Anielle says that ‘black hole’ is a racist term – 11/02/2023 – Power

Minister Anielle Franco, of Racial Equality, said that the term “black hole” can be used in a racist way. The statement was made this Wednesday (1st) during EBC’s “Good Morning, Minister” program, and provoked reactions on the internet.

Anielle was talking about the importance of having teachers and politicians who are anti-racist when she mentioned terms and words that could be offensive to black people.

“This goes from saying something that is offensive and that, sometimes, you don’t even notice. Today there are many words that we have tried very hard, whenever we can, to communicate in a very calm way: this word is racist”, he said .

“For example, denigrating is a word that the black movement and people who are racially literate do not use, in any way. Or, for example, we got out of this black hole, we hear that a lot.”

Internet users questioned the statement and shared explanations related to the scientific use of the term black hole.

On social media, critics of the minister stated that the term is used to define an object in space that has a gravitational field so strong that not even light escapes it, hence the term black.

For internet users, there was an exaggeration by the minister, as they consider the term scientific, with no connotation related to skin color or racial aggression.

Despite the criticism, others tried to understand the minister’s message.

One internet user stated that Anielle was not referring to the black hole in physics and that being immersed in this interpretation is missing the point of the discussion. For another, just listen to the interview to understand that she was referring to an expression that people use when they are not well, associating the word black with something bad.

According to Anielle, debating this type of term is important so that non-black people are aware that using a certain word will cause discomfort to black people around them.

The minister’s participation took place as part of the program for Black Consciousness Month, celebrated in November.

Anielle also criticized the use of some terms in texts or journalistic headlines. She cites as an example the difference in treatment for black and white men accused of a crime.

“”Bandit arrested with a lot of drugs’. He was always a black person. ‘Young man arrested with a lot of drugs’, he was always a white person.”