Robin (@thyrobin)
A student at a Georgia high school took her class assignment to new heights by discussing white privilege.
Robin is a senior at Fayette County High School. During her favorite speech class, the teacher assigned her students to create an informational speech.
“[Our teacher] tells us the area where we should create our topics and we all create our own individual ideas,” she told BuzzFeed News.
As the leader of a club called the People of Color Union – which discusses global injustices among various races – Robin believed white privilege would be a fitting topic.
During her speech, the 12th grader explained the roots of white privilege, defined it and described the way communities work around it.
“[White privilege] affects our daily society in our magazines,” the 17-year-old explained. “Children are also influenced and I used the doll test as a reference. We live in a Eurocentric society.”
After the presentation, Robin took a photo next to the title card of her slides. She tweeted the image and that’s when it took off.
The tweet reading “I had these white kids shook!” has garnered 37,000 retweets and nearly 80,000 likes since Oct. 21.
I HAD THESE WHITE KIDS SHOOK pic.twitter.com/z8E3VPlkfF
— Robin (@thyrobin) October 21, 2016
She also got a round of applause from her classmates.
I got a standing ovation after I said my speech.
— Robin (@thyrobin) October 21, 2016
After sharing, Robin won lots of praise online.
@thyrobin omg ur lit!! So happy for u lil baby??
— Natalia Blanchet (@Lavizzzo_) October 23, 2016
@BuzzFeedNews @braddybb …upcoming game changer, this Queen here ??@thyrobin we’re rooting for you ✊? pic.twitter.com/NM0kIUa1R7
— Jada J (@jada4583) October 23, 2016
Additionally, Robin had an inquiry to join PCU.
@thyrobin omg how do i join the people of color union at fayette?
— logan (@blckfem) October 23, 2016
But she also had her share of backlash.
@thyrobin if you yourself can’t help being racist then don’t expect others to not be racist, and especially if your doing this type of stuff
— sarah (@sarahh_976) October 23, 2016
@thyrobin @BuzzFeedNews @braddybb it’s too bad you are being honored for being openly racist. Shouldn’t you be decolonizing your brain?
— Just Bad Hombre (@D3U5VUL7) October 23, 2016
@thyrobin did you fail the assignment? bc i didn’t know you could pass assignments about fake topics ?☕️
— Jon Mathias (@JonWins14) October 22, 2016
Robin was forced to defend herself online, pointing out her teacher – who is white – encouraged her to explore the topic.
Did you know that my teacher actually encouraged me about this topic and agreed with me and she is a white woman 🙂 https://t.co/qr77KqCHiC
— Robin (@thyrobin) October 22, 2016
Then, Robin explained what she discussed in the presentation more deeply.
The mass murdering of natives and the destroying of the population with diseases and other factors. The definition of white privilege +
— Robin (@thyrobin) October 23, 2016
How it affects today’s society with tv, award shows, modeling agencies, and in our own children today.
— robin (@thyrobin) October 23, 2016
Ultimately, Robin said reaction has been positive. In the classroom, one student became aware of how white privilege influences society.
“There was only one kid [in class] who said that he felt hurt when other races say it’s all white people,” Robin told BuzzFeed News. “But he later said he never saw his life like that and that it really informed him how our society is.”
