Misunderstanding Africa Leads to Discrimination
By Gabriel Sodimu
Black College Wire
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| Gabriel Sodimu |
Yes, I know you might never have dropped in on the Serengeti National
Park in Tanzania and the deserts of North Africa. You may not have
visited the astounding Kenyan wildlife nor seen the breathtaking Yankari
Game Reserve in Nigeria.
The hills and valleys of West African countries still hold echoes of
the painful cries of captured princes and princesses, and ancient slave
ports on the coast of West Africa are waiting for your return.
Today's media in America and the Western Hemisphere spread only the
news of destruction, disaster, poverty and death about African countries
to rest of the world -– such as the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone,
the Ethiopian famine and the awful genocides in Rwanda and Sudan. These
events prevent most in the diaspora from visiting Africa or returning
"home."
The Western media's failure to broadcast an accurate, decent
representation of Africa and its people causes resentment among
Africans. I have been asked on several occasions if I used to hunt butt
naked when I was in Nigeria. These types of questions often spring from
the image-damaging pictures broadcast on television. It is like showing
the ghettos of New Orleans as typical of the United States.
As uninformed as the United States is about the rest of the world, it
is sad to see that fictitious and horrendous ideas often depicted by the
Discovery Channel, CNN and other media conduits about Africa and its
people have made Americans' views inaccurate as well. Politically,
Africa is referred to as "third world," even though civilization started
in Africa. Sankore University of Timbuktu in Mali is older than Harvard.
Hygiene, often a sensitive topic in the Western Hemisphere, is
something Africans are thought to lack. This is false. If most of "us"
do not follow the Western way of life – the use of body perfumes and
deodorants, it does not indicate that every African is filthy. Body
aroma, many Africans would agree, is a way of identifying individuals
without seeing them. This can be useful.
Another point of concern is the African accent, which deters students
and teachers alike. Because of it, most of us are not given chances like
other Americans to show our abilities and skills, even though oftentimes
we have better experiences. I call this bigotry.
Our presence here should not be misinterpreted. It does not suggest
that we are poor in our homeland, and neither does it say that we like
it here.
Discrimination against Africa and Africans and against those from
other non-American cultures needs to be addressed in order to adequately
implement diversity on our campus.
Gabriel Sodimu, a student at Albany State
University, writes for the Student Voice.
Posted Oct. 2, 2006 |
