Museum removes photo exhibit 'honoring' black people by comparing them to wild animals

A museum in China has taken down an offensive photo exhibit titled "This is Africa" that juxtaposed images of black Africans with wild animals.

According to the Shanghaist, the Hubei Provincial Museum exhibit was comprised of photos taken by Yu Huiping, the vice chairman of the Hubei Photographers Association, and compared photos of African tribesmen with animals -- including monkeys and baboons -- with similar facial expressions.

The curator at the exhibit, Wang Yuejun agreed to take the photos down, while admitting, “The target of the exhibition is mainly a Chinese audience.”

Wang said he was unaware that of the racist implications of the way the photos were displayed until receiving complaints from some museum visitors.

"Putting the photos of African tribespeople and animals together hurt the feelings of the African tribespeople,” and they were removed to “show respect for our African friends’ opinions," the curator explained.

Wang further added that the exhibit, which had already been viewed by over 170,000 people, was a reflection of a Chinese cultural belief in the Chinese zodiac and “in Chinese proverbs, animals are always used for admiration and complement.”

You can watch the video below via the Shanghaist on YouTube: