NBC Reporters Make Racist Comments

by U Diesode Omenih, Bronx, NY

As an African resident of this great city of New York, I find NBC's live coverage of the New York City marathon, another glaring example of your station's bias against Africa and anything African. This assertion is evidenced by the remarks that were made by NBC’s television commentators.

Why in God's name would reporters assigned to such an important event as the New York City Marathon deviate from calling the race as is, and instead, exhibit such insensitivity and ignorance? I am, of course, referring to the link that those reporters suggested between the Kenyan athletes’ magnificent performance and the lack of electricity, cars, good roads, and the abundance of mud houses and cows in Kenya. Another clear example of this was at the finish line when another NBC reporter asked the victorious John Chebet, ".. in this country we have cars, and in your country you have cows, what are you going to do with your money?.." Is this line of questioning in sync with NBC’s policies, if so, what brand of journalism is this?

Those reporters marred what otherwise was a glorious day for John Chebet, and indeed Africa by their racist inferences. NBC and its reporters did a great disservice to the NYC Marathon and millions and millions of viewers by trying so poorly to give the impression that there is a correlation between Kenyans' innate ability to run and poverty. And I speak for millions of millions of Africans and other people of goodwill when I say the marathon is more about the coming together of thousands of participants, young and old of diverse nationalities. Above all, the marathon is about sportsmanship and the triumph of the human spirit. It has absolutely nothing to do with the level of development or the geographic origin of participants, except where such environmental factors as high altitude, etc warrant it. No such circumstance existed in this case.

With its enormous resource, power and influence, it's regrettable that NBC has, and continues to allow racism to paralyze the way it sees the African world.

We share the sentiments expressed in this letter in the hope that a little sensitivity will help make this great nation a much safer, gentler and friendlier place to live as the dawn of a new millennium breaks. -- Editorial Board