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Did I really hear a newsreader on NPR yesterday refer to Africa as "the dark continent"?
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Say what?
The other day I saw NBC employ a graphic of Clinton and Obama with a horse between them. The logo said, "JOCKEYING FOR POSITION." Uh...
Ouch. They might as well have put a miniature Obama on Clinton's lawn.
When I was little, I would read that in books--usually the cast-off social studies texts from the 50s that had belonged to my mum--and it would confuse me because everybody* knows Africa is one giant savannah, and it's all bright and sunny.
*Everybody for a child's value of "everybody".
*Everybody for a child's value of "everybody".
I had always understood "dark" in this context to mean "unknown". The interior of the continent was largely unknown to all but the locals until very recently due to the huge obstacles involved in exploring it.
I never thought it meant "dark-skinned".
You're implied point that it was a dumb thing to say still stands though. "Dark continent" is archaic and likely to be misunderstood.
I never thought it meant "dark-skinned".
You're implied point that it was a dumb thing to say still stands though. "Dark continent" is archaic and likely to be misunderstood.
I don't think it was necessarily ever meant to imply "dark-skinned" either, but in addition to "unknown" I thought "dark" always carried the implication of "benighted."
NPR apologized today on air.
NPR apologized today on air.