Khadija Ben Hamou beat 16 contestants to become only the second black Miss Algeria in history. Although she is set to represent this North African country at Miss World 2019, her victory has been mired in racial abuse.
At birth, humans enter a world that is rife with widely held, fixed and overly generalised beliefs. Regrettably, stereotypes across races, cultures and gender are misconstrued images and/or negative ideas mistakenly taken to be veracious.
Tunisia, a country with a significant black minority, is the second country in the African Union and one of the first countries in the Arab world to pass an anti-racial discrimination law. The new “Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination” Act criminalises racist speech, incitement to hatred and discrimination.
Kenya has a legal framework that protects its citizens from racism but there are challenges with its implementation.
Popular illustrator Nicholle Kobi is known for her representation of black women in all their variations in an online space that rarely features them and a country that shuns them. Her work is inspired by the simple manifesto “Carefree Yet Refined”.
Many African countries use English as the official language, which is also the medium of instruction in schools. However, it is shocking that Africans from Anglophone speaking countries have to prove their proficiency despite years of education. Applicants who wish to attend British and U.S. institutions have to pay a hefty amount to write or retake international proficiency exam IELTS or TOEFL.
Photographer Reatile Moalusi’s latest work seeks to break down some of the myths that still serve to stigmatise people with the auto-immune disease vitiligo.
‘Too Black’ to Play a Superhero: Senegalese-American Anna Diop is experiencing racist backlash from fans for her role as DC Comic’s Starfire. Her response has been: “I am here to remind you that whatever ugly and negative thing anyone ever chooses to say about you is always a reflection and revelation of themselves.”
Julius Malema’s racially charged remarks have been met with mixed reactions. On the one hand, his party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, claimed his comments addressed racial challenges in the country, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. The Democratic Alliance, on the other hand, felt that Malema was using his leadership carelessly to strain racial relationships that have been decades on the mend.
Race still plays a big part in South African society. Sport is no exception.
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