Stereotype About Africa

Stereotype About Africa

Introduction

Throughout history, misconceptions, myths, and perceptions have shaped the way most Africans perceive Africa. The media has contributed mostly to influencing people’s perception of this continent. The availability and access to huge amount information, -particularly in online sites, has been the predominant factor that accounted for individuals filtering accurate information about Africa through their inaccurate stereotypes. For instance, through newspaper headlines, people are made to perceive Africa through the lens of civil war, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and genocide. This has led Africanist stereotypes to conduct research that expansively describes and criticize American stereotype about the modern African continent. Some of the common stereotypes about Africa and Africans that have pervaded the Americans’ minds throughout history include Africa needs aid to develop, Africa has no history, that it is dangerous and violent, Africa is mostly Jungle and that Africans live with wild animals. Therefore, there is an increasing need for Americans to develop a newer perspective about Africa by shunning from such stereotypes. This will require individuals to learn and understand the history and evolution of these stereotypes and subsequently develop a different perspective-not stereotypical, about Africa and its people.

History and Evolution of Stereotypes about Africa

            Myths, preconceptions, and stereotypes about Africa and its inhabitants have existed and evolved since the early years of colonial settlement. The western views about Africa and Africans emerged during the 1400s. This was due to the advent of the European Age of Exploration when Africa entered the Europeans consciousness. The western nations, including France, Portugal, British, Spain, and Dutch, came into Africa as explorers with the primary objective of profiting from non-Europeans. As an exploration, coupled with colonization expanded, the Europeans felt the need to justify their actions morally, and they began wondering about their relationships with other people, including Africans. Without a clear meaning of their relationship with the Africans, the colonizers became more negative and more racist to Africans. This racism and negativity were portrayed in European artists, including poets, sculptors, painters, and playwrights, who increasingly depicted Africans unfavorably and stereotypically.

Subsequently, the advent of the 18^th century led to the rise of a different stereotypical perspective wherein the Europeans began to prefer their own culture to all others. In simple terms, they saw their culture as superior compared to others, mainly Africans, irrespective of racist ideas. However, in contrast to the 19^th century Westerners, the Europeans throughout the 18^th century did not consider everything that Africans did was inferior merely because of their race. This implies that the stereotypes between the 18^th century and the 19^th century provided a link between culture and race. Hence these misconceptions and myths about the continent and its people were mainly imprecise and unconscious. As such, the stereotypes and myths that prevailed during these two centuries revolved around the concept of “moderate racism,” which served to condemn Africans as savage men or bad men. Nonetheless, moderate racism left the impression that despite their inferiority, Africans were “men.”

The mid-nineteenth century also led to the emergence of a new form of stereotype known as the Myth for Conquest in which Africa was considered a “Dark Continent.” The myth was characterized by the Europeans perceiving Africans as primitive. Although the myth seems in a diluted form in the modern days, most westerners, including Americans, continue to stereotype Africa as primitive and backward. The critical aspect of the perception of the continent and its people as primitive is the idea of evolution. In other words, primitive is related to the concept of being “less evolved.” Significantly, the premise of primitive Africans emanates from the logic of evolutionism, which describes Africans as mentally equivalent to children. This premise meant that Africans lacked the intellectual to create literature, religion, art, political structures, or languages that were as advanced as those of the Westerners. Probably in hundreds or thousands of years- in the distant future-in, the Africans would have evolved and increased their ability to produce higher forms of culture.

Common Stereotypes about Africa and Africans

1. Africa has no History

Among the common myths and preconceptions about Africa is that the continent has no history. The study of African history since the nineteenth century has radically transformed. From the late 19^th century to the end of World War II, most of the African continent was under the encumbrance of colonialism. This implies that much of African history goes back to the days of colonialism. Thus, the history of the continent is mostly seen as the history of Europeans in Africa. On the contrary, historians have proven Africa to have a rich history going back beyond the colonial times. During the pre-colonial period, it is believed that the earliest known recorded history about Africa emerged in Ancient Egypt and later the Horn of Africa, Maghreb, Nubia, and the Sahel.

2. Africa is mostly Jungle

Secondly, there is also a myth that Africa is mostly Jungle. Through films such as Tarzan, the entertainment industry has made most Americans to believe that Africa is made of a jungle. Irrespective of the fact that the Sahara Desert constitutes one-third of Africa, it is stereotypical to perceive that Jungle occupies most of Africa and that ferocious wild animals roam its entire landscape. On the contrary, the reality is that Africa is not only made up of extensive vegetation cover but also comprises if urban centers with millions of residents such as Lagos in Nigeria and Cairo, Egypt.

3. Africans Live together with Animals

Alongside the myth that Africa is mostly Jungle and that it has no history, there is also a myth that the continent is a vast forest in which wild and animals coexist and live together. This stereotype means that Africans keep wild animals such as leopards and lions as pets, and those wild animals usually roam in the city streets. Even though Africa is the cradle home of many wild animals, it is not factual to say that it is common to see wild animals roaming in the streets. There are several national parks in which wild animals live. Some of the national parks in Africa have become a renowned tourist destination. As such, when tourists visit Africa, they get a different impression of the continent and the stereotypes they have always held about Africa.

4. Africa needs Aid from Western Countries to Develop

A common misconception about Africa is that the continent is largely characterized by poverty and diseases. The myth accompanies the idea that most African inhabitants live in abject poverty that African countries have no growth opportunities and industries. The high poverty rates have led to the misconception among many Americans that African countries require aid from Western Countries to develop. On the contrary, economic statistics show that most countries in Africa are rapidly growing economically with higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Moreover, as the economies of these countries continue to grow, more jobs have been created, and the living standards of most Africans been improved. As a result, the stereotype that all African countries require aid to develop has been refuted.

5. Finally, most Americans have strongly embraced the misconception that Africa is dangerous and violent, and hence it is unsafe to travel to Africa. The United States State Department recently designated some African Countries such as Somali and the Central African Republic “Do Not Travel” countries. This owes to the idea that such countries have a higher rate of civil unrest, kidnapping risk, and crime. Nonetheless, in reality, it is not the entire continent that is unsafe. Other countries are safe to visit. Considerably, there is a need for Americans to change their perspective about Africa since some countries and regions within the continent are a beautiful and popular destination for tourists seeking enlightenment, adventure, and experience diverse cultural experiences.

In conclusion, the availability and access to a considerable amount information-particularly in online sites, have been the predominant factor that accounted for individuals filtering accurate information about Africa through their inaccurate stereotypes. This has made most Americans uphold a stereotype about Africa through the lens of civil war, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and genocide. When Malcolm X visited several African countries before his assassination, he got a different impression of Africa. From his visit, Malcolm concluded that Western stereotypes about the African continent only compelled the African-Americans to be distant from Africa. As such, this implies that historical events like colonialism have shaped the stereotypes about Africa and Africans, and this calls for Americans to change their perspective about modern-day Africa.