The Africa Western Media Doesn't Show You.

Welcome to our blog. We aim to highlight and showcase the different stories of Africa that are untold by Western media. Read more.

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kigali | ruanda | rwanda

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What do we consider to be “developed”? Submit your answer

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Afropolitan Books that offer less 'traditional' African stories

- Chimamanda Adichie’s “Americanah”

- Teju Cole’s “Open City”

- Taiye Selasi’s “Ghana Must Go”

- Yaa Gyasi’s “Homegoing”

- Imbolo Mbue “Behold the Dreamers”

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We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo – review

NoViolet Bulawayo has extended her Caine prize-winning short story about a Zimbabwean girl coming of age in the US into a novel. But has the prize created an African aesthetic of suffering? asks Helon Habila

In a critique of Bulaway’s novel, author Habila questions whether new African fiction aims to appeal to “a Caine prize aesthetic”, instead of reflecting authentic realities. She criticizes Bulawayo’s novel as being filled with all the common problematic tropes that are associated with Africa such as poverty-porn, political violence, AIDs, and children escaping to America for a better life. She suggests that Bulawayo is only really expressing herself freely in instances in the book when she no longer feels the need to narrate and comment on Africa’s social and political situation.  

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Let no one be fooled by the fact that we may write in English, for we intend to do unheard of things with it.

Chinua Achebe in response to Ngugi Wa'Thiongo’s Decolonising the Mind (via comfyblackheaux)

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Want a good African book to read?

Check out some of these bestsellers:

Nervous Conditions - Tsitsi Dangarembga

Half A Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Adichie

Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela

A Grain of Wheat - Ngugi

Disgrace - J.M Coetzee

So long a letter - Mariama Bâ

The Famished Road - Ben Okri

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born - Ayi Kwei Armah

Chaka - Thomas Mofolo

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New African literature is disrupting what Western presses prize

There is a thriving counter-current of transnational African literary life that confounds rather than caters to an international taste for "digestible" fiction.

Responding to critics who claim that African bestselling authors cater their work to appeal to top Western publishers or literary “gatekeepers”, Jackson argues that this over simplification fails to acknowledge the various small independent US and UK publishers that are working together with adventurous African writers to offer a new and evolving genre of African literature. 

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The world is a dark and ugly place, a lot of that ugliness and injustice is present in Africa, but we don't turn to literature to confirm that. The news is enough. What we turn to literature for is its ability to transport us beyond the headlines.

Helon Habila

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Opinion | African Books for Western Eyes

The continent’s writers are being celebrated, but only for catering to Western tastes.

In this compelling article, African author Nwaubani conveys his concern with the idea that African writers are primarily writing stories for Western audiences and not African audiences. Due to the lack of publishing infrastructure within Africa, the success of African authors seems to rely on gaining the approval of Western publishing companies. He claims that successful African authors have learned to tailor their stories to a Western audience by resorting to the same stereotypes that Africans resent. Until Africa has its own successful publishing industries, African authors will continue to vie for Western support and will never truly write stories for their fellow Africans.

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A single story is insufficient but through the accumulation of multiple stories we get a better picture.

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As a tool of globalization, will the interactions of social media result in the creation of a single story in the future? Why or why not?

Submit your answer

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Do you think it’s fair to say that a story is invalid or unauthentically African because it’s diasporic or Western-centered?

Submit your answer

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The West’s Single Story of Africa  

This video, produced by Al Jazeera, attempts to fight against the single story of Africa from the western perspective by exposing stereotypes through the use of evidence. 

The UNICEF Fly

In the video above, Trevor Noah presents a textbook (comedic) example as to how the single story of Africa from the western perspective is portrayed.  

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#TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou Campaign

The video above, produced by Al Jazeera in 2015, provides an overview of the campaign, examines the beginning of the campaign, and the spread of the hashtag through the use of social media while analyzing patterns. Furthermore, the video incorporates discussions with social media users and an African female head of state regarding the campaign.

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#TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou Campaign

Some individuals have seen the campaign as controversial presenting the entire continent of Africa as a single identity (and in a way a single story) by using the colours of the Ghanaian flag for representation. 

What are your thoughts on this campaign? Was it effectiveness? Did it have the ability to capture the true essence of Africa?  Submit your answer

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#TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou Campaign

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#TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou Campaign

Four examples of tweets posted which gained a lot of traction during the peak of the campaign including African heads of state, rich culture, and beautiful geographical landscapes and landmarks. 

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#TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou Campaign

The campaign was started by a seventeen year old user from Ghana attempting to showcase Africa’s rich culture and natural beauty by using the hashtag on Twitter. The purpose was to counteract the afro-pessimist approach. It first gained traction in South Africa, moving onto Kenya, and then Senegal. Then, the campaign peaked in 2015 on Twitter crossing over to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, etc.

The hashtag was even seen on news outlets such as BBC, The Guardian, and Quartz. Furthermore, the hashtag produced over 100 000 tweets in 2015 showcasing images of Africa’s unique geographical beauty, high-fashion, art, and cuisine. The creator’s goal was to help change the negative stereotypes associated with Africa perpetuated by the media in hopes of also attracting tourists. She also emphasized that the mission of this campaign was NOT to erase problems found within Africa, but rather celebrate the beauty across the continent.