Examining Diversity and Inclusion: Italy's National Airline Uses Blackface in its #WhereIsWashington

CJulia Hillman* and Julia D. Fraustino, Reed College of Media, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Field (Broad Category): Communications/Journalism (Oral-Human Engagement) 

Student’s Major: ADPR 

From top fashion brands to politicians, 2019 continued to demonstrate companies’ and public figures’ lack of knowledge about diversity, inclusion, and cultural understanding. Italy’s national airline was among such organizations when they released the #WhereisWashington campaign promoting their new route to Washington, D.C. The campaign consisted of four videos, but it was the one featuring an actor wearing blackface to portray President Barack Obama that got publics’ attention. Backlash from this video underscored how publics’ trust was violated, calling attention to the organization’s ethics policies and (lack of) diversity and inclusion in leadership. Having a deeper cultural understanding can benefit organizations, as companies that have a multi-level understanding of diversity often succeed more in public relations excellence (Toth, 2009). The current study analyzes the Alitalia case and media surrounding the crisis, including news articles and Tweets, and provides an ethics-grounded critique. Based on findings from analysis, the current study makes recommendations for how requisite variety considerations can be applied to increase diversity and cultural understanding in organizations throughout the world. 

Funding: 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: Other