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Who Is 'Jamal?' The TikTok Meme Explained
For the past couple of weeks, TikTok has been obsessed with a young Black boy named Jamal. His smile is contagious, as he appears at the end of many photo slideshows and memes on the app that humorously frame him for many illegal offenses that were obviously committed by someone else.
Interest in Jamal has peaked online this week as TikTokers levy whether or not they believe that "Jamal did it" or "Jamal is innocent." And he's not alone, characters of many nationalities are entering the meta, like Stanisław Krzysztof Wojciechowski, who may have helped Lil Yachty sneak the wock into Poland.
For those who are confused, or don't even know how to watch a TikTok "Photo Swipe," let's explain.
What Is The 'Jamal Did It' Meme On TikTok?
Basically, back in April of this year, a TikTok surfaced that used a bunch of emojis to pose a scenario in which a bunch of chicken from KFC had been stolen. There were four suspects and the final culprit present was an innocent baby with a racially insensitive name. He was satirically inferred to be the criminal, despite another emoji character holding chicken and claiming that he stole it.
Flash forward to late 2022, the racially insensitive baby name has been changed to "Jamal" and the picture used to represent the character has become an image of child actor Abraham Clinkscales. Add all of these factors on top of the song that the TikToks use, which is You Gotta Move by Mississippi Fred McDowell, and you get a trending meme that uses racial stereotypes for (hopefully) satirical usage.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7082198923506371886
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7141474664198458629
How Is 'Jamal' Being Used In TikTok Photo Swipes?
Photo slideshows on TikTok have become a highly-used feature, so much so that the trends they start are generating cross-platform interest. "Jamal Did It" is one of these trends with most of the content being "photo swipes" and not videos.
Therefore, the image of Jamal is usually the last one to appear in the final photo of the slideshow, all happening over Mississippi Fred McDowell's song with the progression surprisingly suiting the rhythm of the beat.
Is The 'Jamal' TikTok Trend Racist?
At its core, "Jamal Did It" is fueled by racial stereotypes. When the "who stole it?" question revolves around a specific ethnicity, the final culprit is always an egregiously potent stereotype of the culture in question.
So, yes, it's kind of racist. Even though the trend is kind of parodying racism, by creating an imagined character who is so racist that they'd target innocent Jamal for every, mundane crime, the meme is still pretty racist.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7158617171810094378
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7158859497598012718
For the full history of Jamal Did It, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.
