Bloodlines and race: historical perspectives and scientific critique

Bloodlines and Race

How does Firmin attempt to reconstruct races as existing along a level playing field rather than being arrayed hierarchically?

Joseph Antenor Firmin was nineteenth century's politician and anthropologist from Haiti. He was of the view of equality of races and was strongly opposed of categorizing humanity and the supremacy of a particular race. Although he was a Black himself, he did not promoted black Supremacy rather produced a book in 1885, named De l'Egalite des Races Humaines (On the Equality of Human Races) which was written against the Aryan's supremacy view of French writer Gobineau and his hierarchical ranking of races from white to yellow to Negro. He described in his book that the humans are artificially ranked by some scholars and by giving the examples of Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, he tried to confess the reader that there is no concept of races, rather humans consider themselves superior on the basis of knowledge and civilization. There is no supremacy of color or skin or any such concept that some races are blessed and some are cursed, rather all races are equal in attributes and the Creator have created them the same. Man is superior upon other creations due to intellect and wisdom, not upon each other. If anyone claims the inequality of races, then it is just to have slaves, which is absolutely wrong morally and ethically and is highly condemned. Firmin termed all those scholars who support the inequality of races as unconscious, blind and self-interested selfish people (Firmin 2000).

Describe the Nation of Islam. How did they contend with race and racism in the United States?

The nation of Islam NOI is unanimously different from the original religion Islam; hence it should not be mixed with the Islam itself. NOI was founded in the year 1930 in Detroit by W.D. Fard, who was then considered to be the God by the followers and the following leadership. It was formed to safeguard the rights of African-Americans and to provide a social, racial and economical boost to them. Other prominent leaders of the movement are Elijah Mohammad, Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan etc. They all are of the view that black race is superior to all and that the whites should be sacrificed as they are evil spirits. Hence they introduced the concept of black supremacy by saying that over 6000 years ago, there was an ancient Black scientist Yakub, who grafted the white Race out of Blacks using a special method of birth control law and therefore, the original humans are only Blacks. According to Mr. Elijah Mohammad, "Yakub promised his followers that he would graft a nation from his own people, and he would teach them how to rule his people, through a system of tricks and lies whereby they use deceit to divide and conquer, and break the unity of the darker people, put one brother against another, and then act as mediators and rule both sides" (Gardell 1996). Hence Blacks are the superior ones and should rule over White community, according to Malcom X, that genetically black is dominant while white is recessive, therefore white supremacy must be condemned and blacks must rule over the world. They just use the name of Islamic rules of truthfulness, honesty and human equality etc. In order to attract more and more people (Gardell 1996).

Who was Alain Locke? What was his contribution to race discourse?