Historic Figures
Name
Institution
Three of the historical figures who stood up to the notion of white supremacy and criticized black inferiority were Patrice Lumumba, Ida B. Wells, and Yaa asantewaa. The dominance of European control in West Africa began in 1890, and their economic strength was fueled with the slavery industry that started in the mid-18th century. Led by the queen, Asante challenged the notion of white supremacy by facing the Europeans through invasions such as the1863 invasion, where Asante invaded British protectorate on the Gold Coast. And this resulted in a stalemate that promoted the British desire to leave most of West Africa.
Contrary to the war tactic of approach, Lumumba, born in 1952 and the co-founder of the first political party in Congo, MNC, challenged white supremacy through diplomacy, as he advocated for the country’s independence and equal benefit from mineral wealth through his party. Even though he served several jail terms, his stand against the European supremacy gave Congo freedom in June 1960. Consequently, born in 1862 to two blacks enslaved during the civil war, challenged the black inferiority, precisely lynching through activism with the aid of Thomas Moss and two others. She made substantial efforts to investigate multiple cases of lynchings and to get the hidden information she published in her newspaper. As a suffragist, Wells challenged other suffragists for failing to stand up against lynching, and she is celebrated for it. Similar to Lumumba, Wells also contributed to the foundation of a party, the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, that helped to fight for the civil rights of individuals.