Is Conrad Racist?!?

I grew up in a very “racist” environment, many of my friends would say. However, I don’t think my family is racist. I just think that they were raised in an influential surrounding that thought them to believe that those “colored” people were different and not people we intermingle with.

Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” might seem to show that Conrad is racist, but he might also just be the influential mind set he was trying to portray for his character(s).

What I found odd was that black was just a color and it was attached to parts/objects and not frequently to a person. As I read about the chained up men, I realized here he actually said they were men. "Six black men advanced in a file, toiling up the path. They walked erect and slow, balancing small baskets full of earth on their heads, and the clink kept time with their footsteps. Black rags were wound round their loins, and the short ends behind waggled to and fro like tails. I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots on a robe; each had an iron collar on his neck."

However, Conrad uses black to portray all of the other assets in the story. “black rags”, “black shapes crouched”, “black shadows”, “black bones”, “black neck”, “black moustaches”, “black figures”, “black creek”, “black display of confidence”, “whirl of black limbs”, and others throughout the story.

So is Conrad a racist? He could be, but who am I to judge him. I mean, personally I feel that aw a writer one might want to adjust ones own thoughts to his characters, and maybe he was trying to portray a racist. Maybe, he was just grown into that mindset, and to him, it’s not racism, but just neutrality.