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“Mzungu” The Name Many Africans Call White People. What Does It Mean? Is It A Racial Slur?
If you are Caucasian and have ever travelled to some parts of Africa, particularly East Africa, you might have heard locals and amused children especially, refer you by the name “Mzungu”.
Maybe you might have wondered, “What does it mean?”
“Nigger” or “negro” is a racial slur and a derogatory term that is used by racists to refer to people of African descent. Carrying its history from the ugly times of slavery particularly in America, calling an African “a nigger” if you are not of African descent yourself is considered extremely demeaning and disrespectful and is a hate crime.
But Africans particularly those residing in Africa have a name for white people. Is it a racial slur?
Let’s examine it.
The first white people to penetrate the interior of Africa were explorers: Henry Morton Stanley and Dr Livingstone. They were sent by their home countries to explore the interior of Africa and map it out for what eventually became the colonisation of the continent.
All they did was travel from point to point, chiefdom to chiefdom, kingdom to kingdom meeting tribal chiefs and kings bearing gifts and signing documents these chiefs had no idea would shape the lives of the…
