mekka okereke Apr 17, 2024

Something a lot of white folk don't realize happens to Black people a lot:

When there is a competition between a Black person and a white person for a coveted prize, if the white person wins, they're celebrated. If the Black person wins... they're asked to share the prize with the white person that came in second place.😮

This happens to Black women more often than Black men.

Literary awards (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/15/bernardine-evaristo-margaret-atwood-share-booker-prize-award)

Whitehouse invitation for championship teams:
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/04/1167965013/iowa-lsu-jill-biden-ncaa-basketball-championship

Backlash after Booker awards prize to two authors

Decision to make first black female winner, Bernardine Evaristo, share £50,000 prize with Margaret Atwood causes controversy

The Guardian
Show threadmekka okereke Apr 17, 2024

When LSU beat Iowa for the national championship, Jill Biden invited Iowa to the White House anyway, to share LSU's prize. It was only because Angel Reese said "Oh hell no, then I'm not even going to the White House. Y'all can keep it." That the White House walked it back.

Do you know how much courage it takes to stand up to the First Lady of the United States of America? Do you know how much racist abuse Angel Reese has faced every day since then, as a result of her standing up for herself?

Show threadmekka okereke Apr 17, 2024

If Iowa had won, there is no way that Jill Biden would have invited LSU to the White House as well. The sharing and the graciousness only goes in one direction.

I want you to know that Black girls feel the message of "You weren't supposed to win! We wanted the other girl to win! We resent you for winning!"

Don't do this.

Show threadmekka okereke Apr 17, 2024

Jasmine Shepard was the first Black girl to be valedictorian in the 110 year history of a historically racist and segregated school.

But she was forced to share the award with a white girl with a lower GPA.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/ywgynk/schools-first-black-valedictorian-forced-to-share-title-with-white-student

She sued to have this corrected, and lost. Because even though the court found that she should have been the sole valedictorian, she did not prove that the "error" happened *because* she was Black. Therefore a federal civil rights violation was not committed.🤷🏿‍♂️

School's First Black Valedictorian Forced to Share Title with White Student

After graduating first in her class at Cleveland High School, Jasmine Shepard was told that a white student with a lower GPA was named her "co-valedictorian." Now, she's suing the historically segregated school for discrimination.

Show threadzilla
@mekkaokereke Horrendous
Apr 17, 2024 at 2:28pmMastodon for Android