It wasn’t so much what he said, it was more what was implied; that not all lives have equal value. And that idea — the belief that some races are superior to others — is a fundamental principle of racism. It’s alarming to me that Sakvarelidze was left unchallenged during his interview.
According to the narrative she believes, “unthinkable things” happen only in “third world nations” (now an outdated and derogatory term, someone should tell her), and that narrative is perpetuated by the type of stories she and many like her, have heard about the continent.
In Africa, it’s the stories of conflict in Ethiopia, insurgency in Mozambique, election violence in Uganda, and the recent coups in Mali, Chad, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau. But it’s clear that far too many are not paying attention to them because the people in these stories are not rich or from the Global North.
These examples have shown us that global media is complicit in perpetuating racist narratives, by not encouraging diversity in its newsrooms and giving an unrestricted platform to reporters and influential spokespeople with implicit biases that are left unchallenged. But rather than dwelling on this, I want to share some of the facts that should make us all rethink the traditional and stereotypical ways we dismiss non-White, non-rich countries and their people.
The traditional world order is undergoing a dramatic shift, driven by Covid-19, China, Russia, and movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter. The new world order is providing an opportunity for the world to rethink the little they know about the rest of the world.
When they do, the portrayals are often negative and stereotyped. According to the report, most mentions of Africa (43%) appeared on national or local news and tended to be ‘hard’ news stories which often fed the stereotype. After politics (32%), crime received the most mentions (16%), while business and the economy accounted for just 8% of news coverage.
Over 60 research papers, reports, books, academic journals that we analyzed from the year 2000 written on Africa in the media told us that poverty, conflict, corruption, disease and poor leadership were the five frames through which most stories are told about Africa.
Don’t ignore the data that shows that there are more than 400 companies that earn annual revenues of $1 billion or more in Africa, or that the second fastest-growing tourism market in the world is right here in Africa.
It’s also unlikely that many in the Global North will know any of this because it doesn’t fit the narrative both have been fed about non-white, ‘third world countries.’
But that doesn’t fit the persistent image of a broken continent where nothing works, and where its sad, dependent people lack agency to make a change. The truth is there is new dynamic energy and entrepreneurial spirit on the continent which is a story that is largely untold, and its evidenced by the low esteem with which those in the Global North hold us.
It’s a story that is hidden because its heroes are neither White, nor do they hail from ‘up there.’ But from the way the world is evolving, that’s not going to matter much anymore. Everyone, including the media covering the Ukraine invasion, should pay attention.