Why Black first and then expert?

What an advertisement reveals about racism in Panama.

by Chevy Solís

We have followed the debate sparked by a recent advertisement in which a Black woman is introduced, first and foremost, as a Black woman, by a white woman. While many people have focused the discussion on the intentions of the person who produced the content, for Afroresistencia the most important question is another: Why does Blackness appear before her expertise, her knowledge, or her professional experience?

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Why isn’t she introduced first as an expert, a chef, or someone knowledgeable about the product? This question may seem simple, but it reveals something profound about how racism operates in Panamanian society. Because racism is not always expressed through insults or direct aggression. It also appears in the ways we name, represent, and construct narratives and perceptions around certain bodies.

Black women have historically been viewed with voyeurism, categorized, hypersexualized, and turned into objects. Far too often, our racial identity takes up more space than our abilities, knowledge, or contributions. Our bodies are seen before our experience; stereotypes are noticed before anything else that could distinguish or define us. 

This debate is also taking place in a country that, every May, celebrates Afro-descendant heritage with festivals, fashion shows, institutional speeches, and events that promote cultural recognition. Yet year after year, I find myself wondering how much of that “national recognition” actually transforms the structures that lie at the root of racism and continue to sustain it today. I also find myself asking how much of it remains confined to the symbolic realm each May.

Celebrating identity is important. But identity alone does not dismantle discrimination, reduce inequalities, or challenge the privileges held by certain sectors of the population privileges that continue to shape and reinforce the hierarchies within our society.

From a racial justice perspective, we need to move beyond representation. We need to ask who is telling the stories, from what position they are being told, and which stereotypes continue to be reproduced. Because it is not enough to include Black people in a campaign if we continue to be portrayed through the lens of difference, as exceptions, or as something outside the norm.

That is why I believe this campaign, which has since disappeared from social media, should serve as an opportunity to open a broader conversation about the role of advertising, the media, and digital marketing in reproducing racial narratives and perceptions in the country. Those who work in communications carry a significant social responsibility and need training to understand how racism is embedded in language, images, and storytelling.

This is not about canceling individuals or looking for someone to blame. It is about recognizing that we live in societies shaped by racial hierarchies hierarchies that we often reproduce without questioning them.

If this debate leaves us with any lesson, I hope it is this: Black people do not want to be recognized solely for our Blackness. We want to be recognized in the fullness of our humanity, in our diversity, and for our contributions. Because racial justice is not simply about celebrating our existence every May; it is about transforming the structures that continue to limit the full recognition of our dignity as human beings.

Apologies are a first step. But the more important challenge is to transform the practices that make it possible for these kinds of messages to continue being produced. Hopefully, those involved will learn from this experience, listen to the concerns that have been raised, and ensure that it never happens again.