This is originally from an entry on my Medium blog
Since [the night of the 2016 Oscars], all over Twitter, I’m seeing Non-Black POC (or NBPOC, for short) crying extra salty tears over the fact that Chris Rock only spoke up for Black people, and even criticizing “#OscarsSoWhite” for not being inclusive enough.
Never mind that the latter is an absolute lie — as it was made crystal clear by the Black Woman who created the hashtag that the movement was started for all people of color, not just Black people. But, thing is, even if it was only for Black people, so what?
We have our own history of racism and our own, unique issues to deal with, and we shouldn’t have to be expected to do the work for everyone else. Many of the NBPOC who were complaining had follower counts in the tens — even hundreds — of thousands…there’s absolutely nothing stopping these folks from starting and/or amplifying their own hashtags and movements.