Being a Global Citizen: Deconstruction of African Brands

April 27, 2010
by
Northrop

While reading a Flavorwire interview with Nora Chipaumire, one
sentence really stuck out to me: "All brands exist to make someone money. A
starving Africa is like Nike: it's a brand that sells...We are not beggars, we
are a productive people, full of pride. I'm taking down this perception of
Africa as a continent of beggars, of people who cannot stand on their own two
feet saying, 'Send us food.'"

A strong statement from the Zimbabwean self-exiled artist. Brands
and perceptions of Africa as a poor, third world country begging for
international assistance and attention is exactly what Chipaumire is out to
destruct with her newest creation, lions
will roar, swans will fly, angels will wrestle heaven, rains will break:
gukurahundi
.
The Zimbabwe Chipaumire knows and breathes energy from is a
country of strong people, who overcome the daily battles against political
upheaval and poverty to live a proud, normal life amidst the chaos.

Westerners like us, as the perpetuators of these brands, and
the media who sells them, need to learn to view Africa not as a place to go
volunteer and save people, but rather, need to view it from the broad eyes of
an educated, global citizen, eager to learn about the richness of Zimbabwean
culture. It's the strengths and weaknesses of countries and cultures that add
to the complexity of humans, and enable us to look at a country, a person, or a
dancer as an individual breathing body, instead of as a bunch of sedentary mouths
waiting for foreign aid. I want students like myself to visit Africa like we choose
to study abroad in European countries, simply for a glimpse, a taste of a
culture that we envy or wish to experience. Through the exploration of
Chipaumire's project, I have brought my brands of Africa under a magnifying
glass, and subsequently broken them down in the humble act of learning and
listening.

- Melissa Wray,
Marketing Intern