You must be Joaquim

Black people have lived in Russia since the 16th Century, but one newspaper has today brought us the ‘wow, there’s a black person in Russia’ factor

The Independent highlights the campaign by Guinea-Bissau born Joaquim Crima to become mayor of a small town. If successful, he would be the first black man ever to hold public office in Russia.

While that, in itself, is notable the comparisons with Barack Obama seem a little over the top.

Worse, Mr Crima himself promises to “toil like a Negro” if elected. Let’s hope such idiotic statements were made in ignorance. What is disappointing is that the article does not make any comment about that statement.

The journalist who wrote the piece, Shaun Walker, even begins the article by bringing us news that Mr Crima is a watermelon salesman. That may well be his profession, but the connotations about watermelons and black people add to the sense of unease.

While we wish Mr Crima well in his bid to get elected, we suggest that both he and the journalists covering his campaign think more carefully about the terminology they use.