A newly circulated video from a high school walkout has Twitter users shaking their heads in disappointment.
"Y'all so a High school had a walkout today, and this lil yt girl had said this [sic]," reads the beginning of the 18-second video.
All attention is then on the student in question, speaking in front of a crowd with a microphone.
"I am so glad that years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, the first Black man, ended slavery. 'Cause if not, people would be whipped every day," she passionately stated.
Everything about this video got me in tears. History teachers are failing our youth pic.twitter.com/rFmcCO9GWy
— Tri ⁷ da Villain (@THEEEhottie) February 17, 2022
Once the video started gaining traction, social media users began sharing their thoughts on the topic, and they sure had a lot to say.
Many understandably expressed their disbelief by sharing popular memes and pop culture references.
I beg your pardon? He ended what! pic.twitter.com/HxWLEPyyfS
— ENNY🤎 (@FinesseEness) February 17, 2022
😂😂😂😂😭😭I can’t believe this is real! It feels like a scene from The Office https://t.co/oi4sPiomV3
— Tomi S (@Tomi_soy) February 17, 2022
AM I A MLK FAN?????!?? Pull up in the shri lanka! WHAT?!??? https://t.co/YxV9kTLg0m
— ❄️KOOL IT!☃️ (@_IssAshantiiii) February 17, 2022
Other meme-filled reactions centered around the fact that this misinformation was shared during a school walkout, with many suggesting she go back into class.
Maybe she need to go back in the school pic.twitter.com/BNyiwKrec3
— motherless.hoodlum (@shortychanel2) February 17, 2022
They don’t need to be walking outta nowhere… pic.twitter.com/lPJrZz7y03
— Zhane’ Monroé (@youngceosug) February 17, 2022
Thay have to walk back in pic.twitter.com/7VL5RMDrpV
— Guapo 👑🔥 (@HayfordJL) February 17, 2022
However, others were more critical of the education system's approach to Black history and the gatekeeping of reputable information.
and this is why critical race theory needs to be taught https://t.co/UgPc4UcOpq
— stegan the mallion (@diablosasshole) February 17, 2022
History teachers aren't failing youth. Education is being gutted, actual facts are behind paywalls and misinformation is free. https://t.co/EEc0zQJkNb
— Abhay (@sfwarriorsfan) February 17, 2022
children were in fact left behind unfortunately https://t.co/c9quKzTu18
— in our lifetime 🇵🇸 (@zuzu275) February 17, 2022
this is what happens when you allow teachers to stop teaching black history because it offends them.
— 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞. (@highendtheori) February 17, 2022
Still, most users' reactions leaned towards humor and second-hand embarrassment, especially over the passion in which the student shouted the misinformation.
with her whole chest! pic.twitter.com/nIksMFk1Yo
— 𝙏𝙍𝙄𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙓𝙉𝘼𝙄𝙍𝙀 (@trillixnaire) February 17, 2022
I mean I love her passion but… pic.twitter.com/ifBihYTqag
— THEE Nᥱttɩᥱ Mᥲᥴ 🎧 (@nettiemacmi) February 17, 2022
Others cut up over the student's claim that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the first Black man, with one user bringing Ms. Harriet Tubman into the conversation.
“MLK the first Black man”
Black people before MLK: pic.twitter.com/sQqC7Hq3wP
— Garfield x Odie Fan Fiction (@GarfieldDabbing) February 17, 2022
Mlk existed as the first Black man and was put straight into slavery that he ended himself. That’s what pulling yourself up by the bootstraps means
— Jose Burgos (@LotsofLams) February 17, 2022
Black people before MLK: https://t.co/D7IoSzYqxy
pic.twitter.com/qixFDR1FDL— Underworld Archive (@StrawHatDoom) February 17, 2022
Harriet Tubman looking at this and hearing it like???? pic.twitter.com/YPM3mrn1iB
— 🐻 (@santan_childish) February 17, 2022
Folks also applied some misinformation of their own and suggested that, since white people aren't getting it right anyway, we should just "Blackwash" history.
Yeah and Flava Flav started the Montgomery Bus Boycott pic.twitter.com/4uvbyi6EEi
— 🐻 (@santan_childish) February 17, 2022
So thankful for chief keef having walked with him during those troubling times https://t.co/pJrEGhhNzj
pic.twitter.com/xdn8dPvlpG— McUnderage (@McUnderage) February 17, 2022
I mean…if we’re so set on NOT teaching history correctly, might as well blackwash it 🙂 https://t.co/zXAQQeRhV6
— Madame Siddhartha from the Eastside (@mindyounotme) February 17, 2022
Notably, one user took this viral video as an opportunity to call further attention to the reason behind the students' walkout in the first place: police brutality in Wisconsin.
laugh at this video but in all seriousness: please pay attention to what’s happening in Madison, Wisconsin. Students walked out because Quadren Wilson was shot 5 times by two DCI officers. He hasn’t received proper medical care and he can no longer walk.🧵 https://t.co/iWy2onyCwS
— Tatiana (@TatiMonet) February 17, 2022
Even if the student was trolling and not serious with her comments, the matter is disappointing and inappropriate. What do you think about the video?