Acclaimed
Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie has described United States First Lady,
Melania Trump as racist.
Adichie made
the statement in an interview with international magazine, Esquire UK where she
talked about her stance on feminism, Melania Trump’s visit to Africa and racism.
When asked
if she thought Melania Trump was racist, she answered in the positive with
reference to Melania’s recent visit to Africa.
She said,
“Had you asked me this question yesterday, I would have said ‘yes’ and my
evidence would be that she supported her husband when he was being incredibly
racist to Barack Obama.
“But I just
watched an interview that she gave and I was just appalled by it. She sort of
stepped out of a colonial 1750 guidebook about how to be in Africa.
“There’s a
pith helmet and then I am thinking maybe this is supposed to be ironic? Maybe
it is a critique of colonialism.
“She really
thought this is what you do when you go to Africa and it says something about
someone who is so removed from reality,” Adichie said.
Adichie went
on to reference a jacket Melania wore to one of the US children immigration
camps which read “I really don’t care: Do you?” and caused a media frenzy.
She said,
“And I remember when the media made a lot of noise about that jacket. I
remember actually kind of being on her side when all that noise was happening.
“I thought –
she doesn’t know, she couldn’t possibly do this knowingly. She did, so the
answer to your question is ‘yes’. I think she is racist,” Adichie said.
When asked
why she passionately fights for feminism and not racism despite being black,
Adichie stated that she always finds the need to make a case for feminism.
She said,
“In my own personal space, the people I love, my family and friends all get
race. So I have never with them had to make a case for why something was
racist.
“So I am
with my circle of friends and something happens to do with blackness and
immediately, we all get it.
“But with
gender, I find that with the people I love, I am constantly being expected to
make the case – the ways in which women are reduced.
“And it gets
emotionally exhausting because I don’t feel that I have the kind of effortless
support that I have when I talk about race,” Adichie said.
Comments