Atlantic Slavery and the Birth of Racism

From the blurb:

Racism is not part of the human condition. The argument that racism has always existed is false and cannot be used in any shape or form to justify or excuse racist behaviour today.

There is no firm evidence to suggest that a natural antipathy between ‘racial’ groups existed before the Atlantic slave trading period. The invention of the concept of ‘race’, along with the first practice of racism occurred in Europe and the Americas in the 16th to 19th centuries. During the latter half of the Atlantic slave trading period especially the English language was increasingly misused by English speaking people to vilify African peoples. During the same period, many Christian theologians and ministers, writers, historians, philosophers, anthropologists, zoologists, physicians encouraged white supremacist ideas. From the mid 17th century onwards, politicians enacted laws that made lawful the maltreatment of black people by black people. All this was meant to establish and maintain white superiority and dominance over African peoples.

Standard issue 4 seeks expose the roots of racism, as it first emerged in Europe and the Americas during the Atlantic slave trading era (1440s to 1880s), and aims to show how and for what reasons Europeans purposely set out to divide the peoples of the world into human/animals, civilised/beastial, moral/devious.

Black Skin Black Flag Publications.
27 pages.
Black and white.