A map of Africa
The concept of inferiority (defined as the quality of being worse than other things or people by vocabulary.com; or in this context, the feeling of not being good enough) as well as its seemingly eternal war with its exact opposite, supremacy (defined by vocabulary.com as the state of having the ultimate authority; or in this context, the benchmark for excellence/perfection) is what is on review in this post.
For an average black man, everything excellent is everything away from "black". Anything is excellent as long as it has little or no "black" in it. If our clothes aren't Prada or Givenchy; if we don't have a Lamborghini or a Cadillac; if our wines aren't Chardonnay or Gallo; if our time pieces aren't Rolex or Omega, then it never is good enough. It never is quality.
Personally, I hold no grudges against the "whites". I mean, they've earned it. When the rest of the world, Africa especially, was way behind, they (the "whites") were working hard. All forms of revolutions (Industrial, Digital, Market etc) came early for them. While the world slept, they worked.
However, this mentality has become engrained in the average black man that it may even be genetically inherited (I'm sorry; even I who write this post am guilty sometimes). I mean, let's take a cursory look around us. Some of the areas affected by this mentality include:
1.Personal Life
The average black woman wants to lighten her skin tone even when it's got medical risks (bleaching, right?). What happened to the "black" skin? Should color be a basis for approval; self-approval at the very least?
A black woman before and after bleaching
2.Beauty/Personal Care
It is baffling, to me, that someone inserts a "white" person's picture on his billboard or flyer, for a salon or barber's shop that is based in Africa. A Lagos-based stylist, just to get people attracted, uses one or more fine "white" person(s). I mean, don't we have real life Lagosians who can be on that flyer? Is a "black" man not good enough to be on the flyer?
A beauty salon around where I stay
3.Tourism
An average black person wants to go holidaying in the Bahamas, or hiking on the Swiss Alps. We have the Victoria Falls, Mount Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar amongst other top tourist destinations in Africa. But, no! It's located in the "Black Continent". We need to go out, before it is stunning! What a waste of our resources!
Virunga Mountains, Democratic Republic of Congo
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Sossusvleo Dunes, Namibia
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
4.Fashion
I'm not saying that Givenchy isn't good! I'm not saying that a Louis Vuitton fashion material is not world class. But, do we even know our own fashion designers? Souakoko Betty of Liberia, Andrea Iyamah of Nigeria, Gitas Portal of Sierra Leone, Akosua Afriyie-Kumi of Ghana etc. Below are some of their works:
Taibo Bacar, Mozambique
Andrea Iyamah's Marrak One-piece swimsuit
Souakoko Betty's Nip Dress
I conclude with this:
Finally, it is pertinent for all Africans to arise and make Africa great. There lies quality in Africa. We are capable of producing good stuff too! Let the "whites" come to the "blacks" too
Disclaimer: For the sake of clarification, "black" and "white" refer to the Africans and Europeans. It is, in no way, meant to be racist.
*Map of Africa from teachingtravel.com
*Bleaching picture from afrocosmopolitan.com
*Salon picture by author
*All tourism pictures from answersafrica.com
*All fashion pictures from styleafrica.com
