The missing link was unveiled to the public during the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The scientific community has developed a “human zoo” of thousands of indigenous peoples imported from remote parts of Africa. Barely half a century after the publication of Darwin’s influential theory of evolution, much of the legitimate media and professional scientists see the exhibition as a groundbreaking extension of his work. These Africans were studied and exploited as members of the lowest rungs on the evolutionary ladder—the link between the apes and the mature human species. Human Zoos explores this shameful and largely forgotten chapter in the history of racism.
One of the earliest proponents of this twisted science was the respected anthropologist William McGee. He promoted the idea that blacks are close relatives of apes, a theory widely accepted by his peers. In fact, McKee’s theory stemmed from his deep-seated prejudice against African Americans and Jews. Under the umbrella of a respected science, he launched an unspeakable dehumanization campaign.
Two years after the St. Louis exhibit, nearly a quarter million visitors saw a similar exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. Only religious groups have protested and protested against the mistreatment of these people.
In addition to gnomes from the African Congo, the community also brought in natives from Japan, South America, and the Philippines. Many scientific communities administered a battery of tests to these subjects to measure their intelligence, physical characteristics, and pain threshold. Others examined the brains of the deceased.
The film memorably explores how even the most respected and trusted field of science is polished by such blind hatred and discrimination.
Human Zoos reveals an amazing little-known history. The film argues that the story’s legacy isn’t a distant memory. Modern political movements promote false perceptions of Darwinism to deepen divisions and further the cause of white supremacy.
