Examples Of Racism In Wayetu Moore's She Would Be King

Liberia is a country that was founded in the 19th century by freed slaves from the United States. These settlers carried with them the racial mentalities and hierarchies that they had experienced in the United States, and this legacy continues to mold Liberian society in the present day. In contrast, the United States has a lengthy and complex history of racism that is deeply embedded in its institutions and cultural traditions. African Americans have been subjected to slavery, segregation, and discrimination for centuries, and these experiences continue to shape their lives and identities today. Wayetu Moore depicts racism as vastly different between Liberia and America in her works, She Would be King and The Dragon, The Giant, and The Women,

One way she depicts racism is through the attitudes and actions of the white colonizers who have come to Liberia from the United States. They seek to enact their own cultural and religious values on the country. Moore wrote, “The world has always been divided into those who had power and those who did not, and the color of one’s skin often determined which group one belonged to (Moore 194).” This is shown in the way that the colonizers treat Gbessa, who is ostracized by her community and labeled as a witch because of her dark skin and unusual abilities.

Another example Moore depicts racism in She Would Be King, is through the experiences of June Dey, who is a black man with superhuman strength. June Dey is seized and sold into slavery in the United States where he is subjected to inhumane treatment and forced to work on a plantation. Moore states, “We were not born to be oppressed. “We were not born to be slaves. We were born to be free (Moore).” Moore shows how the institution of slavery dehumanizes and oppresses black people, and how it perpetuates a system of racial

Moore states, “Barely one year in and our new country lets us know, every day, that we were different (Moore 111).” She describes instances of racial profiling and discrimination that she and her family have faced, such as being followed around a store or having assumptions made about them based on their race. A good example of her being racial discriminated is when her and her friends were in a corner store in Texas and were called nigger. “That’s it, then!” the cashier said, throwing the change from my purchase onto the counter. “Get on out of here then! Get out before I call the cops! We don’t want trouble just, get out!” Further on the store owner yells though his voice was faint, “You niggers! Get on out of here (Moore 126)!” Another example of her being racial discriminated against while in America is when her boyfriend made a racist joke. He said, “your afro is out again. Doesn’t washing it take forever. Well, I guess we won’t be going out to dinner tonight, don’t you wish you had hair like mine (Moore 138)?” Moore also writes about the ways in which racism is perpetuated through the media and pop culture, such as the lack of diversity in children’s books or the stereotypical depictions of black people in movies and