Article Excerpt, YouTube Videos, And YouTube Comments About 2018 Tennis World Cup Champion Naomi Osaka's Haitian/Japanese Ancestry

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is the second post is an multi-part pancocojams series about being mixed race in Asia. Particular attention in this series is given to people who are Blasian (Black/Asian).

Click the Blasian tag and the hafu tag below for more posts in this series.

This post provides excerpts from an online article about 2018 Tennis World champion Naomi Osaka who is of Haitian and Japanese descent.

This post also showcases two videos of Naomi Osaka and presents selected comments from those videos' discussion threads.

WARNING: These compilations include comments that I consider to be racist and/or provocative. Some of these comments include profanity. I amended the spelling for those words.

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The content of this post is presented for cultural and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Special thanks and congratulations to Naomi Osaka. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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ARTICLE EXCERPT ABOUT TENNIS CHAMPION NAOMI OSAKA
From https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/naomi-osaka-black-too-215603554.html "Naomi Osaka Is Black, Too — And We Need to Say So" by BRIT + CO Kat Armstrong,BRIT + CO, Fri, Sep 14 5:56 PM EDT
"Since Saturday, even people who don’t watch tennis have been talking about legendary player Serena Williams’ US Open loss to 20-year-old powerhouse Naomi Osaka. While Osaka’s win was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the potential role of bias in the umpire’s now-contentious decision to issue Williams a series of penalties, Osaka’s identity — that of a Japanese and Black woman — has repeatedly been diminished.

[...]

A major example of Osaka’s whitewashing is the wildly racist cartoon published this week in Australia’s Herald Sun, which depicted the tennis player as a white woman with blonde hair. More often, the erasure is more subtle, like when media outlets describe Osaka as “Japanese” without acknowledging her multiracial identity. Erasing Osaka’s Blackness further divides her from Williams, who, in turn, is often depicted as a stereotypical “angry Black woman.” Whether intentionally or not, the whitewashing of Osaka serves to reinforce a racist victim-and-villain storyline.

Most importantly, however, is that in ignoring Osaka’s Blackness, we fail to acknowledge how poignant it is that the young tennis player is being given the torch of tennis greatness by her idol, Williams. Tennis is such a white-dominated sport that fewer than 40 Black women have ever competed at the elite level.

Not to say that Osaka isn’t also Japanese. Osaka was born in Japan and professionally represents the country. But it’s important to note that her father, Leonard François is Haitian. Osaka and her older sister, Mari (who is also a professional tennis player), were both given their Japanese mother’s surname at birth for practical reasons — its easier to register for schools in Japan with a Japanese surname. The family moved to the US when she was just three years old, which makes Osaka a Japanese-Haitian-American woman.

The newly-minted US Open winner is never shy about checking reporters who fail to mention that she’s Haitian (like she did earlier this year in Australia). She’s also talked about how, when Japanese people see her name, they are confused that she’s “a Black girl.”....
-snip-
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-herald-sun-serena_us_5b992d85e4b0162f4732fd0d is one of many online article about the racist Australia cartoon that is mentioned in this article.

Two videos of interviews in which Naomi Osaka "checked reporters who fail to mention that she's Haitian" are embedded below.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Video #1: You Tell ‘Em! Tennis Player Checks Reporter for Neglecting to Mention Her Haitian Heritage



GrandMilli, Published on Jan 23, 2018
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's note:
Notice the advertisement sign for "Blackmores" that is shown in this video. According to https://www.blackmores.com.au/about-us/company-information/about-blackmores "Blackmores is Australia’s leading natural health company...[providing] quality range of vitamin, minerals, herbal and nutritional supplements"... [end of quote]

The company's name is the surname of its founder Maurice Blackmore.

Information about the surname "Blackmore" and information and my comments about the similarly spelled word "blackamoor" and the name "Maurice" can be found in the comment section of this post.
-snip-
Selected comments with numbers are added for referencing purposes only [Note that all of these comments were posted in September 2018 after Naomi Osaka won the 2018 World Cup.]

1. Goddess Earline Mallory
"He tried to overlook her Haitian side (African ancestry), but she politely put him in his place asap. You go girl!!! I swear they hate to give proper credit. It’s absolutely ridiculous!!!! She is a perfect blend of Japanese and Haitian. They need to get over it because she’s obviously not denying her Blackness."

REPLY
2. wizeguy007
"He didn't try to overlook, he certainly did. Glad she made it clear! We all saw this coming once she won; the media was going to focus on her Japanese side, completely disregarding her Haitian ancestry."

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REPLY
3. Claire Ueda,
"wizeguy007 + LOL ! You mean the same media that rush to Haiti bedside to say "how great and paradisiac of a country it is", when Trump laid down the truth on a comment he made about it ??? You have quiet the selective memory, you know ! No wonder arabs are still allowed to do what they are have been doing to your race for THAT long ! ^_^"

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REPLY
4. Mas Gonderawi
"Yeah, why are you fools obsessed with race ? They did not overlook her Haitian side, she represents Japan, her mother's and her birth country. She just wanted to give a nod to her Haitians side even though she doesn't even posess Haitian citizenship."

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REPLY
5. dan theman
"Claire Ueda Black athletes are only strongly represented in certain sports, Tennis not traditionally being one of them. Despite the dominance of the Williams sisters in recent years, there have still only been 3 black grandslam winners, male or female, in open Tennis history out of literally hundreds of players. So to finally have mixed black and Asian winner from black heritage outside of America, is nice and deserves to be mentioned as much as her Japanese heritage. It might mean nothing to you but to Haitians and West Indians, it means a lot. Plus the fact that she always remembers her black roots proudly, when all the interviwers seem to always forget, means even more. Only someone who has never felt underrepresented, left out or overlooked would get upset by the OC.

Ps, there is nothing racist about being proud your racial heritage and international representatives when they do well."

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6. Tiwha26
"Just wanna let you know that the Haitian community is very proud of you"

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REPLY
7. Mas Gonderawi
"ouubet She isn’t Black. She’s Biracial. And I’m not “White”. Idiot."

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REPLY
8. stevenO
"+Claire Ueda i wonder how often she is already been called hafu and Gaejin already... there is no one more racist on this planet thst asians especially japanese and chinese. So sell your bullsh&t* to the birds!
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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9. NYCfactor
"why? just cause her BLOODLINE is Haitian? she never lived in Haiti or really experienced life there. Her father is American Haitian. always about SKIN TONE and COLOR and RACE."

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REPLY
10. Michael Cooper
"NYCfactor
Other than being born in Japan to an interracial couple Naomi did not grow up in homogeneous Japan (FACT#1). She represents Japan only because her dad thought it would be a good idea to heighten her brand and stock - hence, Nissin (FACT#2). Naomi grew up in a Black (Haitian) household in New York (FACT#3). She’s not fluent in Japanese (FACTS#4). She’s fluent in English and Haitian Creole (FACT#5). Naomi’s favorite music 🎶 genre is R&B (FACT#6). Her favorite singer is Beyoncé (FACT#7). Naomi has a cute crush on actor Michael B. Jordan (FACT#8). Son, it’s not about race or color or shared-complexion, it’s about lineage and culture. #FACTS!"

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11. sonson s
"The question was intentional directed to make you forgot your Haitian background but thank you for being very professional representing who you are. Congratulations for being a great and strong Haitian/Japanese woman."

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REPLY
12. LinnErellie haha
"I think to many people are confusing race with nationality. They say Japan because it's where she's from she's not from Haiti. They didn't ask her what her race was."

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REPLY
13. Anna Doe
"+LinnErellie haha And do you think that Haiti is a race? Do you even read your answer before writing it? SMH!

She's from Haiti because her dad is from Haiti and your half-baked reasoning is not gonna change this fact that she herself, made a point to underline. She grew up in a Haitian household.

Let's assume he only asked about the country she was representing in the tournament or the citizenship she used to enter it: when she answered, SHE MADE a point to highlight the fact that SHE DOESN'T consider herself as only Japanese but Haitian as well. So your ignorant comment about Haitian being a race is pointless here.

Here, you're welcome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkX0bjOyNME
-snip-
This video is given as Video #2 below.

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REPLY
[This comment was written in reply to a comment from LinnErellie that was filled with profanity]
14. Michael Cooper
"LinnErellie haha
Calm down! When a commenter replied with vulgar words only says that he or she had been defeated in the conversation."

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REPLY
15. LinnErellie haha
"+Michael Cooper Truthfully most people don't care about others races. It's black Americans who are obsessed with it. Look around they are the ones crying if a mixed person has black in them and the whole world is not bending over to acknowledge their blackness. It's f&&king* stupid. I have four half Asian daughters all look straight up asian with green eyes I don't follow kids around saying "don't forget your mama is Italian you must praise your mom's side" So please let's not speak for all American because the videos on youtube and stories come from black people not anyone else.
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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REPLY
16. Doug D
"No it was intended to undermine her Haitian/black heritage. Not to "make her forget". How can she forget? She's not delusional unlike Megan and others."

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17. Måristadt Minxed
"That was the smoothest, most polite, sweetest "checking" you could ever expect xD respect and love from a dominican-american!"

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18. Math major Alpha
"My dad is Haitian . Represent 😂🇭🇹🇭🇹"
-snip-
This comment quotes what Naomi Osaka said. "HT" is a referent for the Caribbean nation of Haiti.

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REPLY
19. Minuteman
"Your black side is only mentioned when you've done something negative lol.... good job on checking the reporter and forgetting his question LOL"

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REPLY
20. Kevin Walker
"Tiger Wood says thats a lie ..."

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REPLY
21. Mas Gonderawi
"She is born in Japan to a Japanese mother and represents Japan. Therefore, she represents Japan regardless of her ethnic make-up."

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REPLY
21. Mas Gonderawi
"@Kevin Walker and Tiger Woods is right. Why are Blacks bitter when Biracial/Multiracial people express the reality of their plural identity ? I've never witnessed any people more obsessed about race and skin colour as Blacks (of Americans and West Indies in particular)."

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REPLY
22. scoff Qub
"Mas Gonderawi don't be stupid.. Do you think Do you think the Japanese ppl would accept her as a miss japan if she wanted to be one ? no ! that is also when they d say she is not Japanese enough... And I wouldn't expect anything different from channel 7 reporters... the Australian Fox news."

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24. collin355
"I guess it goes both ways because nobody in America including blacks likes to acknowledge that Tiger Woods is half asian.. when he won the Masters it was Tiger Woods becomes first African American to win Masters never heard that he was the first Asian American to win it"

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REPLY
25. Michael Cooper
"collin355
When Tiger Wood was arrested by the police the report had him as black not “cablasian” whatever that means."

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REPLY
26. dan theman
"collin355 Actually that's not true. The moment he won his first major, the entire world knew he was part Asian. The media shouted it from the rooftops. As soon as got caught cheating, he became just another disgraced black celebrity."

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REPLY
27. collin355
"+dan theman bullsh&t* they did..when he won the masters it was all over the news. "First African American to win masters" you never heard first Asian to win masters.
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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REPLY
28. dan theman
"collin355 Tiger Woods himself said he wasn't black and it was all over the papers....lol."

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REPLY
29. poosnip
"Bull sh&t* .... tiger woods referred himself as “Amerasian” And there were documentaries about his other heritage. But yes,before him no one of African decent had so far won a major tournament. There have been Asians doing that but no one of African decent. It is a more compelling story to tell

-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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REPLY
30. collin355
"+poosnip there had been zero Asians who had won a major golf tournament before tiger. Where are you getting this false info at? Calvin Peete was a very successful golfer who was black in the 70s and had won quite a number of PGA tournaments. And yes the media rarely acknowledge tiger as Asian when he won. It was always first African American to win. You guys have no idea what your talking about"

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31. Jules-son Jean
"He should have apologized to her if his question wasn't intentional but he got caught and didn't know how to act
He couldn't redeem himself from embarrassment
Too bad sucker
Thumb up Naomi I'm proud of you and your parents."

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32. Maurice Simpson
"He just ignored what she says about her other half (Haitian)...that is the most weird reaction from a reporter you could get. The 'natural' response would have been, oh yeah, sorry, of course. Or, if you really didn't know, you would say, "oh sorry about that, I was not aware" - me the no basically researching dummy - but he just carried on like he heard nothing. Very Very strange. Sounds like he knew all along and had his agenda. Wow! And then you have the type of people who will say, 'it doesn't matter what she is, she is just a great tennis player'...except that it clearly matters as the reporter brought up ethnicity veiled as nationality - don't blame the people on You Tube for then taking it up and commenting further."

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REPLY
33. Joann J.
"She was born in Japan and lives in America now, and has dual citizenship in both countries. The question was asking her how her fans feel back home based on her relationship with these two nations. Even though she is half Haitian, she is now representing the Japan Tennis team, and not Haiti, so the emphasis isn't going to be on Haiti."

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34. Shelly Walker
"That's by design. They want to distinguish her from Serena and the rest of the black people. They do that. They like having a favorite black person to compare to the others ( you know, good one, bad one). They even tried that with Venus and Serena. Sadly she and her mother have been rejected by her Japanese grandparents. Of course now that she is rich and famous, she will be meeting her Japanese grandfather for the first time."

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REPLY
35. Yuda Zona
"Her grandfather "rejecting" her is different from Japan as a country rejecting her. Her mother is 100% Japanese and didn't reject her, and if Naomi had any resentments towards Japan, she wouldn't have had a Japanese sponsor and be representing Japan."

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36. Sondy Ceran Tv
"oh Boy I'm so proud of her now, she really prove that she love her heritage, I wanna let you know we love you too Naomi and we are so proud of you"

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Video #2: Naomi Osaka answers: How Haitian and Japanese culture made her who she is today



Haiti Info, Published on Sep 6, 2018

http://www.haitianinternet.com/photos/naomi-osaka-answers-how-haitian-and-japanese-culture-made-he.html
"Watch this video... Tennis Player Naomi Osaka tells journalist how her Haitian culture and Japanese culture help shaped her into who she is today. What about the American culture? Well... Watch and listen...
[video embedded]

The journalist didn't even bother to ask her about her Haitian heritage. How nice of Naomi Osaka to set the record straight.

What do you think?"
-snip-
Selected comments with numbers are added for referencing purposes only [Note that all of these comments were posted in September 2018 after Naomi Osaka won the 2018 World Cup.]

1. Lanisready T
"She asked Naomi about her Japanese culture and American culture. Good for Naomi for pointing out that she was raised in aHaitian home. We need to call out the media when they do this crap because it is hard enough to swallow dealing with the William sisters and now they have to deal with Naomi but the Haitian part is too much for them."

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REPLY
2. GMSkillah Qam
"call out the media for what? she has not been to Haiti. She was raised in America and Japan. So whats the f&&king* problem, racist?
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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REPLY
3. Polynice Auxerre
"+GMSkillah Qam Umm she's been to Haiti several times.. her father is Haitian and they purposely ignored that side so yes it is a big deal!"

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REPLY
4. Abdal'Aliy Desert
"Reason why the reported ask about US and Japan is because she is respresenting Japan when she competes. Its likely they didn't even know about her Haitian heritage. So relax"

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REPLY
5. Blu Tooth
"Abdal'Aliy Desert Oh the media knows her father is Haitian! They didn’t mention it hoping she wouldn’t mention it! You relax you are what your father is she’s Haitian black by DNA"

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6. Sabina Dorvile
"The fact that in every interview they keep ignoring her Haitian heritage is irritating... I love how she always correct them. #zoelifeornolife🇭🇹 🇭🇹"

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REPLY
7. Raghu Seetharaman
"She decided to play for Japan not Haiti."

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REPLY
8. Malki Tzedek
"+Raghu Seetharaman Because of funding. Duh & 🇭🇹 doesn't have 🎾 infrastructure. Which is a good move not representing 🇺🇸 racism would prevent her from becoming great as she is doing"

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REPLY
9. Raghu Seetharaman
"+Malki Tzedek racism in America?....aren't blacks the face of nearly every sport in America? And don't they get paid millions?..."

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REPLY
10. JD Henchmen
"+Malki Tzedek
So she couldn't get funding in America? If you're the best at what you do. Especially in America, nobody would fund her? Stupid idiot. It's okay if she likes sushi and egg rolls. She can still be black."

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REPLY
11. Malki Tzedek
"+JD Henchmen I just read an article from the washington post saying her father did try to get funding from the 🇺🇸 but was ignored. 🇺🇸 sucks"

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REPLY
12. Rodne Jean
"Raghu Seetharaman they cheer their greatness not their color of skin ; for your info Maria Sharapova was their favorite until Serena greatness shut them down malki tzedek is right she won’t be acknowledged too quickly if she represent Haiti simple as that."

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13. Johnny67409
"Naomi Osaka makes sure to let the racist media know that she is also Haitian."

You go girl!!!

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14. Chigjuan Spartacus
"SHE IS HAITIAN - HER DAD IS BLACK HAITIAN - SHE IS BLACK HAITIAN with Japanese MOM. The media claims she is the first Japanese to win grand slam, but SHE IS THE FIRST HAITIAN TO WIN US OPEN. The media want her to be everything but BLACK. WELL; SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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REPLY
15. nia z
"look at her face mf , does she look negro or asian to u........her asian gene is dominant than your weak ass negro gene, so stfu"

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REPLY
16. Raghu Seetharaman
"+nia z even tiger woods who is Buddhist claims his Asian side more. Not surprising as how he says blacks make fun of him growing up for being part Asian and only claims him when he's rich n famous. I wouldn't be surprised if if it happened to her too."

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REPLY
17. Malki Tzedek
"+Raghu Seetharaman not really. She's always the one correcting everyone and remind them she's Haitian. Tiger, when he was arrested, they put black as his race on his arrest papers to show you Tiger cant escape his blackness no matter how hard he tries to."

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18. jero
"+Malki Tzedek ..As I known Tiger was not claimed himself to be Thai as his mother side.In Thailand we know that he is black american."

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19. Michael Cooper
"Japan is a very homogeneous country. The Japanese value racial purity. In the eyes of Japan, Naomi is a Black girl with a Japanese last name or, at the very least, a hafu. Btw, white supremacists use Japan as their model of ethno-statehood."

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REPLY
20. Sapphire Star
"Then why isn't Japan getting slammed by anti-racists for being too homogenous? Why aren't they going after Japan for not allowing non-Asians into the country? During WW2, Japan tried their hand at colonizing the Pacific Islands. What they did to the Polynesians living on the islands they managed to get, and their POW's, was just as bad as anything that occurred from European colonization. Rape, slavery, extortion of the natives, etc.

Yet it's a sin if only whites dare to ask to keep Europe majority white?"

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REPLY
21. Shanna Collins
"White supremacists use Japan as their model of ethno-statehood? Cut this bullsh&t* out."
-snip-
* This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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REPLY
22. Michael Cooper
"+Shanna Collins
It’s true, Shanna"

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REPLY
23. Michael Cooper
"Japan is not better at colonizing land like Europeans. The Micronesians (not Polynesians) were mostly affected by Japanese colonization. Europeans, like the British and French, colonized so many countries throughout Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Caribbean that the people of the colonized countries speak the language of their European colonizers, which is why so many non-Europeans flock to Europe. Europeans made the bed (colonization) that the have to lie in (diversity). Don’t forget that the Japanese were so admired by Hitler that he called the “honorary Nazis”."

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24. Abnell Jacobs
"This is the reason why they always talk sh&t* about Haitian, when we accomplished good thing they always hide it. They media is there just to talk about the negative"
-snip-
* This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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25. Shanna Collins
"White reporters don't know how to deal with Black children of mixed ancestry, particularly when the child is of Asian and Afro-Caribbean ancestry. Like is it that hard to understand that a Black kid can grow up Japanese and Haitian, and be deeply influenced by both?"

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26. George Cardin
"Naomi is such a smart young lady. She understands very clearly the media has this western colonial mindset to undermine her Haitian heritage, she is always aware of that and throws it right back in their face. I have never met a Haitian person that wasn’t proud to be Haitian despites the fake news media who has this deep hatred towards Haiti for being the first black country in the Western Hemisphere to be independent. Go ask france about Haiti, go ask the so called greatest General Napoleon Bonapart about Haiti. Most Haitians speak 3 different languages and also hard working. I speak Creol, French, Spanish & English.
How many languages do YOU speak?"

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27. Wilson Saintil
"Before winning Wimbledon, she was listed in Wikipedia as Japanese-Haitian professional tennis player. Right after she won, someone had to go back on there and make changes. She's now a just a Japanese professional tennis player. Are they serious?"

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28. HacksignKT
"White supremacist media not even shocked... But AWESOME she represented her Haitian then Japanese heritage, cause lets be honest America has always treated those who are melinated as 2nd classes citizens. And as for Japan, they are only cheering her on cause they can make money off her hard work and success. Not to long ago when a Black/Japanese woman won miss Universe people got to calling her Halfu or worse..."

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29. suem sueley
"i hate how everyone is trying to erase her haitian heritage like she has as much haitian in her as japanese. plus she said herself that she wasnt always tolarated by japanese people but was more by haitian or black people."

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30. Kam Lu
"You go baby girl. Don’t let them take away your blackness. Parents you raised you well and to be proud of both your races. I’d love to know where did white people get that they are the superior race? Baby girl don’t change. You are Haitian and Japanese."

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