Race to me is simply a social construct that has been created by humans. It eventually gave rise to a culture of racism, which is defined as, “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior”(Oxford Dictionary). This cultural practice has spread stereotypes widely across the world and everyone has preconceived notions of what a certain race is like now.
The western media has time after time painted a negative picture of Africa showing only the poor, starved, and homeless inhabitants. Of course, Africa is a continent rich in poverty. It is important, however, to acknowledge that this stereotype of poverty and underdevelopment is just that: a stereotype. Africans living abroad get associated with stereotypes that may impede their future success. It is assumed that these people grew up in a poor environment and aren’t as technologically capable to work as hard as a white person born and raised in America. We see beautiful images of the landscapes within America and not so much the harsh realities of poverty within this country, but Africa is viewed as nothing more than an underdeveloped country filled with poverty. Al-Jazeera allows the Arab countries to have a voice in the global stage, but Africans do not have that voice.
A movement called Afrofuturism challenges these stereotypes by incorporating Africans in literature, film, play, art, and music within a scientific future proving them to be just as capable and having the power to be technologically advanced. This movement looks forward and escapes the past. This outlook for Africans is one that is not associated with the imminent poverty and slums. Films like Black Panther and Get Out are examples of this movement because they both engage African Americans as superheroes and main leads through sci-fi. Michael and Janet Jackson’s music video “Scream” was also an Afrofuturist attempt since it incorporated space defying gravity and involved sci-fi to visualize the music. There is a lot of economic development to do within these African countries but something as simple as promoting a positive technological future for Africans can eliminate the stereotypes and diminish the poor reputation that is associated to these countries.
Individuality is what makes us, humans, so unique. Associating a person's racial history and gluing stereotypes on them because of that takes away the uniqueness. Everyone brings forth their own set of characteristics and capabilities and Afrofuturism helps raise awareness of that and the work being done within this movement is worth noting.
