Ethnic Escapism & The Black Burden – Vol.2

For readers of Volume.1 this book covers African affairs in greater detail and complements the diasporic insights you have gained thus far.  

The peoples of Africa are greatly diverse and historically hail from myriad empires, polities and decentralized states. For many Africans in the present day, ancient African history can seem obscure at best, and irrelevant at worst. The educational curriculums may account for this to an extent, but the day-to-day rigors and realities of the average African is more pressing than the happenings of yesteryear. Modern Africans have inherited the consequences of the continent’s entry into the global capitalist system from the 18th century, and the consequences of colonialism some years after. Independence has proven a false dawn for many; impoverishment on the scale that has since transpired is unprecedented; basic public services are mostly inaccessible or even absent entirely. Violence and tribalism are at the heart of this and embody the idea of state failure. This begs the question of what the Black Burden is and this book explores it in further detail.