A clearer image of Africa in the West doesn’t start with the media. It starts in the classroom.
NY Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, one of our more thoughtful journalists, recently asked a very thoughtful question:
Many already suggest that African coverage by Western journalists needs to go beyond reporting on wars, genocides and poverty, develop more nuance, present the continent in all its varied humanity.
I wouldn’t argue with any of that. But it’s not enough.
Getting more Western journalists actually on the ground could help. At the risk of invoking what has become a cliché, you need diversity in the eyes, ears and perceptions brought to bear on Africa.
For that, you need greater numbers; Africa is a big place.
Getting better trained African journalists reporting from their home countries would help, as would giving their voices more of a global outlet. There’s nothing like local perspective.
Instilling more respect for freedom of expression throughout Africa certainly wouldn’t hurt, either.
But none of that, I suspect, would be enough to improve the way Africa is presented, particularly in the United States.
Far too many Americans — myself included — approach Africa largely from a place of ignorance. And it shows — in our perceptions, our prejudices and our foreign policy.
On YouTube, you can find a series of videos called “Whad’ya know About Africa?” created by AfricaSummit. These consist of a young woman named Leila Samara asking random people basic questions about Africa.
The answers are by turns revealing, illuminating and embarrassing.
We can’t hope to improve the way journalists present Africa to their audience without first improving the way that audience looks at Africa. And that has to begin not in American newsrooms, but in American classrooms.
We have to teach our kids about Africa with the same degree of earnestness and familiarity with which we teach them about Europe. Only then will people understand that Africa matters, and why.
And travel has a role to play in that. Travel needs to be part of teacher training in this country. They need to see and experience for themselves the places in the world to which they’re going to be introducing our kids. Especially Africa.
To improve the way Africa is covered, we first must improve the way Africa is taught.
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