Platforming blackness as an object of poverty

Abstract

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) based in Global Minority Countries have, for decades, exerted considerable influence over the visual and discursive representations of Black, Brown and Indigenous populations in Global Majority Countries. Often perpetuating reductive narratives conflating poverty with racialized bodies, these representations have crafted a racial hierarchy reminiscent of the colonial era. In response, a growing number of African NGOs are challenging this single conflation of poverty and Blackness through mediated performances on TikTok to reframe these narratives. However, this article argues that such efforts are marked by a paradox. While seeking to disrupt these reductive narratives, many NGOs are inadvertently reproducing racialized humanitarian discourses to attract visibility and financial support. Through a racial discourse analysis of the comment sections, this study interrogates how racialized discourses are reconstituted through audience engagement. Drawing on literature, centred on Fanon’s [1967. Black skin, white masks (C. L. Markmann, Trans.). Grove Press] concept of ‘crushing objecthood’, this article explores how the white gaze persists, even among Black African actors, which maintains Blackness as an object of poverty.