African British Actors' Hand In Ethnic Erasure | Diaspora Theory Clips

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Hold on. You're You're distorting my entire life. And I know the words are up there in plain English. This is about ethnic media eraser. So there's something there's a formula needed for it to be considered ethnic media eraser.

[00:00:14]And that's frequency, degree, and impact. Okay? So don't tell me about some one movie for Forest Whitaker did.

[00:00:21]Okay? Don't talk about some one movie Viola David when all y'all do is come over here and launch your entire career off of pretending to be black Americans.

[00:00:30]Okay? It it is a false equivalency.

[00:00:33]>> And during the few moments that we have left, we want to have just an off-the cuff chat between you and me.

[00:00:42]>> And like you said, you know, racialized black people, we all know, we're all caught up to speed that race is a social construct, right? But the fact is it does affect our lives. But still in the same racialized black people are not interchangeable with one another. West Indian cannot be a substitute for black Americans. Okay. Uh African cannot be a substitute for a black American. And when melanated groups come into the country and act like you know this is it's there's no harm in this. What's the problem? Why why are you pushing back on me being able to do this? you know, they try to act like there's not a problem with that. But it's also something they wouldn't tolerate for themselves. You know, imagine black Americans going to whatever their homeland is in the millions and the droves that they come here and just being the face, the center and representative of their likeness and image and personhood. It wouldn't go it they would not they would object to it.

[00:01:44]Okay. Vimily uh is it nana? Tell me how to say this.

[00:01:49]What's your ethnicity? It >> is not cool.

[00:01:52]>> I'm Nigerian Nigerian you live in.

[00:01:54]>> I was born and raised in the United States.

[00:01:56]>> Google share your views with us.

[00:01:59]>> Okay. So, a few things. Um although there are things I thought definitely had merit. Um I'll say this because people in America, unfortunately, America is both two things. It is the um nivist and um continuous homeland of black Americans ethnically, but it is also a place outside of the scope of America where people come to realize their dreams. It could have been Australia, it could have been Canada.

[00:02:24]America is where even with all the issues we have um people come to create something of themselves and that those that can be true uh while also recognizing the direct impact that black Americans had in allowing for immigration um specifically from the global minor or the global majority to flourish. So I understand and recognize that. However, um specifically when it comes to film and TV, I disagree vehemently and I'll and I'll explain why. Um as a Nigerian, when I saw Forest Whitaker, a black American, win the Oscar as a young child, when he played Idiiamin, a Ugandan warlord dictator back in either 2004 or 2006, I was blown away. I was amazed when um Viola Davis and he won the Oscar for that role, by the way. Uh he is a foundational black American. um he was lauded, celebrated, they made a special holiday for him in Uganda regardless of him playing Idiiam, right? Um when Viola Davis played the woman king, um the Seneagalles or I forget specifically what ethnic tribe um off of West Africa uh in the woman king, I thought it was amazing. Viola is one of the greats she is, if I'm not mistaken, um ethnically black American.

[00:03:40]I had no problem with that. When Michael B. Jordan um played uh Killilmonger when Chadwick Boseman played T uh Tchala, right? I have no issue with ethnically racially black or ethnically black American people portraying black African people um and vice versa because there is already um so many black roles or there's only so many black roles that are out. The focus, in my opinion, should be creating so many black roles that there is no uh uh struggle or distinction between, oh, they're playing too many roles. Um, we're playing too many roles. And and I'll explain this, right? When white British people or white um Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Australian people play ethnically white American characters, white Americans typically um I'm sure it's happened, but typically don't care. They're not like, "Oh, Nicole Kidman is Australian." They they don't care if she plays a southern plantation um Mississippi Bell, Antabell, right? It's just she looks the role. I think it de like me as somebody who is ethnically Nigerian, but I was born and raised in the United States.

[00:04:52]Yes, I have two immigrant parents. Yes.

[00:04:54]Um I understand that ethnically I'm not black American. I don't have the same um story uh history as black Americans do.

[00:05:01]I wouldn't be okay with telling my daughter, my children, um, if you want to be an actor, you want to play a different role, you're not able to do that, even though you grew up here because you're not ethnically the right role. I think that is bigotry of low expectations. Um, I think something that would drastically change the output, I'm landing my plane. Thank you for allowing me so much time to speak is um we we're seeing there's going to be a lot more films that are filmed in Britain specifically where a lot of these black British typically of Nigerian or Jamaican origin actors are coming from the Idris Albas the dams and Idrises the Daniel Kuyas right um they're allowing you're more than lucky Americans don't really like there's a lot of black Americans that are moving to Europe specifically England and this is going to become more of a trend in Hollywood ollywood because they're making a lot more films there because the tax credits taking roles too, but nobody ever talks about it from that. Nobody's ever complaining when a black American actor who goes and is Oxford trained or whatever, does plays out there, gets an agent out there and starts appearing in BBC shows. It is happening. The reason it doesn't feel like it is because not a lot of people are doing it, right? But it's a a upand cominging market as far as I'm concerned. you know, JLo was they got push back because she's not Mexican and she played Sel Selena, but she's from the same um uh racial identity, so to speak, regardless of her ethnicity, right? I feel the same thing should be applied to black people. I want black Americans to be able to play African roles, Caribbean roles, Afro Latino roles if they look the part first and foremost. Forest Whitaker looks more like Idiam than a lot of Ugandans do, right? Um so that's kind of where I have an issue. Unfortunately, like I don't think people should be punished by way or not given opportunities by way of their birthright. Um, and quite frankly, specifically in this medium when they're saying they're going to they're mimicking black Americans, their job is actors that if I was supposed to mimic a geisha from Japan, like I would do everything in my power to speak, act, talk, move like her for the role, right?

[00:07:11]Obviously, I wouldn't play that type of character because I'm not racially Asian, but like that's a compliment. The fact that Dams and Idris killed that role whether people like it or not. He did a fantastic job. I like I wouldn't care if he was another black American person who did it and vice versa. He his job is to act. And so this idea that people are upset by him doing his job well, literally, right? Um it just I don't know. I think it's it's problematic. I understand a lot of this other sentiment, especially when it comes to immigration when it comes to black conservatives or black right-wing leading people coming from immigrant countries or non-American uh you know the global majority and changing the political framework in this country to spite black Americans if if it does they do it directly or indirectly. I completely agree with that. As a Nigerian American, I don't want conservative Nigeria or conservative Nigerians who are white supremacistleaning or whatever. Same thing with Latinos. I don't want those people coming here. But um there are a lot of us who have like left-leaning policies, who have more collectivist policies, who recognize, admire um the the things that black Americans had to do um and and the achievements and the um what's the word? The fact that their movement allowed for so many of us to be there. Like I recognize that. I was taught that at school. So, um I don't know that that's kind of where I stand on that. I like the the last thing I will say is, uh if if if you hold that standard, um because America is like the big mecca or the big place where all these things happen, then you would have to also limit black Americans from doing other things outside of what they're expected to do. And I don't believe that. The only I I was okay with Will Smith playing that Nigerian doctor. His Nigerian accent just sucked. Right.

[00:08:59]That's the only if if he would have done a good job, um I would have liked it.

[00:09:02]And that's not to say that no non-black American um is going to kill every role they do that's a black American. Some actors are just bad no matter what, you know, their ethnicity is. But um yeah, I think it just goes both ways and I wish people would look at it from that perspective.

[00:09:20]>> I definitely spoke on this earlier. You must not have been here.

[00:09:24]>> No, I wasn't.

[00:09:25]>> Do you mind?

[00:09:27]I have notes but go ahead.

[00:09:30]>> Okay. Thank you. I so appreciate you cuz you know that kind of made me hot. Uh ma'am, so again you are talking about American actors who played in Americanfunded movies in America bringing light to maybe situations that happened in other countries. We were not going to your countries um playing in your movies.

[00:09:52]Okay. I I said earlier that um a lot of them were funding those movies because they appreciated those stories and respected those stories and wanted to bring them to a wider audience. Daniel was in here early and he talked about the fact that these are not unknown actors. These are wellrespected actors that already have uh uh notoriety and um sometimes uh uh awards under their belt that are bringing um to light to the American masses these stories that happened in other countries. These are American movies. So, we're not going to Nigeria and and um and being the star in your Nigerian movies and and nor are our unnown actors going to your countries and taking roles from from your actors.

[00:10:45]Okay. So, that is the the fundamental difference also.

[00:10:48]>> How is it fundamentally Oh, I have a question when you're done. Sorry.

[00:10:52]>> Also, I Yeah, because I wasn't finished.

[00:10:54]My bad.

[00:10:55]>> Let you go and go and go and go. So also um we fought for the opportunities. You guys think that these opportunities were given to us and that is the fundamental problem. You don't understand how we had to fight for them. How we had to go in um segregated areas. Uh people our our entertainers talk about how they were will that they would have them come over to the hotels and then they couldn't even sleep in the hotel that they're that they're uh uh singing in or you know anything like that. So these are opportunities we had to fight for. So for people who did not who are not of the lineage of the people who fought for these opportunities to come over here and pretend as if they are not who they are act no acting is when see when in when Idrris Ela right came over here he hid >> his his ethnic group he did not come over >> because his agent told him to because he was scared of what would exactly you are doing because he knew that he would have a better opportunity if no one knew who he was. And this is the problem. If >> you can apply that to any >> I am still speaking. You are very disrespectful because everybody on this panel allowed you to go on and on and on and nobody said anything until you finished.

[00:12:21]But you are very disrespectful and this is the problem.

[00:12:28]So now I'm going to continue with what I was saying. So you guys are are you did not fight for these opportunities. I said earlier at on in the UK when you guys had when this situation happened where the guy with Tourette's sat there and said called um our brothers the n-word and one of your brothers as well which we have adopted as one of our own.

[00:12:53]You guys were the ones that were making excuses for him. It was us over here in the US that was fighting to make that right. If it had been up to you, they'd have uh swept that under the rug and it would have been nothing uh for it. But we fight just like we fight for the opportunities over here. And so it is not right for you to come over here and then when you >> I live in the United States. I was born and raised here. You just said I said I did it.

[00:13:20]>> You got to you like Lord Jesus. She She keeps making accusations, host. I'm not >> Just time out real quick, okay? Cuz you literally went like past 3 minutes speaking. No one interrupted you. You're You may not have come over here literally because you were born here, but you're you're obviously Nigerian, so somewhere in a recent uh generation came over here. That's what she means. Don't don't nitpick words like that. No, but she said specifically But she she said specifically that I am always a British >> and I'm not done. I'm not done.

[00:13:56]>> Just let her finish, please, Nana, and then you could rebuttal.

[00:14:01]>> So coming specific coming specifically over here to take opportunities uh that we have fought for. there are a lack of the the reason why there are a lack of roles in the UK is because you guys have not fought for them or the black people over there have not fought for them. The reason why there are roles here in the US is because we fought for them. Okay.

[00:14:24]And then when the opportunities are happening, the reason why another reason why um the YT people are willing to give opportunity to people who are not from here is because you do not open doors for other people. are our uh greats in in when it comes to uh uh acting specifically open doors for others. What doors has Idris Ela opened up for any black Americans in acting? What doors have whatever Damu whatever his name is?

[00:14:54]Cuz I didn't watch that stinking ass show. So what doors has he opened? What doors has Cynthia Arivo opened for other black Americans? See, uh, Will Smith opened doors for people. Uh, uh, all the weigh-ins opened doors for people, black and white. Uh, you know what I'm saying?

[00:15:12]I could go down the list. Robert Townsen opened doors for black people. You could go down the list of Bill Cosby opened doors. All of our greats, uh, you were talking about, uh, Forest Whitaker opened doors for other black people.

[00:15:26]when others people come here and they are getting roles and taking roles from black Americans, they don't open any doors. They get what they can get and and that is it. And that is why white T people are so um open to letting those type of people into those roles because they know they won't be opening any doors.

[00:15:46]>> And now I am done.

[00:15:48]>> Okay. Um a few things host. So the principle still stands. If we want to say that it is okay, which I am saying that it is, for black Americans to play roles by Africans, regardless of who the because she moved the paradigm from whether they can play the roles to who's making the production cuz I looked it up while she was talking. I I'm blanking on this guy's name. I don't have my laptop in front of me. I'm doing this on so I can't jump back. I'll drop it in the screen once I get home. There are black Americans who are going to Nigeria and filming shows with black American leads.

[00:16:19]Um, and where the B-roll or the extras are uh are uh uh natives or locals, they are starting to do that. You're not It It's just beginning to happen.

[00:16:30]>> Yes, please.

[00:16:30]>> So, so I just want to be for the I I let me let me let me rebuttal what she was saying, please, if you don't mind. Um if if whoever produced The Last King of Scotland, the movie or Black Panther, which is obviously a Marvel, it doesn't really matter, right? Like if there you don't know definitively unless you can bring it up now the names of every producer that was involved in the show.

[00:16:51]If your argument is like Nigerian directors aren't casting um black Americans, there's not a lot of Nigerian or non-black American people in the United States period. So if they're getting cast, they're being cast by um uh casting directors which are overwhelmingly ethnically Jewish. Not >> enough of her. Enough of her because we have we have bigger issues. We have bigger issues and you're even talking about Hollywood which you don't even know the history. You don't even know you don't even know the history of Hollywood. You don't know the history of Hollywood that you're the time. We don't >> What do you mean everyone? No. No. My question is, is the only thing you're going to rebuttal uh production like the production team? Is there any other point that uh Brooke brought up that you >> Yeah. Yeah. It's it's you don't have to like if if your argument is only those who have fought for um uh opened doors whether they were able to or not. If that's the only qualifier to be able to be like you said you adopted Delroy Lindo. Delroy or Lindo if I'm not mistaken. I don't know if he's bath ethnic or he's completely Caribbean.

[00:18:05]He's Jamaican. So, it's it's based on an arbitrary distinction of whether you like them or not. That's that's what the argument is.

[00:18:13]>> It's based on arbitrary. No, you don't.

[00:18:15]No, it's arbitrary. It's who you like.

[00:18:17]Because if if Michael B. Jordan goes to England right now and and stars in Yeah.

[00:18:24]Like, ma'am, I did this for my thesis.

[00:18:26]You're not I know everything about Hollywood. I know more about Hollywood.

[00:18:30]I I suggest you stop talking. Let me just >> You don't tell me you want to stop talking. What are you going to do to stop me? I'm going to go. You're not my mother. Michael Jordan.

[00:18:39]And if Michael Jordan went to I'm actually Let me ask you this. If Michael B Jordan, it would be the biggest. It would be the biggest film.

[00:18:51]You don't know anything about what you are talking about.

[00:18:56]American world. Why human?

[00:19:03]>> Okay, time out everyone. I want Nana to land. Okay, so she brought up a point she wanted to rebuttal was production team and who ethnically makes up the production team. Uh, black Americans arbitrarily, I'm putting quotation marks, uh, picking and choosing who they want to accept and like. Was there anything else that >> Yeah, she said that all of the people who opened doors have been black American as it she she does she know definitively that these other actors who are not black American have never put somebody else on. Can you provide Can you provide a source?

[00:19:41]I have one more thing. I have one more stated based on her opinion based on her logic.

[00:19:52]Right. Based on her logic, I just need her to definitively answer. If you believe that because of civil rights and because of the the the fight black Anenuse had in Hollywood for for these roles, are you saying that that means based on that logic that black American actors should be secondhand or or or should be put to the put to the side that in order to push your narrative? That is not what she's saying. What she That's not what she's saying.

[00:20:20]>> Take a time out here. Here's the overarching uh theme that they're trying to get you to understand, Nana, is that comparing yourself as a Nigerian or comparing Delroy as a as a Jamaican, a West Indian, a Brit, comparing any other racialized group to black Americans is a false equivalency. There is no benefit to black Americans playing any roles that may be uh characterized by uh African uh characteristics or Caribbean characteristics. There is no benefit to black Americans as much as there is to y'all playing them. Period. That other true he won the Oscar for that role. He won the Oscar game. You could get into and by the way, black American, it's not arbitrary that black Americans like Droy. Delroy publicly and consistently uh uh um what's the word I want? Uh not attributes. um uh says that he wouldn't have a career without black Americans.

[00:21:20]He gives his flowers. He He pays homage.

[00:21:23]There you go. He pays homage. He He doesn't act he doesn't act like he doesn't know that he has an entire career because of black Americans and because black Americans on the ground in that industry have taken him under his wing and he's cuz he on top of being Jamaican, he's a whole brick. Okay? So that's not arbitrary. And you also don't get to paint the standards of what another ethnic group has for themselves.

[00:21:46]Who cares about JLo and playing a Mexican? Mexicans didn't go through what black Americans did in this country. And it's not just also that y'all are not the same ethnic group. While you're not comparable, you don't have the same history. You're in America. And this conversation is happening within the context of American society. And we're talking about black Americans who historically have been disenfranchised, marginalized, brutalized, if you want to get into the more vivid examples of how they have been sabotaged in this country. It is a pattern. It is something engineered and y'all as melanated immigrants play into it and you want to act obtuse when you get called out on it because you actually what you don't want to admit is that you actually don't have any foundation to stand on in this country without black Americans. Imagine you as a Nigerian, it's safer for you to live in this country than it is to live in your own.

[00:22:37]Because of what? Not because of nothing out of thin air. Because what did Brook say? Because black Americans have fought. Y'all like to overlook the fighting part. Y'all didn't go through nothing in this country. And when you want to talk about, let's talk about West Indians, for example, because they were actually enslaved, right? But when they immigrate to America, if you separate if you separate what their her what their experience and duration have been in this country, it is not it is nothing black Americans have been through. But y'all keep trying to act like you're interchangeable. Y'all keep trying to act like y'all substitutional just because you possess melanin. You're not. You didn't go through anything in this country. In fact, you had stuff.

[00:23:13]You didn't have stuff just handed to you. You had it thrown at you. They had they was waiting for you at the door.

[00:23:18]You had gift baskets upon arrival. Okay?

[00:23:22]And whatever you think that is, whatever you however little you think that was, it's more than black Americans have ever been given. Matter of fact, black Americans ain't have been given nothing at all. 0% nine zero nukea, none. Like Brook said 10,000 times black Americans fought, fought, fought, fought, fought.

[00:23:39]And you know how far you know want to know how distant I could tell y'all are from having to fight for something? is because y'all think it's so otherworldly to think that anything that exists is because someone fought for it. You think black whatever black Americans are experiences or experiencing or whatever black Americans have or whatever uh uh position black American gets to is because white tea people just decide to throw it to them like a bone. Black Americans literally fought for every single black. It don't matter what you think because it's written down in history. And look at you just proving the point that you want to insert your thoughts and imaginations into what's literal history and what's literal fact.

[00:24:16]Okay? Nobody cares about what YT people do if they have a what's his name playing Thor and he's a whole Australian. Nope. Duh. It's a race construct that was designed by whit people. Obviously, if it's designed to benefit them, they're going to play into it. It's not designed to benefit black Americans. And black Americans were the guinea pigs of it all. So just because you're also racialized as black, you're not in Nigeria, you're in America. So you're under this societal context and you're under this racial construct. It's not designed to I'm not done. It's not designed to benefit black Americans. So it doesn't matter that whit people are linking up just like they linked up in the Berlin conference to carve up your your continent into 54 countries. Are did you benefit from that yet? I don't think so. So don't talk up to me about how white people could play a Sweden, an Australian, a British, and they just all uh skipping and holding hands. It's their system. It's meant to benefit them. Okay? It's meant they're meant to benefit from that, not black people.

[00:25:17]Okay? Then you want to bring up Black Panther, a fictitious land with fictitious people and a fictitious story. Okay? That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about Wakandans don't exist. Whatever them people wasn't coming to America, Zamundians, they don't exist. You can't ethnically erase a people that don't exist. We're talking about what's her face a whole Nigerian playing Harriet Tubman. Imagine the people that sold slaves playing the slave. What's going on? Okay. We talking about this Uganda playing Fred Hampton. Okay. We talking about We're talking about ethnic erasia.

[00:25:46]Black Americans exist. Wakandans do not exist. Okay. Viola Davis. Viola Davis at the top of her game played woman king.

[00:25:55]Y'all ain't giving handouts to black Americans. Black Americans are giving handouts to you. They making you relevant. It is a false equivalency to try and act like just because black Americans are playing roles that have that are based upon Africans or based upon West Indians like they getting something out of it. Out of it, you getting more out of it than they are.

[00:26:12]>> That's exactly the point I was making.

[00:26:14]You're contradicting yourself. You get more out of it than they ever could or ever. At the top of their game, they're at the top of their game and they're they're taking the time out of their day to play these position the these roles that they really don't need to. They don't need to work another day in their life. Matter of fact, you talking about Will Smith, you talking about Forest Whitaker, you talking about Viola Davis, VIOLA DAVIS? ARE WE talking about the same person? The same person? Okay, y'all come over here and get your whole careers launched. AIN'T NOBODY KNOW WHAT THAT Rebel Ridge guy was. That's Mufasa.

[00:26:46]What's his name? Ain't nobody knew who who he was until he was uh Tiana Taylor was wearing him like a purse everywhere she go. Nobody knew who he was. Nobody knew who he was. Y'all launch your careers pretending to be black Americans.

[00:26:58]>> So you're okay with black Americans playing African movie based upon the deep south uh racist white te people in the deep south and he's some marine that that knows how to karate chop and do all this. Okay, y'all playing ethnic black Americans and launch your careers off of that. So stop trying to play like you don't understand what's going on. Okay, please stop.

[00:27:19]>> You still you didn't concede the fact I made. You said everything but the fact, which is you're okay with black Americans playing African roles because you you talking to the history of Hollywood and the Caribbean the history.

[00:27:30]So you're okay.

[00:27:32]First of all, go off the RTOR scale. You like to hear what you like to hear.

[00:27:37]Okay. All the people you name, all the people you name that played historically African figures, right? Nelson Mandela.

[00:27:45]Uh uh what if was that Forest Whitaker?

[00:27:47]Uh Nelson Mandela. That was something else earlier came came up.

[00:27:52]>> Forest Whitaker played video mean Viola Davis played uh >> I'm going tell you right now chat who is that chat who is that I know Nelson Mandela can nomination just because you don't know who it is doesn't mean that can we add you're distorting my entire life. you're distorting my entire life. And I know the words are up there in plain English.

[00:28:21]This is about ethnic media eraser. So there's something there's a formula needed for it to be considered ethnic media eraser. And that's frequency, degree, and impact. Okay? So don't tell me about some one movie for Forest Whitaker did. Okay? Don't tell me about some one movie Viola David did when all y'all do is come over here and launch your entire career off of pretending to be black Americans. Okay? It it is a false equivalency. We're not talking about all of those actors were famous in London. We're not talking about you just have a little job and a little passion.

[00:28:54]We're talking about the death and and severity of ethnic eraser. Okay. And you talking about people who already have their careers going on and is you act like they're perpet.

[00:29:12]If you can't read, just say that. All right. The prompt's been there since the jump, since the beginning. If you wanted, you matter of fact, you came in here changing the goalpost and we let you speak and ain't nobody interrupt you. So, don't interrupt people now.

[00:29:25]Okay? Don't interrupt people now. See, and you kind of told on yourself cuz you basically said that to to say that uh any African or or West Indians are not ethnically right for the role, right?

[00:29:37]You wouldn't want to tell your child that. You wouldn't want to tell your child that. But black American roles are the only roles. It's like you forget this they country. You the guest. You the whole guest here. It's their role.

[00:29:49]So they their roles wouldn't dim down.

[00:29:52]Okay. You act like the whole Wayne's brother has a whole production company.

[00:29:56]Okay. Y'all act like everything white people just throw out Tyler Perry. I don't want to I don't want to mention Tyler Perry, but Tyler Perry. Okay.

[00:30:03]Somebody else name another another black family in entertainment. The uh um uh oh gosh, what's the name? What's the name?

[00:30:12]um that single. Oh gosh, I'm I'm drawing a blank. These these are people that's been in the in the industry for for generations. Okay. Generations.

[00:30:23]>> May I say something real quick? Can I say No. Can I say something real quick?

[00:30:27]I'd like to say what