Racism: A History A Savage Legacy (2007)
Some of the 20th Century's early genocides, particularly those in Armenia and the Belgian Congo, represented a new, mechanized phase of state-sponsored racial slaughter. During the genocide in the Congo, 10 million African people - almost half the entire population - were butchered by King Leopold's men. For the first time, details of the massacres were made known to people in Europe. These accounts were so lurid and horrifying, that some Europeans, perhaps for the first time, started to wonder who were the 'civilised' and who were the 'savages'. We end the series by looking at the future of this kind of routine institutionalised racism, considering its implications, speculating on how it might be overcome, and looking at what purchase (if any) the concept of 'race' will have in the era of the Human Genome Project. What can science - the discipline that was used to 'prove' the existence of a racial hierarchy over a century ago - tell us about 'race' today? What do our attitudes towards 'race' tell us about ourselves? And is it conceivable that one day, our children or grandchildren might grow up to live in a world without racism? Experts interviewed: Manning Marable, Anthony Appiah, James Allen, Michael Eric Dyson, Thomas Pakenham, Adam Hochschild, Dr Bambi Ceuppens, Prof Deborah Posel, Pallo Jordan, Dr Barney Pityana, Simeon Wright, Hazel Carby, Lee Jasper, Doreen Lawrence, Prof Paul Gilroy.
Primary Title
- Racism: A History
Secondary Title
- A Savage Legacy
Date Broadcast
- Tuesday 22 September 2009
Release Year
- 2007
Start Time
- 18 : 30
Finish Time
- 19 : 30
Duration
- 60:00
Episode
- 3
Channel
- History
Broadcaster
- Sky Network Television
Network
- BBC
Programme Description
- Some of the 20th Century's early genocides, particularly those in Armenia and the Belgian Congo, represented a new, mechanized phase of state-sponsored racial slaughter. During the genocide in the Congo, 10 million African people - almost half the entire population - were butchered by King Leopold's men. For the first time, details of the massacres were made known to people in Europe. These accounts were so lurid and horrifying, that some Europeans, perhaps for the first time, started to wonder who were the 'civilised' and who were the 'savages'. We end the series by looking at the future of this kind of routine institutionalised racism, considering its implications, speculating on how it might be overcome, and looking at what purchase (if any) the concept of 'race' will have in the era of the Human Genome Project. What can science - the discipline that was used to 'prove' the existence of a racial hierarchy over a century ago - tell us about 'race' today? What do our attitudes towards 'race' tell us about ourselves? And is it conceivable that one day, our children or grandchildren might grow up to live in a world without racism? Experts interviewed: Manning Marable, Anthony Appiah, James Allen, Michael Eric Dyson, Thomas Pakenham, Adam Hochschild, Dr Bambi Ceuppens, Prof Deborah Posel, Pallo Jordan, Dr Barney Pityana, Simeon Wright, Hazel Carby, Lee Jasper, Doreen Lawrence, Prof Paul Gilroy.
Classification
- PGR
Owning Collection
- Television Vault
Broadcast Platform
- Television
Languages
- English
Captions
Live Broadcast
- No
Rights Statement
- Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Subjects
- Imperialism
- Racism--History
- Documentary television programs--Great Britain
Genres
- Documentary
- History
Hosts
- Sophie Okonedo (Narrator)
Contributors
- Tim Robinson (Director)
- Tim Robinson (Producer)
- David Okuefuna (Executive Producer)
- BBC (Production Unit)
Subjects
- Imperialism
- Racism--History
- Documentary television programs--Great Britain