Being a Halfrican living in
the US always leads to unique interactions with people. My name is Kulpana, and
I'm half Nigerian and half Indian.
So, what does it mean to look
African? After all the effort people put into the phrase "Africa is not a
country; It's a continent", someone of said continent, whether by birth or
blood, professing, "You don't look African," to a fellow brother or
sister, really throws a wrench into things.
While attending university, I
joined a student African dance troupe. We performed on and off campus at
various cultural shows. After one performance, someone, who turned out to be
Nigerian, approached me and asked where I learned to dance like that...."
...you don't look African". It's always amazing to hear an African not
taking into account that the land mass is made of over 50 different countries,
meaning a more than high probability that not all habitants look similar.
At first, I was surprised at
this comment because many people tag me habesha (how Ethiopian and Eritreans
refer to themselves). I do look different from the “standard African” image, but
I ponder how and why so many people still so easily question someone’s
authenticity.
Djimon Hounsou, Beninese actor
Jean Ping, Gabonese diplomate and politician
By many people's deductions,
our stereotypical African image tends to come from the west coast of the
continent. It's a dark-skinned person, usually male, with a broad flattened
nose and high cheek bones. (Do a quick search using Google images on just the
term "African", and see the first picture that's listed.) If we
truly analyze what an African looks like, it's like trying to describe what an
American looks like. That's near impossible. And try saying that someone
doesn’t look American. What does an American look like? The US is a mixture of
cultures and ethnicities to the point that there is no standard American when
it comes to facial recognition. Since Africa is made up of countries and not
states like the US, it should even further solidify that "looking like an
African" leaves out a big part of the population.
There is an image of
conformity to what an “African” looks like, but there is no true picture
By Kulpana Akpan
By Kulpana Akpan
Great topic, I like the personal account and it is indeed an interesting subject. I feel that more context is needed, here is a good opportunity to present the inner workings of why "African" has been constructed as such and there is so much material that can be summarized and used here. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feedback Rhéa! The author will definitely take it into consideration for future posts or a follow-up to this one.
DeleteMorocans, Kenyans, Egyptian and South Africans are all Africans, so it is wrong to get into false ideas of what an African is
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, the purpose of this post was to combat the ideal of who is an African. Haven't you noticed that a lot of times Northern Africans are considered Arab and not African?
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