A black mother has opened up about how she’s still beside herself after her daughter was called a “gorilla” in a racist greeting card she received from a friend a few years ago.
Shawonya Poole, 34, from Florida, took to TikTok last week to share a flashback video of her eldest child, Zuri, reading a card aloud, surrounded by her friends.
On the front and inside of the homemade postcard were drawings of gorillas, on which the child wrote: “Happy birthday, Zuri. Gorillas rule!
“I’m still trying to understand why these racists sent their daughter to a party dedicated to my child?” Poole captioned the footage showing the map from all angles.
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Shawonya Poole, 34, from Florida, revealed on TikTok that her daughter Zuri received a racist birthday card from a friend who called her a “gorilla”.
On the front and inside of the homemade postcard were drawings of gorillas, on which the child wrote: “Happy birthday, Zuri. Gorillas rule!
The mother, who also has two younger children, explained that Zuri did not know that the birthday message contained a racial slur.
Did you hear the little girl laughing? she asked. “My child didn’t get it.”
Poole noted that the gorillas had nothing to do with her daughter’s birthday celebration, making it clear that the drawings and messages were racially motivated.
“In fact, gorillas rock, it wasn’t even her birthday theme,” she wrote. “The sad thing is that these same people invited my daughter to their home for a sleepover. You think I sent her… damn it.
Mom admitted that she was not even entirely sure that it was the child who drew the gorillas on the postcard.
Poole said she still can’t figure out why “those racists” sent their daughter to her baby’s party, explaining that Zuri didn’t realize it was an insult.
Poole noted that the gorillas had nothing to do with her daughter’s birthday celebration, making it clear that the drawings and message were racially motivated.
“Who even drew this? Was it a child, mother, father, or brother or sister? she asked. “These are the people who support racism these days.”
The video has been viewed over 256,000 times, with many people sharing Poole’s outrage at the racist map.
‘Wow, I would call it [child’s] parents so damn fast,” one person commented, while another added, “My anger would have put me in jail.”
Poole agreed, saying that was why she “left it alone” and chose to be the “more important person” in the situation by not confronting the child’s parents.
A number of viewers were also convinced that the child’s parents had a hand in creating the postcard.
Poole admitted that she wasn’t even sure which of Zuri’s friends or one of her family members drew the gorillas on the postcard.
The video has been viewed over 256,000 times, with many people sharing Poole’s outrage at the racist map.
“This kid didn’t write it there without parental influence,” wrote one on TikToker. – I would be so angry. How do you even explain such hatred?
“I wonder if the little girl understood what that meant?” someone else asked. ‘[I] I think maybe the parents came up with a postcard.
Poole said her daughter was “introduced to racism at an early age” and had to “talk to her about it” because she “didn’t get it.”
There is a long racist history of dehumanizing blacks by comparison to gorillas and apes, an image that was used to promote slavery and colonization.
A study more than a decade ago found that many Americans subconsciously associate blacks with apes.
In a follow-up video, the mother-of-three explained that the party took place two years ago and she didn’t argue with her parents because of her temperament.
Instead, Poole said that she talked to Zuri about racism and immediately ended her friendship with the other girl.
The study also found that “society is more likely to condone violence against black crime suspects due to its broader inability to accept African Americans as human beings.”
In a follow-up video, Poole explained that her daughter received the card two years ago, but she could never forget it.
“If you had read the headline, you would have seen that I said I was still trying to figure out why these racists sent their kids to my party. Because that’s what I’m trying to do,” she said. “I’m still trying to figure out two years later why they did it.”
The mother of three also had a message for commenters who insisted she had to stand up to the child’s family.
“One thing about me, I don’t let people control me, baby. If I had let people control me in such situations, I would have been in prison many times,” she said. “My level of anger and my character, the way they are arranged, the best I could [done] I kept my mouth shut and put an end to their friendship.”
“What I did was the best for me and my family,” she explained, adding, “You don’t always have to respond the way people expect you to.”