Lilian Thuram anti-racism exhibition is open in TU Dublin

An anti-racism exhibition gifted by former French international footballer Lilian Thuram has opened at TU Dublin’s Grangegorman campus.

Beyond the Human Zoos is on display in the Central Quad at TU Dublin Grangegorman and is being hosted by Insaka Ireland, the All Africa Youth and Cultural Movement.

The exhibition, gifted by Thuram’s anti-racism foundation, looks at the history of “human zoos”, where Black and Brown people were displayed to European audiences.

Co-founder of Sport Against Racism Ireland Ken McCue said the exhibition shows “the post-slavery manifestation of racism” and how people of Black and Brown skin colours were regarded as “sub-human” by sections of the urban capitalist class.

He said the display was intended to confront visitors with a disturbing but important part of history.
“Today, where hate is transmitted electronically, a display like this has a major impact on the viewer,” McCue said.

“It is meant to shock and viewers have described it as ‘disturbing’ and a ‘powerful learning experience’.”

The exhibition was first staged at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris and was curated by Thuram, who now heads his own anti-racism foundation.

In material accompanying the display, Thuram said racism is “above all an intellectual construction” and argues that exhibitions like this one can help people understand why divisions based on skin colour still exist.

The display also includes historical images, documents and quotations from colonial history. One panel features a quotation from Aimé Césaire who said, “There is no colonialism without racism.”

Another panel includes a quotation from former French prime minister Jules Ferry in 1885, outlining the colonial belief that “superior races” had a duty to “civilize the inferior races”.

The exhibition has travelled to Dublin from Scotland, where it was previously shown in a number of universities coordinated by Professor David Murphy of the Department of Humanities at Strathclyde University in Glasgow.

From September, the exhibition is expected to travel to Liverpool, where the Irish Institute will include it as part of events to mark the 30th anniversary of the twinning agreement between Dublin and Liverpool.