Final answer:
The American roommate held a patronizing and pitying view of Africans, influenced by a single story of catastrophe. This attitude is part of a broader historical context of entrenched racism and prejudice and the resulting complex societal relationships between races.
Step-by-step explanation:
The American roommate had preconceived notions and a somewhat pitying and patronizing attitude towards Africans. This perspective was based on a single, simplistic story of Africa that is replete with catastrophes, which doesn't account for the diversity and complexity of the continent and its people.
She lacked awareness of the African reality that includes educated, middle-class individuals leading lives with similarities to her own. This ignorance stemmed from a widespread single narrative that reduces African experiences to stereotypes of poverty, war, and the need for rescue by outsiders.
Historically, there has been a deep-seated culture of racism and prejudice towards African Americans, creating harmful attitudes that have persisted over centuries.
This is symbolized in the relationship between African slaveholders and slaves, where slaves were treated as chattel, stripping even the kindest of individuals of their humanity under the brutal system of slavery. The cultural and racial tension also surfaces in interracial interactions, where there can be simultaneous feelings of hate and desire, reflecting a complex societal relationship with race.