Akeem's Blog Feedback

            This blog is written in response to Akeem's Blog numero dos in which he claims that he believes the main claim of Tannenbaums Slave and Citizen is the contrast between the treatment of African American Slaves in the northern and southern hemispheres of the Americas. Akeem's agrees with Tannenbaums notion that slaves had rights in Colonial Brazil where as in the United States they were denied even being though of as a human being. He implys that the reason for the mistreatment of slaves was based on skin color. Akeem relates this to his own experience growing up outside of the United States in Guyana, "the country in which I was born, there is still great tension between the people because of skin color, race, and simply areas where you were born and raised" (Qadeer). I can also relate to Akeems claim that in other countries aside from the United States there is still tension between people because of skin color or race. I have witness just how differently African Americans have been treated in the Unites States and I have also witness how people from the same foreign culture treat each other based on skin color. For example my family is Hispanic/Latino/Spanish, the majority of my family from my mothers side is "darker" (tan) while my fathers side of my family is "white" (Spaniard).  Since I resemble my fathers side of the family but I was surrounded by my mothers side of the family I was very fair skinned compared to them and they treated me differently. They felt like since I was fair skinned I would give up my ethic culture more readily than my darker skinned siblings. Whether this was true or not I was considered an outsider who could not understand their culture just as the Anglo-Americans felt the African Americans were outsiders and could not understand their culture. All this prejudice was simply based off of skin tone and not on the character of the person.
           Akeem brought up some valid points and supported Tannenbaums claim through the use of personal experience. I believe he could use this claim perhaps as a closing statement for his paper. It would leave the reading with something memorable and would be interesting.