RACISM + SOCIAL MEDIA
How The “I Had a White Friend” Hashtag Took The Internet By Storm
Black people are spilling the beans about fair-weather friends
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Right now, #IHadAWhiteFriend is trending on Twitter, and some of the responses might be pretty shocking for White people. So, as with any trend, you're probably wondering who rolled the snowball down the hill. Michael Harriot, a critically acclaimed poet and journalist who lovingly says he's from the Southside of Wakanda, kicked off the trend. Now, Black folks are exposing the White fair-weather friend-from-hell experiences that they've been bottling up all year.
But this trend was in response to Patricia Morgan's tweet about losing a Black friend to Critical Race Theory. She described her friend as "hostile and unpleasant," and claims that her Black friend is only acting this way because critical race theory allegedly divides us. I would love to hear what her friend has to say about this.
Critical Race Theory does not divide people based on their skin color as Morgan implied. Instead, it's an acknowledgment that we are already divided along racial lines, as evidenced in our healthcare system, the criminal justice system, housing, and educational system. So basically, Morgan got kicked off Black-friend island because she tried to deny that discrimination and injustices exist.
For her, it's easier to blame the Black woman for severing ties because, this way, she never has to accept responsibility for perpetuating racism. With friends like her, who needs enemies? Seriously, who needs someone gaslighting them about their experiences with racism? Not me, and certainly not Morgan's former "Black friend.”
Michael Harriot provided a brilliant response to the bigotry in the tweet by inviting other people to talk about a time when they had a White friend, sharing their experiences. He quote-tweeted in reply, "I, too had a white friend. But now he is hostile and unpleasant. I am sure it wasn't me…
