An Indigenous Australian woman has taken to TikTok to *ss*e a stinging reb-uke to Americans who don’t believe she’s bl**k – and confuse her with being Mexican. Aboriginal comedian Emily – who posts under the user name HowDoIDelete1 – made the short video after an earlier post went viral but attracted !ac*st comments.
‘This one goes out to all the Americans and even the !ac*st Aussies who still don’t have a f***ing clue,’ she says in the powerful video. ‘I am not Mexican. Aboriginal Australians, that’s what I am, we identify as b***. Bla-ck fellas. As bla-ck fellas we also believe it’s not the colour of your skin that defines your bla-ckne-ss. ‘Because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter how much milk you add to that tea, it’s still going to be tea.’
The clip has been seen almost 300,000 times and came after another user left an i*flamm-atory comment on a previous video Emily had posted. ‘Just cause your skin is brown doesn’t make you bl-ack,’ it said. ‘Being Mexican and bl-ack are two different things.’
Emily told her 67,000 followers: ‘I know it’s hard when videos kinda make it through the alg*rit!m and they land on your newsfeeds. ‘When you’re American, you just ass-ume everyone is in America, but apparently not!
‘I hope this serves as a public service announcement until the end of time on my account.’ The clip comes after Daily Mail Australia yesterday revealed how US-based Indigenous Australian singer Ashanta Eve Tolley has also fought back ag-ainst ra-ci!ts. She took to TikTok to reveal how she is bombarded with questions like if there are bl-ack people in Australia, if she’s really Australian and if she’s wearing a wig.
Ashanta, who’s studying at Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts added: ‘Like dude, really?’ Ms Tolley said the ignorance in America did not compare to ra!is-m she experienced her home country.
In a second video responding to a question from a f-an, the musician explained she ‘could never live in Australia again’ because of the ill-treatment she c*pp-ed from compatriots. ‘Unfortunately I have lived in several countries – Japan, South Korea, in the Middle East, and the US – and I have never been trea-ted badly in any of those places except for Australia,’ Ms Tolley said.
‘I actually had someone make ape noi*es at me one day while I was wearing traditional attire. ‘I’ve had a teacher s*it on me, I’ve been followed around stores, received d*r*y looks when out in public, mainly from older white people.’ After her clips spark-ed debate among commenters, the performer !ssue* a third video stating education was key to reducing ill-informed comments.
‘Please understand that not everybody is educated and they don’t know. They have genuine questions and they just want to learn,’ she said. ‘If they are asking questions be respectful and give them the answers. If they are still r**e after that, then they have no e-xcu-se for it.’
Ms Tolley, a Tjapukai woman, moved to the US when she was 13 and competed in the 2019 Miss Global international beauty pageant in the Phillipines. She said she also received ‘all sorts’ of dirt* stares one time while street performing with the Aboriginal flag behind her.
‘I love Australia, but I would never go back to live there,’ she said.