On 14 July 2019, President Donald Trump told four recently appointed women of colour in congress to 'go back home'. His racist rhetoric was, understandably, met with much noise, online and off.
Three days later, the topic came up for discussion on the BBC Breakfast show hosted by Naga Munchetty and Dan Walker. During the discussion, Munchetty called out the racist remarks, saying, 'Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism.' She went on to say: 'Now, I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean.'
Discussing it with Walker, she said racism and tweets like Trump’s make her ‘furious’.
'I can imagine lots of people in this country will be feeling absolutely furious a man in that position thinks it’s OK to skirt the lines by using language like that,' Munchetty said before she wrapped up the conversation with the words: 'Anyway, I’m not here to give my opinion.'
However, many thought that she had. The BBC received complaints about Munchetty revealing her own experience instead of simply telling the news. (Her co-host Dan Walker on the other hand, who was also involved in this conversation, has received no backlash.)
The BBC must be careful that their diversity isn't just about physical visibility.
The BBC reprimanded Naga for accusing Trump of racism, publicly stating that she 'had not been respectful' of the broadcasting policy.
'While Ms Munchetty was entitled to give a personal response to the phrase "go back to your own country" as it was rooted in her own experience, overall her comments went beyond what the guidelines allow for,' said a BBC representative.
Now, after 44 broadcasters and journalists of colour signed an open letter to the BBC demanding the decision be overturned, BBC director general Lord Hall has decided to reverse it. In an email to BBC staff on Monday, he said:
'In this instance, I don't think Naga's words were sufficient to merit a partial uphold of the complaint around the comments she made...there was never any sanction against Naga and I hope this step makes that absolutely clear.'
He also reiterated 'racism is racism and the BBC is not impartial on the topic.'
Munchetty is not the first person to question Trump’s actions while representing the BBC. For example, BBC North America editor Jon Sopel has questioned Trump’s travel ban, and back in 2013 Eddie Mair called Boris Johnson a 'nasty piece of work' to his face on The Andrew Marr Show.
When viewers complained about Munchetty, they were really complaining about a woman of colour sharing her truth. This dispute between the BBC’s so-called policy of neutrality and Munchetty’s lived experience reflects the sad truth that we have more of an issue with someone being called racist than with racism itself.
If the issue is that BBC journalists are supposed to be apolitical and not have an opinion, then seeking visible diversity in our reporters is pointless. White privilege allows a space to be apolitical; it allows for room to not ‘get involved'. The BBC must be careful that their diversity isn't just about physical visibility. The voice that comes with that diversity needs to matter.
If Naga Munchetty was speaking about disability or LGBTQI+ issues, I doubt she would have been met with this response or if the BBC would have censored the presenter’s lived experience. So why do we close our ears to the stories and trauma women of colour are putting forward? Instead, women of colour and their stories are homogenised, all filed under as ‘complaining’
Instead of this being a way to curb Munchetty and a way to silence those who have experienced similar events, this could have been a lesson for the BBC. It must now be a lesson for all of us. Brown and black women cannot dismantle racism – and we cannot do it alone. We need our white allies – who are in spaces where being themselves does not impinge on their livelihood or the respect they command – to speak out and stop this from happening again.
READ MORE: We'll in denial about the race problem in the UK.