Lorena born in Senegal and raised in Rome
Lorena and Amadeus at the Festival last Wednesday
Senegalese born Italian actress Lorena Cesarini has used the stage of Italy biggest music festival at Sanremo to call forth the racism prevalent in the country. The 34-year-old who received attacks on the social media the moment she was announced as one of the hosts of the festival, delivered a moving speech aimed at racism in Italy when she took the stage on Wednesday.

The actress whose father is Italian and mother Senegalese declared, “I stay black. Why are there people who have problems with my skin colour?”

The moment she was proclaimed host she said she started receiving harassment because of her skin colour. She read out some of the messages to the audience.

One particular message read: “They invited you because you’re black.” Another message read: “Maybe they called you to wash the staircase or water the plants.”

The actress who attained fame with her role in the Italian serial drama Suburra, told the audience, “I am Lorena Cesarini, I was born in Dakar (Senegal) to a Senegalese mother and an Italian father, I grew up in Rome. I have a degree in contemporary history, I worked at the central state archive and I continued to study acting, it has become my job – an actress. Then it happens that Ama (lead host) reveals to Tg1 the names of the partners who will assist him at the Festival this year and announces that in the second evening there will be a certain Lorena Cesarini.”

“Immediately after this announcement I discover something, at 34 I discover that it is not true that I am an Italian girl like many others. I remain black. Until today at school, at university, at work, on the tram, no one had ever had that urgency to tell me this but as soon as Amadeus gives this wonderful news to me, some people have felt this urgency. For some, the colour of my skin is a problem, they wanted to let everyone know this.”

Don Bonifacio Duru
Since her speech, the matter has been trending in the country with President Sergio Materella remarking on it while addressing parliament as he was elected for a second term. The celebrated Nigerian priest Don Bonifacio Duru while weighing in on the matter told the news agency Adnkronos that “what happened to Cesarini is inevitable if we continue to deal with immigration without having an overall vision capable of taking into account cultural differences, and capable of implementing policies that aim at constructive integration.” 

“It is okay, Don Bonifacio adds, that young people come here to Italy and meet other Italian peers, but it would be right that they meet as equals, with the same level of culture and dignity. Of course, in Italy there are many welcoming people, but there are many others who live with fear of foreigners and do not accept the encounter between two cultures. “