A Chinese exhibit comparing Africans to animals

“This is Africa” (这就是非洲) is the name of an exhibition in the capital of China’s Hubei province, Wuhan, that was pulled down recently after complaints by Africans in China. The exhibit showcased pictures of Africans compared with images of animals native to Africa.

The museum curator, Wang Yuejun, defended the exhibition by saying it sought to explore the relationship between humans and nature. He claimed it had no underlying racist message and that in Chinese culture being compared to animals is complimentary. For Africans and blacks who intimately know that comparisons of black people to animals have been used to justify the maltreatment and enslavement of blacks, such an exhibition is hurtful and infuriating.