Back in 1992, Jane Elliott left Oprah’s audience stunned when she revealed that the United States was not the center of the world — and that Africa, in fact, was far larger than we’re taught to believe.
Fast forward to today, and the conversation has reached a global stage. The African Union just announced its support for the “Correct The Map” campaign to replace the outdated Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection.
The Mercator projection distorts continents—shrinking Africa while inflating regions like Greenland and North America—with the fairer, Equal Earth projection. As AU deputy chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi put it: “It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not.” This distortion perpetuates the misperception that Africa is “marginal,” even though it’s the second‑largest continent, home to over a billion people across 55 member states.
Campaigners argue the Mercator has sowed global misconceptions through media, education, and policy. Moky Makura of Africa No Filter declared: “The current size of the map of Africa is wrong … it’s the world’s longest misinformation and disinformation campaign.” Meanwhile, Fara Ndiaye, co‑founder of Speak Up Africa, highlighted the deep effect on identity: “We’re actively working on promoting a curriculum where the Equal Earth projection will be the main standard across all (African) classrooms,” and she hopes the Equal Earth map will also become the norm for global institutions.
