Around the first or second grade, we learn that there are seven continents: North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Antarctica, and Australia. Oh yeah, and then there’s Africa! Yes, Africa is a continent and it is not a country, contrary to popular belief. This is particularly true in Western culture because people may possess little knowledge about the continent due to limited exposure in our educational systems, a simple lack of interest, and the way Africa is portrayed in the media. Given that the media and our educational systems often refer to Africa as a conglomerate of generalities, that is the perception on which many of us base our assumptions. The list below is in no particular order of importance and much more information can be added, but it does correct some of these assumptions:

• Africa is not a country; it’s a continent. Africa has 54 sovereign countries, 9 territories and 2 de facto independent states; those who recognize de facto states consider that Africa has 56 countries.

• Africa is not a great jungle; only about 10% of the African topography is tropical, while other important environmental landscapes include deserts and savannas.

• Africa is sparsely populated. In 2013, Africa had an estimated population of more than 1 billion people; it is the second largest continent and the second most populous.

• There are third world countries in Africa, but there is no third world continent. There are many prosperous countries and successful people in Africa.

• Africa is not an arid land; There are several countries with numerous amounts of natural resources that can be used to build their economies.

• Everyone in Africa does not have HIV / AIDS; There are countries in Africa with disproportionately high rates of HIV / AIDS due to health disparities that are associated with high-risk behaviors, socioeconomic status, and limited access to care. Although the numbers for the African continent are very high, there are many people in the United States who suffer from a variety of diseases due to these same factors.

• In 2014, Africa experienced its largest Ebola outbreak in recent history, but it was not the entire African continent. The Ebola epidemic took place mainly in the West African region.

• The African slave trade did not focus on the entire African continent, it took place mainly in the West African region.

• The campaign for the freedom of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela was not carried out across the continent; it was based in South Africa, where racial segregation was embedded in government and social policies.

Africa is often called the “lost continent”, but it is not lost, it is simply not recognized for its many contributions to history. Africa is the cradle of human civilization; It has been shown to be the place where life began based on DNA testing and mapping along with archaeological finds. Some historical and religious texts consider that human existence began only about 6,000 years ago, but archaeological finds in Africa, such as those of “Lucy” in the 1970s, show that life, culture and societies have existed for a long time. more time. The skeleton of “Lucy”, for example, was estimated to be more than 3.2 million years old. Furthermore, according to evolutionary theory, modern humans or homo-sapiens began to appear about 40,000 years ago on the continent.

Even before being recognized as a continent, Africa already had a rich history based on geographic and cultural affiliations. There were several kingdoms in Africa that have played an important role in history, such as Egypt, Kush, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Mali. Many people are familiar with Egyptian hieroglyphs and papyrus, for example, but Egypt was also very advanced from a technological, scientific, astronomical and mathematical point of view. There are many historians and researchers today who are still trying to find out how the pyramids were built! Whether one is referring to the various kingdoms of historical Africa or the smaller tribal units, African culture has played an important role in modern society by including customs, traditions, and religious beliefs and practices. The historical significance of the continent cannot be summed up in a paragraph or two. As Dr. Henry Louis Gates said: Let’s face it: let’s think of Africa, and the first images that come to mind are war, poverty, famines and flies. How many of us really know something about the great ancient African civilizations, which in their day were as splendid as those that exist on the face of the earth? “