Woman Leaves Crowd Speechless After Graduation Day Tussle With Administrator
Published June 22 2023, 2:59 p.m. ET
For many, graduation day is one that’s filled with love, laughter, and a myriad of memorable moments. Sadly, TikTok user @kadiaimantv’s big day was marred by controversy. In a now-viral video, things went left after an administrator allegedly snatched a microphone from Kadia’s hand while she was speaking.
Then, all hell broke loose. So, what’s the backstory? There’s a lot to unpack here, so it’s best that you just buckle up and enjoy the ride. We've got all the details.
A woman grabbed the mic away from an administrator on graduation day — here's why.
In a viral video, Kadia was involved in an intense tussle with a university employee. Things went left when it was Kadia’s turn to take the mic and state her name and major. Unfortunately, her introduction was cut short by an administrator, who Kadia said snatched the mic away from her, first.
“You didn’t let me get my moment,” Kadia explained before she dramatically dropped the mic. “I don’t like how you snatched the mic out of my hand, so today is going to be all about me.”
Later, Kadia took to TikTok to detail what happened before the camera started rolling. According to her, she was just as surprised as we were by the series of events that sparked the altercation.
The TikToker explained that she and a classmate had noticed early on in the ceremony that Black graduates were being treated differently than their white counterparts.
“I didn’t even get to finish getting to say my name,” the graduate said of the now-viral video. “The people that went before me and everything — they all got to say their name, their major, and even extras."
“I don’t want to be that person, but that was the tea,” she went on. "I just couldn’t let that happen. Because I just feel like I worked so hard to graduate and went through so much s--- to graduate that I just felt like I had to reclaim my moment, I’m sorry.”
“That was the only time I was able to speak. So I just feel like that wasn’t right.”
What you may not know is, the video has a deeper meaning than what meets the eye. In a TikTok video that was posted before everything went down, Kadia expressed how happy she was to get a degree despite no one showing up to support her. Per her social media, Kadia’s mom died earlier in her life.
So, let’s put ourselves in Kadia’s shoes for a second. It’s hard enough for a young, Black woman to find her voice at a predominately white institution (PWI) — especially with no support system.
Now, after you’ve dedicated the last several years to this moment, you’re robbed by a white woman in a stole. While some argue that Kadia could have handled the situation more gracefully, I, on the other hand, do not.
Who knows what trials and tribulations Kadia had to go through to walk across the stage — or, in her case, the lawn — and there is no amount of respectability politics that can take that away from her.
After all, none of this would have happened if Professor Karen hadn’t snatched the mic away in the first place. But now, I bet she knows to put some respect on our good sister’s name — and that’s on period, pooh.