A Black TikToker posted a clever, satirical comeback to a racist comment on his page, telling him to “Go back to Africa.”
In response to the remark left on his feed, Gregory Lakhan, who goes by @SirGregolas on TikTok, sarcastically advocated that racists finance his move to Africa.
“Alright, folks, you asked and you shall receive, so let’s f***ing make this s*** happen,” Lakhan said in the clip.
Lakhan, a New Yorker who uploads video essays and music videos to his channel, started the fundraising campaign asking people who leave racially-charged comments on his videos to donate to a $30,000 fundraiser to sponsor his move overseas.
Lakhan pointedly launched the campaign on GiveSendGo, a crowdfunding site that has drawn controversy for allowing far-right extremist groups to fundraise on its platform.
The site drew immense backlash earlier this year for permitting a campaign that raised funds for Shiloh Hendrix, a Minnesota woman who was seen on a viral video calling a 5-year-old Black boy the n-word multiple times on a playground. Over the last five months, the campaign raised more than $800,000 in donations, many of which were made by white supremacists, racists, and alt-right extremists.
Lakhan took to his TikTok page last month, announcing that people interested in funding his relocation to Africa can make donations on his GiveSendGo page titled, “Help Me Return To Africa For Good!”
“Don’t just waste your time and energy writing angry comments in my comment section. Actually, do something about it. You can actually make a difference,” Lakhan wryly states in the clip while uplifting music plays in the background.
@trillyshakes Link in bio. Tell ur rich racist friends.#africa #relocation #fyp #strategy #education ♬ Corporate Music – Satria Petir
On the GiveSendGo page, Lakhan reveals that the funds raised won’t actually bankroll his move out of the U.S. Instead, all donations will go to his film school fund.
He wrote that he “jokingly dared bigots to fund my hypothetical one-way ticket out of America. The internet exploded—but shocker, the ‘send her back’ crowd wouldn’t put a single dollar behind their nonsense.”
He continued: “I’m converting their wasted energy into something useful: my Film MFA in NYC. With your help, I’ll turn their trolling into tuition—and their hate into art.”
The video racked up eight million views on TikTok, drawing praise from amused viewers.
“Sometimes it’s not about what racism does TO you, but what racism can do FOR you,” one person wrote.
“This is God level sarcasm. Respect!!!” someone else added.
“This was a master class in marketing,” another comment reads.
Although Lakhan’s campaign to relocate isn’t genuine, there is a sincere call from African leaders encouraging Black Americans to move back to the continent.
Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, initiated the “Year of the Return” in 2019, marking the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to English North America. At the launch of that initiative, he granted citizenship to more than 100 African-Americans and Afro-Caribbeans in a special homecoming ceremony.
In the years since, Akufo-Addo has advocated that world leaders establish a Global Reparation Fund to compensate millions of descendants of enslaved people.
Data shows that as many as 1,500 Black Americans have moved to Ghana since 2019. Last year, the country said it hosted a ceremony granting citizenship to more than 500 people, primarily Black Americans.
Several other countries are welcoming African Americans to become long-term residents, some of which are granting full citizenship based on ancestry.
On the other hand, the African country of Liberia was formed in the early 19th century as a colony for free Black people and formerly enslaved people from the United States and became an independent republic in 1847.
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