Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday at the age of 96 and Black Twitter wasted no time calling out her legacy. While some choose to mourn her death, many folks decided to address the history of the British monarchy, which included colonialism and slavery.
It was pivotal to the expansion of the British empire and the transatlantic slave trade. One user noted: “If the queen had apologized for slavery, colonialism and neocolonialism and urged the crown to offer reparations for the millions of lives taken in her/their names, then perhaps I would do the human thing and feel bad. As a Kenyan, I feel nothing. This theater is absurd.”
As of today, 15 Commonwealth countries remain constitutional monarchies and include places like Ghana, Jamaica, Belize, Canada and Australia. Queen Elizabeth II was the head of the Commonwealth and now Prince Charles will now become her successor.
Shakia Asamoah stated: “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”
When Paris Hilton tried to call the Queen a “girlboss,” another user cleverly retorted: “it was especially girlboss when she oversaw colonialism in Africa”
Boots Riley was less eloquent with his disdain for the monarch: “The matriarch of a royal family legacy of slave-trading, imperialism, colonialism, theft, symbol of opulence and mascot for the ruling class is dead/the media will now parade the queen’s zombie ass in front of u while telling u that overthrowing capitalism is not what we need”
Honestly, we’re not celebrating her death—but we’re not grieving either.