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The Crisis of Afrophobia in Italy

Award winning author Kossi Komla-Ebri describes the prevalence—and effects—of racism in Italy.

Afrophobia: the normalization and legitimization of a set of behaviors that benefit Whites and generate excessive fear and great aversion toward Africans. The United Nations recently defined Afrophobia, as it continues to be a significant problem worldwide. In a lecture hosted by the French & Italian Department on September 22, award-winning Togolese Italian author Kossi Komla-Ebri told BYU students how to combat Afrophobia: recognize their own prejudices, become more educated about the inheritance of colonialism, and become aware of the dangerous tendency worldwide to interpret difference (especially racial difference) as a threat.

Komla-Ebri explained that Italy is home to many immigrants due to its long coastline and central Mediterranean location between Africa and the rest of Europe. Immigrants battle racism daily from many that still perceive them as lesser because of the color of their skin. One reason for continuing prejudice comes from a form of media that infiltrates life at every turn: advertisements.

Product advertisements can perpetuate racist language within the collective unconscious. Komla-Ebri gave the example of a recent pasta advertisement proclaiming they have “the shells with the fine fascist taste.” Ads like these pervade everyday life and send false messages that the history of colonialism and fascism wasn’t so bad. Another popular advertisement, this one for soap, features Calimero the black chicken. The narrator tells Calimero, “You’re not black. You’re just dirty.” Then the black chick is washed white. Such ads send an underlying message that immigrants, or those who are visibly different, cannot be accepted as they are and justifies the fear of differences.

Komla-Ebri emphasized that he holds no resentment against Italians or Italian culture. His wife and children are proudly Italian and Komla-Ebri chooses to write and speak in Italian. Komla-Ebri simply used Italy as a case study to showcase the prejudice and fear of difference that can be found worldwide. But in order for the world to build equitable societies, everyone needs to acknowledge the existence of racism and cast it aside. Easier said than done, Komla-Ebri explained; after all, racism persists because it benefits those with power. It allows Whites to feel superior, seeing themselves as saviors for the Black Africans they are “helping.” Komla-Ebri denounced this behavior, saying it shows no respect for individual dignity and that racism traps those of African descent with false narratives of poverty and a lack of education.

Komla-Ebri then talked about other forms of racism such as microaggressions and institutional racism. Black Italians face a series of microaggressions daily from fellow Italians, such as the frequent assumption that no Black individual can speak Italian, leading to demeaning interactions and language from their fellow countrymen. Black Italian women confront hyper-sexualization and aggressive sexual behavior from men. Institutional racism has led to legal traps that keep Black Italians from receiving fair governmental treatment. Komla-Ebri explained this duality of racist treatment as “hypervisibility as others but invisible legally.” Most countries determine citizenship the same way; children receive their parents citizenship status, regardless of where they are born. So if a parent is unable to become an Italian citizen, their children may be born and raised in Italy, but they are not considered Italian citizens. Citizenship is often denied to immigrants or made incredibly difficult to obtain, and this struggle becomes passed to the next generation. Currently over one million second-generation African Italians born and raised in Italy do not have citizenship status.

Despite the many issues that Afrophobia has created in Italy, Komla-Ebri remains hopeful that the situation will get better. He called on everyone in attendance to stand for what is right. He said, “Races do not create racism: it is racism that creates different races.” Students and faculty asked what they can do to help, and Komla-Ebri suggested a few options.

  • Recognize your prejudices. 
  • Become more educated about the inheritance of colonialism. 
  • Become open to differences as a good thing, especially racial differences. 
  • Encourage people to elect officials and vote for laws that reform racism and benefit everyone. 
  • Treat one another fairly in your daily interactions. 
  • Shift from a “White savior” attitude to one of genuine respect and love for those you are serving when volunteering in Italy or with the Red Cross. 
  • Fight racism in the United States to help change the way racism is seen on the global stage. 
  • Choose not to buy products made with cheap immigrant labor from Italy, which can help lower the number of immigrant workers who are exploited. 

The most impactful change both Americans and Italians can make however is to truly respect and value everyone they meet regardless of race. As humanity confronts its racist actions past and present, it can work toward a more harmonious future.