Being African _The outside story.
Celebrating Africa freedom day for the first time since I left my beloved continent brought about such an eery feeling, you see we never really understand or even appreciate our roots until you land somewhere where we are not recognized. Almost every single day for nearly two years I have been answering the questions about where am from and what makes me different (although it is actually quite visible). So I thought to myself to commemorate Africa Freedom day far from home I felt the need to spotlight why I love being African, the stereotypes we face and the efforts being made to rewrite our stories.
Why I Celebrate Being African. My love affair with being African sprung recently from sitting front row to a whole new culture. When I arrived here in India there was clearly a difference (i really felt it). I love being African because we are passionate people born into struggle and strife but yet we still stand. I celebrate our melanin because that's what makes us who we are it defines us as unconventional beauties. Our food is set to be some of the best cuisines argue as much as you want but ifisashi, chikanda, nshima, eba, egusi ,maatoke , our nyama,jollof rice and pilou ( too many to mention ) ask any african on the outside we will tell you we no matter how much KFC you give us we will still choose our own food any day . Rich in sound our music has become an overnight international phenomenon when the beat drops we shall shaku , zanku, chimwemwe and we will drop down dancing. A melting pot of diverse cultures languages and even different races all defined by geographical boundaries of our home the continent of Africa.
The Misconceptions
Living within the borders of our continent we are all the same so we never feel any of the real struggles felt when you settle overseas, from the stares you get when you are seated on the bus to mothers keeping their kids from you because they think you some type of monster. One of my favorite misconceptions is that Africa is a country and for some reason, we all know each other for example " Since you are from Africa do you know my friend John he is also from there? ".There is probably a John in all 53countries and I don't know them all to be honest. Common prejudice has made us out to be drug dealers, thieves, prostitutes, common delinquents the source of many troubles. We are thought to be peculiar, unruly and even crooked. Underestimated because maybe we are associated with lowe levels of intelligence or even education. We are denied of opportunities having to work twice as hard to prove our worth. There are a lot of stereotypes and prejudices but we should still be given space to be free and understood. It hurts to know that there is so much diversity that has not been discovered and the world sees an entire continent through a keyhole.Related Articles: https://www.afropolitan.co.za/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-be-african-1610.html,
Rewriting the African Narrative
When Black Panther was released in February of 2018 marvel seemed to captivate vast audiences, It really was a worldwide phenomenon. It was the first time a global audience was opened up to the African concept that didn't include suffering, we were on a whole new pedestal. The honest truth is that there is no prescribed way to change the narrative or the stories that people use to describe us. Generalizing an entire race is a global dilemma from Arabs being all feared as terrorists to Africans being thought of as primitive correct representation is a must needed requirement. The moral of the outside story is just wanting to be treated like a human being, red I bleed red you bleed too, Misconceptions aside but love and understanding as the forerunner.
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