“DaQuan,” Meet “Sambo”

Social Media…a place where one can go for entertainment, news,social commentary, an impromptu modeling agency and dating service. In other words, an outlet that should not be taken seriously…95% of the time. The things I see on social media has made me “smh” and “lol” at the same time. Yes, I consider myself a scholar of some sort but I undertsand the “social media” generation, and besides, I can take a good joke or appreciate a funny meme every now and then, so rarely do I get offended by what I see.

I mean, after all, this is the same place that managed to take Kermit the Frog, beloved muppet, and turn him into a dry snitch with hilarious consequences. Memes, or pictures with captions, of Kermit sipping tea while observing all things wrong in today’s societies is funny. But there is one meme that is going around that I can’t seem to laugh at..no matter the caption…it just isn’t funny…

Around the beginning of July “DaQuan” was introduced to twitter with the subsequent tweet:

Photo of tweet from Twitter user @RealRaymodJ. Source: Know Your Meme

The young girl is shunning a “David” in favor of “Daquan,” implying that she’d much rather date a stereotypical black youth than a straight-laced white David. The tweet went viral and soon memes made their way through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Memes of white children rebelling against their conservative white parents in favor of dating or hanging out with “Daquan.”

Who is “Daquan?”

I am a lover of Criminal Minds. I live for the part of the episode where the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit stand before police agents and give a “profile” of criminals suspected of committing crimes. So after a few clicks around the internet, I came up with my own profile just like how Agent Hoffner would deliver it:

“Daquan” is an inner city black youth, typically between the ages of sixteen to twenty. His occupation is “trapping” or dealing narcotics, he is usually on the low-end of a criminal enterprise. He listens to “trap music” and aspires to rap by dropping mix tapes. We can infer that once apprehended he will be found to be illiterate, uneducated and the father of multiple children. Be warned, he is determined to be dangerous as his most serious crime is preying on impressionable white youth who are desperately looking for a pass into black culture.”

The meme does not disturb me as much as what it seems to imply and what society will still deny to this day, that racism is dead. We are in the “Age of Obama,” a time when a man of color can obtain the highest office in the land. This is the ultimate example that we have moved past the days of “Dixie.” When I ask my students what are their thoughts on “race” and “racism, they will either sit silent or loudly proclaim that there is no such thing anymore. “WE ARE ALLLLLL EQUAL” is what I hear this generation of youth echo in my American history classes. I heard one scholar put say, “look at the generation today, they will deny race vehemently. In this post modern world, the denial of racism is racism in itself.” He is one of those that believes racism as a social construct will never be eradicated, regardless of the times and circumstances.

These memes paint the picture that has existed since the introduction of Africans to Jamestown, Virginia. It just looks different. Add “Daquan to the list along with “Uncle Tom “Sambo,” and the “Mandingo.” In “Daquan,” we see a Black male who is a menace to society, a danger to conservative white america. Thier worst nightmare has come true, their daughters have fallen in love with one and their sons prefer to be them.

Another thing that offends me about these memes is that we never see what “Daquan” looks like or who he is for that matter. But we can take a real educated guess here. Raise your hand if someone similar to Chicago rapper Chief Keef comes to mind. Sorry, but it does. The fact that we never see “Daquan” is glaring. This means that he can become representative of all black males of this generation. That is a very slippery slope. All we see in these memes are white parents chastising their children for embracing “Daquan,” and ultimately in their minds, all things negative regarding black culture. I do not care how far we have think we have progressed as far as race relations are concerned we will always find remnants of racial stereotypes in prior generations. Had this been sixty years prior, “Daquan” would have been lynched for looking at a white girl too long. Yes, the days of lynch mobs are long gone but that attitudes that foster the resentment is still ever-present.

I appreciate satire, I get it. But I thought the days of attaching racially negative stereotypical characters to black men and women were over. But nope. I was wrong. The “Sambo.” and “Uncle Tom” and others (yes there is an actually list. Google it) were the result of the imaginations of southern whites to typecast their slaves and subsequently free blacks in a post Reconstruction America. But “Daquan” has found its way onto the list thanks to black social media users. So “Daquan,” allow me to introduce you to “Sambo…”

A proud moment for black America.