Slaves to Racism

Sound Bite

American racism traps Blacks ' even in Africa. Prof. Dennis chronicles the compulsive and repetitious nature of racism and its destructive effects on peoples and societies, Dr. Dennis's observations of the twists of irony and misplaced pride on all sides will provoke a wry smile a well as dismay.During the 1990s, Liberia descended into civil war and anarchy. African-Liberian rebel groups roamed the countryside randomly killing as they vied for power. Doe was killed by a segment of these rebel groups and warlord Charles Taylor eventually became president in 1997. In 2003, Taylor was deposed by rebel groups and is now on trial at The Hague for war crimes. Despite Ellen Johnson-SirleafÃ??'s democratic election in 2005, Liberia remains in ruins as a classic failed state in Africa. The obvious question is: Why did the Negro experiment planted in Africa in 1822 fail so miserably?A true African-American, Dr. Dennis writes from a broad historical and social perspective having lived in an African tribe, as a "Negro" in the 1950s and since the Civil Rights Movement as a "black man in America," having moved in international diplomatic circles and having worked as a member of the American academic elite.

About the Book

Slaves to Racism is a unique cross-racial, cross cultural approach to racism from an insider/outsider viewpoint. Using numerous personal stories from the 1950s to today, from the American South and Midwest to Western Africa, the author displays the compulsive and repetitive nature of racism, its effect on both participant and victim, and how American prejudice and discrimination migrated to Africa with the creation of Liberia. The author is a marginal man who belongs to all of the groups involved. As an insider, he was privy to confidential racial and cultural viewpoints. As an outsider, his academic training allowed him to apply the principles of sociology and anthropology to what he observed. Although the book is based on academic theory, it is written in an engaging and understandable way that appeals to a mass audience. Through a variety of anecdotes and vignettes illustrating the persistence of ignorance among people who really know better, the reader will gain insights into the nature of racism and perhaps himself, as well, as he sees his own racial and cultural attitudes displayed.This account of the social and cultural forces that destroyed Liberia is based on social psychology Ã??' how people think and act as a group. In every society and nation, while every individual may not exactly fit the mold, there are cultural similarities that lead to groupthink Ã??' an essential element of national character.