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On Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II passed away. As the world mourned the longest-reigning British matriarch– Black Twitter (Black Americans and diasporans) shared its not-so-positive thoughts on the 96-year-old woman’s death.
Black Twitter made no qualms about not caring about the British monarch dying. The responses were ridiculously petty, and some even gave in-depth history lessons supporting the masses’ nonchalant attitude about Queen Elizabeth’s death.
One Twitter user clearly explained why Queen Elizabeth’s legacy didn’t deserve respect.
“Reminder that Queen Elizabeth is not a remnant of colonial times. She was an active participant in colonialism. She actively tried to stop independence movements & she tried to keep newly independent colonies from leaving the Commonwealth. The evil she did was enough.”
Another Twitter user dropped a meme of the late and beloved Princess Diana arriving in hell, heaven or purgatory. The two women were often at odds, although Lady Di attempted to please Queen Elizabeth.
The Queen’s death also seemed to create an unlikely alliance between Black folks and the Irish on Twitter, as some folks pointed out. Ireland and England have an 800-year-beef.
On September 8, Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth had died after a bout with a short illness that was publicized on the same day.
A statement was issued about the matriarch’s decline.
“Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”
Newly-minted King Charles wrote a brief message about his mother’s passing on the Palace’s official website.
“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world,” he wrote.
“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held,” King Charles concluded.
The disdain and disregard of Queen Elizabeth’s death by Black Americans, continental Africans and diasporans are founded on Britain’s colonization of the people and their homelands. The British had the lock on the Transatlantic Slave Trade, where Black Americans
were stolen from the shores of Africa and used as chattel to build the United States. At one point, Britain had colonized 30% of Africa, including Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria–making it the European nation with the most considerable grip on the continent. Britain’s reign of terror in the Caribbean began as early as 1623 in Saint Kitts. The country also had its grasp on Grenada, The Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica– among other nations.