HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN TRADITIONAL AFRICA VERSUS BLACKS’ CIVIL RIGHTS IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICA: A READING OF THE STORY OF OLAUDAH EQUIANO

Abstract

This article aims at presenting and demonstrating through Equiano's story how the Traditional Africans of pre-colonial Africa perceived and dealt with the issue of human rights on the one hand; and on the other hand, it examines how the question of the rights of Black Americans are perceived and treated in American society today. In doing so, the study has used the theory of post-colonialism and comparative literature to analyze and interpret the two situations. As expected results, study has demonstrated that traditional Africans had established some social norms and rules which protected and guaranteed the basic rights of the populations without discrimination. However, it has been able to show that in the United States of today, portrayed as one of the most democratic nations and defenders of human rights, the basic rights of black Americans are still not guaranteed. They continue to experience multifaceted discrimination every day.