The Chronicles of A Black Italian Woman

Ciao, 

we're back with a birthday episode. I've been blessed with another year in my life, and this is the last time that I will be turning 20 something. 

How did I even get here so soon? Anyway, I am happy to share with you 7 lessons that I've learned this year, I hope that you find at least one of these lessons useful, and hopefully, you can enjoy more your current age. 

Enjoy x

We are BAAAck!

Happy New Month of September!

In this episode, I'm reminiscing my 2021 summer but also my childhood summers. You will discover why you will not receive that reply from an Italian company in Mid August. Part of my summer consisted in being glued to the TV screen for the Olympics, I speak on the exclusion of way too many Black African women based on the idea that "they're not women enough". Unfortunately, this happens also when it comes to dating life, especially in the Western World, and the Love Island UK reality show has reminded me once again that this is the case. Is it because women of colour are unattractive or is it because they're where they are not appreciated? let's find out in this episode. 

Enjoy Xxx

Ciao Everyone, 

Before diving into the summer break, I could not leave you with one last episode that officially announce a summer break haha

I leave you with a little reflection on Naomi Osaka and what it means that someone like her, of mixed heritage, representing Japan at a major sports event. I also share in this episode about my past experience as an athlete which includes volleyball. Talking about volleyball, I talk with you about two AfroItalian National Volleyball players: Paola Egonu and Miriam Sylla. 

I also take the opportunity to honor the life of Youns El Bossettaoui, a Marrocain citizen that lost his life due to the violence of words that turned into physical violence. This is also a reminder to always speak up against injustice even during calm seasons. 

Enjoy and have a great summer X

Ciao Everyone, 

This episode was almost not about to come out but here we are. Lost and a little bit of drama almost had me. Issa Rae, creator of Insecure,  could do a masterpiece out of my life on screen but let me keep these ideas for myself so I can shine like here. 

The Euros football championships  2020 are happening and so many statements have been done by National teams, pro-human rights or against them. Where does The Italian National Football team stand for? In this episode, we will discover how the National team is a clear reflection of Italian society when it comes to inequalities.

Enjoy and share

Benny x 

IG @chroniclesofabiw

TW Racism, Suicide, Honor Killing 

Ciaooo, 

On June 7th, 2020 there was the Black Lives Matter Protest in Rome following the murder of George Floyd. In this episode, I share how the conversation around racism and diversity inclusion has apparently changed, but there is still a long way to go. For example when it comes to understanding the impact of racism on mental health. On a happier note, the latest Italian show that I watched was Summertime, did you watch it? 

Recently there was the honor killing of Saman Abbas in Emilia-Romagna Italy, an 18-year-old girl killed by her family. In this episode I also share how the conversation has been poorly handled within Italian politics, making it about an integration issue instead of making a matter a killing motivated by gender, femicide. 

Enjoy x 

Ciao People of the internet, 

We are back with a solo episode. In the episode, I will start talking about the escalation of the between Israel and Palestine. This a topic that I haven't always been comfortable with despite being a graduate in International Relations, but when I see injustice is hard for me to stay in discomfort, and I talk with you on how I navigate this discomfort. 

May is  Mental Health Awareness Month in the US but it is also started to be acknowledged in other countries and I share some thoughts on how therapy has been beneficial for me. 

By the way, have you watched the first Afroitalian series "Zero" on Netflix? I share some thoughts about that too. 

Enjoy x

Ciao! 

Diasporahood is back and we are building conversation within the African Diaspora and beyond. Today I'm joined by my friend and activist Tyler Lum, who is Malaysian Chinese and White American. 

In this conversation, we start with what it meant to graduate in the midst of a Global Pandemic and Tyler highlights how this impacted his identities. Talking about identity, he also shares what he means for him navigating his identity as a mixed-race person born in Asia and raised in the US. What are the similarities and differences with my identity as an Afroitalian? 

In this episode, we also tackle some difficult conversations from #StopAsianHate to whether there are tensions between the Asian and African Diaspora and we can come together. We will chat about how Asian men are perceived within Western Society and the joys and challenges of activism. 

Enjoy x 

Ciao Everyone, 

In the last year, I've been reflecting a lot on the importance of having hard conversations and learning the dangers of toxic positivity. Toxic positivity can also make the fight against racism difficult and this last week the Italian TV has proved to us that there is a lot of work to do following another racism satire targeting Asian People. 

In this episode, we unpack why racism is normalised on Italian TV and how First Generation Italian youths demand change,  especially with the initiative #cambieRAI, and the demands that are much deeper than political correctness.

Enjoy x 

Ciao! 

Spring has sprung with a new episode for the Diasporahood series with my friend and nurse Nana- Serwah Ossei as a guest. Who better than her, as a Black British woman, to comment on Harry and Meghan latest interview? We start there but Nana also shares with us what are the different opinions in Britain about the Royal  Family. Nana also explains here experience growing up in North London in a predominately Black Neighbourhood and then going to uni outside of London and being othered. Nana tells us also what it means to be a nurse through this pandemic, the structural racist problems within the NHS and how her achievement as a young woman can be overlooked.

Enjoy Xxx