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Much to my sadness and dismay, increasingly there seem to be more and more Black people who are cool with or “allow” their non-Black friends to use the N word. They rationalize it by saying these people grew up around and understand Black culture. They’ll argue that they’ve lived an oppressive existence and understand the struggles of Black people across this world.
I don’t get it. And apparently, neither does actor and model Broderick Hunter.
As you know, the Tik Tok app allows people to soundtrack their personal videos with songs. Recently, a young White woman on Tik Tok did so with a picture of Hunter and Saweetie’s “My Type.”
Now, if you’ve heard the song, you know the lyrics to the chorus read as follows: “Rich n*gga/8 figure/That’s my Type.”
In the video, the Tik Tok user, points at a picture of Hunter and nods her head.
It was obviously a compliment about his physical attractiveness. But Hunter did not appreciate a White woman using a song to refer to him as a “nigga.” And instead of rolling his eyes at home, he decided to share his irritation with the world, via Twitter.
The response began with a question.
Then he doubled down.
People argued that since the girl on Tik Tok didn’t say it out of her own mouth, Hunter shouldn’t have been offended.
To me, there’s no need for discussion on this. The young lady didn’t have to use the song. And the mere selection seems to suggest that she wanted to be singing Saweetie’s words but didn’t want to get called out.
What she should have considered in attempting to express her attraction for a Black man was whether or not he would appreciate being referred to as a “nigga” in a song, with a White woman gesturing to him. That’s a real problem with White people fetishizing and even entering into relationship with Black people without taking the time to educate themselves on how to treat us. And you don’t have to have read any scholarly research to know that Black folks don’t like to be called or likened to or insinuated that we’re n*gga/ers by the likes of White people.
This young lady was out of pocket.
White folks have got to get over their obsession and ire at not being able to get away with saying the n word. There are words people within a community can use with one another. And if you don’t belong to that community, you should steer clear.
Listen to as much Hip Hop/Black music as you want. But in this instance, you can’t do what Black folks do without repercussion.
And in a day and time when far too many Black men are willing to except all types of racism just to have a White woman on their arm, I’m happy to see that Hunter called it out for her and anyone else who might even consider pulling a similar stunt.
