US Impressions in Ghana

Being in Peace Corps is all about sharing information, whether it be recipes, dance steps, or language. I am sure many of you have seen pictures of me stirring banku, wearing an oversized kente smock, and attending baby naming ceremonies. However, this exchange is not one way. A big portion of my service has been me explaining the United States and its culture to the people I meet here in Ghana.

Explaining, you might ask? Doesn’t the world already know about the U.S. from TV, movies, and the news? After all, we are one of the most powerful countries in the world (and express that in many ways, from military “might” to cultural hegemony to unequal trade laws).

While it is true that Ghana has received a lot of information about the United States from TV, movies, and the news, it is easy to see just how limited in scope that glimpse into American culture is. For one, whenever I have a conversation about my home country with a Ghanaian, they always think that everyone there is white. Talks about U.S.-American history and politics more often than not include the words “you people,” and when I press them on what they mean, it always means white. When I held up pictures of my friends from high school and college, whose skin tones are far from my pasty white, they are always confused and think these faces belong to “visitors,” not "real Americans."

I admit this surprised me when I first arrived. Being from Chicago, which admittedly still has problems with segregation but is nevertheless an international city, I have never lived in a place where every face I saw every day was as white as mine. However, one only has to look at our TV shows and movies to know why Ghanaians would think that. Just yesterday, I went through my hard drive and out of every TV show and movie I own, only 39% of my media had a person of color as a main character. Only 8% had a person of color as the main character. Even in scenes with bystanders, the majority of people present are white. With such whitewashed media, it is no wonder Ghanaians think we are all white!

So. Many. White. People. And face it, you know all of these characters' (and probably even the actors') names. But the side characters who are people of color? Probably not.
Photo credit.

It is important to note that, as a white person, I fit into this stereotype. Thus, my only job is to correct this misconception. My U.S.-American-ness is never called into question. However, Peace Corps volunteers of color find their nationality questioned every day. I have had friends share that people do not believe they are from the U.S. even if they show them pictures taken in their hometowns. This is incredibly difficult for them, as while the U.S.-American political landscape has painted people with non-European heritage as less American (and continues to do so), now they have to face that scrutiny in a country thousands of miles away.

The lack of diversity in U.S.-American television and movies not only includes race, but religion, socioeconomic status, region, and experience. If these media sources are to be believed, everyone in the U.S. is not only white, but Christian, wealthy, college-educated, and lives in New York City, Los Angeles, or Washington, DC. Coming in to Ghana and not quite fitting into this stereotype has led to some interesting conversations about how many people hold those identities back home. After convincing them that New York and LA are not continually at war and half blown up (it seems they may have watched too many superhero movies), I have shared how I do not live anywhere near either of those two cities and how my state has famous people that live in skyscrapers, people who farm corn and soy (classic Midwest) and everything in between.

A common occurrence in NYC, according to many Ghanaians.
Photo credit.

Another impactful conversation revolved around (you might have guessed) religion. NO TV shows or movies that I know of (with the exception of Abed in Community) have a Muslim character who is not a terrorist or is comically thought to have evil intentions until it is all revealed to be a misunderstanding (insert sarcastic laugh). When I showed my coworkers pictures of some friends and I celebrating Eid in high school, they were shocked that so many of them were wearing hijabs. “I thought America hates Muslims,” one commented. “I thought we were not allowed in your country.” That is painful to hear, as this suggests that my coworker felt he was barred from entering a country that totes being a land that welcomes everyone (although it has shown itself time and time again that it does not). It also illustrates just how deep the United States’ prejudice against Islam goes that even thousands of miles away, a Muslim man knows he is not truly welcome there.

University education also proved to be an insightful conversation topic. After seeing so many movies about young people going to college, it seems like everyone gets a degree in the U.S. Learning about my mom’s side of the family, where more than half of her siblings and two (of three) of her nephews did not complete college, came as a surprise. Additionally, Ghanaians are often shocked at the price tag for a university education in the U.S., and how many of us pay that price ourselves. In a communal culture like Ghana’s, children are supported by their parents throughout their lives-- living in their compound, eating their food, using their motos, and having their education paid for. Negative reactions abounded upon hearing that U.S.-American culture pushes the ideal for kids to be fully independent by age 22. “But they have no money!” one friend commented. “How can they pay for school?” This question was followed by a long explanation of the student loan business.

“Well, maybe they don’t need a college degree,” one friend responded. “Whites are just smarter than blacks anyway.” While I have heard this over and over, it never ceases to shock me. Where does this belief come from? A history of white missionaries, foreign governments, and NGOs coming in and doing “what is best for Ghana” and not including Ghanaians in the process. This continues today, with NGOs and businesses working on big projects but hiring few Ghanaian staff in decision making roles, thus bolstering the belief that Ghanaians must defer to outsiders because they “know better.”

Swooping in and dumping a lot of money on unsustainable projects has also led to the stereotype that Americans are all rich. Not a day goes by without a child asking me for fifty pesewas, toffee, or my bicycle. This often annoys me (especially when they ask me for my bike while I’m riding it), but it is important to remember that they are only reacting to what they see. So many villages in Ghana have seen foreigners (usually white) come in and gift them thousands of cedis worth of food, latrines, and farm equipment. So when these kids see me riding around, they think I can easily gift them my bike because I have plenty of money to just get a new one.

One of the reasons Peace Corps was founded was to teach people from other countries about the United States and how great it is. Truthfully, I always find that I am doing the opposite. The U.S. has done a great job of fooling the rest of the world into thinking that merely entering the country acts as an automatic gateway to opportunity and wealth. This does two things: prevents people from seeing the problematic policies that prevents the U.S. from truly being the “land of opportunity” it pretends to be and encourages people to leave their native country instead of using their talents to try and improve and develop it. I have met so many talented and smart people who are itching to move to the United States when there is so much to be done here in Ghana! It pains me to see people want to give up on their country so fast like it’s a lost cause… and I know the main culprit is the U.S.’s portrayal of itself as heaven-like and its portrayal of Africa as being made up of “shit-hole” countries.

What else is there to do but try to remedy the misconceptions and wrong impressions and encourage local development? Honestly, I think that should be the true goal of a PCV, especially under our current global political environment that becomes more and more xenophobic by the minute.