Agency criticized over photo: Calls itself Agência Africa but photo of staff doesn’t feature any black people

Note from BW of Brazil: Sometimes one has to wonder, before being criticized does anyone seriously think about the things they do? I often wonder this when dealing with the absurdities that deal with issue of race in Brazil. I would like to think some things are just “accidents” or “misunderstandings” but then I think about how often such things happen and also the weak and typical excuses offered after the fact and I tend to believe that they know exactly what they’re doing. For   example, when white women are overwhelming majority of beauty contestants in a state with a majority black population. Or when a political party specifies no black women for an advertisement. Or when black women are completely shut out of a competition to crown the “Goddess of Brazil”. Or when all the anchors on a news program looks as if they come from Denmark. Of course there are many more examples of this, so this most recent example should really come as no surprise.

Agência Africa is criticized on social networks for posting photos without black people on the team

“What a shame, an agency that appropriates itself in the name of the black continent as an identity for itself and there isn’t even one black person,” read one of the numerous comments showing outrage with a photo posted by the company in homage to ‘Outubro Rosa’, or Pink October.

By Ivan Longo

Web users criticized the fact of the agency not including black people in the photo in homage to ‘Pink October’.

“The name ‘Africa’ was chosen to be understood internationally, and for paying homage to the people that brought culture to Brazil.” This was the way Agência Africa explained, in its site, the choice of the name of the publicity company. A simple photo posted on the agency’s page last Tuesday (October 6^th), meanwhile, suggests that the homage to the continent “that brought culture to Brazil” didn’t come presented in the best possible way – at least this is the opinion of the majority of Facebook users that commented on the post.

With the intent of adhering to ‘Pink October’ and making women conscious of adopting measures for the prevention of breast cancer, the company posted a photo of part of the women of the team dressed in pink clothing. What caught attention of the post is that, among those that appeared in the photo, there was no black woman.

“What a shame, an agency that se apossa in the name of the black continent as an identity for itself and there isn’t even one black person in this manifestation for the idea of Outubro Rosa (Pink October). A real shame. Re-think your identitarian concepts,” commented one web user, which was followed by dozens of other users.

“Being as it is, where is the black woman that I don’t see represented? By chance, are black women not subject to developing breast cancer? Could it be that there isn’t a black woman employed by this agency whose name refers to a continent composed in its majority by blacks and by African culture?”, questioned another user.

Sought (for comment), the company, through its spokesperson, informed us that they are “not understanding” the controversy, saying that they are “irritated with the situation” and informed that the photo doesn’t represent the agency as a whole, as the company had more than 300 workers and only those that stepped up to adhere to the campaign appeared in the photo.

“It was an unfortunate coincidence. Diversity is among the things that agency most values,” said the spokesperson.

Source: Revista Fórum