The Danger of Forgetting History: White Supremacist Gangs in Global Politics
In the modern political landscape, particularly in Europe and the United States, a disturbing trend is emerging; white supremacist and anti-immigrant political parties, disguised as populist movements, are steadily gaining traction. They present themselves as the protectors of national identity and heritage, while simultaneously sowing division and inciting hate against immigrants, especially those of African, Asian, and Middle Eastern descent. But this political shift is not just a modern issue, it is deeply rooted in historical injustice. The current rise of these groups is more than just a cultural or political dilemma; it is a dangerous step backward; a revision of history that must be called out for the lie it perpetuates.
Let’s go back in history; slavery, colonization, and imperialism is one that Europe and the United States would prefer to forget, but it is a history that cannot and should not be erased. The transatlantic slave trade, in which millions of Africans were kidnapped from their homeland, branded as property, and transported to the Americas to work as slaves, was a brutal crime against humanity. The scars left by these atrocities are felt to this day, not only in Africa but throughout the African diaspora.
The legacy of this grave injustice doesn't stop at the shackles of slavery, it continues in the form of neo-imperialist policies, economic exploitation, and a continued disregard for the rights and lives of people of African descent. In the scramble for Africa during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, European powers sliced the continent as if it were a mere cake, with no regard for the people who called it home. Borders were drawn arbitrarily, nations were fractured, and the cultural and social fabric of African societies was irreparably damaged.
The very same Western nations that today position themselves as guardians of democracy and human rights were once the architects of oppression, violence, and division. In doing so, they laid the foundation for centuries of racial inequality that persists today. The global narrative of Africa as a “dark continent,” void of history, culture, or contribution to the world, is an enduring lie, rooted in centuries of colonial propaganda. Yet, Africa has always been a land of wealth, its natural resources, gold, diamonds, and rare minerals continue to fuel the global economy, often to the detriment of the continent’s own people.
Fast forward to the present day, and the echoes of these historical injustices can be clearly heard in the rhetoric of the political far-right. In their attempt to frame immigration as a threat to national security and cultural purity, these white supremacist political groups conveniently forget the history that led to the demographic changes they now decry. It is no accident that the very nations that once profited from the brutal extraction of African manpower and resources now paint Africa as a land of poverty and danger, sending its people fleeing to Europe and the Americas in search of safety and opportunity.
The rise of populist political movements in Europe and the United States has brought with it a worrying wave of xenophobia and racism. These political actors seek to build a future on exclusion, promoting the idea that immigration, particularly from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, is an existential threat to Western civilization. The danger of this thinking is not just in the policies it advocates, but in the broader worldview it cultivates: one that disregards the complexities of history, erases the enormous contributions of Africans and their now descendant-immigrants, and fosters division rather than unity.
But it is a historical truth that the nations now seeking to turn inward and protect their borders want to ignore that their nations are built on the blood and brutal exploitation of the resources of other lands and peoples. Colonial powers like Britain, France, Belgium, and Portugal enriched themselves through the plunder of Africa. The US, built on the forced labour of enslaved Africans, reaped the rewards of the slave trade, while also shaping a world order that perpetuates inequality. These same nations now turn their backs on the descendants of those they once enslaved, casting them as outsiders in the very countries that owe so much to their ancestors’ suffering.
Central to the rhetoric of these white supremacist political parties is the myth of “cultural purity.” They argue that the influx of immigrants threatens the cultural fabric of their societies, that the influx of people from different parts of the world will somehow erode what they consider to be “authentic” or “native” culture. This is an absurd notion, rooted in an idealized vision of a homogeneous past that never existed. Besides, they are the only ones who went out to destroy the authentic or native culture of others.
Cultures are dynamic, not static. Civilizations throughout history have been shaped by migration, trade, and the exchange of ideas. Kemet (ancient Egypt) – the black land; after the invasion from all fortune seeking nations became a melting pot of African, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean influences. The civilizations of the Nile Valley did not arise in isolation but were products of millennia of interaction with neighbouring regions. The Arabs, the Phoenicians, and the Greeks all played their part in shaping the culture and history of Egypt and, by extension, the whole of North Africa.
The idea that any nation or culture is purely one thing, unaffected by the contributions of others, is a historical falsehood. Europe itself is a mosaic of cultures, shaped by centuries of migration and exchange. The same can be said for the United States, a nation built on the forced labour and ingenuity of people from every corner of the globe.
If we are to move forward as a global society, we must first confront the past. The white supremacist movements rising in Europe and the United States are not merely misguided or reactionary; they are dangerous revisionists, seeking to rewrite history and erase the contributions of people of African, Asian, and Middle Eastern descent to the societies they now occupy. They perpetuate the myth that the West has always been “pure” and untainted by the violence and exploitation of the past.
We must demand that these movements be held accountable; not just for their harmful rhetoric but for the policies they seek to implement, which risk plunging the world back into an era of division, hatred, and violence. We must resist the urge to allow history to be forgotten or twisted, and instead, champion a future where the injustices of the past are acknowledged, and the contributions of all peoples are celebrated.
We look to the word of James Baldwin, a descendant of kidnapped Africans to the USA: “History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.” The white supremacist gangs masquerading as political parties in the West are not just a threat to immigrants, they are a threat to the very idea of a shared, inclusive humanity. It is time we confront their lies, recognize the heinous crimes of the past, and work towards a future of justice and equality for all.
Dr. EK Gwuru writes from Nkolo Ikembe.
