👉 Okay, settle in, let's unpack the rather prickly bit of linguistic territory that is, frankly, a little embarrassing to admit we even
need
to define. When I say "North Africa(n)," you probably immediately conjure up images of breezy resorts and maybe some vaguely dated Harrison Ford films. That’s… unfortunately, exactly what a staggering amount of people get out of this, and it's absolutely riddled with colonial baggage.
Let's be brutally clear: the original, somewhat unfortunate, history here is that "North Africa(n)" became shorthand for essentially, everyone who looked like they came from over there . That meant predominantly Black Africans, regardless of what country, or even if that person was born on African turf! The implication? They were somehow relegated to a tier beneath the Eurocentric idea of who deserved recognition. Basically, it became a lazy, racially-tinted descriptor. 1960s and 70s travel brochures were practically dripping with this kind of colonial condescension. Now, I'm not here to shame you for past ingrained habits – honestly, that would be exhausting! Instead— let’s acknowledge the weirdness, right? Because we now have a very specific reality. There are tons of people who identify as and genuinely come from North Africa. Countries like Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Rowea, Sahoua ﺋﺋئئئئئئئ
