The New Citizens Press

 

As most of you have heard, the trailer for “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” premiered on the internet and its ubiquitous fanbase reacted with jubilation and glee. But as anyone on the internet knows, trolls grow hungry when people are full of joy. Shortly after the trailer premiered, either out of fragility or boredom, the hashtag #BoycottStarWarsEpisodeVII popped up on twitter calling for a boycott of the movie under the claim that the film promotes “white genocide”. 

 

About thirty years ago, I was walking down posh Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana, where I lived with my white Brazilian “family.” The crown that Mother Africa had given me was evident. In other words, all traces of my perm had vanished. Suddenly an Afro-Brazilian man stopped me. He pointed at my head, and said in English, “Black Power,” then he cackled for so long that I thought he would become breathless.