Stars Somizi, Atandwa Kani and Nyaniso Dzedze have praised e.tv’s Melanie Rice on social media this week for speaking up about white privilege and the current outrage over a Clicks advertisement for African hair.
We often look to the media for the answers to pressing questions, and this week news anchor Melanie used her platform to speak about the outrage over an advert on the Clicks website that went viral.
The advert, which labelled African hair as dry and damaged and white hair as fine and flat, sparked outrage across the country.
In a video shared widely on social media, Melanie reflected on why she felt the outrage was warranted.
“I’ll tell you why I think this story belongs in the headlines. Every day I am reminded through popular culture and through my environment that my whiteness matters, that it is seen, that it is accepted and it is respected. I have always worked in an environment of diversity. Many of my white friends do not. Many live in bubbles of privilege.
"The conversations and friendships I am privileged to have, have made me aware of the daily microaggressions that are hoisted on people of colour all the time. That assumed and undeserved air of superiority that is afforded to you because of your skin pigment can be subtle, but it is everywhere,” said Melanie.
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