Cultural Ignorance of Africa By: Marian Osafo

Stereotypes Stereotype is the generalized belief that all people of a certain group act a particular way.

Africa is a Continent! Africa is a large continent that has the second largest population and the most countries of all the continents. However, people still refer to Africa as if it is just one big country.

Languages There is no such thing as speaking “African” or just one single language that everyone speaks. There is a large variety of languages all across the continent.

Cultures The cultures of Africa are diverse and different. Not one country is has the exact same culture as another.

Appearances Africans come in many colors, shades, shapes, and even races. There is not one monolithic look.

Poverty People tend to assume that all of Africa is in poverty, facing/overcoming civil wars, dealing with famine or disease, or dealing with political corruption. What they don’t realize is that not all parts of Africa deal with does exact issues and that there are areas that are doing well for the most part.

History These are pictures are a summary of the only events and people I learned regarding Africa from elementary to high school.

News Most news in Africa goes unreported worldwide unless if is something that directly affects other parts of the world. Ebola and HIV/AIDS are perfect examples of that. While people were talking about #PrayforParis, another terrorist attack in Nigeria, with an even larger death toll was ignored. #BringBackOurGirls was the only heavily talked about (on social media) incident that took place in Africa, which was started by Michelle Obama.

Africa is Diverse I can’t reiterate it enough. Africa is diverse! It is definitely one of the most diverse continents if not the most diverse. From the languages, cultures, appearances, politics, and history, Africa is rich. People shouldn’t let the media influence their views on every single thing and let ignorance blind them.

Work Cited #BringBackOurGirls. Twitter. Web. 19 Feb Africa is not a Country. Africvisions. Web. 19 Feb Africa is not a Country. Olivia’s Africa Blog. Web. 19 Feb Africa’s Languages. Angelfire. Web. 19 Feb African Languages. Exploring Africa. Web. 19 Feb African Languages. Britannica Kids. Britannica Kids. Web. 19 Feb African National Independence. Modern Ghana. Web. 19 Feb African Stereotypes. This is Africa. Web. 19 Feb Algerian Women. Pinterest. Web. 19 Feb Ancient Egypt. Academic Travel. Web. 19 Feb Apartheid. Borgen Project. Web. 19 Feb Ebola Latuff Cartoons. Web. 19 Feb

Work Cited (part 2) Everyone in Africa has AIDS. Global Citizen. Web. 19 Feb Fast Food Chains Growing Fast, Spreading In Africa. AFK Insider. Web. 19 Feb HIV/AIDS. NAACP. Web. 19 Feb Kwame Nkrumah. Getty Images. Web. 19 Feb Lagos, Nigeria. Atlanta Blackstar. Web. 19 Feb Mansa Musa. Richest Net Worth. Web. 19 Feb Map of Africa. Africa Guide. Web. 19 Feb Mapping Stereotypes. Alpha Designer. Web. 19 Feb Moroccan. Historiam Olim. Web. 19 Feb Nelson Mandela. Pinterest. Web. 19 Feb Obama’s Trip to Africa. Business Insider. Web. 19 Feb Poverty in Africa. Project in Compsci. Web. 19 Feb Poverty. Our Africa. Web. 19 Feb

Work Cited (part 3) Preserving African Languages. Afropolitan. Web. 19 Feb Reading Africa. TransConflict. Web. 19 Feb Rwandan Genocide. Political Violence at a Glance. 19 Feb Slave Trade. BBC News. Web. 19 Feb South African Mercenaries. Daily Maverick. 19 Feb South Sudan. GGA. Web. 19 Feb Stereotype Gifs. Giphy. Web. 19 Feb Stereotypes. Nicolas Alter. Web. 19 Feb The European Colonies of Africa. Penn State University. Web. 19 Feb The Real Africa. Teaching for Change. Web. 19 Feb True Size of Africa. Kai Krause. Web. 19 Feb Tumblr. Web. 19 Feb Twitter. Web. 19 Feb West African Kingdoms. Luken Social Studies. Web. 19 Feb White South Africans. BBC. Web. 19 Feb