Podcast: Breaking Racial Stereotypes

“I am B.L.A.C.K. and I’m proud because being black is beautiful,” sings Robe L Ninho, an Afro-Cuban rapper and social activist who uses music and hair styling to challenge racial stereotypes and fight racism.

Representation matters. When it comes to people of African descent, representation is fundamental because it shapes racial perceptions and can help promote inclusion. In our new episode of the UN Human Rights Podcast,we explore how popular culture and the arts can challenge perceptions and reframe narratives about race, history and identity.

Edna Liliana Valencia, an Afro-Colombian journalist and author, has focused her life on the representation of Black people.

“Growing up I watched Disney princess movies. They were all white, blonde, with straight hair and blue eyes, and looked nothing like us,” said Edna, who used her skills as a consultant for Disney on its animation film Encanto, helping to portray Colombia’s beauty and diversity accurately.

For artist Anisha Thai, dance and choreography is her way of expressing the beauty of diversity and defying myths about being African and Asian at the same time and living in Hong-Kong.

This year marks the closing of the first Decade for People of African Descent, and for Dominique Day, a human rights lawyer and member of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, the Decade represents an opportunity to reflect on racial justice and non discrimination.

Listen to Humanity Unites: Breaking Racial Stereotypes