Egyptian actor silences racist troll by saying he's 'proud to be dark'

Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan hit back at a racist comment that claimed it's a 'disaster' that his children turned out 'dark unlike their mother', saying he's proud of his skin.

MENA

3 min read

Diana Alghoul

08 June, 2020

Mohamed Ramadan and his son Ali [Facebook]

Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan shared a screenshot of a colourist comment saying it's a "disaster" that his children aren't "white" like their mother, as dark-skinned Arabs stand up to racism.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Ramadan uploaded a photo of himself and his son, saying he was teaching him how to disinfect his room in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I taught my son Ali how to disinfect his room as part of my coronavirus music video. The song will be released in a few days on YouTube and subscribers will be able to see the video a day before. Success comes with trusting God," he wrote.

Minutes later he shared a screenshot of a woman reacting to his post, insulting the way he and his son look due to their skin colour.

"Black just like his father, what a disaster that neither of his kids took after the beauty and fairness of their mother," the unnamed woman said.

Ramadan responded to the racist comment saying he is "proud of how God created" him in a post that currently has over 16,000 shares and is being flooded with supportive comments.

Facebook Post

"I am proud of how I look and how my children look, which was decreed by God. I am happy that my children will grow up to be anti-racist with proof being in their own household that their mother and father are of two different colours," he said.

Read also: 'We can't breathe until we're free': Palestinians stand in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter US protests

Colourism and anti-Black racism have become widely discussed issues in the Arab world after new Black Lives Matter movement protests erupted, after the killing of George Floyd.

Widespread discussions on beauty standards, the treatment of Black people in the Arab world and beyond and racism.

Condemnation of what were once viewed as casual and harmless actions, such as blackface have sprung, especially as local celebrities carried out the racist act in so-called solidarity with the African-American community.

Over the weekend, Black Palestinian actress Maryam Abu Khaled posted an Instagram video addressing anti-Blackness in the Arab world.

Abu Khaled, a black woman from Jenin, said that while black people in the Middle East are not being killed by police, racism is a deep-rooted problem in the region.

This includes passive comments on race that appear to be "harmless" but are actually very damaging.

"We can explain that people are different, with all honesty," she said. "Children are truly pure, and they like learning. So teach them what's right from a young age."

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