of slave trading and colonialism; that is not sufficient reason for the continuing crisis of identity evident among a majority of Africans. It argues that endemic poverty and underdevelopment brought about by bad leadership are critical factors fueling the crisis of identity in Africa. Mental de-alienation per Kwame Nkrumahs philosophical Consciencism is recommended in this paper as a means of tackling the crisis of identity in Africa. The article concludes that until good governance is restored and Africa's level of development becomes enviable, Africa's identity crisis, the consequent wholesale imitation of White man's ways of will remain unmitigated.

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