"Primitive" Liberation: American Perceptions of African Independence, 1957-1962

by Jolie Afandi

What was the image of Africa in America during the 1950s and 1960s, and how did these perceptions impact the the formulation of US foreign policy toward the African nations? This work endeavors to approach these queries in a comparative and thematic manner. The examination of historiographic secondary literature on American images of Africa is explored. The role of African nationalism is examined and its impact on US policy development toward African nations. This work concentrates on the analysis of popular media sources and governmental documents between 1957 and 1962, an important period of African history where independence from colonial powers brought African aspirations to the world stage. The resources researched in this book include American mainstream media, African-American media and US governmental publications. How did the perceived images reported within these groups compare and did they impact on the formulation of American policy toward Africa? Were there any significant transformations within the American perceptions that had a discernable effect on the American policy toward the new and emerging African nations?

148 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2010

Reviews

[Khalid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my wife's book. This book looks at a significant time of Africa modern history; the independence movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Three different US viewpoints are reviewed: the main stream media, African-American media, and US government documents. The author provides an eye opening representation of the US views and perspective on the emerging African states. Her well balanced writing provides insight not only on the mainstream but includes the American conservative and liberal opinions. The first chapter will be a significant resource for history lovers by providing an exceptional historiography. An added bounce is the rich bibliography. Two dominating and disturbing racist descriptions were constantly used to describe Africans, “primitive” and “child like”.