Explaining white supremacy to white people, one video at a time
LatestWhen Gazi Kodzo hosted a Q&A on Tumblr this week, black people’s questions were answered first. Other people of color were answered second. White people were last.
Kodzo, a prolific video blogger with followings on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, too, is very explicit about his politics: He’s fiercely pro-black and pro-African. And he shoots all his videos vertically.
Still, he’s managed to get people to watch. He’s a young, queer, black guy wearing tank tops and having serious conversations about race relations. He adds history and context to stories in the news cycle with conviction that seasoned writers can’t capture. This week, he got a big boost of followers when rapper Azealia Banks shared Kodzo’s video aimed at “Patty” Arquette after she made comments about wage equality during her Oscar acceptance speech. His channel is apparently so successful that’s he’s reportedly getting endorsement offers. Unfortunately they’re from all the wrong “white companies.”
Take a look at some of the issues he’s taken on recently:
On African Americans and cultural appropriation, LUCY!
“Black people can not appropriate white culture. We can only assimilate white culture because white culture is the dominant culture in white supremacy capitalism patriarchy imperialism, girl, how you don’t know that Lucy!”
On Patricia Arquette’s Oscar speech: “Yo’ 22 cents is gon’ have to wait, girl.”
“White women make 78 cents to the white man’s dollar but black women make 65 cents to the white man’s dollar, Patty! Patty, I think yo’ 22 cents are gon’ to have to wait, the sisters are a little busy.”
On the the concept of one human race, as explained to his friend Larry.
“We are one human species but we’re all based off of different histories and our histories form us and your history shows your people haven’t experienced the golden age without oppressing and conquering others.”
There are few details available about Kodzo. Multiple interview requests sent to his Facebook page went unanswered.Kodzo cites black intellectuals as inspiration, including Dr. Marimba Ani, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, and bell hooks.
“I know most ppl think i be joking but i take it seriously,” Kodzo wrote in a post on Tumblr.
“Taking time to remember my grandparents and do research on my great greats always gives me Ase (ancestral energy). Reading gives me a lot of energy too! Learning new things about us as a people gives me that extra push all the time!
Kodzo made a video about how he’s tired of seeing “illegals” in Los Angeles. So maybe he’s in L.A. (Except he’s wasn’t referring to his Mexican brothers and sisters. He was referring to white folks.)
Even some of his black viewers say his comments about white people offend them. He’s referred to white people as “cave kids,” “white people savage,” and “mayo-saxons.”
But Gazi is playing by his own rules and says he has no shame.