White people across Twitter applauded White House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats on Monday for showing solidarity with black people by wearing Kente cloth and taking a knee in honor of George Floyd, the man murdered by police officers in Minnesota. Kente cloth has been worn for special occasions among Africans, but Monday marked the first time the traditional Ghanaian attire made of silk and cotton has been seen among American politicians.
“I didn’t even know what Kente cloth was last week,” tweeted @TrashTheCheeto, “but I am proud to belong to a political party that is so inclusive. If I were black, the only thing that could make me prouder is if Obama became president again.”
Not all white people approved of the message though. Some criticized the demonstration as racially insensitive. “If I were black,” tweeted @PunchPelosiPaunch. “I’d be furious! More than I already am! Don’t they know that Republicans freed the slaves! Just ask Kanye!” Many other Twitter users whose profiles sported similar combinations of the American flag, the confederate flag, a bald eagle, and blond Jesus agreed that if Republicans were so racist, some of their best friends wouldn’t be black.
Unfortunately, there was no time left in the writing of this article to gather opinions from actual black people.
[EDITOR NOTE: The capitalization, punctuation, and spelling of tweets have been fixed to be somewhat coherent.]
Bard Kitty 