Black Americans Send a STRONG MESSAGE to White America To Desist From This

Hinzugefügt: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00][music] [singing] >> No.

[00:00:07]No. No. No. No.

[00:00:11]No.

[00:00:12]Like like what why?

[00:00:15]For what?

[00:00:17]From who?

[00:00:19]Take them where?

[00:00:23]>> [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [singing] [sighs] >> Perpetual jazz hour. In issue Is issue Excuse me, but what in the unseasoned chicken, raisins in the potato salad, white girl running in a horror movie and always falling blue wrist band wearing [ __ ] is this?

[00:01:21]What is this?

[00:01:24]It is always liberal white people who miss the marks so much in racial sensitivity.

[00:01:34]What is this? I need help to understand something.

[00:01:38]You all really thought it was a flex or a statement to take the theme song from Harriet that Cynthia Erivo sings. Harriet, the story of Harriet Tubman.

[00:01:55]The song embodying who she was and what she was doing and going into the deep south during slavery and helping to liberate black people along the underground railroad. The whole meaning of the song is about that issue. Stand up. I'm going to stand up and take my people with me. Together we're going to a brand new home. Far across the river, do you hear freedom calling? Calling me to answer. Going to keep on keeping on. I'm [clears throat] going to stand up and take my people with me. Together we're going to a brand new goddamn home. Far across the river, I hear freedom calling.

[00:02:49]>> [snorts] >> That's what you all thought was a good idea to perform this song without one black person anywhere in sight because and we're just going to overlook the rhythm issues you're all having with the song. But that's not bad enough because when people told you that this might be racially insensitive to the story of Harriet Tubman and the liberation of black people during the Civil War and slavery, you responded with this and just made it worse.

[00:03:31]You said, "Thank you to everyone who pointed out the historical and social context of this song."

[00:03:43]Could have stopped it right there. But no, you kept going.

[00:03:48]"We are aware that Stand Up carries a very powerful message rooted in the experience of the black community in the United States, and we approached that with respect.

[00:04:02]The respect would have been not approaching it.

[00:04:07]Our intention, because the road to hell is paved with good intention, was not to speak on behalf of anyone or to appropriate an experience that is not ours.

[00:04:22]>> [sighs and gasps] >> And you all know what you say. Anytime you make a statement and you follow that statement up with but, everything before the but was just performative.

[00:04:35]And that's my nice way of saying a lie.

[00:04:39]But, rather to express through music our admiration for courage, dignity, and the struggles against injustice. We believe that music can bring us together while also teaching us to listen, to understand, and to remain humble towards the stories it carries. So, in spite of all that historical narrative and social context, you proceeded to center yourself. Let me translate that for you.

[00:05:14]All this is about centering yourself and why you chose to do this in spite of this historical and social context and the significance that it carried. In spite of all that, this is what you chose to do because that's what being liberal and white is about.

[00:05:39]You still are in your privilege, and you still see things through that lens, And you still center yourself.

[00:05:51]There is no other explanation for seeing these words and knowing the context in which those words come from, and you still elected to do this.

[00:06:08]>> [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music and singing] [music] >> What is going on?

[00:06:34]While I was watching the video, this is the only thing that popped up into my head. I went to a white high school and a bunch of white girls sang at the talent show my senior year. I was like, "What the [ __ ] is this shit?"

[00:06:47]>> [laughter] [laughter] >> What the [ __ ] Seriously.

[00:07:07]>> [laughter] >> Like girl, that was so bad. And that's what you did.

[00:07:15]I clapped at that [ __ ] >> [laughter] >> Exactly. It doesn't make Like my brain couldn't understand. There are certain songs y'all just [music] can't sing because you don't understand. You don't have the same feelings. So, it comes off jovial.

[00:07:32]Like it comes off clownish when y'all do that.

[00:07:36]Leave some songs alone. Y'all are just going to have to resolve the fact that there are just some things that are are for you. Just like there's some things that are not for us. Like potato salad with raisins is not for us.

[00:07:46]You know what I mean? That's on you.

[00:07:48]But that was wild.

[00:07:50]Stop it.

[00:07:54]>> [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [singing] [singing] [music] [singing] [music and singing] [music] [music] [singing] >> We have to talk about something.

[00:09:09]I am not happy about something at all.

[00:09:14]But before we talk about it, I need you to watch this video clip. Now, I'm going to warn you that if you're like me, you are going to have a visceral emotional response.

[00:09:30]But we are going to talk about it. So, I need you, if you can, stick with me on the other side of this video, okay?

[00:09:39]Please and thank you.

[00:09:42]>> [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music and singing] >> Okay, one more thing. I need you to read this comment before my commentary. Please, pause to read.

[00:10:15]Okay.

[00:10:17]Now that you've seen what has me incredibly upset, I want to make two key points.

[00:10:28]Now, I'm talking to this group of singers specifically.

[00:10:35]Let me address you.

[00:10:37]You make two points in your comment that struck the wrong chord.

[00:10:45]You said that you understand the cultural significance of that song.

[00:10:53]And you said that you believe that music brings people together.

[00:10:59]Now, I do agree with you that music has the power to bring people together.

[00:11:07]But what I think you failed to recognize is that your delivery of that song had the exact opposite effect of bringing us together.

[00:11:21]And the reason why is because your delivery usurped our collective respect, homage, dare I say reverence that that song has for our cultural identity, the struggles we have overcome and that we still fight to overcome today.

[00:11:55]The reverence that we have for Harriet Tubman specifically.

[00:12:02]It was incredibly disrespectful, incredibly disrespectful.

[00:12:08]And the fact that an entire culture communicated to you that we were not okay with that video, and instead of taking it down, you chose to share that comment, lets us know that you don't care about how we feel, which boldly underscores your lack of cultural sensitivity, your lack of cultural awareness, your lack of respect for us, our history, our present, and our future.

[00:12:48]The right thing to do is to take that video down.

[00:12:53]And I don't think you're going to do it because you haven't already.

[00:12:58]And what I'm saying to you is probably not going to change your mind. But here's the part that I'm okay with.

[00:13:04]It's my right, my privilege, and my honor to speak truth to power.

[00:13:15]>> [clears throat] >> You're going to do what you're going to do, but you need to know that we do not condone it.

[00:13:22]We do not.

[00:13:25]And another thing, tell me you don't have any black friends in your inner circle without telling me you don't have any black friends in your inner circle.

[00:13:34]Cuz if you had and you would have run this past them and let them see it, they would have said, "Don't you dare."

[00:13:41]If you would have went to them and told them, "Hey, I'm getting flak for that video." and they saw it, they would have said, "Take it down."

[00:13:48]Unless you got some that we don't claim.

[00:13:50]Those don't count.

[00:13:52]Y'all, we have to talk about something.

[00:13:56]I Ooh, okay, hear me out. Hear me out. I understand what y'all were going for because music can unify and bring people together, right? Let's not argue that.

[00:14:10]Music is a wild cornucopia of all different kinds of styles, genres, everything. I get that.

[00:14:20]And y'all sound good.

[00:14:24]But not this song.

[00:14:27]J- j- just not this one.

[00:14:31]Pick pick something else and and we can collaborate.

[00:14:35]This this one wasn't a good selection.

[00:14:38]Whoever picked this one, they weren't thinking. [clears throat] I I'm not trying to be mean. They They sound good, just not good intentions.

[00:14:45]Wrong song.

[00:14:47]We Are the World would have been better.

[00:14:50]That's That's a good one.

[00:14:53]How [ __ ] dare you?

[00:14:56]How [ __ ] dare you? What your people standing up for?

[00:15:00]Standing up for what? You won't take what people with you?

[00:15:04]Together y'all going where?

[00:15:07]Fight across the river?

[00:15:10]Freedom? Who Who What Who holding y'all?

[00:15:14]See, I'm going to show you the difference. I'm going to show you the difference why this had no business coming out y'all face.

[00:15:21]I'm going to show y'all exactly why this had no business coming out your face.

[00:15:26]See, this is cultural appropriation. You don't even know where the [ __ ] line is. Y'all don't even know where the [ __ ] line is. You just step all over it. You step all over it. That's how come y'all the way y'all are. Y'all do not understand culture and different people come from different places. You think everything belong to you. The song go like this.

[00:15:47]So, I'm going to stand up, take my people with me. See, you all ain't got that. You understand? So, when you do this vanilla unflavored white bread ass [ __ ] to a song that means so much to us, you I just I don't get it. Y'all need a [ __ ] I don't know what the [ __ ] it is you need, but you need to move the [ __ ] on and leave black people and black [ __ ] alone cuz you just ruin it.