Yesterday evening singer, actress, and talk show host, Keke Palmer took to Twitter to share her thoughts on racism and how to end it. Palmer’s tweets were prompted by the Ferguson, Missouri shooting of 18 year old Michael Brown. Brown, who was unarmed, was shot and killed by a Ferguson Police Officers on August 9. Outrage immediately broke out over the incident, especially among the black community, where this incident becomes a new member of a long list of injustices. In the wake of the shooting many outraged Tweeters began using the social network as a means of spreading awareness and shinning light on the incident with one user tweeting: “If you’re looking for media coverage on what’s happening in #Ferguson, turn your TV off. Live coverage is coming from twitter.” However, with a slew of other less peaceful tweets in the mix, KeKe Palmer took to Twitter in an attempt to quell the anger.
KeKe Palmer, who is known in the Twitter universe for her positive and inspirational tweets, began yesterday’s string of Tweets with a brief acknowledgement of Saturday’s incident “Oh my Lord, bless Mike Brown & his family. This is terrible. Why y’all? Why do we do this to each other.” Her use of the term “each other” prompted some Tweeters to respond with confusion, “To each other?” several users tweeted, “…but #MikeBrown was killed by a policeman,” another user added. Palmer quickly returned to Twitter to clarify her position, “Stop separating yourself through race. That’s the issue. We actually think that’s a thing, we are ALL family!” she tweeted again – receiving a mixed response from her fellow Tweeters.
Palmer then decided to enlighten all off her followers with some advice on how to end racism. The young star believes that “If you want to end racism, you start by not generalizing/grouping ppl w/ the thought that they all believe the same things.” She cites Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream, which she believe has come “true,” and reminds those who believe, that God loves everyone regardless of skin color and/or ethnicity. Clearly feeling misunderstood, Palmer uploaded a series of videos to Instagram , where she vocalizes her thoughts – again she is met with resistance from users who believe that Palmer is being unrealistic in her views on race relations and the treatment of minorities in the United States. Palmer decides to conclude her rant with, “unproductive outrage is not the answer,” something we can all agree on.
(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images for NAACP Image Awards)
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