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Who is Savannah Edwards? Black TikToker takes on Alyssa Milano and critical race theory

African-American TikToker Savannah Edwards has talked about the need to 'get over' slavery because 'I can't get to the door if I am holding on to the wall and I can't take the wall with me'

A TikToker who is making quite a name for herself in the world of social media influencers is Savannah Edwards. She has appeared on major news channels commenting about controversial subjects revolving around racial injustice in the country. 

The African-American TikToker recently went viral for a video arguing against reparations. The clip of her discussing the subject was posted on her TikTok page @thisissavvy and has since been viewed over 100,000 times. It depicts Edwards ripping apart the idea that financial payment to the Black community was the "first step to healing" following the United States' history of slavery and discrimination.

"Reparations as a first step to healing? Uh-uh," Edwards said shaking her head. "The first step to healing is forgiveness. And if the first thing that comes out of your mouth is, 'Well they don't deserve forgiveness' ... Sit down, let me learn you a thing or two."

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In a layman's term, reparations is "the action of making amends for a wrong one has done, by providing payment or other assistance to those who have been wronged." It can take several forms such as individual monetary payments, settlements, scholarships, waiving of fees, and systemic initiatives to offset injustices, land-based compensation and/or apologies acknowledging past injustices. 

'Forgiveness is for you'

In the video, she went on to elaborate on her stance on how "forgiveness" was the first step to bridging the racial divide. "Time heals all wounds," she went on to say. "But if you have a wound that hasn't healed, it's probably because you're still picking at it. If you fill your heart with bitterness, there's no room for joy [and] there's no room for peace. Holding onto bitterness is bondage and many of y'all have chained yourself to the dead. Even worse, some of y'all have passed that bitterness down to your children," she continued. Forgiveness isn't for that other person; it's for you. It's to set you free."

"I don't agree with that," Edwards said about reparations, before listing a number of factors that would complicate the equitable distribution of payments when it comes to distinguishing the ancestors of slaves. "It's 2021, how are we to determine who gets reparations and who doesn't?" she asked. "Again, it's 2021, not every black person is the descendant of a slave and not every descendant of a slave is black, and not every person who was a slave was black."

In another video of hers, she talked about the need to "get over" slavery because "I can't get to the door if I am holding on to the wall and I can't take the wall with me."

To discuss the same, she appeared on 'Fox & Friends First,' where she added how "heartbreaking" it was to see so many people believing that in order to receive any form of "healing from the past," the government needed to financially compensate the African-Americans. 

Edwards on critical race theory

In addition to reparations, Edwards also opposed critical race theory in schools. Critical race theory is recently making headlines all over the nation after being introduced as an academic movement of civil rights scholars and activists who sought to critically examine the law as it intersects with issues of race and to challenge mainstream liberal approaches to racial justice.

Edwards countered the intention behind critical race theory, claiming CRT teaches White kids that they are "inherently superior" and should "feel bad about it," while at the same time teaching Black kids they are "inherently disadvantaged."

"I think the last thing the Black community needs right now is for children to grow up thinking they’re disadvantaged. That just sets us all backward," she argued. The video in question has been viewed nearly 100,000 times on TikTok, but not all viewers agreed with Edwards.

One commenter asked Edwards, "Why should I forgive them for the way they looked down and continued to look down on my people?" The comment and other remarks on similar lines prompted Edwards to post a follow-up video, in which she explained that "you can't control what other people do; you can only control your response."

Edwards on Alyssa Milano

Another video of Edwards that went viral just a little over a month ago was her take on actress Alyssa Milano, who is also recognized as a political activist. Edwards slammed Milano, calling her a "white supremacist", in a video that went viral online. She accused the Hollywood star of causing more division and hate across the country and called her a part of the problem.

She was responding to a clip from Milano's podcast 'Sorry Not Sorry' in which she told Americans who weren't Black to imagine being a "Black man in America".

"For those of us who are not Black men, imagine watching the news and seeing how people..." Milano asked, before the clip flipped to @thisissavvy's perspective. Edwards, who frequently shares explainer videos on TikTok, said that Milano was "a White lady with a microphone" telling Black men that they and the criminals they see "on TV are one and the same."

"Imagine being a Black man and being told by some White lady with a microphone that you and the criminal on TV are one and the same because you look alike," she began, before proceeding to point out the differences in how American society views Blacks and Whites.

"Imagine being told by society that White people can be all that they can be but you as a Black man, the content of your character is completely irrelevant. You are the color of your skin and that's all you will ever be," Edwards continued. "Imagine being told you can't figure out how to vote because of the color of your skin." She then called out the 'Little Italy' star for allegedly pushing these narratives that are dividing America, and pointed out that she was part of the problem.

"Socioeconomics affects everyone but apparently you're not as smart as the poorest white person. Lady I don't want to hate you," she stated. "I understand your heart is in the right place but you are everything you preach against. You're not helping, you're making things worse. You're causing more division, you're causing more fear."