When I taught college history, I used to start off a lecture about colonialism and racis by writing a quote on the board from the philosopher and scientist Alfred Korzybski: “The map is not the territory.”
And then, I’d turn to the class and ask: *“What was Alfred Korzybski trying to tell us?” *
Korzybski was trying to make a point about how representations are not always reality because they are selective, they distort, and simplify. Which means that maps can lie. And so we should never just look at maps as just pictures of land.
Maps are arguments about power. And when you study the history of colonialism, maps open up discussions about who had the power to name territories, draw borders, define centers and margins, and decide whose version of the world becomes official. And empires have always used maps to document what they conquered and stole, and how they turned other people’s homelands into orderly lines, colors, and possessions on a globe.
Which brings me to an international vote that went down this past Friday. The U.N. General Assembly voted to encourage the world to use maps that more accurately show the relative size of the African continent.
The vote wasn’t even close, Y’all. One hundred and sixty-four countries voted yes. Six abstained. And guess who was the lone country to vote no? America. Of course it did.
Since the vote went down, folks have been flooding social media with maps, animations and side-by-side comparisons of Africa with other land masses. And lots of folks are actually surprise because Africa looks huge. They’re like, “Africa is that big?” Yes beloved, Africa is huge.
And that difference and people’s surprise is what I want to talk about in today’s audio commentary.
Come have a listen.
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THIS CONTENT IS WRITTEN IN THE AUTHOR’S PERSONAL CAPACITY. ANY OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THE AUTHOR’S OWN AND SHOULD NOT BE ATTRIBUTED TO HOWARD UNIVERSITY OR MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY.
