After watching the video Sertima produced I learned a lot about Africa. This video remined me a lot about a novel I read called Americanah . The author of this novel actually did a Ted Talk discussing how Africa has one story and the others are forgotten. What she meant by this is that people just view Africa as impoverished and don’t even try to give it other labels. Anyways just wanted to state how this is how most Westerners view the country, despite its several deeming qualities that we overlook. Sertima discusses how African’s are responsible for numerous inventions and breakthrough in science and medical related fields as well, however, they are often not given credit. For example, they were 100% responsible for cesarean sections. In 1881, the British took responsibility for this breakthrough, however, Africans had been practicing these methods long before. It is apparent through this video that African’s are discredited for many of their discoveries (Sertima, 2015).
In the Article “Great achievements in science and technology in ancient Africa” by Blatch, similar ideas surface from Sertima’s video. African’s were responsible for breakthroughs in math, astronomy, metallurgy and tools, architecture and engineering, medicine, and navigation. However, are given little credit or recognition for such discoveries. Throughout history, African’s have contributed a great deal to the advancement of society, but few are aware of these ideas. For example, most people credit Europeans for being the first to sail, however, there is evidence that suggests that African’s sailed hundreds of times before them (Blatch,2013). In my own research, I discovered an article that discusses “The Top Ten Black Inventors (that you didn’t know about)”. I found numerous interesting discoveries throughout this page. For example, I was educated on a fellow by the name of Charles Drew. According to Gary (2015): “Drew was born in Washington, D.C. in 1904. As a surgeon, researcher, and inventor, he invented the modern blood banks. Since World War II, his invention has gone on to save thousands of lives” (Gary, page 1, 2015). I have been an avid donator for many years, both here in the United States and in Saudi Arabia as well.
Blood donating is one of my favorite opportunities to help an individual in need. Without this invention of Drew, many individuals would not have made it. African’s deserve more recognition and appreciation than what they are given. Such ideas are apparent through the analyzation of these two articles as well as the video presented! Implementing these Ideas I feel that promoting these ideas in the education may be hard. That relies on the fact that many schools in the United States fail to educate youth on ideas related to African’s. I discussed such ideas with my American friend, and he claimed that the only thing he learned about this population in school was that they were enslaved. However, after reviewing all of these pieces, I think it is time to change things. I feel that history books and other literatures should be more inclusive of accomplishments and opinions of African Americas. I would try to incorporate such ideas in the month of February because that is Black history month. I know that some schools discuss these ideas more heavily during these times, therefore, it may be a little easier to integrate it. I would create interesting and informative pieces that gave these individuals the recognition and appreciation they deserve. I feel that many individuals would be interested in something new, and it would help combat racism as well.
127 our experts are availableright now
Sometimes, when racism is present, we just need to show how similar we all are to one another. I think this idea would not only help African’s gain recognition but also for other nationalities to learn more about the achievements of African’s as well. I think incorporating this information in education systems would make many African families happy. Many of their accomplishments and cultural ideas are hidden from schooling systems. Like I claimed above, my American friend was taught very little about such ideas. Inclusion would make them feel as if they are important and wanted in society. Everyone likes to engage in learning more about their culture, while seeing others do the same. I think this would be one step forward for African families everywhere.
