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The bias was not intentional: it was the automatic result of training datasets built from a predominantly white and male population. These systems are deployed in predictive policing, border controls, credit scoring, and applicant screening. And algorithmic discrimination perpetuates colorism: studies have shown that facial recognition models make significantly more errors on very darkskinned faces than on light-skinned Black faces— adding a technological layer to the hierarchy of skin tones. As for funding: less than 2 % of global venture capital is allocated to Black founders, via the well-documented mechanism of pattern matching— investors fund founders who look like them..
What Does the Future Hold for Africa and Its Diaspora?
Africa is the youngest continent on the planet: more than 60 % of its population is under the age of 25. It is home to the world’ s largest free trade area since the launch of the AfCFTA. Lagos, Nairobi, Kigali, Accra, Abidjan: tech hubs are producing fast-growing startups in fintech, mobile health, and agritech. The African diaspora will transfer $ 168 billion to the continent in 2023— three times the amount of official development assistance received. But these emerging forces are up against structures that won’ t disappear on their own. And the fight against negrophobia must, to be complete, include the fight against colorism— that internal cancer that the global Black community has inherited from its oppressors and that it sometimes perpetuates itself, from casting call to casting call, from skin cream to skin cream, from marriage to marriage. It is not the easiest fight, because it requires turning the gaze inward. But it is one of the most necessary. Change will come from several directions simultaneously: from awareness in the Global North, from the building of African institutions capable of telling Africa’ s story from within, from the transnational solidarity of the diaspora— and, from now on, from an aesthetic revolution that will teach Black children, everywhere in the world, that all shades of their skin are equally worthy of being represented, celebrated, and loved.
Flashmag! Edition 172 Mai 2026
Hubert Marlin Elingui Jr. Journalist
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