A Black Woman Depicted As A Slave Is France’s Latest Racist Reality

I can’t believe that in this day and age, something like this still happens.

Last Friday, Danielle Obono, a black woman and member of parliament in France, was depicted as a slave in chains by an extreme-right newspaper.

Interestingly enough, this horrendous act occurred just a few weeks after another black woman, Kamala Harris, accepted the Democratic party nomination to run for Vice-President of the United States of America; the most powerful country in the world.

As a black woman myself, I have gone through a range of different emotions while taking in these two very different world events. I have moved from elation at Harris’ nomination to outrage at Obono’s depiction as a slave.

Kamala Harris’ nomination is a big win for black women

Harris’ nomination renders me ecstatic because despite living in a world that can be extremely cruel to black women, many supported her to reach that milestone. This in my view is an already big win for black women everywhere.

Regardless of the outcome of this presidential election, Kamala’s voice — that of a black woman will be heard.

She is committed to the well-being of American people

In the months to come, the world will get to know her. Whether they like her or not, they’ll realize that she is a natural-born leader, that she is intelligent, competent, caring, and kind, and that she is truly committed to the well being, safety, prosperity, and good health of all American people.

Kamala Harris like Michelle Obama, Maya Angelou, Oprah, Toni Morrison, and countless others before her will show the world that black women deserve to be respected, black women deserve to have a seat at the table, black women deserve to lead and can make outstanding contributions to the advancement and betterment of humanity.

A world that still continues to oppress black women

I see this moment in time as an opportunity for the world to know what I have always known about black women — we are good leaders.

As I look to France, I cannot help but see the ugly underbelly of a world that still continues to oppress black and brown people — most specifically black women. That world doesn’t only exist in Europe, it has militant factions in the US as well — embodied by the KKK and other extreme-right groups.

It is a world that feels that it is losing its grip on a single narrative of black people as being inferior and incapable of achieving great things. It is this world that is fighting to keep black people oppressed — or as the illustration in the extreme-right newspaper depicts, still slaves in chains and shackles.

Black women paid the highest price in slavery

When I think of what slavery meant for black women, I find the depiction particularly heartless and cruel. Black women paid the highest price in slavery.

They had their babies stolen away from them and were systematically raped by disgusting and hypocritical plantation owners. The simple thought of these despicable acts and countless other injustices against black people and black women, in particular, makes me shudder.

No I wasn’t a slave, but I can imagine how it must have been to be one

And no, I didn’t live during the slave trade or on a plantation, but this doesn’t prevent me from walking in the shoes of black women at that time in history and imagining the immense pain and suffering that they must have gone through. It shouldn’t be hard for anybody — black, brown, or white, to imagine what type of a terrible life that must have been and that we don’t want to be reminded of it by way of a racist newspaper.

Racists and white supremacists want to keep their grip on the world

The world of racists and white supremacists is a world that constantly tells me, a black woman, to stay in my place. A world that denies me and many other black women opportunities to fulfill our full potential.

A world that feels that it will lose control if black and brown people are allowed to succeed. It is this world that created the social construct of racism, a hierarchy where the white man sits at the top and the black woman at the very bottom.

It is a world that is quickly becoming extinct and it will fight with the energy of a mad man to uphold the all too sickening racist status quo.

They are dinosaurs, on the verge of extinction

Obono’s depiction as a slave in chains is just another one of their desperate pathetic actions to take a swipe at us. This gives them the impression that they are still in control, that they are still powerful. But they are not. The reality is that they are dinosaurs, on the verge of becoming extinct. It’s just a matter of time.

My analysis however does not remove us from the fact that still today, a publication can portray a black person in this light and get away with it. How is that even possible? By hiding it all under the right to freedom of expression.

Is it still freedom of expression if you cultivate divisiveness and hatred?

But think about it, if your right to express yourself allows you to cage me a black woman, into the confines of a de-humanized being, a slave in chains, do you still have the right to express it?

Do you still have the right to publish your disgusting view and distribute it to the masses? Do you have the right to degrade and belittle another human being in the name of freedom of expression? I would say no.

You are not expressing your opinion, you are building divisiveness and hatred and as such, you should be prosecuted for what is clearly a crime against humanity.

Reaction of the French governement

I couldn’t end this article without touching on the reaction of the French government. As is always the case with these types of things, and especially whereas it concerns black people, French politicians expressed what I consider to be mild indignation at the depiction.

President Emmanuel Macron of France — who has vowed to never take down any racist statues by the way — called Obono to express his disgust. But pardon my French, it was yet another act of performative bulls*it.

As is always the case, no new laws will be enacted, nothing will change in France — one of the most racist countries I know. Things will remain the same.

The newspaper that carried the derogatory illustration apologized to Obono saying that they were trying to feature her in a different historical context like they had other politicians. But did they truly think that a “Back to the Future” moment during the slave trade was the most appropriate time in history to feature her in? Really, what a bunch of idiots.

We the antiracists are winning

So while it is still deeply hurtful to see Obono portrayed in this way, I cannot help but sense that the racists are starting to feel the tectonic shifts towards a racism-free world.

In their pathetic and unsuccessful attempts to degrade black people, they are showing the weakening of the world order they have overseen for centuries — an unnatural hierarchy between white, brown, and black people.

I feel a sense of optimism at the realization that we, the antiracists are winning. We the people that are working toward building a society where each person is equal regardless of race, gender, creed, and sexual orientation — we are winning.

Millions of Kamala Harris like possibilities are within reach

So somehow in all this darkness, I see hope. Hope because nothing and no one will stop this antiracism movement. The world is ready for change and a few racists trying to hold on to power won’t stop us.

The impatient optimist in me knows that there is a future out there with millions of Kamala Harris like possibilities well within reach. It’s a long road ahead, but we will get there for sure. All I request of you is that you do your part and never stop believing in the reality of a racism-free world.

Thanks for reading my perspective