A Synopsis of Racism in the African Christian Mission of 19th and 20th Centuries

Book excerpt: This book is not out to condemn or blame any European person, but rather understand the world from its past misdeeds, lest we forget. After all, 'history is the backbone of society, and we cannot hide the past no matter how painful it is. Although there were 'bad intentions' to the mission drive of the 19th and 20th Centuries, we also experienced positive achievements. Sometimes, blessings can come out of the worst situations or encounters. Such missionary activities, coupled with imperialism, are the cause of the global union.' The world is a global family, even with all the differences and inequalities still so visible under globalization. Yet, racism, like white supremacy, was a theme surrounding the 19th and 20th-century European mission to Africa. Perhaps it is good to understand that no other continent has suffered due to racism, a result of Eurocentrism and imperialism as Africa did. Africa lost its culture, people, and resources. The continent and her people have stagnated for decades, even after years of assuming self-rule (own leadership) in most sectors of the society. The reason behind it is that its structures were eroded, and those introduced served one purpose; to satisfy and justify imperialism and its core to 'civilizing mission.' Cases of Rwanda and Burundi genocide are historical seeds of hatred planted by explorers such as Speke's Hamitic theory. The imperialism past of the Democratic Republic of Congo holds a symbol of rape and cruelty despite its vast resources. Nevertheless, we cannot blame everything that contemporary Africa is suffering from on Imperialism and Eurocentrism. The current crop of leaders must take the blame too. Most have seen debts accumulate. The mismanagement of the economies and embezzlement of the resources only replicates the colonial past. The fact is that most do not invest in people but themselves. The majority lack basics in the likes of education, health care, and improvement of knowledge, skills, and technology. They have left Africa to further exploit in the hands of neo-imperialism in terms of globalization, capitalism, cultural imperialism and conditional aid. These bring little to no gain in Africa, and instead, escalate the suffering. This book unearths the legacy of the 'racism mission' and colonialism, a terrible part of Africa history. It is a legacy of dehumanization, wars, and human sufferings. If we ignore such history, we might forget and likely, repeat it. Andrew Ratanya Mukaria (Dr).