Chinese Museum Pulls Down Exhibit Comparing Animals to Black People after Backlash
By Susan Johnes
A video has leaked online and shows a Chinese museum’s racist exhibition which has touched the nerves of Africans online after people of color were displayed alongside wild animals.
The video got uploaded to Instagram by a Nigerian, Edward E. Duke, showing art lovers admiring the exhibits at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan.
One disturbing exhibit that created an outrage includes a photograph of a roaring lion next to an African man with the same expression. In another instance, one display contains a pensive monkey next to another man and elephants & giraffes next to African children.
After complaints were raised about the racist display, the museum in China removed a photography exhibit containing the images of wild African animals with Black African people.
China is a diverse country of more than one billion people. Being Africa’s largest trading partner, China has had more significant interaction with foreigners and a resulting increase in racist missteps.
The photography exhibit in Hubei was expected to end last week. According to the state news media, more than 170,000 people had visited the exhibition, which went up during a national holiday.
As reported by The New York Time, Mr. Yu, a photographer and vice chairman of the Hubei Photographers Association, has visited Africa nearly 20 times.
Wang Yuejun, a curator at the exhibit, said the decision to hang the photos of people and animals together was his idea, and not that of Mr. Yu.
“Chinese audience was the target of the exhibition,” Mr. Wang said in a statement. “Chinese people like comparisons between people and animals, often taken as a compliment.
He also observed that in Chinese proverbs, animals are always used for admiration and compliment.
The photographer is reported to be a lover of Africa and its wildlife. He titled the exhibits with the Chinese idiom: “outward appearance follows inner reality.”
That incident follows a week of the backlash of a Facebook advert by Dove which showed a Black model transforming to a white woman after using Dove body wash.
After a screenshot of the ad went viral, several people took to Twitter to criticize the beauty brand. Dove apologized for the ad saying the image “missed the mark in representing wo-men of color thoughtfully.”
