The racist comments of a football commentator in a Peruvian television programme, once more, places the reoccurring theme of racism and football at centre stage. More specifically, the constant racist abuse against football players of colour or of African descent.
Claudio Chipana Gutiérrez
These racist abuses aren’t limited to Latin American sports but have happened in other parts of the world.
Nevertheless, history does register moments that praise black athletes. The dead Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano knew how to appreciate one such instance, which he believed to be historical, that occurred during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The writer was referring to the humiliation delivered by the Peruvian football team to no one less than Adolf Hitler when the Peruvians beat the Austrians. The Peruvians had to leave the competition. For some this is part of a myth but nevertheless history has recorded it. It was the affront of the “Black Roller” of the Peruvian national selection that offended the representatives of the “Aryan” Nazi race.
Still, what is lived today isn’t exactly a full appreciation of the contribution of black people in sports or in other cultural and social activities; however, there are some advances in the recognition of rights for people of African descent.
Unfortunately, racism continues to prevail throughout, not just in sport. However; it is particularly in football where verbal abuses and racist comments are commonplace. That’s what happens in Leagues, Cups, local and international competitions.
Not only the fans but also those that are supposed to show respect within the media use banned epithets and stereotypes against black players, often with complete impunity.
It’s true that there have been efforts from people in high levels to sanction or fine those guilty of crimes that denigrate the dignity of people, whatever their origin or skin color. But a lot still needs to be done to regulate the media and compliance with rules and laws that forbid this abominable conduct.
For centuries, since the beginning of Latin American colonization, people of African descent were enslaved and submitted to inhumane conditions. They supplied the labour force in mining and agriculture. Since then, they have fought for their freedom and were the protagonists of their own emancipation. They resisted oppression and discrimination, transmitting their cultural heritage from generation to generation throughout the American territory. It is estimated that people of African descent make up a third of the total population in Latin America.
Their contribution in economics, culture and sport amongst other areas is needed to understand Latin American identity and all that it represents because it is a diverse multiracial region with multiple traditions and ethnicities.
Latin America can’t be understood without its African heritage along with its indigenous and white European heritage.
Many of the mixed, black, and people of African descent still live in marginalized conditions in ghettos, shanty towns, favelas or marginalized barrios. Along the way there has been progress in the recognition of these communities as they’ve been made visible in the national censuses.
Every day, more Latin American governments move towards the incorporation of rights for people of African origin at a constitutional and institutional level. An example is the Bolivian constitution which defines Bolivia as a pluri-national state. However, the fight to eliminate discrimination and marginalization of black people in the media or in public spaces, like football stadiums, continues. There is still an inequality gap for them in the areas of education and labour.
A structural racism exists, which includes the indigenous and other minorities, in Peru and in large part all Latin America that should be eliminated in football and in all aspects of society.
Photos: Pixabay – (Translated by Inez Cifuentes)
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