(Todd A. Smith)
“I do want to address what’s happening right now outside this building,” Florida rapper Doechii said at Monday night’s BET Awards in Los Angeles. “These are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities. In the name of law and order, Trump is using military forces to stop a protest, and I want you all to consider what kind of government it appears to be—when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.”
Celebrities, especially Black celebrities, have a long history of using their fame and fortune to fight for equal rights.
While many label younger generations of the Black community as apathetic, thankfully, several Black artists used the 2025 BET Awards as an opportunity not just to showcase Black excellence.
But they also used the platform to showcase Black defiance and fearlessness, which should thankfully get a lot of conservatives’ panties in a bunch.
Honestly, conservative celebrities like Fox News personality Laura Ingraham and President Donald Trump must have lost their minds if they ever thought Black superstars would fear them and cease speaking up for marginalized communities.
Ingraham infamously told superstar basketball players like LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” and stay silent on political and social issues.
Right-wing Americans have often criticized celebrities for speaking out on political issues during award shows.
To many conservatives, celebrities are not humans with real-world problems.
They are simply puppets sent to amuse them.
Therefore, liberal dissent is something that should be eliminated from the public discourse.
President Trump is even sending the military to major cities to quell dissent.
Some award shows have become less political, recently.
But one award show that will not comply with Trump’s dictatorial desires is the BET Awards.
In 2024, host Taraji P. Henson utilized the BET Awards to raise awareness about the dangers of Project 2025 and the push to deprive Americans, particularly minorities, of their constitutional rights.
Unfortunately, too few Americans took the warning seriously because they re-elected Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris.
But maybe those same people who did not take Trump seriously will now, after Harris’ prediction of Trump using the military to control Americans has come to fruition.
Thankfully, rappers like Doechii continue to sound the alarm about the dangers of Trump and how his crackdown on immigration protests could impact us all soon if the president cracks down on all political dissent, which is something often seen in third-world countries, not the so-called land of the free.
She continued, “What type of government is that? People are being swept up and torn from their families, and I feel it’s my responsibility as an artist to use the moment to speak up for all oppressed people: for Black people, for Latino people, for trans people, for the people in Gaza. We all deserve to live in hope and not fear, and I hope we stand together, my brothers and sisters, against hate and we protest against it. Thank you, BET.”
No, thank you, Doechii.
Thank you for reminding people that we should all use our moment and platform to speak out against oppression.
And do not get it twisted, Trump is trying to oppress anyone who does not bow down and kiss his ring, not just Latinos or undocumented immigrants.
His actions are not about law and order.
If he cared about law and order, Trump would have sent out the National Guard and military to stop the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Instead, he enjoyed the violent attempted coup in 2021.
Instead, he gave his personal criminals a pardon once he returned to the Oval Office in January.
While violent immigration protestors should face criticism and criminal charges, how does Trump explain his praise for violent protestors who supported the Big Lie?
The explanation is that Trump does not care about the country, the constitution or his constituents.
He only cares about crushing his critics and clinging to power, which is not allowed in a democracy.
But what Trump does not understand is that the current generation of the Black community has the same blood as our ancestors.
We have the same resolve.
We have the same strength.
And we have the same personality traits that make it impossible to comply with our own oppression.
Yes, Trump is flexing his muscles with the Latino community right now.
But he, and his MAGA cult followers, want the same thing for the Black community, and that is for us to stay at the mercy of the White majority.
That is what a great America looks like for Trump and many of his supporters.
But that will never happen because it has never happened before.
Even during slavery, Black people fought back.
While enslaved, Black people revolted and used violence to free themselves from bondage.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Black people put their lives on the line for their equality.
Lynchings did not quiet Black people.
Crooked cops like Eugene “Bull” Connor and his attack dogs and water hoses in Birmingham, Ala. did not silence Black people.
Assassinations of icons like Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King, Jr. did not silence Black people.
So, there is nothing that Trump and his minions can do to stop Black progress in the 21st century.
We are our ancestors.
And if the words of our ancestors are still making a positive impact on American society, Trump should not hold his breath if he thinks he will silence their descendants.
