The Demonization of Black Skin

In “The Hearts of Darkness, How White Writers Created the Racist Image of Africa”, Allimadi highlights that Western media including newspapers, magazines, books, and Hollywood films continue to manufacture a tainted and negative image of Africans in order to justify the history of exploitation and cruel treatment of the people and their continent. 

Africans for years have been seen as “barbaric”, “savages”, and “uncivilized” so that instead of Africans being seen as the victim, the Europeans were seen as justified. This was a tactic used to justify all of the colonization, the capturing into the Middle Passage, years of slavery, and contemporary discrimination, because they wanted to create this picture that Africans needed to be “saved”. 

Europeans continued to push the narrative that not only did Africans have “no history” and that they made, “no contributions to world history, culture, social, artistic, and scientific developments,” but that they were completely inferior to White people in every aspect (Allimadi, 2016, p.13). It was white supremacy masked by the White Man’s Burden as they pushed the narrative that Africans needed Christianity and that God called upon them to bring them that and European governance. 

While the alleged inferiority time and time again has proven to be untrue, the damage from the power of the media has already been done. Europeans not only have demonized Africans morally, intellectually, and spiritually, but also negated the physical aspect of dark, black skin and any non-European physical feature of Africans to fit their image of being a “savage”. 

Europeans were always intrigued by the color of black skin and continuously questioned the causes and meanings and attempted research to figure out the origins. The research was not true research as what was spread were findings that backed up Europeans' own personal bias and opinions; anything to continue with the alleged inferior narrative. While Europeans truly know that the very first people were African and originated in Africa, this is something that has not been highlighted or spread through the media. 

Instead, white physicians, religious leaders, and even politicians all gave their own interpretation of the meaning behind black skin. Sir Thomas Browne in “Pseudodoxia Epidemica” (1646) said that blackness was a mutation and that ultimately, “Black people were originally White people who kept fantasizing about being Black until they were granted,” even in the midst of researching showing that Africans were the first people (Allimadi, p.14). While Dr. Mitchel of Virginia in the “Encyclopedia Britannica,” said that the sun and hot climates are causes of darker skin in Africans, Indians, etc. the editors of this Encyclopedia turned this into the idea blacks are originally white and, “become black and wooly by transplations or vice versa,” (Allimadi, p.15).

Not only were there theories, there were also opinions that pushed the latest trends and ideals of beauty in the eyes of society. In Aphra Behn’s novel, “Oroonoko: or the Royal Slave” (1688) even though she humanizes Africans, she decided what was considered to be the “ideal” physical attributes that are considered “beautiful” and what was not. While describing the hero of her novel she described him as having skin that was, “not that brown rusty black, which most of that nation are, but a perfect ebony, or polished black,” and ideal European facial features of a rising and Roman nose, “instead of African and flat: his mouth the finest shape that could be seen, far from the great turned lips, which are so natural to the rest of the negroes,” (Allimadi, p.15). 

Through literature and through the media to this day the message that has been created is that to be “beautiful”, is to have European features and to be “ugly” is to have African features. This light skin “hero” that Behn created and placed upon a pedestal may have been African, but was only accepted because of the European features they had, unlike the rest of Negro population. In order to continue the narrative that Africans were inferior in every aspect, this also included the physical aspect and the man-made preference of European features over “negroid” features. 

This is why throughout history into the modern era, those who have lighter skin or more resemblance to European features have continued to be favored in the eye of the media. Jablow in “The Africa That Never Was--Four Centuries of British Writing About Africa,” talks about the derogatory writings of Africans in literature as their relationships and opinions of Africans changed overtime. 

In the early 15th century, the British used to trade with Africans for things such as West African commercial staples of ivory pepper and gold, before it eventually turned in the profits of trading enslaved Africans. In general early British traders saw Africans as “strange” and not entirely to their liking, but they were still viewed as real or respected partners. They even originally mentioned how organized the Africans traders were during their period of trading. 

This image changed when European’s feelings changed towards Africans, especially during times of the higher profits from trading enslaved Africans, and it reflected in their literature. Europeans went from matter-of-fact reports to judgmental evaluation of Africans emphasizing their “inferiority” and negative connotations of their behavior and character. There were those who were against slavery, but they still used derogatory and negative stereotypical wording to describe Africans in literature. 

These authors created an imaginary pseudo-Africa in literature and in plays, where there was a difference between a “noble savage” and a “beastly savage”. Jablow states that during this time, “All Africans were Savages, but the African who aided the Explorer was more pertinently a “good” man,” (Jablow, 1992, p. 32). The “beastly savage” was portrayed as being ugly, while the “noble savage”, the Africans that acted “tolerable” towards Europeans, was portrayed with more beauty and light skin. 

It is no surprise that the “noble savage” was depicted as having more negroid features and was the antithesis, while the “noble savage” characters appeared to have lighter skin and European beauty. When there is consistent reminder in the media that those with lighter skin are the “heroes” and that those with darker skin are “beastly” and savage-like, this sadly gets internalized and becomes almost like unwritten law in society in beauty and physical standards all around the globe. 

In our era, Europeans have continued to create this division between lighter skin and darker skin, and it has translated into modern day colorism. The same way that those with lighter skin in the European literature were favored, is the same way that those with lighter skin are more likely to play the role of the favored black woman in films. The same way that those with darker skin were seen as “ugly” and more “beastly” in the eyes of European plays, is the same way that those with darker skin now are more prone to discrimination in the media today. 

It is the same as the lighter skin Tutsi people were seen as more favorable and more noble in the eyes of Europeans than the darker skinned Hutus who were more demonized in times of war. The same way that there is a notion of colorism within the black community itself to this day. History repeats itself, and this is what the Europeans wanted. They created modern day colorism, where darker skin is the disadvantage and that modern day heroes like Santa Claus or Jesus are not pictured with darker skin as they should. 

Europeans have had this goal of shaping global perception of Africans, and what it means to be “ugly,” or “beautiful,”and this must not be permitted.

While the lighter skinned slave may have been in a more “favorable” house position as compared to the darker skin slave who worked in the fields; in the end both were still dehumanized and treated disgustingly. While they may have made this colorism division, they will still see us collectively as the “inferior Negro”. They can create a color pedestal, but in the end they still do not ‘invite’ us to be on the top. These negative stereotypes that we are constantly surrounded by can be easily internalized and may even result in self-hatred, but we must not give in. 

Knowledge of African history would demystify the negative perception that was created by Europeans and increase pride in the heritage. 

Walter Rodney once stated, “We need to be confident in ourselves, so that as blacks we can be conscious, united and 5 independent and creative. Knowledge in our achievements can help us gain the necessary confidence which has been removed by slavery and colonialism,” (Rodney, 1968, p. 36). 

While Europeans and the white man have attempted to strip the culture of Africa through slave trade and colonization, culture is something that can not be dead as long as we keep it alive. We need to not only continue to assert our humanity as blacks, but we must also continue to educate and empower ourselves in our African history. 

All shades of the black color wheel are so beautiful, and we all have a piece of Africa within us, even if they do not teach us this or try to deny it. Unification of the brown rainbow is what they truly fear, and we must continue to educate ourselves and truly believe in our rooted power.

References 

Allimadi, Milton. (2016). "The Hearts of Darkness, How White Writers Created the Racist Image of Africa". Pgs. 12-20. 

Jablow, Alta & Hammond, Dorothy. (1992). “The Africa That Never Was--Four Centuries of British Writing About Africa”. Waveland Press. 

Rodney, Walter. (1968). “The Groundings With My Brothers.”