Summary Of A Genealogy Of Racism By Cornel West

Cornel West, a well-known scholar and the author of ’The Journal’ 1984, particularly in his essay, ‘A genealogy of Racism: on the underside of modern discourse” discusses white supremacy that always has existed in the American system and continues to exist. West, avoiding the term ‘racism’ in this work, tires to discover or uncover the origin of white supremacy. His aim in this particular work is to ‘Put forward a brief account of the way in which the idea of white supremacy was constituted as an object of modern discourse in the West.” P.42 He borrows the term ‘Genealogy’ from Nietzsche and Foucault which attempts to discover the development of social structures. What he calls the ‘normative gaze’ mainly drawn from the classical aesthetic

One of the writers, Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon believed that ‘black skin was caused by hot climate and would change if the climate became colder. Another by the name of, Dr. Benjamin Rush, denounced the idea of white supremacy” but later stated that, ‘Is the color of Negroes a disease? Then let science and humanity combine their efforts and endeavor to discover a remedy for it.” P.54
Yinka Shonibare, was born in England and raised in Nigeria. When he returned to back to England, that’s when he noticed racism exists. There are many differences between London and Nigeria, and experiencing these differences, it helped him open his eyes on the issues such as inequality, British racism and colonialism. Shonibare explores these issues relevant in our society by different kind of art such as sculptures, paintings, photography and installation of art.
Cornel West and Yinka Shonibare have similar ideas never mind they both are highly well-known black intellectual figures in different professional areas who have been trying to bring attention to the inequality and racism the black community faces not just in modern discourse, but as far back as the 18th

In the works of Yinka Shonibare, his art work demonstrates and addresses social and cultures issues embedded in our society. Shonibare demonstrates the interrelationship between Africa and Europe, by illustrating how the British colorized regions of the African continent by using headless mannequins who wore African fabrics. He uses headless mannequins because he doesn’t want his figures to be racially identifiable also clearly demonstrated he uses mixed races. Expressing himself as the lead character in his work art such as the “Diary of a Victorian Dandy” (1998), expresses an outsider gaining entry into a society through art and