Many believe the term, “The Dark Continent” is a racial reference to Africa. That is actually a falsity. The first time Africa was called the Dark Continent was not when Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness.
In the 15th and 16th centuries when the world was still up for grabs and England, France, Portugal, Spain and a few other minor players were sailing the seven seas in efforts to increase their colonial holdings, cartographers were responsible for documenting new territorial finds. Since most of this exploration began on the shore and worked inland, maps frequently had detailed coastlines. However, the regions further away from the coast often remained unexplored until later. The unexplored areas would be left dark on maps because no one actually knew what was in those locations. Thus, the map of Africa was largely a blackened in outline of the continent as we know it today until my namesake, Dr. Livingstone, began his twenty-plus years of expeditions in 1851.
Though the 1899 novel Heart of Darkness did solidify the term Dark Continent as a reference to the black peoples living in Africa, there is now a slightly different meaning associated with the phrase. Today Dark Continent indicates Africa’s lack of electricity compared to the rest of the world. This map was a composite of multiple photos taken by NASA showing the world at night:
As you can see, the U.S., Europe, India and East Asia are using the most light and electricity. Considering its landmass compared to the few spots of light, I would say Africa is using the least.
Can Africa fairly be described as a "Dark Continent?" Watch the talks above and extract useful main ideas for making sense of our inquiry. But also consider supplementary sources that we'll engage with in class this week including "Lost Civilizations: Africa":
56 comments:
Would Africa be considered as a Dark Continent ?
I think Africa is not a Dark continent but people would used the term for a racial comment or if it has to do with how much electricity is used in Africa due to Nasa's research of the picture you shown above the question. The reason why I think Africa is not a Dark Continent because the African people aren't dark at all because Africa was the first place we walked from man ever since man kind was made african's was one of our best place for trade for value goods and gold, and they didn't even get the credit the British, Americans, and other countries or colonies took all the credit they deserve and even took some of their history and land away from them in history that was true. Now people are realizing what their people's mistake in history for what they have done to the African people. They shouldn't even erase or taken away of the history that was their own. They did have rights but the people from different countries thought they were savages but they weren't. I feel like why does this happened to the African people over and over again due to this or even racism. Would they stop or will they never considered to change themselves or history.
I believe the Continent of Africa is considered as not a Dark Continent before the European Colonization of Africa. The reason is because there are other races in Africa, mainly the Arabs and their Caliphates and another reason is that electricity never existed and during the time when it was made, the electricity was used by only Europeans, Asians and Americans. African wasn’t for all dark skin people because other skin color people were made in Africa as well. They explored several regions in finding a place to start a civilization for trade efforts. The Europeans and the United States have been taking the resources from the “unrecognized African Civilizations” except Liberia and Ethiopia and using them resources to fend for themselves instead for helping the Africans. Ethiopia survived the colonization because of their strong efforts of survival. Liberia survived because the United States Government told the Europeans that Liberia was formed by American Slaves. The French and the British have taken colonization seriously and today several African nations are poor except Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa. Today, rumors indicated that Brazil wants to annex Angola and Mozambique for their efforts for expanding the Portugese Language as well as taking more of their remaining resources.
Anthony Grillo
10th grade
10/2/14
Mr. Jobs
Essential Question: Can Africa fairly be described as a “Dark” continent before European colonization?
I believe that Africa can be described as a “Dark” continent in a way of isolation, mystery and not-knowing. Their culture started our world (started the 1st organized colonization), but isn’t recognized as important for all that they accomplished. Stereotypes believe that Africans are inferior to white people and it has to be impossible that Africans had the “smarts” to start all of these things that make our civilizations the way they are today. By just brushing over what you don’t want to believe doesn’t make it go away. Everyone should be open-minded/ accepting and we all should have treated African’s with the respect that they deserved from the get-go. If we did, then the world might have been changed for the better.
Ancient Africans set a great example for the first forms of education/ organization (for example: the alphabet). The first alphabet ever created is called “Wadi el-hol” made by Africans in 1600B.C. This is a great example of Sankofa, which is “Reach back and get it” because the past explains why the present is the way it is. A reason why the whites might deny that the Africans were so successful could be the fact that the Africans never wrote anything down. Their culture and everything they were about was all transferred orally from one generation to the other.
A specific Ancient African tradition that is still used today is the act of scarification/ tribal markings. They were used as means of identification/ social ranking. This and many other traditional African cultures we in the west coast might find disturbing, but it all goes back to the idea of civilization. Each specific society/civilization has its own definition of civilization. It is what makes us all unique. Always be open-minded because cultural diffusion can occur. For example, many different cultures now use neck rings to show status (elongated neck).
In chapter 1, it mentions that Africa created the first civilizations ever such as Egypt and Ur. From the video “Lost Civilizations: Africa, we heard about the Ancient African city of Great Zimbabwe. It controlled most to all of Africa in its time of its prosperity and was protected by a wall 25 feet high, and 16 feet deep.
Saartjie (Sarah) Baartman was an example of a person that made the whites look down on the blacks even more. She was the first black to move to Europe and was exploited for her body because she was shaped a lot different than white people. She was told to stand naked out in public so people could see, touch, and examine her as much as they want. She died a young and sad death, and her “parts” were cut off of her and put on a statue of her, so her sad legacy could live on, until it was taken down in 2003 and properly buried.
In conclusion, I believe that Africa can be described as a “Dark” continent in the fact that their cultures should be more widely known than they are. I believe that Africa isn’t “Dark” in the sense of a lack of culture or religion because that is an outright LIE. Africa/ Ancient Africa made many huge differences on our world and needs to be more appreciated for it.
Can Africa be described as a dark continent? Yes and no is my answer. It is dark, yet at the same time not dark in different ways. In class, we talked about what the word “dark” means and what we think of when we hear “dark”. The things that our class said were “helpless”, “scary”, “closed in”, “isolated”, “fear of not knowing” “dangerous” “lethergy” “evil” “death” “mysterious”, and “slow music”.
There was a chart that had a map of the world. Different parts were either bright or dark to represent places with or a lack of energy sources at night time. Africa was a little light along the Nile and the continent’s border, but other than that, it was pretty dark. But Africa isn’t very dark during the daytime when the sun is up.
As said before, we talked about darkness in class and the things we said related to scaryness and evil. Africa has had some good things come out of it such as animals, tools, and the birth of humanity. But Africa has also had some bad things such as diseases. AIDS, Yellow Fever, Malaria, and Ebola are a few diseases that came from Africa.
There is also the question of “Can Africa be described as a dark continent before European colonization?” I say no. In terms of light and dark along with energy sources, it was dark, but Africa was colonized around the 1870s, so not much electricity was discovered at the time. Based on our discussion about darkness, not many of the words we brought up could describe Africa. Some main diseases such as Yellow Fever, Malaria, Ebola, and AIDS were discovered in the 1880s, 1900s, 1970s, and 1980s (according to google). This means that some big diseases weren’t discovered until after Europe colonized Africa. Also, before colonization, some good tools were discovered and humans have been around for thousands of years.
Can Africa be described as a dark continent? Yes and no is my answer. It is dark, yet at the same time not dark in different ways. In class, we talked about what the word “dark” means and what we think of when we hear “dark”. The things that our class said were “helpless”, “scary”, “closed in”, “isolated”, “fear of not knowing” “dangerous” “lethergy” “evil” “death” “mysterious”, and “slow music”.
There was a chart that had a map of the world. Different parts were either bright or dark to represent places with or a lack of energy sources at night time. Africa was a little light along the Nile and the continent’s border, but other than that, it was pretty dark. But Africa isn’t very dark during the daytime when the sun is up.
As said before, we talked about darkness in class and the things we said related to scaryness and evil. Africa has had some good things come out of it such as animals, tools, and the birth of humanity. But Africa has also had some bad things such as diseases. AIDS, Yellow Fever, Malaria, and Ebola are a few diseases that came from Africa.
There is also the question of “Can Africa be described as a dark continent before European colonization?” I say no. In terms of light and dark along with energy sources, it was dark, but Africa was colonized around the 1870s, so not much electricity was discovered at the time. Based on our discussion about darkness, not many of the words we brought up could describe Africa. Some main diseases such as Yellow Fever, Malaria, Ebola, and AIDS were discovered in the 1880s, 1900s, 1970s, and 1980s (according to google). This means that some big diseases weren’t discovered until after Europe colonized Africa. Also, before colonization, some good tools were discovered and humans have been around for thousands of years.
- Eden Skye Einhorn
Can Africa be described as a dark continent? When we think of the word dark, a myriad of terms comes to mind such as poverty diseases, depression, lonely, a devoid of light, scary, misundertood, and the list can go on; however, in my opinion to describe the whole entire continent as dark, is an overstatement as well as ignorant.
Just because there are parts of Africa with these issues like poverty, depression, and disease does not mean it is justifiable to classify the whole continent as dark. If that’s the case then I suppose the United States is dark, because there are many places in America with the same issues, we just have a better way of hiding them and a better support system; however, if memory serves me correctly the United States had a whole twelve year period of depression but we don’t and never have described it as dark. In the 1690s there was a yellow fever outbreak that continued all the way into the 1790s. I’m saying all of this to say, America has had what we call “dark” times as well just like every other place in the world. According to feedingamerica.org, over 49 million Americans live in food insecure households, but yet we have never described America as dark. Because we aren’t allowing our past or our current dark times to influence our perception of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. The same consideration should be taken in with Africa, although Africa has had and is having dark times it isn’t accurate or morally right to define the whole cotinent as dark.
Africa does not just have one dark history, one epidemic after the other, or one story. Africa has many places such as Johannesburg, and cities in Guinea that are similar to cities here in the United States. All of Africa is not just this tribal wasteland full of ancient culture and customs. Every country in Africa isn’t poverty or disease stricken with people who are warriors and farmers. With people who only eat monkey meat because that’s all they can afford, wearing the hide of an animal that they just slaughtered. That is just rural Africa, just like we have rural America.
Africa cannot be described as a dark continent, but the perception we recieve of Africa is dark. The single story we are told of Africa is dark, and why wouldn’t it be? We are only informed of the “dark sides.” We are only shown disease, and poverty, depression, and barbaric living. We are only shown the side different from our own and that is why Africa is percieved as dark. We aren’t shown places like Guinea, Johannesburg, or Zimbali in South Africa. It is not fair to describe Africa as a dark continent, it is simply one sided.
I believe that Africa is not considered a dark continent. However, it would often be referred to as a dark continent because of the racial group that dominates Africa, because of their ongoing electricity problems, and also because of their reputation of being in poverty. I do not think Africa is a dark continent because of the fact that it is one of the best places to trade for objects and food that we can get nowhere else, like gold. Africa did not take any of the credit because it was stolen from them from the British, Americans, and other countries. They had a lot of history that was taken away from them. Now however, their history is coming back to them and they are getting recognized for all of their hardships and the natural resources that have been found in Africa. Africa has been a victim of racism for years, but now our class will finally know the truth because of our new class, African American History.
I personally don’t believe it is fair to call Africa a dark continent. There are many dark/bad qualities in Africa but you also can’t forget all of the good qualities. When we think of dark, we sometimes think of mysterious or scary. I don’t think Africa is mysterious nor is it scary. There’s so many cultural and religious ideas from Africa to look at. These religious and cultural ideas can possibly give them a good name or reputation. This is sort of the same as calling Philadelphia a dark continent. There’s many violent situations that happen here but we still don’t refer to it as a dark area.
Ngozi states that, “...there’s a part of Africa that no one talks about.” She also brings up a topic that is true and makes you question how we actually think about Africa. Ngozi states that Africa is always described with disease or poverty. Whenever we think about Africa, the first thing that comes to our mind is illnesses, fighting, and poverty. I don’t think that’s completely fair. Yes, those three characteristics fit some parts of Africa and do exist within Africa but not the whole entire continent. There’s more than illnesses, fighting, and poverty. There’s a community. There’s tribes and great surroundings in Africa that actually make it a bright place. That is why it is unfair to call Africa a dark continent.
I don’t believe African can be fairly described as dark (not revolutionized) continents. I know that over time history of African has been lost, artifacts of gold and value that have been traded and ancient cities that were built to honor kings and gods are found then destroyed, and most of history that man has today is the history of slave trade and the rights and racism events. Africa, as a literally dark place is that way due to the massive jungle life and disease.
Due to how man has treated African Americans over the years its caused lots of racism to African Americans. Even today you still see and hear it, in Africa today there’s Ebola which is spreading horribly in West Africa, and people believe that why the U.S. isn’t responding to it quick enough is due to racism. These acts of racism also lead to why people call Africa a dark place.
Due to most of the history we have of Africa, most do see more of it as dark. Even in a picture of the world at night Africa is really dark due to the geography because of this Africa does not have as many cities as most states have. Africa has a rich history denied by whites, Most information we have about the beginnings of man can even suggest that Africa is the birthplace of humanity, and yet due these bad events, such as disease outbreaks and racism, people deny that as well. I think people see Africa as dark mostly because of all the negative stories people say about Africa, people who hear it decide to believe and stick with it.I don’t think that Africa can be called dark, due its cultures, people and landscape and civilization , its a beautiful place that people just don’t want to look at close up.
Robert McCormick
I believe that Africa cannot fairly be described as a “Dark Continent.” I believe this for several reasons. One reason is that Africa is the birthplace of humanity. According to Prentice Hall’s “African-American History” textbook, paleoanthropologists have concluded that the origin of all humans lie in Africa’s savannah regions. Fossils and other pieces of evidence have also given a round-about date of the origin of humans. These estimates concluded humans originated in Africa about five to ten million years ago. I am stating these facts because I strongly believe that to say that the birthplace of all humans is now “dark” is absolutely ridiculous and stereotypical.
Not only is Africa the birthplace of humanity, it is also the first continent to ever have a civilization. I am referring to the Ancient Egyptian civilization. Egypt’s civilization emerged around 4,000 BCE. From the beginning of its development as a civilization, Egypt had always been an influence on other communities, such as the Indus Valley in India and the Shang Dynasty in China. Ancient Egyptians were very resourceful, using the Nile River as their main resource to grow wheat, barley and other crops. They also used it as a source of transportation, transporting their crops while also exchanging their culture with others. Ancient Egyptians were also role models in the sense of political structure. In Egypt’s “New Kingdom” period (1150-1100 BCE), kings started using the term “pharaoh” as a title of their power. Their patrilineal society influenced later civilizations to work in the same manner, with a king as their ruler. Even so, Egypt was just one civilization out of the many in Africa that influenced other cultures.
There are so many countries in Africa today that share their importance with others around the world. One of these countries is Botswana. According the video “Telling the African Story: Komla Dumor,” Botswana is the largest producer of diamonds worldwide. So when you think about buying a diamond ring, make sure to mentally thank Botswana. This and many other facts of how Africa contributes to the world are not put into place when people consider Africa to be dark. The only facts people want to look at are the ones that state how nearly ⅓ of Africa is landlocked, how there are several diseases, etc. Although this may be true, I believe these situations can eventually be overcome. I say this because African cultures communicate extremely well with one another. In fact, Jared Diamond, the author of the article “The Shape of Africa,” (written in 2005), stated just how well African cultures interact with one another. When Diamond visited Africa, he stated: “I’ve been struck with how harmoniously ethnic groups live together in many countries - far better than they do in many other parts of the globe.” This quote demonstrates just how well Africans can live together with one another. This type of communication that the Africans share is very important because it brings hope for the future! Diamond also states in his article that “If the continent can overcome its health problems and the corruption that plagues many of its governments and institutions, then it could take advantage of today’s globalized, technological world in much the same way that China and India are now doing.” This quote compares Africa of having the potential that China and India possess and in all honesty, that is the highest compliment to give to a continent! The reason being that both China and India are two of the leading countries in the world!
Robert McCormick (Continued)
In conclusion, I believe that Africa cannot fairly be described as a “Dark Continent” because of both its historical importance and the potential it possesses! From the beginning of civilization life, African cultures have been an influence on others. To this day, they continue to communicate well with one another and because of this, they possess the potential to overcome any obstacle they face. There is no doubt that Africa has its share of difficulties/struggles but at the end of the day, what continent does not have its share of problems? The continent that is home to the birth of humanity has the potential to be on top once again. When I think of the term “dark,” I think of helplessness, danger, the fear of not knowing, etc. To put Africa in the same thought as “dark” is ludicrous! For these reasons, it is impossible to consider Africa as a “Dark Continent.”
We generally hear only the negative stories of Africa. This includes famine, disease, conflict and corruption. But there are untold stories kept hidden of many African nations: one of reform, growth and business opportunity. Perhaps the biggest problem facing Africans in the media, is how to represent their own continent in the eyes of the world. The reason for this is because there are many dangers of a single story that people tend to fall for due to stereotypes and the different perspectives of the ways that a person may portray a story, as we have mentioned before in the previous blog with Chimamanda Adichie.
A continent which has such diverse culture, people and languages is just too difficult to be represented by one single adjective. So is it really fair for people to categorize Africa as a “dark” continent? This just depends on what the word “dark” may mean to you. But as for me, when I think of “darkness”, I would think of soullessness, lack of communication skills, and basically a state of nothingness with an inexistence of knowledge or just pure hopelessness. As we have reviewed before in class, tribal marks were a symbol that meant so much in ancient tradition and customs of Africa. It was known to be a rich culture of the people and it served mainly as a means of identification and a form of legitimacy in Nigeria. These marks were usually passed down from generation to generation as a part of the family tradition and values until recently.
This tells me that Africa is a place with knowledge, tradition and culture which means that it is not a place of clueless knowledge at all. Also, it has always been that way but due to stereotypical views, people decide to completely disregard the achievements that Africa are worthy of being acknowledged for. It is not fair at all for Africa to be categorized as a dark continent at all as a whole. There are many achievements of Africa that the media has yet to acknowledge. For example, in the recent documentary posted in Edmodo, Ancient Africa, they mentioned that there were forgotten treasures of Africa buried away in the ground for many years and when people came to discovery of the treasures, they decided to just hide it and lock it away which would make it impossible for Africa to be fully acknowledged as people who were capable of creating such beautiful treasures.
You just have to look at specific sections of Africa instead of only judging it as a whole. In conclusion, Africa is neither intelligent nor brainless, poor nor rich, antiquated nor advanced. What Africa is depends on which part of it you are referring to and how much of it you are willing to get to know about and rediscover the undiscovered and hidden secrets of this mysterious continent all in an open-minded direction.
-Neary Narom
I believe Africa cannot be described as a “Dark Continent”. They have so much culture in their continent it is almost impossible for them to be a dark continent. They also have religion, to add to reasons why they are not a dark continent. The “Ancient Africa” talk was helpful because it talked about culture and all that stuff to support why Africa isnt a dark continent.
The term “Lost Civilizations: Africa” is so inaccurate. Africa is not a lost civilization at all. It has way too much culture to be lost. It’s actually embarrassing that this is even in the blog. Africa has so many parts to it. Its not just a place. Its the people, the tribes, the music, the food, the geography, everything. Civilization is different in every place all over the world, so that is why it is hard for us to put their culture in their perspective. It really is an important place, and very significant to this world. So, to say that it was a lost civilization is completely incorrect in my opinion.
Yes, Africa has poverty, disease, hunger, and less than other countries, but that is what makes Africa, Africa. Africa’s culture is so unique, so I ask myself, how could it ever be forgotten or lost? It has been the same for centuries. It has been a pretty consistent culture throughout the ages.
In conclusion, Africa will never be forgotten or dark. It will always be an important part to this world.
In my opinion, I do not think that Africa can fairly be described as a dark continent. Many people make it seem like Africa is not prosperous. Sources also provide proof for this statement, but they only state half of the story.
As I read through “The Shape Of Africa”, I noticed important facts that support the fact that Africa is not a dark continent. In the article, Jared Diamond talked about how Africa is more available to different diseases. “These and many other human illnesses arose when microbes causing disease in animals crossed species lines to evolve into a human disease.” Jared Diamond wrote this sentence because he was trying to say that because Africa has more animals than there are in the U.S. and Europe, they are available to more diseases. He also says “Much more time has been available in Africa, cradle of humankind, than in any other part of the planet. That’s half the answer to Africa’s disease burden…” Together, these two quotes support the fact that Africa is not a dark continent.
Another reason why Africa cannot fairly be described as a dark continent is their limited amount of technology. “If the continent can overcome its health problems and the corruption that plagues many of its governments and institutions, then it could take advantage of today’s globalized, technological world in much the same way that China and India are now doing. Technology could give Africa the connections that its geography, particularly its rivers, long denied it… English-speaking workforce could well attract service jobs to many African countries.” I believe that Jared Diamond is trying to point out the fact that if there was technology, the people of Africa would be accessable to learn more languages. If they knew more languages, they could have more job opportunities and make more money.
In conclusion, I do not think that Africa can fairly be described as a dark continent. I think that they are not as prosperous as the U.S. and Europe because they have a wider variety of animals and a limited amount of technology.
I believe Africa is not a dark continent because Africa has more potential and good aspects just like America does. In the article "The shape of Africa", it emphasizes on the fact that we only think of Africa representing "cradle of humankind", "big animals", and poverty. We neglect the fact that Africa is a goldmine and has a great cultural background. Africa's culture has impacted other cultures and ethnic groups because of its natural resources. In our last class we talked about "the danger of a single story", and how stereotypes confine people or things to a certain arena/category and negate everything else about that someone or something.
In the video "Ancient Africa", a professor offers the idea that Africa is the "land of forgotten kingdom". I feel that a interesting way of talking about Africa in terms of its history because I hear two comments always brought up about Africa. "Africa is a beautiful experience you should go there because it feels like home"; the downside to that is "Africa is depicted uncivilized and poor". African people have nice homes like we do, they have cities, and they have a diverse population. Americans have to get out of the sense that Africans don't have stability or laws. We hear one story about Africa and that's all we associate them with, which is naked buffoons.
Lastly, Africa is so widely considered a dark continent because people make it a dark continent with opinions, speculations, misappropriating history. The Europeans wanted to claim parts of Africa because of the great natural resources there and complex cultivations from dirt and mud. Many explorers tried to prove that the ancient African civilization Zimbabwe( meaning "great house of stone"), was constructed by a lost white civilization; that was there before the African. Africa is one of the oldest civilization and studies to this day show that Africa is where the first man was created. To say that there were white ancestors were there before the Africans is absurd; Ali A. Mazuri, the political scientist from "Ancient Africa", say that "the first habitat of the human species is the last people to be understood". I think that Mazuri was right in a sense of excluding a people who were articulate in artistry and buildings; so Africa is always made out to be so tainted and "absent of enlightenment", but why do people want to claim so many parts of it and use it for the resources it holds, when a place is dark your apprehensive to enter it but you enter it because in that darkness can be a small room full of light and wonders that are useful.
Can Africa be considered a dark continent? It really can all depend of your point of view on it. Personally I don't see Africa as dark,they have such a diverse selection of cultures. They are also a very independent continent come to think of it. For instance, some cultures in Africa get tribal marks and the different tribal marks have been pasted down generation to generation, that's something they do apart of their culture. All you hear about Africa are negative things and I think that's wrong. I believe they have so much going for them, they really are a rising continent and they should be recognized for that.
Looking at Africa, its crazy to see that there is such a lack of positive attention. Africa is so rich in agriculture. Unfortunately though there is a good reason why Africa got colonized last. Africa is bordered by one of the harshest deserts in the world. Although they had that misfortune with the border the education in Africa has been improving. They've broadened their access to electricity, which can be good for growing and creating more businesses. In Liberia they've even begun an underground pipe system so water can be more easily accessed. So once again, no I do not believe Africa is a dark continent!
i think africa can be called a dark continent because in their ancient tradition and custom of africa tribal marks.Also, homo sapiens evaluted in africa. Next, there were diseases plague in the continent.Economic strugglest get complain.The Zulu Warriors were a group of african people that goes hunting for their food,The warriors were mainly men,boys and sometimes women, girls.
It is not fair to describe Africa as a “Dark Continent”. When most people say Africa is a dark continent they pay no mind to a lot of adjectives that stem off of this word “dark” and most of them don’t even relate to Africa. In class we all called out some of these adjectives that we think come out of the word dark and some match Africa in ways but some don’t. For example: if you were to say Africa is helpless, that is semi-true because they do need a lot of support and help but they are not completely helpless. They hunt for their own food, they make their own clothes, and they do a lot more for themselves and one another. Now on the other hand if you were to relate “dark” to “without religion” they definitely are not without religion/ civilization. Looking at our powerpoint from class it stated that in some of the African civilizations they practice polytheistic Earth religions that are heavily influenced by Islam, but most practice Christianity which makes it no different from the USA either because Christianity is so commonly practiced here. Mr. Jobs also related culture to this by saying, “culture = civilization”. In the video we watched, “Zulu Warriors”, women and men had a lot of uniformity and/or accessories on their bodies which comes from their culture. These aspects of their cultures are far from dark and in that case Africa is not a dark continent.
Now I can see where a lot of people pick up on this stereotype that Africa is “Dark Continent”. Looking at the photo NASA took composed of the world at night can definitely give reason to call Africa dark because it literally is, in this picture. Because of their lack of electricity they are not as lit up as other parts of the world, showing it is dark. People could have also gotten reason to call Africa a “Dark Continent” from books or poems like, “The White Man’s Burden”, by Rudyard Kipling. When Kipling states, “Your new-caught sullen peoples, / Half devil and half child”, he’s describing the non-European’s as wild and bad-tempered. This brought people to believe that Africa is dark and I see how they thought that. Although, it still is not a fair way to describe to Africa and people should look more into these kinds of things before having a single story of a subject.
Gabriella Consello
Previous to European control until the late 19th century, Africa was seen as a dark continent. Even after divided among the Europeans, much of Africa was unknown, misunderstood, and seen and known for something which they are not. It was not until the 20th century that inhabitants occupying Africa were able to further explore their land and take advantage of its plentiful resources. Before this, and even now, Africa is seen as a dark continent. I believe there are certain stereotypes contributing to the idea of Africa being seen as dark, and I do not believe this. To call a continent dark is a harsh term. How could anything grow from something seen as dark? Just as Roquelle said, when I hear the term "dark continent" how could anything positive come to your mind besides poverty, illness, or lack of life even. All the fossils, script writings, animal species, tribes, and knowledge of amazing culture Africa gave us, and we, the people who opinions matter most, have the audacity to call a continent that gave us so much dark?
In class, we watched a video from NASA'S view of the world from space. In the video, electricity, oil, etc., was shown by a bright yellow light. Of course, New York occupied one of the most activities. In last place, was of course, Africa. For many, this is seen as solid evidence and fact of Africa being a dark continent. Africa has so much land uninhabited, most of which people or plants and crops can not survive to live on. To me, it makes complete and perfect sense that Africa was not as bright and contributed to the least activity. Why would all of this activity be going on in dry lands, forests, and lands not suitable for survival of barely anything? I say this with extreme furiosity. For those that base this evidence off a fact, I do not think it is a fair thing to do at all.
In conclusion, I strongly believe Africa is not seen as a dark continent. If so, I believe stereotypical values played a huge role in the decision. If Africa vanished and never existed I believe culture, the amazement of tribes, and even different perspectives of beauty would be completely unknown. Africa is the backbone of all of these concepts and characteristics combined. But if it is really seen as dark, if all this was gone, I guess it would not matter. I guess this because in my point of view and perspective, that is exactly was a “dark continent” is; non matter able. This is why I feel Africa should not be seen as a dark continent, now and even before European colonization.
Is Africa considered a "Dark" Continent? After watching the videos physically speaking, Africa, unlike other continents is very dark at night. The continent does not have much light. In class, we talked about what comes to our minds when someone says "Dark". Some answers were: dull, depressing, helpless, scary, and sad. I believe that people form their opinions based off of a single situation. For example, Ebola, the disease that everyone is talking about. Just because Ebola first started in Africa doesn't mean that Africa is a bad place to be. Not every part of Africa is affected by this disease.In other situations it is all about stereotypes. Race is socially constructed. It is agreed upon the "truth". The power that words have come from society. No will ever know the actual truth of Africa and its past because we base it off the facts we are given from the textbook, videos, and websites.
We always should be open minded.Every society has its own way of civilization. This also can be a way to form new traditions. According to the African- American History textbook, Africa is the “Birthplace of Humanity”.
Africa started traditions just like other countries have started them. One tradition of Africa is the tribal mark. This mark represented scarification. Africa is not only was the “Birthplace of Humanity”, but it is also the first continent to have a civilization. This is found on page 9 of the textbook. West Africa is physically, ethnically, and culturally diverse (pg.14). West Africans began cultivating crops and tending domesticated animals between 1000 BCE and 200 CE. They traded among themselves and with others who lived across the Sahara Desert in North Africa. This occurred until the beginning of the modern era.
Africa is not a “Dark” continent. The type of “Dark” I am referring to is hopeless and meaningful. It actually has shared many ideas and has influenced other countries . Do not form an opinion off of a single story until you experience it yourself. As Neary said in her blog, “You just have to look at specific sections of Africa instead of only judging it as a whole. Be willing to discover new things. This does not just go for Africa but for anywhere.
When I think of dark I usually think of evil, fear, mystery, death, scary, and danger. I do not think Africa is a dark continent because they are civilized in their own way. In class we discussed culture and looked at different African tribes and traditions. In my opinion, if Africa was dark then they wouldn’t be civilized and wouldn’t have a culture. There is history and because it is not written down, thats why people think Africa is a dark continent. Their history is passed down from stories. When the Europeans went to Africa they saw that they had no written documents of their history and no records. Instead of believing their stories and listening to them the Europeans just decided that it didn’t happen. Many people think Africans are uneducated and helpless, like the Europeans did, but they are strong and smart. They live off the land and do what it takes to stay alive. Yes they don’t have electricity like America or Europe, but this doesn’t mean anything. Their culture is much different than ours, but at the end of the day we know the first humans started in africa. In class we said dark was scary and evil. Africa has many good qualities and bad qualities. For example, humans came from africa and many animals and food sources. Africa was the start of Ebola and many other bad diseases. Yes Africa has many good and bad things about it, but we came from there and this is why I do not believe its a dark continent.
I personally believe that Africa is and is not a Dark Continent before the European Colonization. I think it is a dark continent because of their lack of electricity, civilization, and money. I think it isn't a dark continent because they are more involved with nature. If they aren't well civilized as the U.S., and Europe today, then they won't have all that electricity, and the lack of electricity comes from a lack of buildings which means that there is more natural environments in Africa which is leaving animals with their homes and with multiple animals in the natural environments their cycle of life will continue.
If you look at the map of the world at night, you can make out almost every continent from all of the lights that are on at night, but if you look closely Africa has almost little to no lights at all. This goes back to what I previously said as them having no electricity, to no buildings, to where there is more nature. Also it goes to what I said about them being a "Dark Continent." With Africa not having electricity or any civilization, I personally consider it to be a "Dark Continent." This is why I consider Africa to be both a "Dark Continent", and not a "Dark Continent."
Essential Question: Is Africa considered a dark continent. I do think that Africa is a dark continent, but I have mixed opinions on it. I do think Africa is a dark continent because many people are dying there from different diseases every day. Their economy is poor, some people have pet monkeys while they are eating monkey, and their conditions are much worse than ours in the US. However, is could be considered not a dark continent because every continent can be dark at times. For an example when we were going through the Great Depression people could have considered our continent a dark place.
Some people when they hear the word Africa they automatically think of sickness, poverty, lack of food and water, but I don’t think that it is fair to judge Africa if you don’t know all about the culture. That would be the same situation as people judging Philadelphia before they really got to know it. If “outsiders” hear the word Philadelphia they would probably just think of it as, Oh I hear a lot of fights happen there. They would just assume that is was a bad area before they even knew anything else about it. They wouldn’t know many good things came from Philadelphia, like the Declaration of Independence was signed here, the first protest of slavery was held in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Philadelphia is also known for being the city of brotherly love. So in conclusion people shouldn’t just judge Africa by what is looks like on the outside, but how the people like and enjoy their own community. That is what really makes a continent dark, if they people in the place don’t enjoy where they are.
Tianna Boccuti said
I believe Africa is not a dark Continent. When I think of dark I think of a place being scary, negative, unhappy, and unpleasant. I do not think that people are very unhappy in Africa. The people there have culture and traditions, just like we do but in their own ways, and that's what makes it special to them. However, when the media or commercials speak of Africa they paint a very dark picture like the a continent without electricity and it being dark and scary. They focus on the Map of Africa which shows Africa to be dark and dreary. They don't tell you that Africa is a continent made up of a bunch of little countries that are flourishing. They don't tell you about the beautiful wildlife or the tourists that visit there to see the sites of Africa. They only focus on the poverty, the HIV AIDS, the Conflict and the Africa that is full of Disasters. You never see Africa as a wonderful continent that is changing. After watching the videos, I heard that the the speaker is saying people want to take charge of their own destinies. That Africa is full of Big things happening, such as construction, mortgage, real estate, markets and financial services. a great deal of opportunities, tourism and the wild life. I don't see it as a Dark Continent like I use to because now I know things are changing, conflicts are down on the continent. This continent is a continent of many countries they focus on the horn of Africa which has the deadly diseases, the poverty, etc. If we are not educated we would never know that there is plenty of opportunity. The people of Africa would like to get the message across to invest in their futures by employing them, helping them stand on their feet by creating jobs to support their families. If the world would look a little further instead of it being a dark continent they would learn it is a bright Continent full of opportunity and is making big improvements. People just have to be educated and informed and not taught about it being Dark. The Dark part is a little part which every country has a dark park, but you need to focus on the Brightness of everyone's future.
The debate about evolution vs. creationism is a very controversal topic. It is controversal because not everyone believes in either one of these topics. Evolution is about humans evolving from ancient monkey-like humans and getting to where we are today. It also talks about the big bang theory. Creationism is about God creating man in His image and everything else in a matter of 6 days.
Humans have been making history ever since time has basically existed. We've left things live cave writings, fossils, and artifacts behind. Ever since writing and creating existed, we've basically made history and cultures.
My belief is Christianity. I believe that there is a living God in which who's loving son died on the cross for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins. I believe that there's a reason for our existence and that God did in fact create everything in a matter of 6 days. I am not trying to offend anyone.
Is Africa really a dark continent? Or is it not noticed or are people blind? Maybe its considered dark because people don't care about Africa or because their losing there culture and everything they worked for. Has people forgotten the nice bright high lightened things about Africa. Even though Africa has alot of negative things like diseases and poverty and depression doesn't make it dark. Africa has alot of dark stories but they have some bright things like different tribes and resources. Africa is not considered dark, it's a nice happy place where people share cultures, stories and traditions. When people talk about Africa they list the bad stereotypes that people think they know about Africa. But they never tell you the real truth, people always put Africa down its like they've abandoned them. If you look at the map it showed that Africa is dark and it has no lights. Have your ever thought it's that way because it's a very pure natural place. They don't need much to be happy because they have their tribes and family to be happy with.
I do not consider Africa to be a dark country. The first thing that I would have to determine is the meaning of the term dark. If we are referring to their lack of electricity, then it's dark because they do not have light the way that the United States & other countries have. So they're dark because there aren't lights.
As far as Africa being a dark country using the term dark in a different meaning, then I do not believe that because the individuals that lived in Africa in the past, created their entire society and social lives. They made their own homes, they worked hard and they worked consistently together, both the men and the women. They traded goods and commodities that they needed to live and did it so well that villages, communities and cities were developed due to their hard work.
Mark Hoochuk
I believe Africa isn't technically a 'dark continent". We have talked about in Chapter 1 that all humanity has come from Africa, it is the birthplace. So to me I look at Africa as a lively hood or lively place. There are many things that we don't know about that go on in Africa and that have went on in Africa that can back up why it should not be considered a dark place. It is popular for it's trading, many riches, livestock, songs and as we looked at in class, dancing.
Even though things there might not be the brightest, the people make it bright. They have the best attitudes and try and make the best of everything. Just because NASA has gotten an overview of Africa and it was a lot darker than other places, doesn't mean that the inside is dark. The outside of something doesn't explain the inside. It's like the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover. What we see of Africa is diseases, poverty, hunger. It seems scary and almost forgotten which is equivalent to darkness. So when people look at Africa those are the main thoughts that come to mind as they do with darkness. Really Africa to me isn't dark, it's just the way it is presented. I think of things like this, in darkness there's a little bit of light, so while we look at Africa as dark can't we look at the people or the culture as the light?
I do not consider Africa a dark continent. Because of Eurocentrism, many people (mostly white and/or European) believe that a nation is underdeveloped and helpless if it is not similar to their own. For example, on the NASA world map we were shown in class, countries in Europe and North America were lit up plentifully at night, whereas Africa was not. Other than in a literal sense, does this actually make Africa "dark"? Does the amount of electrical lights in a nation truly determine its worth? Another way Africa is different from Eurocentric nations is with their culture, specifically what they perceive as beauty. Those used to Eurocentric beauty standards may be put off by people's elongated necks and stretched mouths, as if our beauty standards are the only ones in the whole world. Another reason why Africa is often considered "dark" is because of how it is often perceived in Western media. For example, in Chimamanda Adichie's TED Talk, she explains how various single stories have altered people's perceptions of her and her life, one of these examples being how her college roommate didn't know if Adichie knew how to work a stove. Adichie's roommate most likely gathered most of her knowledge of modern Africa through Western news circuits, who show Africa as a helpless, dark place. So, how can we make sure our perception of Africa isn't altered by single stories and Eurocentrism? We start acknowledging and respecting non-European cultures, and stop letting our view of Africa be shaped by Western news sources, and by the continent itself instead.
I think that Africa is a dark continent but I also think that Africa isn't a dark continent. When I think about Africa the images that come to mind are crazy face paints and tribal dances and hunting and more things that would seem uncivilized in our society. I think that Africa is in some ways a dark continent. I think in most cases because of the images I am shown on television and hear on broadcasts over the radio I am given an image that makes me see more poverty and less technological advances. On the map that is shown the U.S. and Europe and East Asia and India are using the most light and electricity. While we use an over abundance of light and electricity Africa barely uses any electricity which could put it in a category of being a “Dark Continent”.
On the other hand Africa is also a developing Continent. As Komla Dumor said in his video Africa is on the rise if you want to know Africa you need to speak to “African experts”. Komla Dumor also said that Africa was on the rise and gave an example about his friend that was apart of the organization that taught Africans to cut diamonds and was teaching them and getting them to develop their skills.
So I have mixed emotions on this topic because I see darkness but at the same time I see kind of a light that comes out.
By: Christian Bingham
Can Africa fairly be described as a "Dark Continent? My answer is no.It’s really depend on what kind of “dark” you talking about.Do you mean the “dark”country or the light electricity.If you referring to the dark of electricity,the continent does not have much light and it is very dark at night.That is electricity problem and because Africa have more natural enviromental.
As we discuss in class about “dark”, “dark” here mean scary negative word.African does not have a dark history.All race skin were from Africa . Africa is the birth of humanity.I feel like Africa should be recognize more about their history. When we heard about Africa,we see them as a 3th world poor,hopeless,disease country. The media only told the negative sides of Africa such as AIDS, Yellow Fever, Malaria, and Ebola. They never told us about the positive sides of Africa
There are always have untold stories kept hidden.That is why the single story is really danger,people tend to believe the stereotypes and “judge a book by a cover”. Africa is a place with a great tradition and culture,it such a shame that people judge Africa due to stereotypes view and the single story.
Personally i learned a lot of new things about Africa,i think Africa have such a great history and it’s really have a big impact on human and other countries history.There are no country that consider as perfect. Every country has a negative sides, every country has a great cultural background.That is same with Africa,people should respect African culture and their traditional,not just believe in the single story and believe the media.
Can Africa fairly be described as a “dark” continent
Africa is a diverse land of people, cultures, religions, animals food and lots of other things. “Dark” is such a broad word that to describe Africa as a “dark continent” would just be unfair to the country’s and people of Africa. Yes parts of Africa could be described as dark to say that the whole continents is dark is stupid. Africa has a growing economy with some civilized country’s. Africa is also the birthplace of the human race and were most of the animals in the world today started. saying africa is a dark continent though could be said in a way that they don’t use any electricity and that they don’t have light. If you look at a map of the world at night and see where most of the light is used africa is a really dark place. Barely any if any light is used in Africa and most of tqhe light is used in more developed nations. In the end Africa is a vibrant growing place that is coming out from the "darkness" and will become a force to be wrecked with in this world.
James Nicholson
I don’t think it is fair to say that Africa is dark continent. When we talked about what we think of when we hear the word “dark” we said fear, loneliness, and isolated. I don’t Africa is a place of darkness. In the video we watched the Oxford professor said that Africa has no history before European colonization because before that was darkness and history is not darkness. But I don’t think that it was a place of darkness. They had many great civilizations like that of Great Zimbabwe which was where the king lived.
When I think of the word dark, I think of the Dark Ages, a time without learning, religion, and culture. That’s not true of Africa. They practiced their own indigenous religions. And they did have their own history, it just wasn’t written down. They kept their history alive by passing it down through word of mouth from generation to generation. When we watched the video of the African woman dancing or the picture of the girls wearing the necklaces how can you possibly say that Africa is a place without culture. And where there is culture, there is civilization, and there is nothing dark about that.
When the word dark comes up panic seems to set in peoples hearts. This is because words associated with dark are death, danger, scary, and the fear of not knowing. But when I think of Ancient Africa none of those words come to mind. So no, Africa cannot be described as a dark continent. Plentiful costumes and cultures prospered within the continent before European exploration, and colonization.It is said that history is not dark, and according to one historical thinker he believes Africans have a dark past which means they have no history. I disagree. How can various cultures be labeled as historically missing because of their dark past when much light has come out of it.
One forms of light that came out of Africa before European colonization was the organized and advanced writing/language systems. About 400 years ago an advance picture language was created by the secret societies. One being the picture of how the world was created, a cycled diagram with North being Good, west being the moon, South being man, and West being the moon. Another language developed out of africa which has the video speakers favorite symbol standing for Sankorfa, which means “return and get it, learn from the past”. Sankofa is very popular in todays society, shown in music, fashion and much more. If you look at the African Alphabet created before our Alphabet you can see the similarities between the two. You can inform that because of Africa todays American language/writing system is the way it is.
Another form of light that came out of Africa were the advanced structures thought to not be built by black Africans. The buildings were so advanced and grand that explorers believed a lost white African civilization created them. After scientific test it was proven that black Africans actually did build these advanced structures. Because of the ruins and artifacts you can make the connection that civilizations such as Great Zimbabwe had rich culture. When there is culture in a community, civilization etc. how can it be said that their past is dark?
No, africa is not a dark continent in my opinion. Light, such as advanced language, writing techniques, structures and more came out of the so called dark continent. If cultures can be formed, and stories can be passed down generations of races within a continent, I don’t think it is right to give the continent the name dark.
-mayah
Can Africa fairly be described as a dark continent?
Dark means without religion,helpless, scary,and death. Particularly, I say it depends on the perspective of the people. The US makes Africa sound like a dark continent. With all the commercials and news reports that are shown on tv, they make Africa sound like a dark continent. They make it seem like Africa needs help all the time. In the Chimamanda video we watched in class her professor described Africans as “beast with no homes”. Why?, why was this his description of Africans. That’s considered the stereotypical Africa. America has stereotyped Africans so much that they are tired of being the subject of everybody’s charity. And they say well Africa isn’t always depended economically.Well the money that people and charities have raised for Africa, where does is go?
Even in the Iweala video she just came out there and called Africa a dark continent. In class dark may be interpreted in many different ways, but it doesn’t mean that all of these interpretations are correct, its an opinion. Most Africans have a religion that means something to them and that they cherish. It may be inherited or their moral. Although people may see dark as death, yes Africans do have deaths but not as much as we think they have. So overall, I think Africa shouldn’t be described as a dark continent.
Can Africa be considered a dark continent ? I believe Africa can be considered a dark continent because it's physically dark and forgotten. The continent dosen't have light. It is a very isolated and not knowing continent . Africa was the start of a lot of culture, tradition and accomplishment. There are a lot of single stories about Africa for example Ebula. Everything in Africa is mis-judged or stereotyped . Ebula for example people believe that all Africa is made up of is disease and poverty. That's not true Africa contains a lot of knowledge and creation. The continent has a lot of knowledge that can make our civilization better today. It's also a dark continent if you think of it in a racial way because most people on Africa are black. I think people should be more open minded towards Africa. Some of the first civilizations ever were created in Africa. People shouldn't just this amazing continent off of disease and poverty because it's more to Africa's culture. Like they said in the video stories can't be told the same. That's why Africa can't be considered a single story. Researchers don't contain the right information on African culture so we will never know it's full potential. Africa is not just made up of war and disease . The people in Africa have knowledge and great ideas. ~ Brandi Graham
Africa can seem to be a dark continent to other people because media display it as a continent that has poverty, disease, hunger, and dependence on Western nations, but that does not describe all of Africa. We hear these things in the media and based on that, we make our own truth about Africa as being a dark continent which is not a fact. This shows how our own experience, opinions, and media itself can influence our perspective on things. This is the danger of a single story of knowing only the negatives sides of Africa. When I think of darkness, I think of emptiness or meaningless. I don’t think that Africa is completely a dark continent because it is an existing continent full of culture, religion, government, natural resources, etc. If the whole Africa is completely dark, there would just be poverty, diseases, and hunger throughout the WHOLE continent. Again, back to the talk about stereotypes, we can’t say that if some parts of Africa is poor, hungry, and sick that Africa as a whole continent is like that.
Many things originates from Africa such as the tradition and evolution of writing. It surprised me that in the video of ancient Africa that “Africans are people without history.” How can they not have any history? There were many ancient African civilizations that cannot be considered dark or nonexistent. These ancient civilizations are important and it is what makes up modern Africa in terms of traditions, cultures, and religions. In conclusion, I don’t think that Africa is a dark continent considering the fact that it is an existing continent with so much cultural and traditional impact.
Can Africa be fairly called as a “Dark Continent?’’ Well depends on your point view. Some people may think dark as two totally different things. But I believe it can be fairly described as a dark continent. Africa was originally called the dark continent. It was originally called that way because it was one of the last continents to be explored. I do believe though it is dark according to map of Africa during night time, that light shown is all on other nations besides Africa. Africa as we discussed in class for the terms to describe dark is that it does have a devoid of light as shown in the map. Scary, diseases and forgotten. Those words describe dark. And these are words that describe Africa after reading ‘’The shape of Africa’’ article and other sources for evidence. As said in the article the shape of africa, ‘’The continent has a well-deserved reputation for having spawned some of our nastiest ones: malaria, yellow fever, East African sleeping sickness, and AIDS. This is just some evidence that describe how Africa is being describe in terms of DARK.
When i think of the word dark i think of the words, alarming, powerless, disregarded and loneliness. The reason for these words are the word dark is not a word to describe happiness in any way. Dark describes an unpleasant feeling in any situation. Some may believe it’s not fair that the truth is the truth but if Africa is called that way for a reason then there is nothing that others can say that can change that.
I also believe that in some circumstances that Africa is not dark. They are widely known now just like the rest of the continents. Africa is the continent of our ancestors, this continent has a history! We got so much from Africa that its one of the first continents we cannot shut out. Today Africa is not considered dark but back during the 1880’s - 19th century i say it was.
I wouldn’t consider Africa a “dark’ continent. I say this because of many reasons. One main reason is because of our conversation on the first day of school about our growth and African American history in general. When we first start talking about African American history it made me think. People always say Africa is a great place to live or to be. While others may refer to it as a “dark” continent or they will say Africa has nothing there to do and they are very poor. To me a place is only bad if the bad or darkness is brought to that area which brings me back to the 1st day of school. We said that African American people are shown racial discrimination, racial controversy colorism, and they are socially unconscious. But all these things are a “2 man job” which means it can’t only be one person. There has to be one racist who brings racial discrimination, colorism, and more to Africa. I also think the continent itself it’s not a dark continent but the people in it make it dark. My reason for saying this is that basically everything in the world started off in Africa and nothing was or ever went wrong. But now since we (Americans) want to “fix” everything and invade everywhere the wo9rld is going wrong. So in conclusion Africa is NOT a dark continent it is just a continent with “dark/evil/bad people” inside of it. That goes with the saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”.
I believe that Africa can't be described as a dark continent before the European colonization. My personal meaning and our class meaning of the word tells me otherwise. Dark to me, means a place with no culture or religion and with the not knowing. I feel like we were ignorant about the continent before European colonization. Exploration only began because of the greed for power. What if the Europeans didn't go to Africa? It would still be a "dark" continent because of ignorance.
In the second video we watched, the woman talked about having an ethics of seeing. I believe that it means that you can't only see something one way. You need to see it in the eyes of an inhabitant of the nature that is being looked upon.
Koloma Dumor talked about a lot of confidence. It made me think about the Zulu warriors and how brave and confident they were before and after the Europeans arrived. He also said, "Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter." My interpretation is that whatever history that we pull out about the ancient "dark" continent of Africa, it should be as exciting as the next. No one knows what people would find.
There were many cultures and religions before the Europeans began to colonize. The Africans had their own civilizations that they would fight and die for. They believed in prayers to certain gods. I feel like the this is really important because history makes it seem like the ancient Africans were doing horribly befire the Europeans came.
In conclusion, is a African a dark continent or misunderstood? Theh can have all their diseases and poverty but does it make the whole continent dark?
-Jackie Avery
It’s not fair to call Africa a Dark Continent especially before European Colonization. Africa is a beautiful place with so much diversity. There is so much unity and opportunity. Though Africa was the place where Homo Sapiens developed they are struggling economically. “…Africans enjoyed not just one but three huge head starts over humans on other continents. That makes Africa’s economic struggles today, compared with the successes of other continents, particularly puzzling.” (The Shape Of Africa, National Geographic, September, 2005 Author Jared Diamond)
We’ve all been told the “single story” of Africa: HIV/Aids, Ebola, poverty, conflict, and disasters, without actually being acknowledged by the fact Africa is beautifully diverse. Africa is much more than that story. We have celebrities and many other people go to Africa and tell us what’s only going on in a certain place. As Komla Dumor said for number 4: “Hire the best talent to tell the story… or the view is great from my hotel.” These people are telling us what they see “by looking out the window”. We need actually experts to tell us what else is going on besides the one sided story that the world seems to only want to care about. “Who is the African expert?” was a questioned asked by Dumor. And I am intrigued by it. There are ones from outside of the continent, but there is also the ones who actually live in Africa. I feel as though the ones from outside Africa lack the true knowledge of the place unless they’ve been there themselves. Other than that, those “experts” probably obtained the title by books and pictures. “Anyone dealing with Africa they realize that it’s not the same. And the story cannot be told the same way…There’s a lot of good news in Africa but there has to be balance.” (Komla Dumor) And they are “tired of being the subject of everybody’s charity and care.” (Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala believes that the only people who can actually help Africa move forward are themselves. They just need to get there.
Just because there is something bad happening in Africa doesn’t mean it’s throughout the entire continent (ex. Ebola)”…neighborhood effect where if something is going on in one part of the continent, it looks like the entire continent is affected.” Africa shouldn’t be called a Dark Continent. It has a lot of spirit and character.
Would Africa be considered as a Dark Continent ?
I think Africa is not a Dark continent but people would used the term for a racial comment that would negative.The reason why I think Africa is not a Dark Continent because the African people aren't dark at all because Africa was the first place we walked from man ever since man kind was made african's was one of our best place for trade for value goods and gold, and they didn't even get the credit the British, Americans, and other countries or colonies took all the credit they deserve and even took some of their history and land away from them in history that was true. Now people are realizing what their people's mistake in history for what they have done to the African people. They shouldn't even erase or taken away of the history that was their own. They did have rights but the people from different countries thought they were savages but they weren't. I feel like why does this happened to the African people over and over again due to this or even racism. Would they stop or will they never considered to change themselves or history. For the Ebola disease people need to start to help find more research to save the people who are affected by the virus. There is a great video on BBC news that I had watch when I was at my grandmother's house. when people see African people dance their native culture dances, people are confuse and think it is weird. It is not, it is used for spiritual or celebrations. Other cultures do the same thing as well. I feel like people shouldn't be called a Dark Continent they need to have actually facts to make this question or statement true. Africa is not a Dark continent, and we are all the same people as Africans are today but just remember to listen to their story instead of opinions.
Mr. Jobs this a edit of my post can you delete my first post please if you can.
Jada Cooper
Can Africa be described as a Dark continent? I think Africa can be described as dark physically and as being seen as being misguided, forgotten, poor, scary, diseased, helpless, misjudged and misunderstood.
When I saw the map of the world and saw how dark Africa was compared to everywhere else, I was in a lot of shock. In other places there was light everywhere but in Africa there was barely any places with light except for the Nile and etc. The light on the map also indicated energy which, obviously, Africa does not have a lot of.
I think Africa is also Dark in an almost mental state of mind way. I believe the majority of the reason Africa is considered dark is because Africa has a been looked at wrongly for a long time. When I think of Africa, I think of the single stories that Africa has been based off. Everyday I am hearing new stereotypes of Africa about how it is scary, unsafe or diseased. I think Africa has been misjudged for a long time. Basing Africa or any place off of one story gives you the wrong mindset of the area. Africa has been helpless for a long time especially when it came to the disease, Ebola. I think with the right guidance Africa can step up and become a great continent that hopefully wont be misunderstood anymore.
I think one of the main reasons Africa is so helpless today is because of racism. Africa is also know as The Heart of Darkness. In a video recently watched in class, a women said that she thinks part of the reason they aren't getting help with the Ebola incident is because they are black. I think that is part of the reason because blacks were going through struggles since the beginning of time. At the end of the day Africa has rights like everyone else and it is only time before they are "ahead of the game."
For centuries, Africa as a whole has always been described negatively in many different ways as “Dark”. Many factors affect the way people think about this continent such as it’s past involving geography, history, differences from other continents, etc. From our discussion, the term “Dark” could mean many things such as the following descriptions: danger, isolation, death, fear, and helpless. Africa in many ways can be described this way.
From The Shape of Africa by Jared Diamond, we are given the knowledge that the geography of Africa consists of much land and poor soil. That made living conditions quite hard. Many countries of Africa are also landlocked. This definitely limits the communication between Africa and other continents. Therefore, they may not be easily able to be influenced by other developing nations. This isolation results in the lack of industrialization and a thriving economy. Dark in this case, means the inability to develop and become industrialized. Africa’s geography limits that from happening. People only see Africa as a poor continent in need of aid.
In terms of history affecting the perception of Africa being described as “dark”, the history of Africa tends to be expressed negatively. Africans have been portrayed as slaves for many centuries which makes them inferior. It all started when other superior colonies decided to choose Africa as a target due to their vulnerability. This was known as “The Scramble for Africa.” Yet, the positive sides of Africa’s history remains ignored, such as the fact that the earliest trace of humans, homo sapiens, originated from Africa. Their contribution to culture, art, and smelting are not even mentioned as well. The darkness has made its way over the history of Africa.
This thinking of course has been passed on and on through many generations until today because once history is told, it is hard to reverse it. Even today, Africa is still expressed negatively throughout the social media. For example, the Ebola outbreak is the new topic of talking recently. It has originated from Africa and is starting to spread virally infecting many people and already killing quite a number of Africans. This obviously makes Africa seem like a threat and danger. It even leaves the impression that Africans are germ carriers living up to their stereotypes and that they’re helpless. However, the social media tends to ignore the good things about Africa such as the good deeds Africans do in their own communities to help out. As Komla Dumor explained in his TedTalk, stories told must maintain a balance between good and bad. If one overpowers the other, then most people will only open up their ears towards that. If the topic of interest at a point in time, then reporters will likely report exactly what people want to hear without thinking before they act. If they get paid, why would they care anyway? In relation to Africa, it is fair to say Africa is expressed more negatively than positively. That is why you never hear about the countries that are economically and socially improving; Only stories improving about starvation, poverty, wars and disease that exists in Africa.
In conclusion, it fair to describe Africa as a dark continent, but it is just as light as well. It all depends on how people are exposed to the stories of Africa. Everyone has different “ethics of seeing”. The perception of Africa is different in the eyes of everyone. Of course, everyone has a different view, for we are told different stories such as it’s geography, behavior of the tribes, beliefs, history, etc. What and how we choose to believe is what affects our perception of Africa.
I do not believe that Africa can be described as a "Dark Continent". Just because an ethnic group doesn't write down their traditions doesn't mean they don't have culture. What if maybe they didn't have the resources or the geographical characteristics to be able to write these things down. European colonization came and the traditions of Ancient Africa were being thrown away. We constantly forget the great achievements that Africa has brought to the world, such as being the birthplace of humankind and are always bringing up the bad things that has come from Africa. Everyone has baggage including America, so I don't understand why Africa is always singled out. Maybe it's because their economy is worse than ours or that maybe they're powerless to the influence of being called a bad continent. Africa can not possibly be called a "Dark Continent" because of the very rich cultures that exist there now. They had to of come from somewhere no matter how much influence from other countries was present. In conclusion, Africa is not a "dark Continent".
Can Africa be considered a dark continent? Well that all depends on what the definition of dark is. It could mean physically dark, like the nighttime, or emotionally dark as in sad or lonely. I don’t think Africa is either one of these. If anything, Africa is colorful. When described as dark environment or a place where heathens live, it then becomes dark… but we have to look again because all these theories are wrong.
A heathen, as we have defined it in class, means to be without religion or culture. This is a falsity because Africa has religion and culture! The top main religions in Africa is Islam and Christianity. Also, Africa is full of culture. Vibrant colors, collar-like necklaces, and uniformity of outfits outlines their culture. Africa is not dark, it is colorful.
We chose not to recognize this because Africa is different. They have a different culture and history but that does not mean that they are not human. I guess you can say they are overlooked because of their disadvantages. Africans do not have as much access to technology as we do, that’s true. And when stereotypes are enforced for so long it becomes the person or the people.
It’s strange that in today’s world Africa isn’t as important as it really is. Africa was the birthplace of humanity! Where humans originated! But things happened along the way with European colonization. Africa was taken advantage of because of their lack of industrial weapons. That was when Africa started to decline in importance. No one could see that this is where we all came from.
Africa is not dark even though at night, their lights go out. Africa is vibrant, colorful, and full of culture. Other nations chose not to recognize it because they are a different “color” than us.
Africa is, in fact, not a dark continent, it can be dark only at night. Lights can appear in many form within darkness. Their light can be fire. You don’t have to have electricity to be lighted. It is not dark if you light fire. The earth is dark at night, and nights are for sleeps. Africa is not a dark continent, they don’t have skylines, and use excessive amount of electricity. Africa is in fact, a very light continent. Africa has small group of villages, as setted up as far as i know, Africa does not maintain technology. Africa’s culture is rich, and very expensive. They interactions as individuals are very authentically. The space they occupy, their interactions, and their resources, they are able to cultivate it to have themselves survive until today with beautiful cultures. WIthin The African History, there were big names, such as timbuktu. Timbuktu was a large city, full of scholars and trade, influenced by islam. the cities of Timbuktu And Zimbabwe were lighted by golds and ended by fiends. The villages of Africa were lighted by culture and lead by unity, as darkness was placed upon them.
Dark... What is darkness? Absents of light? Isolation? The unknown. All of this is true. Darkness comes in all diffrent kinds of forms. it can be potrayd as evil or simply hidden in the shadows. as for aferica being dark you have to wonder what darkness is before you can answer. For example some friends of mine whent on a misson trip to Egypt which as we know is in aferica. and the moment they got off th plane they saw a sign that read "No sharing of faith or death by hanging!" there have been many terrorist wars in aferica. So if you concider that yes, it is a dark place. Yet in the absents of light there still is a gleam. Nothing is 100% without light. so i would say yes and no. It all depends on how you look at aferica.
Can Africa be fairly considered a dark Continent?
I think Dark has more than one prospective. And this question says can African FAIRLY be considered dark. In my opinion Africa cannot be considered dark. The Dark Ages is a historical periodization used originally for the Middle Ages, which emphasizes the cultural and economic deterioration that supposedly accused in Western Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire. When I think of dark I think of the Dark Ages. Which is why I brought it up and also why I don't consider Africa dark. I said before that dark has more than one prospective such as diseases, depression, lonely a void of light, scary, and misunderstood. I got those terms from Raquel, I thought they really stood out because that is how Africa is looked at today. However, for one second I want to think how Africa would be if slavery didn't happen. Would it still be in some way considered "dark"? Would it still be considered weak? Africa has so much untouched potential and I think if it was just left alone 395 years ago things would be much different. Before Africa was tore of it's heritage and ancestry it was wealthy and healthy. Not saying just one race did this to them because there were African people being greedy and actually giving other Africans aways for money. Well I think my questions are a way of looking at Africa and how much potential it has if people would just think about helping but in the economy we live in if it's not about money they won't even invest time in it. Which is so stupid because Africa could possibly be a gold mind for all the greedy people who only care about money. what all that being said Africa is not a dark content, but the perception we receive of Africa is dark.
Can Africa fairly be described as a ‘dark continent’ ?
I don’t think Africa can fairly be described as dark in general, nor a dark continent. When I hear stories told about Africa, they’re normally negative about the way Africans live. Outsiders say they’re dirty, unsanitary, uneducated people. I’d say they’re misunderstood, independent, ignorant at times yes but, some of them would rather be ignorant and live life while they have it instead, of worrying about contracting deadly diseases that could be their demise. I think if I lived in Africa I’d avoid the situation if I had no other option. If other countries weren’t reacting fast enough to help contain the disease I’d live everyday like it was my last.
What I find very shocking is how easily Africa is disregarded. Africa is believed to have been the start of humanity! Africa is also the birth of many cultures and religions. All anyone thinks about when they hear Africa is ignorance, disease, and death. I feel as though Africa is always thought to be a negative place. Africa has given humanity so much and many don’t realize it. When I hear Africa I think unique, independent, and leadership. Today there’s still cultures influencing other cultures. For example, the neck rings that women typically wear in certain cultures has influenced other cultures to also wear the rings.
2219I think that Africa could not be considered "dark" fair;y because there has been a lot of change since slavery, European dominance, and non stop racism. But to let Africa be viewed as a dark place is a joke in itself. To see Africa's people grow into individuals, and to be unbound from chains like their ancestors just shows change happens. And on top of that places like Johannesburg just thrive as a city can just make Africa brighten up. If you were only going to view Africa's tribes, forests, and deserts. Then definitely Africa would look uncivilized and dark. But Africa is much more than just safaris and tribes. Africa is a place where history was made and changed the continent forever, and there is no turning back. And African used history to climb out of the "dark"
To call Africa a dark Continent? That is utterly absurd. Before exploring the area of land, yes Africa was a "dark" continent. But then to explore the land, see the color of their skin, then add a different meaning to the expression "dark Continent"? Unfair.
As a culture they are rich and diverse. To smash them all together is what causes chaos, is what causes war and disagreement. The Europeans were dull-minded, and inconsiderate to not even learn or observe culture of the Africans. Instead they jumped to conclusions, used race/color as an excuse and wrote off the Africans as dark people.
Looking at the African's dances and celebrations shows you how joyful and jubilant they are as a whole. It was not just about happiness, it was about excitement, cheerfulness; it lifted your spirit inside and out. Another example of the unfairness towards the title of "dark continent" is a black slave learning the religion of Islam, the language and returning to Africa. After his return, he then showed mercy because the religion spread to his own people. He then told the Muslims that there would be trade between the two and they would work as one.
Looking at this then to say African is dark? That makes you ignorant, that makes you blind, open your eyes and let the light in.
I don’t think it is fair to think that Africa is a dark continent because we actually don’t know their history. European says that Africa is dark before they came because no religion and no culture. In this class we learned that Europeans denied Africa's past. I know missionary that traveled around Africa to spread the word of Christ and just help them get food, etc. The stories, and video they shared showed that Africans there had their own religion not religion we have today like jewish, christianity, catholic, muslim etc. They have their own god and they worship them mostly by dancing and singing. Unlike Americans they are grateful for what they have, even if it is just a little thing. Culture wise, everywhere in the world has a culture and you can not denied that. Culture to me mean their own way of doing stuff, traditions etc. Africans definitely has their traditions which includes tribal ways. The way their clothes is made, how they wear it, I feel like people look at Africa as a place full of disease and poverty, but I look at it as one of the best place in the world.
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