“All skinfolk are not related.” This is what we Black people in America are told: Not every other Black person is family, friend, ally or comrade, but rather your enemy and an agent of anti-Blackness and white supremacy.
I didn’t quite understand what the elders meant, since I had not yet reached my current state of race consciousness and believed that my biggest enemies were either the gossiping kids on the street or Michelle Obama for apparently ruining the school lunch. But they were right. All skinfolk are not related.
Founded by Angelique Ndidi Nwandu, a black woman. Shadow room, or TSR, is a popular media platform that delivers the hottest and most scandalous gossip, news, and interviews about Black and pop culture celebrities. TSR takes the adage “all skinfolk are not related” to an unprecedented level. According to the official profile of The Shade Room, which has approximately 28.7 million followers on Instagram, The Shade Room uses its influence to promote right-wing extremism, as well as disinformation and disinformation, creating a cesspool of anti-blackness and support for white supremacy in the black community. in something as simple and manageable as a comment section.
In 2020, NBC News reported that Zaya Wade, the 16-year-old daughter of former NBA player Dwyane Wade and Black actress Gabrielle Union-Wade, declared himself transgender. In 2019, popular sensation Lil Nas series of tweets while promoting his latest song “C7osure,” he declared his pronouns—he/him and they/them—and continued to present himself authentically and fluidly. The constant posting of both these black and queer public figures on TSR has resulted in unregulated comment sections riddled with inappropriate and derogatory transphobic and homophobic rhetoric. And we must also be mindful of the alarming misogyny, traits, and colorism that black female celebrities are subjected to in these comment sections.
But The Shade Room’s manipulation knows no bounds as their latest and most talked about act of tyranny continues to misinform the community using very clever and unfortunately common clickbait tactics. In early August, the New York Times reported on wildfires spreading across Hawaii, killing nearly 100 people and leaving many more homeless and safe, requiring government assistance. It was then announced that President Joe Biden would leave. one-time payments of $700 per family Maui residents affected by wildfires. The Shadow Room, as always, quickly told the story. But that wasn’t the whole story: in fact, it wasn’t even close. Was not mentioned in the Shadow Room additional assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, in the form of tens of thousands of meals, liters of water and bedding, according to an official FEMA press release.
Naturally, the comments section was busy. anti-Biden statements. Some have questioned Biden’s integrity and reliability as president, comparing what they were led to believe about crisis aid to Maui residents with the substantial aid sent to Ukraine during the war, while others have declared their allegiance entirely to former Republican President Donald . Trump.
It was obvious that very few commenters actually read the credible article. It was also obvious that The Shade Room took advantage of this fact in the midst of the re-election campaign of the former president and Republican extremist.
So, this is not just a mistake of misinterpretation, error or confusion. This is a clever and timely scheme to misinform black people about the very philosophical and political system that devalues, degrades and steals their identity. And while many are aware and speaking out against the disservice and deception that TSR is providing to the community, such as young TikToker, Joshua Joseph or @jwilliamj, who publicly holding TSR responsible for a harmful agendaa large number of black people still use the Shadow Room as a direct source of information, which ultimately hinders social awareness and racial education.
Black people, like any other group of people, are not a monolith. Uniformity does not exist in any community and cannot be expected to exist in that community. I am aware of this. I understand that a person’s worldview is shaped by many aspects of society—geography, financial status, religion—and inevitably creates contrasting political and social perspectives. But it would be foolish to say that this is only about opinions, but rather about the deliberate manipulation and exploitation of colonialist brainwashing, forced assimilation, fear and educational inequality that black people everywhere suffer for financial gain.
I fear where this path leads – a regressed community playing puppet and puppeteer in its own way. As alarming as it may sound, we can become what we fear. But, alas, as the elders said, all my skins are not related to me.
Jarria Cochran is a third-year Interaction Design and Journalism student. She can be contacted at (email protected).