INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indiana State University student’s TikTok video struck a national chord after she criticized Beyoncé and Black Americans.
In the TikTok video, the young woman said: “I’m sorry, but if you’re black, you’re not country.”
The controversial video was released just after Beyoncé released her country album “Cowboy Carter” on March 28. News 8 chose not to show the student’s face or provide her name. In the video, the woman said: “I know you grew up in the country or your grandparents did, but they picked, they didn’t plant. They weren’t making any money. They were sold for money.
As the video racked up views online, ISU student Emani Marks says the school was slow to respond.
“There is no such thing as a zero tolerance policy and I don’t want this situation to go away,” Marks said.
Marks reached out to Tiktok content creator “Tizzyent” or Michael McWhorter, a Floridian with more than 6.2 million followers. McWhorter criticized the initial video, saying, “It’s okay if it’s not your cup of tea, like maybe you don’t like country music.” What’s wrong is you think black people have no place in country music.
McWhorter told News 8 why this is not just an Indiana problem, but a national problem.
“Allowing these things to be brought into the world and just pretending it didn’t happen, or ignoring them, or addressing them in very strict terms breeds more of this,” McWhorter said.
Students protested Monday on Eclipse Day, and the university has since released the following statements:
For Marks, a simple statement is not enough.
“I want this situation to be an example, so the school knows there are minority students here whose lives are being interrupted,” Marks said.
News 8 reached out to the university, but it has not yet responded. The ISU Black Alumni Network released a statement demanding that the university president address the issue immediately.
