Before Seyi Olaose '22 became the symbol of anti-white bigotry at Williams College she had a remarkable level of success in high school speech and debate. "I look forward to using my voice to educate the uneducated," she said, "at the National Speech and Debate Association national championship in Florida this month and at Williams College in the fall."
Oluseyi Olaose, teammate Esmeralda Reyes, and Coach DiCo
at the Long Island District tournament, where Oluseyi qualified
for the national championship and was named District
Student of the Year. (Achievement First Brooklyn High School)
This desire to educate the benighted denizens of Williams College may have been part of her motivation when the enraged Olaose exploded at white male student representatives at the April 9, 2019 College Council meeting, saying
"I WANTED SO BAD TO TELL HIM TO F*** YOURSELF. F*** YOURSELF. F***. ALL OF YA SHOULD ALL F*** YOURSELF.
I ran across a video of Seyi Olaose '22 where she repeats an award-winning speech which won her honors during her high school years. Significantly, she articulates many of the themes which appeared in her now famous, bigoted rant.
For example, she indicates she won a national level tournament with this speech at the University of Pennsylvania. She is good. Unlike her hate-filled tirade at Williams College, she uses humor to win over the audience even as she makes passive-aggressive comments.
Seyi Olaose '22 confronts white student representatives on
the Williams College Council on April 9, 2019.
In this video she explains her belief that conflict is good and that it creates solutions. She wants us to get used to the idea that confrontation is a good thing. A research study, she asserts, indicated that people who thought they were being assertive really weren't very assertive at all. I take this to mean that going over-the-top with your anger is a proper measure since it will make your comments more appropriately assertive.
Similar to her comments in the viral rant, Seyi says she feels less confident unless there is "critical mass" of blacks in the room. This video helps us understand why she seemed so preoccupied by the fact there were no black women at the College Council meeting.
Dear white people. I'm not calling you racist. I'm really not. What I'm saying is even though you may be my ally, when I walk into a room where I'm the only one who looks like me, it is my human instinct to get scared.
One of the funniest moments in the video is when she says her biggest fear is stereotype confirmation. She does not want to create the impression that she is just another angry black woman. Ouch! That observation didn't age well. Remember how she told off the white students who were the object of her ire: Olaose: I have not f***ing eaten today! BECAUSE YA DUMB ASS N***ERS WANTA F***ING TALK! Inclusion. Inclusion. FUCK YOUR INCLUSION! (HITS TABLE) BECAUSE I’M F***ING EXCLUDED. How many people look like you in this f***ing room right now?! How many people?!
White student: One!
Olaose: What the…? ARE YOU BLIND, MY N***ER? WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONE?! YOU’RE A WHITE MAN! I can count f***ing how many? Literally this f***ing row. They look like you! Who is the black woman who look like me?
The one conclusion I feel absolutely sure about is the content of the bigoted rage Seyi Olaose '22 directed at white men at Williams College was the manifestation of a long-standing, well-nursed grudge. When she unloaded on those unsuspecting guys, it was a well-rehearsed and well-thought out performance.
John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.
James Allsup has uploaded a funny and informative take on the April 9, 2019 livestream deleted by the College Council. Allsup's YouTube video has received 4,766 comments and 130,670 views as of May 4, 2019.
As you may know, this video features one of the CARE Now leaders, Isaiah Blake '21 saying “to be here [at Williams] is like sucking white d*** every f***ing day.” “We want some money to f***ing cook some fried f***ing chicken and be n***ers.”
Allsup's most humorous line was maybe everyone would be better off if the College Council just provided applicants with free knee pads.
On a more serious note, Allsup picked up on a theme I've been stressing. The bigoted rant performed by Isaiah Blake '21 and Seyi Olaose '22 wasn't about politics...it was about verbal abuse. These black students were using the cover of identity politics to inflict psychic pain on the white students.
The video isn't long...about 15:34. My comments are featured at 6:53 and again at 13:36.
John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.
The College Council has removed from its Facebook account a controversial video. This video captured an example of profane, incendiary, anti-white bigotry directed at white student representatives by Isaiah Blake '21 - an actor and one of the most prominent black student leaders at Williams College on June 9, 2019.
The video featured a long, stream-of-consciousness rant by Isaiah Blake saying, in part, "...to be here is like sucking white d*** every f***ing day."
"You want a discussion and dialogue. Here’s the f***ing dialog. We don’t have dialogue, because every time we try to talk to you we get shut down by the white moderate, white liberal bull***t."
A link to the video was published on Ephblog on April 15, 2019. A partial transcript appeared at the Anonymous Political Scientist blog on that same day. Finally, The College Fix published a link to the video on April 19, 2019. The College Fix is a national-level conservative website where student journalists write on topics in higher education.
NOTE: A heavily redacted transcript of the June 9, 2019 meeting is still available at 4_9 Minutes.
According to the Williams Record, black student activists planned a demonstration to protest their treatment by the College Council. It was canceled, however, after links to the video of the rant by Isaiah Blake '21 were published at various on-line sites.
Thankfully, there is now a copy of Isaiah Blake's obnoxious rant available on YouTube. Isaiah Blake '21 has appeared in The Rainbow Experiment (2018).
John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.
Is Williams College the new Evergreen State College? No matter the answer, it looks like the divisiveness of identity politics is exploding on the Williams College campus, as seen on the official video recording of a College Council (CC) meeting on April 9, 2019.
NOTE: The CC took the video down from their Facebook site. You can still see it, however, on YouTube. There is also an abbreviated version that includes the most hostile remarks. It is also on YouTube.
In the video, Isaiah Blake '21 complains about having to ask for money from the College Council by saying, "Every time to be here is like sucking white dick every fucking day." According to a report in the Williams Record, black activists planned a large demonstration to further articulate their views, but cancelled it after video of Isaiah Blake's comments appears on various on-line sites.
As you may know, Isaiah Blake is an actor who appeared in The Rainbow Experiment (2018). He is also a member of the search committee responsible for finding a new director of dining services.
The back story is that black student activists wanted money for a special event targeted at black preview students. These are special events for students who have been admitted to the school who want a chance to check it out ahead of time. As I understand it, Isaiah Blake resents having to ask for the money.
It is apparently unfair for them to take out the time to ask for this funding when they have busy schedules. The student pictured above, Seyi Olaose '22, indicated that she came to the meeting after her practice and had not had anything to eat. Seyi Olaose '22 has been visible at other student events including the recent "Considering the Case for Free Expression" organized by the Williams College chapter of the Society for Conservative Thought.
According to one of the student activists, Isaiah Blake '21, quoted below, it is especially difficult for black students to take the time to politely ask for money when they have to deal with the stress of racism all day long. As far as I can tell, he believes that he is being oppressed simply because social pressures do not allow him to spend even more time acting out and verbally abusing faculty members, administrators and his fellow students. I put together a quick, incomplete transcript of the most abusive and threatening parts of Isaiah Blake's high dungeon tirade.
Isaiah Blake: The reason why we’re here is because…I’m here in support of Seyi right here. We already know that the funding for black previews was already supported, but it just in speaking with Seyi after her experience with CC, and with this group of people, was somewhat appalling.
First of all, if you look at this room there’s only one black nigger in here. I’m going to say nigger because I feel I can say that. And then there’s two others that just walked in here. There’s no black women in this room.
So when this black woman comes to speak before this group of people. She had to call me in tears and in frustration about the way in which she was spoken to or treated. I just can’t seem to fathom or understand how that was possible. See, when black people try to create space on this campus, it’s completely and completely, it is always a fucking problem.
When I hearing things like 'Oh why wasn’t black previews called minority previews?' You see I’m looking at this budget that we’re seeing and approving here and I’m seeing all the ways white men constantly get space and affinity, and money and resources afforded to them. And every time we try to create a space for students on this campus, and understanding and create some form of community, we are stopped at every single level. Every single level.
So it is time for you all to really figure this shit out. Because I’m really losing it! We are fucking tired of having to come and beg and suck dick for money. And, of course, when we come and do it we face problems all the fucking time. All the time. Why would it be called minority preview if it’s just black people to be there? I don’t understand that.
At this point in the video, another student activist, Seyi Olaose '22,interrupts his rant to admonish another student to pay attention.
Seyi Olaose: You, Tristan, Tristan Whalen. Why aren’t you listening? It is disrespectful when someone is speaking to you.
Whalen is the white, blond student sitting in the back of the room. During much of the anti-white rant, he appears to be looking down, working on something. He looks surprised to be called out.
Isaiah Blake: So now we’re writing. (To Tristan Whalen.) We’re writing now. Every time we open up our mouths, ears close. I don’t get it. I don’t get it. I have a motion! (BANG!, BANG!, BANG!) The motion is that we be listened to!
At this point, Whalen looks a little startled. Nevertheless, he spends the rest of the time looking right at the speaker. Personally, this is the ugliest part of the video. What we are seeing is controlling behavior. Apparently, Seyi Olaose believes Whalen should at least feign interest in the anti-white bigotry being directed at him. If you have ever been around a domestic abuser, you will quickly recognize this controlling behavior for the abuse it is. No one should be forced or shamed into listening to verbal abuse. No one.
Isaiah Blake: I don’t get it. Every time to be here is like sucking white dick every fucking day. Closing our mouths every fucking day just to be here. And if we dare ask for a little bit of time, money and space we gotta suck some more dick. I’m closing my fucking mouth. So open it to speak. It is so frustrating. It’s so tiring…to be here. To deal with you’all .
We keep our heads down. It don’t work. We try to create space for us. It don’t work. We want some money to fucking cook some fried fucking chicken and be niggers for once. It don’t work. I just don’t get it. We say leave us alone. We don’t want to take your space.
You got half a fucking million dollars. The budget is what? What percent? You want to read it out someone. I have a motion to read it. How many % of the budget is black previews? Someone read it please .42% To have niggers sit in the fucking quad and eat hot dogs. And people have to get eviscerated to do something. So I’m eviscerating niggers today. Cause y’all don’t get this here on this campus. No one will come up to your face and say you fucked up.
We supposed to go and send a fucking e-mail to the president and some shit. You want us to go have a nice little meeting with you - close our legs and close our mouths. You want (BANG!) free speech? Here’s free speech. You want a discussion and dialogue. Here’s the fucking dialog. We don’t have dialogue, because every time we try to talk to you we get shut down by the white moderate white liberal bullshit. That’s what free speech looks like. That’s what communication looks like.
When we try to speak to you eviscerate us and embarrass us. Now we’re embarrassing you, right on fucking on camera. Talk to me about it then.
You come here you have $3 billion dollars to your name. Everybody tells you is the best people in the fucking world. And we just try to create space for our selves. We can't eat. We can't talk. All we do is fucking organize for ourselves.
And that’s why we aren’t here. Why is CC not diverse? Because if we dare try to run, if we dare try to come into this space… we gotta deal with you!
This is what we deal with. So why are we here? Why can’t couldn’t you get anyone to fucking be your president. Because who creates the space on this campus? Fifty years. Africana studies. This same building…occupied. Here I am occupying your shit! I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. We keep our heads down. You haven’t seen me in none of your damn meetings whole time. Until I get a fucking phone call. That shit is going crazy. Yeah we got the money. But all we had to do was suck dick to do it. And we are tired of it. I’m telling you I’m tired of it. I refuse. No more.
You want to have free speech, you want to have a debate, you want to stop and be racist. Say some shit now! Open up your mouth now! Say something!
The rant transcribed above is an excellent example of the sort of black vs. white liberal conflict that tore up Evergreen State College. It is difficult for me to read Isaiah Blake's comments without thinking that he was trying to provoke the white students to create a larger, potentially violent conflict. Then again, maybe his performance was designed to improve his skills as a movie star?
As far as I can tell, the CARE Now activists planned to prolong their righteous indignation by staging a demonstration in support of Isaiah Blake '21 and Seyi Olaose '22. According to a report in the Williams Record, however, this demonstration was cancelled after the video recording was shared on other platforms. "A larger protest had been planned," the Williams Record says, "but cancelled because of student fears about safety after last week’s meeting livestream was distributed by several online sites."
I think it is more likely the protest was called off because the student’s parents learned about their children’s behavior and told them to “knock the fucking shit off you dumb ass fucking dickheads.”
John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.
