Imperialism In Early 20th Century

With the emergence of Eugenics in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th century, white colonialists developed the belief that the white race was intellectually and physically superior to that of other races. In Professor’s Hawkins lecture, “Imperialism in Early 20th Century”, delivered on April 13th, 2017, Professor Hawkins “‘[Gobineua] argues that scientific analysis realizes that it is the white race that is superior; refined, educated, the architects, and promulgators of society’” (Hawkins 4/13/17). In Arthur de Gobineua’s influential writing piece, An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races, de Gobineua asserts that the white race has the cultural and biological traits to dominate the uncivilized black and yellow races of the world.
In the early 20th century, middle-class black Americans who traveled to Europe found difficulty securing respectable jobs, “... black Americans appeared to have been relegated to the field of popular entertainment for the amusement of white European audiences... it was difficult for them to find jobs that did not involve a racialized performance of some kind” (162). In most European nations, black Americans struggled to acquire jobs in professions outside of popular entertainment, as European discrimination and curiosity forced black Americans into the entertainment industry. However, within the performances of minstrel troupes, the circus, and boxing, African American performers sought to infuse sophistication and style into their presentation as a way to demonstrate the modernity and achievements of black Americans. Another. Despite colored people’s efforts to actively challenge notions of white superiority, many people of color believed in achieving equality by appeasing their white counterparts. When Johnson attempted to become the trainer for heavyweight Joe Louis, Louis’s handler rejected Johnson’s offer and warned, “White man hasn’t forgotten that fool nigger with his white women, acting like he owned the world” (254). Prior to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s, many African Americans opted to construct a perception of black intellectual and cultural prowess through non-confrontational manners, rather than battle against white supremacy the way Jack Johnson did. African Americans followed this non-confrontational method in hopes of demonstrating that colored people were as equally capable as their white counterparts and hence should be treated as equals.