National Geographic is a publication that has become renown for its coverage of Black and Brown people around the globe. Since its establishment in 1888, there have been stories and gorgeous imageries presented of animals and various civilizations and cultures alike.

Now as we see a cultural shift happening between races, where it predicted that in thirty or forty years most children would be mixed raced, Nat Geo decided to cover race in their April issue of the magazine. Before the release of the issue, Editor-in-Chief Susan Goldberg wrote an essay acknowledging the racist past of the publication. Her piece is outwardly titled: “For Decades, Our Coverage Was Racist. To Rise Above Our Past, We Must Acknowledge It.”

“It hurts to share the appalling stories from the magazine’s past,” she wrote. “But when we decided to devote our April magazine to the topic of race, we thought we should examine our own history before turning our reportorial gaze on others.”

John Edwin Mason a professor at the University of Virginia who specializes in the history of photography and the history of Africa was asked to analyze the photos from past issues.

Goldberg goes on to discuss how African-Americans in the United States are completely left out of the magazine. While people are color around the world are fetishized and presented through stereotypes. She even admits that the women photographed in the magazine have been objectified for the male gaze. She concluded that the magazine upheld the views and prejudices of White America.

The issue is being released in accordance with the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Source: washingtonpost.com