Last week, we let you know about the overtly racist characters that have appeared on Peruvian television and about what one of our sister organizations LUNDU is doing to confront this.
Unfortunately, we recently discovered that one of the racist caricatures, the character known as "El Negro Mama," has made a re-appearance on the popular TV comedy show from which he had been temporarily suspended. The other of the two characters, "La Paisana Jacinta," was never removed from the show in the first place.
As we mentioned in our previous blog entry on this topic, the TV station tried to argue that the popularity of the characters -- as demonstrated by the number of fans they have accumulated on Facebook -- justified their continued presence on the show. What's more, upon his return to the show, the actor who portrays "El Negro Mama" made sure to thank the fans on Facebook who had called for the character's return.
LUNDU has joined with a coalition of Peruvian social justice organizations in an anti-racist campaign to stand against these characters, and you can support their efforts.
Here's How You Can Take Action:
Send a Message to Decision-Makers in Peru:
Write to Mr. Jorge Baca-Alvarez Marroquín (President of the Complaints
Committee of the Peruvian National Society of Radio and TV) and to Ms.
Nidia Vilchez Yucra (Minister of Social Development and Women’s Affairs
and Social Development). Demand that they put an end to these TV
portrayals that violate the human rights of the Indigenous and
Afro-Peruvian population.
Activate Your Social Networks:
Help us spread the word about this campaign and counter racist messages -- on Facebook and Twitter -- by updating your status with this message.
Copy and paste either of these messages into your Facebook status:
English: "Fight racism on TV & support Peruvian social justice orgs - Take El Negro Mama & La Paisana Jacinta off the air. http://bit.ly/bLRvCs"
Español: ”Apúntate contra el racismo en la televisión y apoya a organizaciónes de justicia social del Perú – Eliminar los personajes El Negro Mama y La Paisana Jacinta. http://bit.ly/bLRvCs”
Make sure you are logged on to Twitter, and click on the links below to automatically update your status with this message.
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