A viral aunt deserves the “World’s Best Auntie” award after she shielded her baby niece from an oblivious white woman who attempted to touch the child’s hair with her grimy hands.
The woman, who goes by @theangryblacknurse on Instagram, came from a graduation celebratory feast. The camera person (presumably the child’s mother) filmed the beautiful graduate decked in a floral-decorated graduation cap and Hawaiian leis while carrying a few bouquets.
Off-camera, a woman was heard gawking at the graduate before coming into the camera shot and turning her attention to a baby girl in the stroller.
As the daring woman approached the woman’s niece, whose hair donned braids and clear hair bobbles, Auntie swooped and acted as a barricade between the white woman and her niece.
The white older woman managed to touch the niece’s hair bobble before the child’s aunt, a registered nurse named Kiyanna, stood between them, exclaiming, “Don’t touch her hair!”
The woman tried again from a different angle, but Auntie Kiyanna blocked her shot.
The pinnacle of the encounter was the aunt’s ability to make it a calm situation with her squeals, sarcastic laughter and smiles while warning the woman one more time, “I said don’t touch her hair!”
No one got mad, and a fight didn’t ensue. Instead, others started laughing around her.
“Aht Aht!! Absolutely not, Ms. Mamas! Let’s normalize keeping our hands to ourselves!! Auntie, don’t play that,” the registered nurse wrote in the caption.
Although some commenters commended her for protecting her niece, others bashed her for making it a race thing.
“Why white people[?] Why not just people[?]Always gotta be about color. I swear.”
“I came here from [The shade Room] to say that’s right, auntie. You handled that respectfully.”
“The audacity. I’m glad you were there to save the day. This was hilarious. She didn’t know you were serious, but she quickly found out.”
“It’s given, ‘they’re so clean, would you like to be my maid’ vibes. In my Miss Milly voice.”
It’s not like Black women have to explain themselves. However, people must know that Black women are subjected to physical and verbal interrogation by non-Black people because their characteristics differ from other racial groups, from the body and skin color to the hair texture.
That’s why the saying, “Don’t touch my hair,” is prominent in the Black community. Non-Black people, specifically white people, are known to satisfy their curiosity about the Black woman’s hair by attempting to touch it. Yet, they don’t see us desperate enough to touch the head of Becky-with-the-good-hair.
Hell, former President Trump is known for his wack-ass toupee, but his supporters respect him enough not to touch it. Why can’t we get or demand that same respect?
We’re constantly interrogated about characteristics, reminding us that others see us as different — unequal. And our boundaries or personal spaces are frequently violated as though we’re not eligible for the same respect whites get.
So, kudos to the aunt in the video for protecting her niece.
