Thread by @WhyAfricasHist1

Why should you care about African History? A thread.

Imagine coming to an entirely new country for college and not knowing a soul, but everyone knows about you, or at least they think they do. This is what coming to America from Africa was like for Adichie - she was immediately seen as poor and less privileged based on the...

...single story we have heard of African history, because neither things were true in her case. You should care about African history, because by never hearing the other side to the story, you appear ignorant and are robbing Africans of their dignity. And I am sure we can all...

...agree that we would not like to be stereotyped like this. By knowing the whole story, and not just one side, you will be able to better emphasize and humanize Africans and restore their dignity by not playing into the stereotypes.

TED TALK: ted.com/talks/chimaman…

Most people are familiar with the Nuremberg Trials (the trails following the Hallocaust where Nazi members were held responsible for their actions). In this Podcast, British documents are unearthed that depict how horribly they treated Kenyans during colonization,...

...which was described as eerily similar to the treatment in Nazi Germany. The Nazis were held responsible, but what about Britain being held responsible for their treatment of the Kenyans? You should care about African history, because everyone...

...needs to be held responsible and accountable for their actions, otherwise horrible treatment like this will continue, because there is nothing to deter it from happening again.

PODCAST: wnycstudios.org/story/mau-mau

Now google “when was iron created,” and click on the sites that come up. I bet you see overwhelming uniformity in the response that it was created in some part of Asia with absolutely no mention of Africa. In the video “Tree of Iron” it is clear that Africans created their own...

...way of smelting iron without any influence from other cultures, so why are they not credited? Could it be because this would cause doubt in the stereotypes that depict Africans as historically uncivilized and primitive? You should care about African history, because even...

...today world history is manipulated in a way designed to preserve these hurtful stereotypes and Africa deserves credit for all of their inventions and contributions to modern society.

VIDEO: sc.kanopy.com/video/tree-iro…

Before listening to this song (linked below), look at the title, “Live and Die in Afrika,” and try to predict what this song is going to be about. For me, I thought “this is probably going to be about how so many people are stuck in Africa and never able to escape.” Now listen...

...Not at all what I expected, they actually want to stay in Africa for their whole lives? This is just another example of how we let stereotypes and single stories about Africa affect our perceptions. You should care about African history, because when you don’t, you diminish...

...their way of life as something they need saving from, and I think we can all agree that we would not like to be seen as weak victims in need of saving.

SONG:

Think back to the last thing you read about Africa, or even try to compile common ideas from multiple things you have read about Africa? Do they include starving African refugees or what about an ancient wise man? How many things overlap with Wainiana’s template for...

...“How to Write About Africa?” So why does every writing about Africa sound the same in some way or another? A possibility could be that these writers are so blinded by the stereotype of Africa that has become common sense, they can’t look past it...

...You should care about African History, because it will give you a new point of view where you are able to look past the stereotypes and appreciate the culture.

READING: blackboard.sc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid…

One thing that many people are still in the dark about is how and why the negative depiction of Africa came into creation. According to Achebe, the stereotype and negative depiction of Africa, which is still alive today, was created around the 18th century between the Atlantic...

...Slave Trade and European colonization of Africa, in order to facilitate and rationalize them. That means that this stereotype was designed to help Europeans dominate Africans and is over 3 centuries old. You should care about African history, because it is able to undo...

...3 centuries worth of racist stereotypes (many of which are still used by white supremacists today, such as Africans are more primitive) and promote racial equality in all parts of the world.

READING: blackboard.sc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid…

Did you know that a large part of history in Africa is preserved through oral story telling? I wonder how much history I could tell off of the top of my head without any help from the internet… Sunjata is a story that David Conrad documented from an oral telling about how the...

...Mali empire (an empire in west Africa that lasted a century and a half) came about. We should care about African history, because just because they do not have much written or documented history before European conquest does not mean they were completely stagnant with...

...nothing worth being documented. Africa has a rich deep history that transcends most stereotypes about it, so we should care because their history can help us better understand their culture and their way of life today - which if being a well-rounded and educated person...

...isn't reason enough, could also help with doing successful international business with Africa.
READING: eds.a.ebscohost.com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/ehost/ebookvie…

Recently, it seems like women’s rights are taking a step back due to stricter abortion legislation. Women suffer from underrepresentation in history, which can lead to the assumption that they are just less important in politics and history in general, but Cornwall’s writing...

...“Readings in Gender in Africa” emphasizes just how important women are to history using the example of their ability to utilize their dance associations and turn them into communication centers for the resistance. Early African history was very gender neutral and...

...it wasn’t until around the time of Sunjata that certain shifts towards a patriarchal society can be seen. So you should care about African history, because it provides many examples of how women are crucial in politics, history, and just life in general...

...and these examples can be utilized in the fight for gender equality around the world by showing the importance of women.

READING: blackboard.sc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid…

Hopefully, this thread was able to open your eyes to why you should care about African history, because I know it woke Squidward up for sure