“The Black Man's Burden”: African Americans, Imperialism, and Notions of Racial Manhood 1890–1910

Abstract

Africa", the scramble for Africa would blight the continent with liquor, vice, and genocide. Africa's destiny was a signal issue for Parks, but so was die question of imperialism. 3 Parks was hardly alone when he worried about the "native simplicity" of Africans being corrupted by Europeans -other African-American women and men pondered the ramifications of imperialism in Africa as well. 4 Some shared racist assumptions about "darkest Africa" commonly found in popular travelogues; others felt European forays into Africa would enlighten the continent. 5 Prominent newspaper editor T. Thomas Fortune railed against British, French, German and Belgian encroachment during the 1880s. By the 1895 Congress of Africa, however, Fortune projected European imperialism would, in time, have a beneficial outcome. Fortune conceded that while "laying the foundation of empires" occurred at the expense of "savage tribes", the "intermingling of so many race elements [would] work for national and spiritual and material strength in Africa". 6 In 1892, Ida Wells expressed tempered optimism as she uneasily acknowledged a European foothold in Africa. Wells nevertheless held fast to a belief that black Americans could prosper there since the continent had not been completely overrun by "rapacious" whites. S.H. Johnson was more pessimistic than either Wells or Fortune; Johnson maintained European ascendancy in Africa ominously signaled that whites would soon subjugate blacks across the continent. Whether these journalists believed Europeans would eventually succeed in wrenching all rights and land from Africans, Reverend Parks had a job to do. He needed to convince African Americans that Africa was theirs to save. 7 3. Hfenry] B[knton] Parks, Africa: