LeVar Burton Responds To A White Man’s Tattoo Of Kunta Kinte

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LeVar Burton responds to a white man claiming he isn’t racist because he has a tattoo of Kunta Kinte on his arm. 

The man named James called an English talk radio show to question Vice President Kamala Harris’ qualifications to become potential President of the United States where he revealed the tattoo he has. “I have got a tattoo on my arm of Kunta Kinte, he was an African slave, right?” James says to the host Ben Kentish. “So I’m not racist in any way, shape, or form… He was a hero of mine. I’m not racist.” 

However, this comment didn’t sit right with Burton and he responded with, “Pic or it didn’t happen,” followed by the hashtag #bydhttmwfi. He followed up with, “Racism is not simply a personality flaw, it’s also a spiritual defect.” 

According to a 2012 Urban Dictionary, the hashtag means, “but you don’t have to take my word for it.” This is credited to Burton, who used it to show gratitude to Twitter users for helping him obtain the @ReadingRainbow handle. 

LeVar Burton played the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1977 TV miniseries Roots, which earned him an Emmy nomination. Burton is also known for his work on Reading Rainbow and his role in Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

In a recent interview, Burton spoke about his roles in his career and attending an award ceremony where Star Trek received a Peabody Award. 

@npr

LeVar Burton has three roles he’ll forever be known for: Kunta Kinte on the TV series Roots, Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation and host of Reading Rainbow. Those roles have had profound impacts on people and he now understands, as he puts it, “my job is to be LeVar Burton.” He talks to Rachel about the tension of that job, his changing definitions of success and learning to embrace the chaos. (@levar.burton) To hear the full interview, click the link in our bio or search “Wild Card” wherever you get your podcasts. Host: @rachelnpr • Rachel Martin /NPR Producers: Lee Hale and Alicia Zheng/NPR

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