Africa has 54 countries and a rich diverse culture, yet the first thing that comes to people’s mind is Wakanda (which I guess is better than the previous alternative of mud huts and poverty). The common answer I’ve found when you ask students to name one country in Africa, out of the 54, is that they proceed to remain dumbfounded that there are actually countries in Africa. If high schoolers are questioning whether Africa is a country or not, we should really be asking: “What are kids even learning at school?” At this point, it’s arguable to say that, from an outsider’s perspective, the movie Black Panther has taught students the bulk of what they know about Africa.

Did you know that people in Africa wear clothes and drink water? This seemingly obvious question surprisingly needs to be asked. The constant negative portrayal of Africa in the media has kept up the stereotype of Africa being a completely impoverished and desolate continent. The truth is that Africa is amazing. It has over 3,000 ethnic groups, is known as the “cradle of humanity”, and has produced some of America’s most influential artists, like The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye), Burna Boy, and Tems. African people are also funny, beautiful, and some of the kindest humans you’ll ever meet. 

So, I guess the question is, why doesn’t everybody else thinks so? We could blame the U.S.’s education system, or the easier alternative-plain old ignorance. What you don’t know doesn’t hurt you, right? Nobody thinks about Africa in a positive light because the media doesn’t show that anything good comes out of it. The most I’ve seen from non-African influencers and media is half-hearted Instagram posts during Black History Month and subtle microaggressions. We need to talk about the good stuff, like how Ugandan entrepreneurs are reusing banana fibers to make rugs, comedians like Trevor Noah, and Nollywood, one of the biggest film industries in the world. Essentially, we need to talk about what makes Africa, well, Africa. 

It’s good to talk about slavery and the repercussions of the slave trade in school, but what about the rest of Africa’s history? People rarely know that the richest person that ever existed was a man from Mali named Mansa Musa, or the leader of WHO (World Health Organization), Tedros Ghebreyesus, is Ethiopian! 

It’s the little things, the things that are brushed under the rug, that undermine the meaning of Africa.