Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDTalk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” discusses the impact of negative influences limiting the understanding of different cultures and people by only hearing a single perspective. Adichie uses her own experiences growing up in Nigeria and later moving to the United States as an example. As she herself was a victim of “ A Single Story” when her roomate defaulted on showing pity towards her from their prior singular view on where she grew up . Later she explains on a trip to Mexico how her prior view on Mexicans put them in a negative light and how without knowing contributed to this epidemic . She also goes on to describe how her own understanding of the world was shaped by the literature she read, and how a limited perspective can lead to stereotypes and misunderstandings. Adichie also emphasizes the importance of hearing a variety of voices and perspectives to gain a fuller understanding of the world and the people in it.
I completely agree with Adichie’s main argument. As a person of color I have completely seen and felt what “The Dangers Of a Single Story” can do to people. I myself have gone through having someone profile me due to prior bias. One time in Long Island in the midst of the Trump era my family and I were harassed and told to “ get back to our country”. This had hurt because in their minds just being people here was wrong and there were false ideas in their heads. This leads them to foster and spew so much unnecessary hatred. Simple misunderstandings like this can lead to more conflict down the line and hurt us in the long run. Opening your mind and allowing more than one perspective can help aid this and stop “ The Single Story” from influencing us.
I believe that Professor Barnes assigned this reading because it is a reminder of the importance of diversity and inclusion.
