Hmmm......the image of Africa in the media....

What comes to mind whe you think about Africa? My professor asked this question to my class this past week. This question caused me to think as well. For many, the image they think of are the safaris in Kenya, Botswana and South Africa. The image to the left is a good example of how people view the motherland. While I can agree that safaris are a big part of Africa, it's only is select countries. Safaris aren't even found all over the continent.

Other images that come to mind are that of starving people. We've all heard about the famines in Ethiopia, Niger and Malawi. I feel that starvation is a problem all over the world. Why does the media act as if this is a unique issue only for Africans? The picture to the right is of hungry children. There are hungry children in the US. We don't put them on TV or advertise that problem to the world. But hunger and starvation are real problems here in the mighty US. We just choose to ignore and cover it up, all the while acting as if this is the correct image to portray and AFRICAN!!

Many view Africa as a continent in ruins because of war. They see the images of men fighting and government being overthrown by armies and they think it's an accurate portrayal. The images that accompany this piece of my blog are the images that come to mind for many people. It could be furthur from that truth. My professor told me his mother arrived back in Kenya this past Wednesday and that all was well in Nairobi, Kenya. There weren't signs of fighting or a goverment in turmoil. The sad thing is American media has you thinking that fighting is errupting all over Kenya and that lives are in danger. In some small villages in Kenya there have been reports of deaths, looting, violence and people fleeing. But that is not all over Kenya like the media wants to portray. While wars are being fought is some parts of Africa the question that needs to be asked is how are people who are economically unstable getting the weapons and bombs they use? If we answered that one question then we would know why it seems that African are always fighting against one another and overthrowing their government. Ohh, and we must not forget that presently America is fighting wars in Aghanistan and Iraq.

People have one monolithic view of Africa. They don't know that Africa is a continent comprised of 53 countries including the islands of Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Madagascar, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and Mauritius. It is estimated that there are more than 2,000 languages spoken in Africa. With stats like that it's hardly right for people to think of Africa as one country. It is a vast continent with so many difference from country to country. Looking at the map to the left, it is clear that Africa is a very large continent. The idea of the monolithic view that some have in the media is unfair to the beauty of the various people, languages and cultures that inhabit the continent.

When I think of Africa, I think of beauty, of home, of music, of dance and of the cradle of civilization. I love music from Africa. I love Femi Kuti and his afrobeat music. The ryhthms that he uses causes my body to move in a way that is so sexy and sensual. I loved reading Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. It gave me insight into how many villages in Africa were colonized wrongly by Europeans. It taught me how the villagers struggled with the new ideas brought about by Europeans. I loved the complex view of Igbo society and European colonization that Achebe was able to present in his novel.

When I think of Africa I think of the film Sarafina. This movie gave me a new perspective on life in South Africa during apartheid. I was able to identify with the struggles of the South African to gain rights from whites. The dance and music really made the film light hearted considering the dark subject matter. It also introduced me to the actress Leleti Khumalo. Since seeing her in Sarafina, I've watched her in Yesterday and she even played in Hotel Rwanda.I love the cinema that I see from Africa. Even if done in a dialect, the movies still educate me on life in Africa and help me move away from the monolithic images in American media. So when I think of Africa, I think of the positive and not the negative because I know the beauty that exist there.

A Brotha Like Me.....

I'm president of the University of North Texas collegiate chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, for short it's UNT-NABJ.

I'm currently planning UNT-NABJ's first event for the Spring 2008 semester. I'm so excited to be able to plan educational and elightening events for the UNT campus through my organization. I'm so proud of UNT-NABJ and what's we have accomplished so far with my presidency and what the future holds.

A Brotha Like Me will focus on the media's portrayal of Africna American men. It's something that people talk about but that we don't really acknowledge out in the open in front of everyone. There are certain aspects of African American culture that we try to keep from the masses. But some things need to be discussed out in the open. We need to come up with solution to the issues that are ailing the African American community. The media and it's portrayal of us is something we need to examine. We need to know why our young black boys and girl are growing up with the assumption that they aren't valued by America's society at large.

The image above was taken from Kiri Davis's wonderful documentary A Girl Like Me. In it we see young black children who are consistently thinking that white is right. The negavtive images of African Americans in media are contributing to this school of thought. It's sad! It's DEPRESSING! I'm so glad that being a member of an organization like UNT-NABJ enables me to plan programming that will provoke thoughts and ideas in the minds of college students who are poised to make a difference in this world. "A Brotha Like Me" will cause people to look critically at the images of black men set before us on TV, in film and in music.

If you want to check out Kiri Davis's "A Girl Like Me" you can do so at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17fEy0q6yqc