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Are you black?

Yikes.

Do you also happen to be African?

Then that’s double yikes.

I mean I would know, I’m both.

Don’t get me wrong I like my melanin coated skin that sparkles in the sun as much as the next Pan African. I love that I hail from the motherland. I mean who wouldn’t be proud? Hello, the resources? Hello, the languages, the attire and don’t get me started on the food! Call it a glaze if you will. Buuuut, as usual I digress.

There’s a trend of maltreatment that I have managed to catch on. Not that I wanted to that is. If you’re an African there’s a certain way that the world expects you to act. There’s a box that you’re placed in. Ah yes, humans love to put things in boxes or labels because then there’s an understanding. If you don’t fit a certain box, they’ll hunt you down like a witch during the Salem witch trials and butcher you with a pitchfork or burn you to a crisp on a stake. Dramatic imagery? Brutal imagery?

Good.

While I must admit that I did take it a bit far with my descriptions, my assertions are not far-fetched at all! Why? It’s simple really, if you’re black and African they want you to be polite, demure (hehehe, totally not using this word to my advantage because it’s a trending word right now!) and very, very humble. I know, those aren’t bad values to have or exhibit. Not even in the slightest. However, being African means, one goes beyond those characteristics that make one a paragon of virtue or politeness. The west or rest of the world expects Africans to be pushovers and maybe, just maybe even beggars.

Why?

It has a lot to do with where Africans are from. Thanks to biased and westernised media, Africa has been projected or painted as nothing but a cesspit of poverty and despair. According to the rest of humanity, we’re a continent of uncivilised, uneducated, unattractive and poor people. That propaganda has been perpetuated ever since colonialists set foot in Africa in the 15^th century. Since then, we’ve been painted as a continent of people always in need of help, saving or the aid that America likes to dangle in our faces like some sort of meal ticket or a motivator for us to “stay in line”.

To the rest of the world, we’re never to act out. When Africans win awards they should always ascend to the stage and say, “Thank you so much! This means the world to me. You know, I come from a very poor village in Africa. Life was never easy. I watched my mother struggle to feed all her 57 children. We struggled to get food and rarely had water. We used to get up at 2am so we could start walking to school at 3am to make it for class at 8am. We often couldn’t ride the lions everyday because they needed to take a break after we had ridden them the day before. We starved a lot especially when a war broke out and rebels raided our village. I never thought I would make it to America where there’s air conditioning.”  

When Amapiano artist Tyla from Joburg, South Africa asked the award presenters to hold her award for her, the whole world (it really was just America) went absolutely ballistic. They called her an entitled, uppity African. She was subjected to all sorts of insults. She was snooty. She was rude. She was entitled. She was just awful. They didn’t like how she had acted. She was out of line. They took to X formerly known as Twitter, expressing how she had an unlikeable personality. There’s a way Africans should act and apparently Tyla didn’t get the memo.

I remember how abuzz social media was with the whole “Tyla controversy” although any sane person would hardly call it a controversy. I was extremely confused. Were they wringing Tyla’s neck because she had asked someone to hold her award? So, Chappelle Roan is an icon when she asks for her award to be held but Tyla is arrogant for it? Was is it uppity when Olivia Rodrigo asked someone to hold her Moon Man in 2021? I don’t know guys but I can see a pattern here.

 I mean, granted they already disliked her because she identified as coloured and that pissed America off because how dare she? They insulted her, completely negating the fact that other parts of the world have different outlooks or dare I say racial classifications?  Ever since then, Tyla has been under attack. She was then dubbed an arrogant one hit wonder. That’s what westerners surmised so I suppose that it must be true, right? (I do hope you picked up on the sarcasm. If you didn’t then shame on you!)

Wizkid, Rema and now Tyla have called the western music industry out for always boxing all African artists into one category as though that’s the only genre of music that Africans practise. I remember reading an article in which Wizkid called the BET awards out for trying to award him behind the curtains and not on the big screen like the reputable artist he was. These African artists amongst a slew of others have been dubbed ungrateful and snooty because of their outspoken personalities that somehow contradict the narrative of what westerners think Africans should act like or manner in which they must conduct themselves in. I surmise that since the logic is that we come from the country Africa where there’s no water or food, we’re beggars and beggars can’t be choosers. Duh.

Golloria has brought the beauty industry to its knees by holding them accountable for their lack of inclusivity in the beauty industry. I’m sure makeup brands hated to see her coming because her reviews were honest and straight to the point. I’m sure her reviews have helped in paving the way for more shade inclusivity. Recently, the world turned on her and threw her into the fire. Golloria recently reviewed what I think was a blush released by YSL. The world didn’t like the fact that she kept reviewing and calling brands out for their limited shade ranges. They told her she was ungrateful and that she should go and purchase her shade instead of critiquing the one that didn’t suit her, despite the fact that YSL marketed that blush as a blush every woman with any type of skin tone could use and sent it to her for a review. Somehow, Golloria was the problem. Surprise, surprise.

They also deemed her entitled. They didn’t like the fact that an African didn’t know her place.

The saviour complex…

I’m sure it’s common knowledge that the west has a saviour complex. It’s in the aid. So, here’s my take. The world is used to seeing Africans on the begging and receiving end. The moment Africans show a personality that isn’t associated with asking or seeking assistance, the world flips out and if you’re chronically online like me then you’ll see what’s happening with artists like Tyla and influencers like Golloria.

“Africa is to be pitied, worshipped or dominated.” – Binyavanga Wainaina.

When they say worshipped, they mean talk about Africa’s abundant wildlife and scenic rolling hills. There’s an idea that Africa can only be showered with compliments that I reckon always stem from condescension (I didn’t know Africa was so beautiful! I didn’t know Africa had skyscrapers or water.) When foreigners confess such shock, I’m often perplexed by their lack of knowledge. I thought that they had learnt that Africa is a continent with 54 countries so it’s bound to carry a lot of diversity and variation in geography class.

There’s roughly 900 million Africans and the world expects each and every one of them to act the same way. When celebrities who just happen to be African have a personality that’s not what one would call mellowed down, the world doesn’t take kindly to that. They don’t like the African that steps outside the box that they have neatly packed them away in.

If the African isn’t begging, are they really African?

If the African isn’t “polite”, are they really African?

If the African doesn’t come from a village with little to no water, are they really African?

If they aren’t “humble” and “grateful”, are they really African?

Well yes, they are they just happen to be entitled and uppity Africans or whatever else they decide to dub the African who doesn’t fit into the mould of a digestible or amiable African.

I have noted that black people (usually Africans) are conditioned to be apologetic about being in certain spaces. I suppose it goes back to the saying that goes, “we see things as we are not as they are”. It’s clear that the west always sees things through their own lens instead of understanding how vast and different the world actually is.

Granted, I don’t like rude people. But I can tell when someone is actually rude. I don’t want to always watch my fellow Africans being apologetic for seeking respect in spaces that other people enjoy. I’m all for shifting the narrative. We’re all so nuanced. Some of us are outspoken and some of us aren’t…that doesn’t make the outspoken ones uppity or entitled. I hope that as time goes by, people can actually see and respect those differences. But until then, all I can say is:

Thanks for reading, signed by your very entitled and uppity, African,

– The “weird” brown girl

https://granta.com/how-to-write-about-africa