Following Colin Kaepernick’s protest of the national anthem, debate has grown about the ways people of color should protest. Yes, many white people have completely missed the point that Kaepernick and so many others are making when they stand up against police violence against Black people: that people of color should have freedom to exist in whatever way they please.

Instead, many white people focus on how uncomfortable they feel that people of color would do or say anything at all in opposition to systems of oppression. In response, Seriously.TV has made a new video showing just how problematic it is to tell people of color how they should protest.

While this video is satirical, the content makes it hard to laugh at. In the end, Dylan (at Seriously.TV) figures out that peaceful protests are never well received. Neither are more passive protests like Beyoncé’s demonstration at this year’s Superbowl game. In the end, it seems the only kind of protest that many white people like is the kind of protest that happens in the past. Figures.

Watch the video below:

 

Photo:  Youtube screenshot

Author

  • Jenn M. Jackson was born and raised in East Oakland, California, a fact which motivates her writing and academic ambitions. She is a scholar, educator, and writer whose writing addresses Black Politics and civil and public life for young Black people with a focus on policing and surveillance. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Water Cooler Convos, a culture platform for Black millennials. Her writing has been featured in Washington Post, BITCH Magazine, Marie Claire, EBONY, The Root, Daily Dot, The Independent, and many others. Jackson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago studying American Politics with a focus on political participation and engagement, public opinion and social movements. For more about her, tweet her at @JennMJack or visit her website at jennmjackson.com.