Countering the negative perceptions about the blacks
The book Africa Every Day presents how there is Fun, Leisure, and expressive Culture on the Continent but is not recognized by the white people. It also gives the art of Afro-pessimism as the center point of the entire text. Afro pessimism as a field that takes the historical reality seriously that being black has more to about slavery. It is examining the philosophy that being black not only means that one is a slave but also being doomed to existential slavery. The book argues that slavery did not end during the in the year 1865, but it has been a lifetime progressive feature among the African individuals. The phenomenon of viewing Africans as slavery existed since the time of white governance in Africa and progressed up to the present even though the white government has ceased to exist. In western society, there is a belief that the Africans have a unique way of lifestyle that is probably attached to the fact that they are not civilized, and they are rigid to civilize. However, such beliefs have made the Africans who are living in the West suffer the challenge of being underrated and considered unsophisticated in the modern world.
Concerning the social life of Africans, Americans think that Africans cannot have a way of socializing as they do have. The Western culture believes that some social affairs such as music, love sex, sports, marriage, as well as technology are not identified with African culture. However, those few American individuals understand African culture. Still, their number cannot be able to counter the beliefs of the larger population who have the wrong perception of the Africans. However, the book tries to give a counter on how the white people understand the black culture (Oluwakemi et al., 3) The authors in this book attempt to bring a different understanding and perception about the African culture in the sense that they suggest that African s also have a social life as the Americans do. Consequently, some social affairs have been examined in this book on how African also have a normal life like the rest of the white individuals.
The books also acknowledge the fact African people encounter contemporary issues such as poverty, corruption, diseases as well as human rights violations. However, the book gives a clear stand these issues cannot prevent the Africans from having a normal life. This book plays a crucial role in changing the understanding of whites. The multidisciplinary which are examined in the essay to counter these adverse perceptions are; rites of passage, love, sex, Marriage, sports, socializing, and relationships are recreational activities as well as creativity. It is ultimately discussed that in the book that the African forms of leisure are the best in terms of indigenization and adaptation rather than the static nature of that of the Europeans and other foreigners.
Rites of passage in the African culture can be described as the most significant stages through which an African must go through as it is considered of more importance. They include both, adulthood, marriage eldership as well as the ancestor ship. The five rites in some cases are condensed into three stages; birth, marriage, and death. Considering the perception of the white culture, they white do believe that blacks have no rites of passage (Oluwakemi et al., 25). They also believe that Africans do not have any stages since they are just born to be slaves and die before achieving anything in life.
Conversely, African culture also acknowledges the significance of every stage of life. It advocates for the respect of every stage of life and also ensures that everyone lives according to what the stage requires in the entire lifetime. The significance of these stages is that it marks the transition from one level to another. Another importance is that it reminds them of what it is required of them as well as the passing of time. However, these stages are deeply rooted in their cultural beliefs and norms. For instance, death ceremonies are guided by their traditional beliefs and considered to be influenced by their beliefs. Similarly, they also believe in the power and the role of the ancestors in the life of an individual.
Love, sex, and marriage are another aspect of the African culture that is taken seriously. Sex in the African culture is considered sacred, and a lot of respect has maintained this aspect. The African culture believes that love is meant for the married and not the singles, as it may be the case in the western culture (Oduyoye and Amba, 341). This is evident in the fact that a comparison between the American cases of early pregnancies and that of Africa gives a wide gap. In the West, there are many cases of early pregnancies compared to the African nations. Similarly, sex out of the marriage boundaries is highly prohibited in the black culture, unlike the case in the West.
Sports is another feature that is known in Africa. The most popular game which has been known for the past decades is soccer sports. Football is a sport which is played in every country within Africa although there are other sports which are known to be popular. In most cases, soccer players participate in the game up to the international level, where they join up with other foreign nations to form an international team. However, there are other sports which are well known on the Continent, such as athletics and javelin. African Continent is well known for athletics and javelin heroes who have made world records in the past few years as well as the present time (Oluwakemi et al., 89). The Western culture is pretty aware of these cases where the Africans make world records in the field of athletics, but they still cover the whole thing with their perceptions. This is as a result of prior knowledge about the blacks. They also have philosophies that make them fail to accept what is real. Instead, they get stuck in what is implied by their philosophical beliefs concerning the African people.
Creativity among black people is the other feature that is evident among black people. Concerning modern music, participation in festivals both within the region and the international level has been in existence among the African artist for quite some decades. The book gives how some artists in the African region have participated in music festivals in foreign countries. Concerning the traditional festivals, Africans portray the highest level of creativity in the way they compose their songs as well as the way they make presentations of their composed songs. Therefore, it can bed deduced that the Africans have talents and have the highest level of creativity.
Lastly, relationships as an aspect of identity have been observed as one of the characteristics that the black people bear. Research tells that black person to have their relationships centered within their cultural values and norms. Similarly, Africans believe in unity. The primary rationale behind this feature is the presence of shared beliefs and traditions that binds them. However, the relationships among blacks have a significant impact on their social status. Relationships ensure the wellbeing of one another as well as mutual sharing of challenges and solutions.
In conclusion, western culture has a negative perception of African culture. They do believe that black people are just meant to be slaves in their lifetime and not worthy of anything good. However, some researchers, as well as authors, have gone ahead to the front line to put forward the facts about the Africans. This has a positive change as it makes some of these white people change their way of understanding. However, it is not enough to say that whites have entirely changed their way of thinking. There is still a gap that needs to fill in to attain the total change among the whites. This is possible through publishing as much journal sass possible concerning the reality among the blacks.
Similarly, the UN agency should also consider trying to make an input in the movie. If the move is not taken seriously, the future generations will continue with the same culture where the Africans are being segregated due to their color. In the long run, there will be an ultimate peace and coexistence among humanity. Besides, there will be contemporary issues that will be solved mutually. Hence there will be developments across the globe.
Work Cited
Balogun, Oluwakemi M., et al., eds. Africa Every Day: Fun, Leisure, and Expressive Culture on the Continent. Ohio University Press, 2019.
Oduyoye, Mercy Amba. “A critique of Mbiti’s view on love and marriage in Africa.” Religious plurality in Africa. Essays in honor of John S. Mbiti (1993): 341-366.