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- They Hijacked “Black Fatigue”
They Hijacked “Black Fatigue”
A white TikToker flipped the meaning of “Black fatigue” to justify racism—and she's not alone. How did our language become their weapon?
Dale Harris
May 20, 2025
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Top of the Morning, BFA Fam! Some X users were shook this week after realizing “I Luv Your Girl” by The-Dream wasn’t just a toxic R&B bop, it was a diss track. And the drama? Even messier than we thought. Turns out, The-Dream and Lil Wayne were both romantically linked to singer Nivea and had kids with her. The kicker? Wayne’s slick response came in the form of “Lollipop.” Yes, that “Lollipop.” You can’t make this stuff up.
MAIN STORY
🔥 Black Fatigue: A Lie Built on Stereotypes
⚡ THE SPARK
"Black fatigue is real," a white TikToker declared, except she wasn’t talking about systemic racism. She was talking about us. About being tired of seeing Black people, tired of “ghetto behavior,” tired of bonnets at Walmart and brawls on cruise ships. The audacity. In a country built on Black labor, now they’re exhausted by our existence?
And let’s be real: this isn’t new. It’s always some buzzword: DEI, CRT, woke, and now “Black fatigue.” The packaging changes, but the meaning stays the same: resentment toward Black visibility, Black voices, Black existence. And most of the people screaming about it? They don’t even interact with Black folks in real life. Their outrage is built on a loop of viral stereotypes they seek out just to confirm their bias.
🧠 THE LAYER BELOW
“Black fatigue” was meant to name the weariness Black people feel living under systemic oppression, now it’s being weaponized against us.
This isn’t just tone-deaf, it’s a textbook case of appropriation and erasure, flipping our language to justify racism.
Some Black voices joined in, echoing stereotypes about “ratchet” behavior, proving internalized racism is real and damaging.
The TikToker didn’t express discomfort with violence, she expressed disgust with visibility. Seeing Black people exist in public is the problem.
It's not about class either; white folks don’t describe white working-class behavior with the same vitriol.
“Fatigue” implies you’ve endured something unfair. What exactly have they endured? Accountability?
🎯 THE REAL QUESTION
When did calling out injustice become more offensive than the injustice itself?
🔮 WHAT’S NEXT
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about one TikTok. It’s about the rising trend of co-opting language meant for liberation and twisting it into a weapon of blame. We can’t let terms like “Black fatigue” be distorted into excuses for racism. Not again. Not ever.
Our stories, our language, and our fight for dignity are not up for rebranding. Let’s hold the line, sharpen the definitions, and make sure our truths aren’t rewritten to soothe white discomfort.
@cmoolah83 Black Fatigue
They can keep the fatigue. We’ll keep the fire.
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