Toto - "Africa"

This one is for my African Well Fund​ friends!

I have loved this song for a long time, and obviously have an affinity the topic of Africa.  I recently learned, though, that the members of Toto had not actually been to Africa when they wrote the song, and instead were writing from a romanticized idea of what they thought it was like.  It made me think of the joke (that is funny because it's true) that a lot of people think Africa is one country, because they hear it referred to as one place, and that "Africans" are all the same.  And it made me think of the adjectives that are used when we talk or think about them.

Diginified.

Corrupt (ignoring the fact that someone has to give the bribe before it can be taken, and you'd take a bribe too if you were trying to feed your family).

Joyful (oh those jolly Africans don't know how bad they have it!).

Uneducated (because there is only one correct path to knowledge, and that is the Western Way).

Poor (because money is the only way to measure wealth).

What we don't think about is the fact that Africa is 54 very different countries, with 1.1 billion people, and massive inequality in access to food, shelter, clean water, health care, physical and psychological safety, and other resources.

We don't think about how colonialism and exploitation have created the mess that many of the countries and people now find themselves in.  My main hope is that we stop romanticizing this idea of "Africa," because I think it oversimplifies and absolves us from dealing with the problems that exist.  And, more importantly, that we understand the diversity of the people who live there, and listen to them as they work to build better futures.  They already know the answers - they are not voiceless - and we need to stop telling them what we think is best for them and give them room for self-determination and liberation.

I still love the song, even though it's kind of cheesy, and the only "African" in the video is a shadowy Bushman with a spear.  If it makes you think about the continent and want to get involved, then that's not such a bad thing :)

#YearlongMixtape

#BlessTheRains

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY

Bonus clip!  Here is a really funny Tonight Show sketch with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake singing this song as kids in a summer camp.  Hilarious!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9F86cAoi3o