Although Black people have lived in Scotland since approximately the 15th century and have significantly contributed to its history, many Black American TikTok users were recently surprised to learn that members of the African diaspora call the European country home.
African Americans on social media grew increasingly interested in Scotland’s Black population last week, especially after fitness influencer Torgi Squire posted a video on TikTok ranting about the country’s weather— a video that has since garnered 3.8 million views. In the comments and across platforms, social media users referred to the 43-year-old as actor Sterling K. Brown’s Scottish “twin.”
Therapist and political commentator Quentin R. Jiles was one of the Americans excited to see Black Scots trending.
“My heart is so warm and comforted because they act like us, or we act like them, or we are the same,” Jiles said on TikTok. “Get me a ticket to Scotland because I’m going down there. I just love that we are them and they are us.”
Similar Experiences Across the Diaspora
Following the large amount of positive and shocked reactions from Black Americans, other Afro-Scots took to TikTok to share their experiences living in the European country as members of the diaspora.
According to the U.K.’s 2022 Census, 65,414 Black people live in Scotland, making up 1.2% of the country’s population.
Because of the small percentage of Black Scots compared to white people in the European country, racism and prejudice is still a factor. Marketing specialist and Scotland native Deborah Mattaka used her platform to highlight the racism she faced growing up outside of Glasgow.
“In primary school, I was the only Black girl in my class, but there were two other Black boys,” Mattaka started.
She told viewers about times she felt like the “other” in school, highlighting a story during her teenage years about how her white classmates proudly used racial slurs and weren’t apprehended by the school’s administration. Due to her school’s constant lack of sensitivity to racial issues, she was not surprised at the unbothered response.
“This is the same school that rewarded a white boy for dressing up as a Rastafarian man in Black face to a Halloween Party,” Mattaka continued. “He won best dressed.”
Many in Scotland believe the lack of representation and recognition in the media and history has contributed to such complacency among white Scottish people when it comes to racism and prejudice. Because of this, researchers in Scotland are pushing for the establishment of the Scottish Museum of Empire, Slavery, Colonialism and Migration (SMESCM).
While an online resource exists, including a migration timeline, a blog and a virtual exhibit titled “Girls and their Mothers” by Kim Simpson, the researchers behind SMESCM and members of the Coalition for Racial Equity and Rights are still working toward building a physical space for the museum to come alive.
“Our goal is to develop equitable and accessible practices to innovate a community-driven space that counters the power structures existing in contemporary museum spaces,” the SMESCM wrote. “We want to involve the community in developing a space that is for the people by the people.”
(Please ignore the last comment, I have updated it here)
This is nothing but UN document replacement migration 2000, your media is not telling you the truth, there were no Scots which were black pre 1920 and still almost none in the year 2000, this is the kalergi plan, the founder of Europe and his book practicalal idealism outlines exactly what is going on in Scotland. It’s black face in reverse, first the moors enslaved us for 600 years with the Berbers and sold us across Africa and the middle east, now they want to claim to be us!! We were enslaved by the English and sold worldwide in fact,the first slaves on American soil were white Scots and Irish, they were also sold largely in Jamaica, we have been absolutely subjugated and tortured and ignored for over a thousand years but you think WE owe blacks money!? Do you know who owned tthe slave ships and what their religious persuasion was? And why is it that blacks and Muslims sell slaves openly including women and children (other Africans I might add, including child prostitution of young boys in Afghanistan, also public and open, right now, but you want to focus on one of the most beaten ethnic populatioss on earth!!!! We are the tribe of Ephraim and we fought off invasions d
From Denmark, England, Rome, Africa, Turkey, Germany, and nobody has succeeded to destroy our tiny population of 5 million yet, but they are trying hard right now, and we will repel it again..
Don’t listen to the obvious propaganda and lies! There are daily rapes murders and stabbing within weeks of many of these migrants arriving and they have painted black men raping white women all over Dundee… It’s absolutely disgusting. Peace.