This act effectively gives them credit and erases the larger part that West Africans played. It also diminishes the significance that the kola nut held in the Igbo culture. There is the persistent Western ideology that excuses and approves of resources to create a capitalist pursuit. I argue that the kola nut serves as an example of this phenomenon. Ruth Benedict describes racism as, “Systemic violent oppression directed against a racialized group allowing the dominate group to strip them of their assets and stigmatize them.” This is certainly applicable to the relationship between Europe and Africa. Using this definition, one can see how far back racism goes. My research question focuses on examining how the kola nut trade was cultural unifier for the Igbo people in Nigeria but then it was extracted by the European and American powers to make profit off of it. This is a case study of the Western tendency to take cultural products of another and make it theirs by ignoring any cultural
This act effectively gives them credit and erases the larger part that West Africans played. It also diminishes the significance that the kola nut held in the Igbo culture. There is the persistent Western ideology that excuses and approves of resources to create a capitalist pursuit. I argue that the kola nut serves as an example of this phenomenon. Ruth Benedict describes racism as, “Systemic violent oppression directed against a racialized group allowing the dominate group to strip them of their assets and stigmatize them.” This is certainly applicable to the relationship between Europe and Africa. Using this definition, one can see how far back racism goes. My research question focuses on examining how the kola nut trade was cultural unifier for the Igbo people in Nigeria but then it was extracted by the European and American powers to make profit off of it. This is a case study of the Western tendency to take cultural products of another and make it theirs by ignoring any cultural