African American

Gotta think of the Christian element too. Non christian peoples were considered 'savage' and not civilized. Makes dehumanizing a whole race easier. Did it to the Natives who were already here, brought us and did it to us too. Needed a way to justify the horrors and genocides. The thefts. How does one justify owning humans? Call us animals. How do they justify genocide? Dehumanize people and pretend they are not 'real people', just a lower species. Plus greed.
Easy to get the poor to go along with it if they are told that they are 'better' in some way and it gives them some status and power over the oppressed. They can always say 'at least I'm not a---'.