Ted Talk: A Story Of Africa And Latin America

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story”-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Before watching this Ted Talk, I thought that my story of Africa and Latin America was the only story. I quickly learned how incorrect I was about this. As I was first questioned about Africa and Latin America, I wrote words such as “poverty, uneducated and hungry”. Before learning about the nations, I only was taught one story; the story of sadness or poorness. It was not that I was purposely disregarding other information about Africa and Latin America; the sad stories are just the only thing that I’ve been exposed to. By being able to understand …show more content…
Allen asked us to write about Africa in two minutes, I immediately thought of a sad picture. This picture was 3 young boys; all were naked with a sack around their waste, their stomachs were bloated, as I could see their bones. Their eyes were largest part of their faces; sagging, droopy and looking as if they wanted to cry. I think this is the first image that popped into my head because when one searches “Africa children” in Google Images, these are the pictures that first come up. The images caused myself to have a great deal of pity for Africans. Despite this, throughout first quarter my thoughts were completely challenged as I still have empathy for the issues going on. But, I realize not everything is as bad as my single stories once read. This brain shift first occurred when Mrs. Allen showed the class the picture of Africa’s natural resources being dug out and given to all other European nations. This showed how much the Europeans destroyed Africa by imperializing them. Additionally, the same information was apparent while reading “Gikuyu Life Before the British”. Before the British, the Gikuyu were thriving. The British then came in and ruined the Gikuyu’s life by changing the farming and cultural aspects without knowing how successful they were previously. Without the destruction of European nations, Africa would be in a completely different place than it is now. The imperialization of Africa allows for me to have pity for Europe while wondering why they felt the need to take a naturally wealthy country and take it all away. It is not that everythings perfect in Africa, there still are issues more vast than in America. But, by learning how these issues arose, allowed for myself to have a better understanding and feel less guilty about the current state of Africa; and how Europe caused their