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What is Kunta Kinte? Keith Olbermann sparks furor after hurling racial slur at Trump: ‘F**k this privilege’

A barrage of tweets erupted and people condemned his words and he was brutally trolled for using a racial slur for POTUS

America is bracing for the much-awaiting 2020 election night and there seems to be much hysteria on social media. Just before the polling on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, President Donald Trump appeared on 'Fox & Friends'. Late for the live telephonic interview by almost 45 minutes, the president sounded quite tired with an evident raspy and hoarse voice. Now, in a bizarre twist, the 74-year-old has been dubbed "Kunta Kinte" on Twitter. 

After the interview, Trump's comments on his "solid chance of winning" started floating on Twitter in no time. "Our country could never be the same country if they win," he said, specifically referring to Democrats' threats to change Senate rules and expand the Supreme Court so they could add liberal justices. He said. "If they pack the courts that will be a terrible thing." Rejecting the idea of a premature declaration, he said he would make an announcement "only when there's victory," and that there is "no reason to play games."

Why did Keith Olbermann call Trump ‘Kunta Kinte’?

Sports and political commentator soon jumped on the chance and sparked mayhem with his comments on Trump's interview. "Yes @realDonaldTrump has always been, will always be, and on the day of his bid for reelection, still is: a whiny little Kunta Kinte." In no time, a barrage of tweets erupted and people condemned his words and he was brutally trolled for using a racial slur for POTUS.

He then clarified his stance. "Just logged back in: I apologize for my previous subtweet of this. I was using an old 70's-80's technique for calling somebody a c*** without writing/saying c***, just using a sound-alike to call Trump a c*** Deleting previous, largely because this one clarifies the c*** part." Well, that apology didn't serve any purpose at all and only ignited more fury on social media. 

Although he deleted the first tweet, here's a screenshot of the post: 

How Olbermann's tweet sparked fury

Lambasted for his original tweet, Olbermann's words sparked fury and here's how people reacted on Twitter. "What? A 'whiny little Kunta Kinte'? White Liberals just chilling, being racist as usual," one tweet read while another said, "What isn’t clear about what he typed as his explanation that he didn't want to use the word "c***" so he used a method that was apparently used in the 70s/80s and called him "Kunta Kinte" because it kind sounds like the word he didn't want to use?"

A third chimed in, "Pink toes are now calling each other Kunta Kinte as an insult. Just take me in my sleep, Jesus. I’m ready." A fourth one added, "Reject Keith Olbermann and anyone who does this. I don't care how good his rants are about how bad Trump is. This is a racist statement. This is not to be apologized away. F--k this guy and f--k this privilege."

Explaining what the term really means, lawyer Exavier Pope tweeted, "Kunta Kinte was an African slave who was beat until he admitted his name was the one given to him by his white masters." Another Twitter user was offended by the use of that term and said, "Kunta Kente REFUSED to change his name to be Europeanized!!! He was not whiny but the son of a King who knew his voice was his power! Do better!"

Now, if you are wondering what it really means, here's an explainer:

The history of Kunta Kinte: An island and a fictional character

The Island

Formerly known as James Island or St Andrew's Island, Kunta Kinteh Island sits at the mouth of the Gambia River. Fort James is located on the island. As the river runs from the Atlantic into Africa, it was a crucial passageway for the slave trade. Back in May 1456, a Portuguese expedition led by Italian explorers Alvise Cadamosto and Antoniotto Usodimare moored off the island. If we turn back the pages of history books, it is said they buried one of their sailors, named Andrew, on the island, giving it its first European name — St Andrew's Island.

Now, it is an important historical site in the West African slave trade and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As per reports, Kunta Kinteh Island is suffering heavy erosion and is now approximately 1/6th of its size during the time when the fort was active. 

The Fictional Character

Alex Haley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'Roots' and a series of the same name was led by the character Kunta Kinte. The author claimed that his book was based on a real-life man who was captured into slavery in the nearby village of Juffureh, and that he himself was Kinte's great, great, great, great-grandson. In his book, Kinte was sold to an American slave owner and resisted both his enslavement and the name "Toby" that his owner imposed on him. 

As per History.com, Kunta Kinte — played by Malachi Kirby — has been described as “the African” member of the highly respected Kinte clan of the Mandinka people of Gambia. A warrior who is educated, clever, skilled, strong, resilient and proud, he is a young man of immense courage and spiritual fortitude – all traits that empower him when he is captured by slavers. Kunta never relinquishes his dream of returning to his homeland and never stops challenging the slaves born in America to fight for their freedom.