In case you missed it, TikTok is looking pretty pale right now. The world has heard enough school-aged kids harmoniously sing “Sheesh” in addition to describing anything edible as “Bussin Bussin” and it’s time for the next dance for your Auntie’s to learn. Normally with Meg Thee Stallion dropping new music, in addition to dropping a few other things, the “Melanin Symbol” would be shining brightly in the night sky as the “Creators of Color” swoop in and save the day. But nope, not this time. For one of the first times in its brief existence, the TikTok community is left to fend for itself without its not-so-secret “Secret” weapon. Cultural Appropriation.
Black creator Erick Louis (@theericklouis) recently posted on TikTok claiming to have made the newest viral dance to current hit song “Thot Sh*t” by Megg Thee Stallion only to call the bluff of those waiting to plagiarize the entire performance. Given the track record of these interactions, Louis pulled the ultimate power move. Mind you, there are clear directions in the song but until we do the leg work of adding the seasoning it ain’t happening. For example, earlier this year TikTok star Addison Rae went on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and performed a few different TikTok dances without acknowledging a single creator, all of which happened to be Black. Now to be fair, this “finder’s keeper’s” mentality isn’t new at all. There have been a plethora of historical inventions, concepts, and findings in which the true creators of such innovation are left in the dust as vultures swoop in and wrongfully claim their pieces.
Aside from the basic scholastic teachings of George Washington Carver and his peanuts, Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier of Major League Baseball, and Michael Jackson inventing the “Moonwalk” (which has also been debated), people of color have yet to receive their just due. We as a society have seen this since the beginning of time with movements as large as entire genres of music to products as light as a bag of potato chips which was given to us by George Crum or the Ironing Board by Sarah Boone, the Traffic Light by Garrett Morgan, not to mention the Color IBM PC Monitor by Mark Dean but I digress.
There may not be a better time to expose the truth to and there is no time like the present. We live in a time where technology is growing by the second and information is literally a click or swipe away. The truth is there for those who seek it and instead of letting our voices be muted, we’re bringing it to the forefront in a way that was simply not possible for those before us. As a labeled Millennial I honestly believe we are as bad as they say, not bad in the sense that we’re to blame for weighing down society along with WIFI speed but bad for the historically inaccurate narrative that people of color are only here to follow orders as opposed to developing the plan and providing the blueprint. Apps like TikTok along with other social mediums provide a space for those who are normally discredited and discarded a seat at the table to be seen and heard directly from the source. Receiving the message directly is one of the few ways we can change the world for the better as we continue to erase and rewrite history as it happened instead of how people try to paint it.
Celie said it best, “Until you do right by me, everything you think about is going to crumble.”
-Malcolm Anderson
Malcolm Anderson is a Cum Laude graduate of Reinhardt University. From the beginning of his education, the ideas of creativity and ever-expanding curiosity were instilled in him. He loves working with children and helping them believe that they can do anything they put their mind to, a lesson he was taught from an early age. Although his focus is on Sports Media, Malcolm has been writing for various mediums over the past few years and aims to expand his repertoire in an effort to reach as many people as possible.
