Melania Trump Visits Kenya

As part of her recent tour of Africa, Melania Trump visited the East African country of Kenya. While there, she focused on issues like children’s welfare and wildlife conservation, as she visited an orphanage, donated sports and school supplies, and went to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Like many other American political figures before her, Trump also went on a safari, taking in the beauty of East Africa’s wildlife.

While the act of going on a safari may seem innocuous in itself, Trump’s choice of dress brought significant scrutiny. Trump, a former fashion model, wore a white pith helmet: headgear typical of the colonialist interlopers who used to control the region.

Made from the substance “sholapith,” pith helmets were worn by European military officers in Africa during the 1800s and became a symbol of rank and oppression.

To provide context for the insensitivity of this action, St. Lawrence’s History Professor, Matt Carotenuto compared it to “showing up to a meeting of African-American cotton farmers in a Confederate uniform.”

Many of the Kenyan people saw problems with this, though not all Kenyans were immediately drawn to the first lady’s garb. Kenyan newspaper, The Standard, instead focused on the generalities of the visit itself, such as Trump’s feeding of baby elephants and her visit to a performance at the Kenyan Cultural Center.

For the other parts of her visit to the continent, Trump also visited Ghana, Malawi, and Egypt, continuing to focus on issues like children’s welfare and wildlife.

Trump avoided any other fashion faux-pas while there, but the importance of her clothes still resonates. As events like Halloween come up, it is important that the role models of our nation remember the messages they send by how they dress and how their actions might be viewed by others.