Africa is having a major travel moment.
From the year of return and cultural tourism to beach escapes, more than ever before African-Americans are placing at least one of Africa’s 54 countries on their travel bucket lists this year. But if much of what you know about The Motherland comes from cable news headlines, then you’re only seeing a slither of the story.
Know this, sis. The continent does have major issues, like the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
But Africa is expansive and, spanning more than 30 million square miles from Egypt in North Africa to Tanzania’s Zanzibar in the east and The Seychelles in the south, it is 3.1 times the size of the United States!
Too often, media coverage of African nations centers exclusively around crises, conflict or disease, while overlooking the beauty of places like Kenya, the innovation of tech hubs like Rwanda, the culture of Nigeria, and the denim fashion empires of Lesotho. And let’s not forget about the diverse food, music and everyday life that defines the daily life experience of hundreds of millions residents and visitors across the continent.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, is home to every single element in the periodic table, so the country literally holds the blueprint to the planet in its soil. Many technology companies mine the Congo‘s land for minerals used to make smartphones, yet many Black Americans only hear about the country during moments of tragedy or political unrest like now.
That’s why conversations around storytelling matter.
At Glow Stream TV, we believe lifestyle media can be a bridge: helping Americans looking for a cultural glow up to connect with global communities in a more human and nuanced way and vice versa. Whether through travel, health & wellness, entertainment, fashion, food or advocacy, storytelling has the power to expand perspectives beyond the headlines.
As the summer travel season approaches, consider this your reminder to stay curious, Glow Girls… ask questions that go beyond the viral headlines… and explore the stories that don’t always make the news.
Because Africa is and has always been more than a headline.
