There has been a long struggle to define what passes for the continent of Africa today. Historians tell us that the name of the continent itself is of complex provenance and has been applied to many geographical regions, from Roman North Africa to the geographical landmass called Africa today. However, the struggle has not only been about naming the continent but also about describing what it is. This struggle especially increased when the continent encountered Arab/Islamic and then Western/Christian adventurers and colonizers. On the one hand, the continent has been described as a despicable place made up of people who are not to be automatically recognized as humans. On the other hand, some are describing the continent as a place that has undergone significant unjust suffering, a sleeping giant that is about to awake. Africa has been defined as darkness and as light, as cradle of human civilization and as the uncivilized. With every single word spoken/written for or against the continent, this battle for definition continues. What is Africa? What would Africa be? Our only hope is that defining Africa should not include violence. Violence is the work of people who are unable to argue their point of view. Is it possible to say what Africa is without inflicting violence on the continent?
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